On Computational Transcription and Analysis of Oral and Semi - Oral Chant Traditions

Variation is considered a universal principle in music. In terms of semiotics, variation in music is omnipresent and distinguishes music from language (Middleton, 1990). In oral music traditions, variation is introduced to the music due to the absence of a concrete notation. In this paper we investigate melodic stability and variation in cadences as they occur in oral and semi-oral traditions. Creating a new framework for transcription, we have quantized and compared cadences found in Torah trope, strophic melodies from the Dutch folk song collection Onder de groene linde and Qur’an recitation. We have developed computational methods to analyze similarity and variation in melodic formulas in cadences as they occur in recorded examples of the beforementioned oral/semi-oral traditions. Concentrating on cadences, we have investigated melodic, durational and contour similarities in cadences within individual songs/chants, within chant types and between chant types. Using computational methods we have extracted tone scales from digital audio data. In our opinion these derived scales accurately present pitch-contour relationships within oral and seminotated musical traditions. Instead of viewing these pitches to be deviations of preexisting “normalized” scales, our method defines a more differentiated scale from the outset. Comparing the stability of these scales and their resulting contours we can support the theory that melodic stability in Ashkenazi Torah trope cadences is more prevalent than in Sephardic equivalents. We have discovered relationships between variational embellishment and contour stability within cadences in Indonesian and Dutch-Indonesian Qur’an recitation. We are currently applying similar methods of comparison within Dutch folk song examples. By developing computational models for cadences in these three chant types we contribute to extending possibilities for musical transcription. Employing computational tools that allow for a more objective transcription, we strive to reduce the subjective bias of the ethnomusicologist. While transcription methodologies have been subject to debate we find that this new form of computational transcription presents new means for cross-cultural music analysis, thereby extending the practice of transcription into the modern world.