Parataxis: a framework of structure analysis for instrumental folk music
Haris Sarris, PhD, Department of Music Studies, University of Athens
Tassos Kolydas, PhD, Intitute of Research on Music and Acoustics
Panagiotis Tzevelekos, Msc, Department of Informatics and Telecommunications, University of Athens
Background in Ethnomusicology
The music of folk instruments is a less studied topic compared to the study of the folk song repertoire. This is mainly due to its ‘complexity’, which may get a scholar into a tangle. Talking about the Balkans or the music of the Aegean, apart from the great differences between instrumental traditions from place to place, one can point out a common ground regarding structure. This is the act of placing the melodic units side by side, hence creating the form, which we shall call ‘the technique of parataxis’. Little research has been done regarding this technique, though. Koglin (2003) depicts the music structure through special graphs, Theodosopoulou (2005) codifies paratactic repertoire from Crete, and investigates the series of music phrases, while Sarris (2007) analyzes paratactic genres from Greek Thrace using tables.
Background in Computing
Computing is regarded as part of the modern structure of musical scholarship (Parncutt 2007). Knowledge representation for musical data using tags and metadata appears to be of great significance in late studies (Chryssochoidis, Delviniotis, & Kouroupetroglou, 2007) Data mining and knowledge discovery in databases have been attracting a significant amount of research, industry, and media attention of late (Fayyad, Piatetsky-Shapiro, & Smyth, 1996). However few are the studies that focus on folk instrumental music, while combining annotation based on acoustic analysis and native musicians.
Aims
In this study, we propose a methodology framework for analyzing folk instrumental repertoire that follows the technique of parataxis. By including both systematic analysis and analysis from the native’s point of view, for the same material, we scope to ‘bridge the gap’ between the two perspectives. A relational database will form the base for a web-based tool, providing statistic interpretation of the data. For more details regarding the Parataxis project, follow www.parataxis.eu
Main contribution
How can one understand a ‘flowing’ music, which is re-created each time it is played? What kind of information can he take from an informant who may not have lingual codes to describe his music? Is it possible for an analytical tool to act as a ‘bridge’ between the scholar and the folk musician? In order to examine such issues a special research methodology is proposed. A selected piece is annotated with tags, using the PRAAT software. The term ‘tags’ refers to descriptive coded information values, which corresponds to a particular part of the music signal, making queries within the signal easier and more accurate. Segmentation and parameter value set is performed under two different perspectives. On one hand, an ethnomusicologist using the tools of systematic musicological analysis is responsible for the annotation. On the other hand, native informants are asked to find parts in the piece that are distinctive in their opinion and to comment them, producing another group of metadata. Hence, hints for more detailed and focused questions may come out. The method for the manipulation of the data includes the modeling, designing and developing of a relational DataBase, based on the entity-relation model that will be produced. The application will be available through the Internet as a tool for the analysis of the 'technique of parataxis’. As our example, we have chosen to analyse a live recording of a Pano choros dance from the village of Olympos, Karpathos.
Implications
Our research can hopefully provide a useful tool for the ethnomusicologist, in order to analyze and understand instrumental folk music. It can also be yet another link with the informants, since each one can tag a music piece the way he conceptualizes it. With all that data lying side by side, research can be more fruitful, thanks to modern computer tools.
Το Συνέδριο
Το τέταρτο Συνέδριο στην Διεπιστημονική Μουσικολογία (CIM08) πραγματοποιήθηκε στην Θεσσαλονίκη από τις 2 έως τις 6 Ιουλίου 2008. Το θέμα του Συνεδρίου ήταν η μουσική δομή από την σκοπιά όλων των μουσικών και μουσικολογικών κλάδων. Το Συνέδριο φιλοξενήθηκε από το Τμήμα Μουσικών Σπουδών του Αριστοτέλειου Πανεπιστημίου Θεσσαλονίκης και διεξήχθη σε συνεργασία με την ESCOM, την IMS, και την ESEM.
Τα Εργαλεία
To PRAAT είναι ένα πρόγραμμα για ηλεκτρονικό υπολογιστή που μπορεί να αναλύει, συνθέτει και διαχειρίζεται τον ήχο και να δημιουργεί υψηλής ποιότητας εικόνες για άρθρα και μελέτες. To PRAAT χρησιμοποιείται για τις ανάγκες της παρούσας μελέτης.
Οδηγίες για τη μέθοδο επισημείωσης, μπορείτε να βρείτε εδώ.
The Conference
The fourth Conference on Interdisciplinary Musicology (CIM08) took place in Thessaloniki/Greece from 2-6 July 2008. The theme of CIM08 was musical structure from the viewpoint of all musically and musicologically relevant disciplines. CIM08 was hosted by the Department of Music Studies, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, and presented in collaboration with the European Society for the Cognitive Sciences of Music (ESCOM), the International Musicological Society (IMS), and the European Seminar in Ethnomusicology (ESEM).
The Tools
PRAAT is a computer program with which you can analyse, synthesize, and manipulate speech, and create high-quality pictures for your articles and thesis. PRAAT is used for the purpose of this essay.Instructions about the tagging method, can be found here.