The Use of Rhythmograms in the Analysis of Electroacoustic Music, with Application to Normandeau's Onomatopoeias Cycle

The rhythmogram is the visual output of an algorithm developed by Todd and Brown which is characterised as a “multi-scale auditory model” consisting of a number of stages that are meant to emulate the response of the lower levels of the auditory system. The aim of the current study is to continue the author’s SIAM approach of employing a cognitive model, in combination with signal processing techniques, to analyse the “raw” audio signal of electroacoustic music works, and more specifically, to depict time-related phenomena in a visual manner. Such depictions should assist or enhance aural analysis of, what is essentially, an aural artform. After introducing the theoretical framework of the rhythmogram model, this paper applies it to a detailed analysis of a short segment of Normandeau’s work called Spleen. The paper then briefly compares rhythmograms of the entirety of Normandeau’s related works Éclats de voix, Spleen and Le renard et la rose. The paper concludes that rhythmograms are capable of showing both the details of short segments of electroacoustic works as well as the broader temporal feature of entire works. It also concludes that the rhythmogram has its limitations, but could be used in further analyses to enhance aural analysis.