Neil P. McAngus Todd
Dept. of Music, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
In this paper a new method of performance analysis is described based on a multi-timescale decomposition of the acoustic signal. This analysis is sensitive to a variety of expressive devices employed by musical performers including tempo, dynamics, and articulation. The output of the analysis is a hierarchical tree structure that resembles the time-span reduction of the theory of Lerdahl and Jackendoff. Analyses of percussive performance are demonstrated for a variety of percussive signals. The model that forms the basis of the analytic method also provides an account of the phenomena of rhythmic streaming whereby a sequence of events differentiated only by loudness can form coherent streams.