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MARCIN STRZELECKI

TRACKING THE PSYCHOACOUSTICAL FEATURES OF PERFORMANCES OF CHOPINS MUSIC: MEASURING THE MUSICAL TIME FLOW
Performing Chopins works is the most natural and straightforward way of showing the expression that they possess. Although it is very difficult to examine this expression, scholars, aware of the significance of this aspect of his music, do not reduce the object under analysis to formal relations alone, but they also look for ways of talking about its affect. Recent studies have adopted a number of different approaches. One is an empirical approach, which mainly consists of acoustic, psychoacoustic and cognitive analysis of recordings. Empirical analysis allows only for the collection of data, which must subsequently be interpreted. Within the scientific paradigm one may find the conviction that the possibilities of empirical methods of analysing music are epistemologically unlimited. In other words, they are restricted only from the technical point of view, and theoretically there is no evidence that there are any aspects of aesthetic experience which cannot be subjected to scientific study. There is also no evidence to the contrary. It is ultimately a question of the attitude chosen by a particular scholar. There is, however, no doubt that analyses are restricted in technical terms, their penetration depending upon the sophistication of the tools that we are able to develop. Yet in material such as music recordings all the information available to the listener is included, and only requires extraction from the digital signal. For example, technology now enables us to carry out systematic studies on the timbral aspect of orchestral works. In the case of performances of Chopins music, timbre is difficult to analyse because of differences in the sound engineering of recordings.

EASURING MUSICAL TIME.

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Research into deep semantic interpretations can be enriched in general terms by new methods of analysis employing advanced techniques. Here I would like to present my own method of analyzing the flow of time in performances. Whilst recordings are not comparable in terms of timbre, they are easily subjected to comparison in respect to timing. Theorists very often write about general parameters, such as the duration and average tempo of performance, pedalisation contour and dynamic shape. However, the problem of indicating a strict relationship between musical and physical time has yet to be resolved. Such studies may prove crucial, and provide a basis for new ways of studying recorded performances. For this presentation, I have chosen six recorded performances of three preludes from Op. 28, according to particular problems concerning time flow. The table below contains information regarding the six performances:
Figure 1. F. Chopin, Preludes, Op. 28 Nos. 7, 14, 20 recordings analysed: Artur Rubinstein Shura Cherkassky Martha Argerich Grigory Sokolov Jerzy Godziszewski Maurizio Pollini BMG Music GD60822 Philips Classic 456 742-2 Deutsche Gramophon 415 836-2 Opus 111 AD070 Polskie Nagrania PNCD014 Deutsche Gramophon (analog release)

Amplitude Graphs as Analytic Material

Common amplitude graphs allow us to examine the global dynamic gesture of a performance. However, they do not make it possible to locate particular musical events, such as notes, phrases, chords, and so on. In other words, in order that these graphs may be read efficiently, one must indicate the relevant bars in the score. In respect to pieces with salient onsets, one may count dynamic peaks manually, although this remains difficult when the dynamic is very low (e.g. Sokolovs performance of Prelude, Op. 28 No. 20):

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Figure 2. F. Chopin, Prelude, Op. 28 No. 20

In the case of another prelude, we encounter difficulties regardless of the dynamic some chords are better marked than others (e.g. Prelude, Op. 28 No. 7):
Figure 3. F. Chopin, Prelude, Op. 28 No. 7

Moreover, it becomes impossible in respect to pieces with a sparkling or smooth textural flow, such as the Prelude, Op. 28 No. 14. In such a situation, one is forced to employ the time-consuming method of indicating bar onsets by ear, while listening to the recording.
Figure 4. F. Chopin, Prelude, Op. 28 No. 14

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The prevalent method of segmenting the acoustic representation of performance is to take dynamic change as the criterion for division. However, given the unreliability of this method, I would like to present here a method of recording segmentation based on another criterion, namely harmony.

Alternative Proposition: the Harmonic Image

In this alternative method, dynamic shape no longer serves as analytic material. It is replaced by a kind of harmonic image obtained by reducing the whole spectrum to one octave (a set of abstract pitch classes):
Figure 5. F. Chopin, Prelude, Op. 28 No. 20 - harmonic image

Since this image still lacks segmentation, we need some kind of point of reference in order to localize musical events. The procedure is supported by another harmonic image, obtained by processing information contained in the composition score. From the score we may create a regular MIDI file, represented here by a kind of piano roll:
Figure 6. F. Chopin, Prelude, Op. 28 No. 20

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The next step is to produce an acoustic simulation of the piece. Analyzing this simulation in the same way as a performance recording, we obtain a similar harmonic image. What is most important, at every stage of this process we are fully aware of the location of the onsets of both the bars and the notes of the piece (red lines in upper chart). The analysis enables us to transfer the onsets to the recording, which is then split accordingly (lower chart).
Figure 7. Transformation of onsets to the recording a) MIDI simulation splitted

b) Performance

Obviously, the timings of the performance and the simulation differ from one another. In order to indicate particular notes in a performance recording we must synchronize the performance with the simulation. I used a method of stretching out and stretching in the harmonic image of the simulation, in order to obtain the best overlay of the two images. It is important to note that when stretching the image we shift the markers of the bars and rhythmic units. In the computer implementation of this idea, I applied genetic algorithm technique, which processes thousands of different versions of a stretched image. Each version is treated as an individual. By processing whole generations of individuals by means of genetic operators (selection, crossover, mutation) we obtain better and better individuals, in terms of their fitness. The algorithm is stopped immediately when individuals achieve a sufficient level of fitness (Figure 8).

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Figure 8. Algoritm procedure

From this point on, the simulation is synchronized with the performance, which allows us to copy the bar and unit markers from the simulation to the performance.
Figure 9. Synchronization of the simulation and the performance

The charts present the results of using this method. We obtain the precise segmentation of the performance, according to the score (vertical lines represent bar onsets):
Figure 10. Segmentation of the performance a) F. Chopin, Prelude, Op. 28 No. 7

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b) F. Chopin, Prelude, Op. 28 No. 14

c) F. Chopin, Prelude, Op. 28 No. 20

The basic advantage of this kind of segmentation is that it enables us to compare in recordings the duration of particular bars, or even single rhythmic units. It is possible to compare not only timing but also the dynamic proportions between the volume of overtones in particular chords. This consequently makes it possible to analyse the depth of pedalising in performances by comparing the spectral correlation at a particular moment in the performance with its MIDI-based audio simulation (lacking pedalising). It is also possible to estimate the correlation with the preceding moments. But pedalising calls for a separate analysis.

Rubato
I would like to move on to the most interesting advantage of applying the method described above, which is the measuring of rubato. As a qualitative category rubato is a factor in the expression of the performance. It is often described in literature as one of the main features char33

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acterizing performances of Chopin. One may treat rubato as an aspect of the psychological flow of time. It is strictly linked to the cognitive constraints of the way in which humans perceive time. Consequently, it is associated with the ontological aspect of aesthetic experience (for example, Bachs adagio). Regardless of what philosophy may tell us of musical time, it is possible to describe rubato in quantitative terms, as the relationship between the musical and physical time flows. The method described allows us to indicate the duration of particular rhythmic units in a given recording. In order to indicate the tempo of each unit, it suffices to inverse its duration: unitTempo [BMP] = 60 / unitDuration [s] Finally, we can observe the differences between performances in terms of local tempo changes:
Figure 11. Differences in local tempo changes a) F. Chopin, Prelude, Op. 28 No. 7

b) F. Chopin, Prelude, Op. 28 No. 14

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c) F. Chopin, Prelude, Op. 28 No. 20

The tables below show the combination of statistical data that it is possible to obtain:
Figure 12. Summary of the tempo analysis a) F. Chopin, Prelude, Op. 28 No. 7

b) F. Chopin, Prelude, Op. 28 No. 14

c) F. Chopin, Prelude, Op. 28 No. 20

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Summary
This paper has demonstrated a method for the non-subjective and precise measurement of local time flow in performances of musical works. The application of psychoacoustic procedures not only renders analysis of performances more effective (by localizing musical events) but also provides an empirical basis for new interpretations. Time flow measurement makes it possible to carry out research into other aspects of performance. However, we must keep in mind that the only thing presented here is a method of analysis, i.e. a method of gathering information. It is necessary to elaborate a further interpretation of this data, within the wide context of our knowledge of Chopins works and their performances. The method presented provides one example of the application of advanced information processing techniques. Within this approach the amount of information which we are able to extract depends more on the level of technological sophistication (and on having a good idea) than on deep, introspective research. It must be said that in order to avoid concentrating on technical problems alone, it is necessary to consider those problems of most interest from an artistic point of view, as is undoubtedly the problem of time flow in performances of Chopin.