An experiment was conducted, using tones generated by the computer, to determine the just-noticeable differences in the rise time of a 1000-cycle pure tone with a duration of 1 sec, and with a linear (not exponential) attack, a steady-state portion, and a 100-msec decay. A forced choice, paired-comparison test was run with 10 different subjects. Fourteen different rise times were used, ranging from 2 to 50 msec. A clear time-order effect appeared which, although it is of considerable interest in itself, made the results of the test somewhat inconclusive. Still, a rough estimate of the results indicate that, within the range of rise times from 8 to 50 msec, the jnd approximates a constant proportion of a given rise time. Within this range, the smallest ratio of two rise times that can be judged correctly 75% of the time is roughly 3 : 2. Below this range (i.e., from 2 to 6 msec), the smallest difference that can be discriminated is 3 or 4 msec, so that the constant-proportionality relation no longer holds.
Recordings were made of tones played by a professional violinist in an anechoic chamber. The sounds were digitized at 10 000 samples/sec and a frequency analysis made by computer. The amplitude of each harmonic was plotted at each pitch period. Two features of the spectrum were noted. The spectral envelope is essentially constant throughout the tone. The spectrum possesses zeros at regular spacing—typically every third harmonic. To explain the zeros, a theory was developed that involves the nature of the excitation by the bow. A computer program was written to synthesize tones with zeros. Tones with zeros characteristic of the violin were judged to have a very stringlike sound. It is hypothesized that these zeros, produced by the bow excitation, may be as important in determining string timbre as resonances introduced by the violin body.
The music of Carl Ruggles has recently become a subject of theoretical interest again, after a long period of neglect. In particular, Steven E. Gilbert has pointed out certain features of Ruggles' later works which are amenable to "trichordal" analysis.' In this paper I shall report the results of some statistical analyses of Ruggles' melodic lines, carried out with the aid of a computer. Certain aspects of Ruggles' music-the general shape of the lines, the ever-present dissonant sonorities-are so consistent throughout all of his pieces that one can easily get an impression of singular stylistic homogeneity-as though there were no significant changes or developments in style from 1919 (Toys) through 1944 (Organum). My results suggest just the opposite conclusion-at least with respect to his melodic writing-and lend support to a statement he made in a letter to Henry Cowell in January 1926: More and more I'm gaining that complete command of line which, to me, is the basis of all music. There is absolutely no comparison between that which I've done [and] that which I'm doing now. 2 Significant changes in Ruggles' melodic style are manifested in my statistical results in three ways: (1) a gradual shift in the distribution of melodic-interval frequencies; (2) a more and more effective avoid
No abstract
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.