Harmonic and Timbre Analysis of Tabla Strokes
This work provides incremental insights into tabla analysis for musicology and acoustics, focusing on stroke characterization.
The study analyzed the timbre characteristics of tabla strokes from five different instruments, finding that strokes have unique harmonic and timbral features in mid-frequency ranges but lack uniqueness at low frequencies.
Indian twin drums mainly bayan and dayan (tabla) are the most important percussion instruments in India popularly used for keeping rhythm. It is a twin percussion/drum instrument of which the right hand drum is called dayan and the left hand drum is called bayan. Tabla strokes are commonly called as `bol', constitutes a series of syllables. In this study we have studied the timbre characteristics of nine strokes from each of five different tablas. Timbre parameters were calculated from LTAS of each stroke signals. Study of timbre characteristics is one of the most important deterministic approach for analyzing tabla and its stroke characteristics. Statistical correlations among timbre parameters were measured and also through factor analysis we get to know about the parameters of timbre analysis which are closely related. Tabla strokes have unique harmonic and timbral characteristics at mid frequency range and have no uniqueness at low frequency ranges.