A swingogram representation for tracking micro-rhythmic variation in jazz performances

A typical micro-rhythmic trait of jazz performances is their 'swing feel.' According to several studies, uneven eighth notes contribute decisively to this perceived quality. In this paper we analyze the swing ratio (beat-upbeat ratio) implied by the drummer on the ride cymbal. Extending pr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of new music research 2018-03, Vol.47 (2), p.97-113
Main Authors: Dittmar, Christian, Pfleiderer, Martin, Balke, Stefan, Müller, Meinard
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Dynamic programming
jazz music
Methodology
microrythm
Music information retrieval
Pattern recognition
Representations
rhythmic features
swing ratio
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Summary:A typical micro-rhythmic trait of jazz performances is their 'swing feel.' According to several studies, uneven eighth notes contribute decisively to this perceived quality. In this paper we analyze the swing ratio (beat-upbeat ratio) implied by the drummer on the ride cymbal. Extending previous work, we propose a new method for semi-automatic swing ratio estimation based on pattern recognition in onset sequences. As a main contribution, we introduce a novel time-swing ratio representation called swingogram, which locally captures information related to the swing ratio over time. Based on this representation, we propose to track the most plausible trajectory of the swing ratio of the ride cymbal pattern over time via dynamic programming. We show how this kind of visualization leads to interesting insights into the peculiarities of jazz musicians improvising together.
ISSN:0929-8215
1744-5027
DOI:10.1080/09298215.2017.1367405