I've become interested in viewing and describing formants. I've written a Scilab program that is a cross between a traditional spectrogram and a waterfall display. I was looking on the web for a solo vocal glissandro to use as a test source. The object of the test is twofold. Does my program give useful display? Initial test looks good. Second can I identify formants from it? Anyone know of glissandro recordings on the web? Google search only found a recording of a synthesized voice or instrumental examples. If I find a recording, am I likely to see what I'm looking for? Any comments or suggestions? TIA
Vocal glissandro as swept frequency source
Started by ●August 11, 2008
Reply by ●August 11, 20082008-08-11
On 11 Aug, 13:08, Richard Owlett <rowl...@atlascomm.net> wrote:> I've become interested in viewing and describing formants. I've written > a Scilab program that is a cross between a traditional spectrogram and a > waterfall display. > > I was looking on the web for a solo vocal glissandro to use as a test > source. The object of the test is twofold. Does my program give useful > display?I've done something similar but with the sound of the llack-throated loon, Gavia Arctica. The spectrogram is a very powerful intro for kids and laymen to basic DSP concepts.> Initial test looks good. Second can I identify formants from it?I have no idea; not too many formants in bird sounds...> Anyone know of glissandro recordings on the web? Google search only > found a recording of a synthesized voice or instrumental examples. > > If I find a recording, am I likely to see what I'm looking for? > Any comments or suggestions?Don't know how well this will work for your stated purpose, but the spectrogram is a very powerful educational tool. I used it with matlab, where I computed the spectrogram of ~20 s of bird sounds and displayed it with the original waveform. I then played the sound while a cursor line swept along the plots more or less in sync. Very useful to illustrate concepts like 'loudness', 'frequency', 'overtones' etc. Rune
Reply by ●August 11, 20082008-08-11
Rune Allnor wrote:> On 11 Aug, 13:08, Richard Owlett <rowl...@atlascomm.net> wrote: > >>I've become interested in viewing and describing formants. I've written >>a Scilab program that is a cross between a traditional spectrogram and a >>waterfall display. >> >>I was looking on the web for a solo vocal glissandro to use as a test >>source. The object of the test is twofold. Does my program give useful >>display? > > > I've done something similar but with the sound of the llack-throated > loon, Gavia Arctica. The spectrogram is a very powerful intro for > kids and laymen to basic DSP concepts. > > >>Initial test looks good. Second can I identify formants from it? > > > I have no idea; not too many formants in bird sounds...??? If my understanding of the physical source of formants is correct, I would expect them to exist in any animal producing sound with vocal cords which come out of the mouth. Got a recording I could download? Which leads me down another "rabbit trail". Has anyone orientated towards speech recognition compared a parrot (or similar) speaking to the voice of the person who trained it?> > >>Anyone know of glissandro recordings on the web? Google search only >>found a recording of a synthesized voice or instrumental examples. >> >>If I find a recording, am I likely to see what I'm looking for? >>Any comments or suggestions? > > > Don't know how well this will work for your stated purpose, > but the spectrogram is a very powerful educational tool. > I used it with matlab, where I computed the spectrogram > of ~20 s of bird sounds and displayed it with the original > waveform. I then played the sound while a cursor line swept > along the plots more or less in sync. > > Very useful to illustrate concepts like 'loudness', 'frequency', > 'overtones' etc. > > Rune
Reply by ●August 11, 20082008-08-11
On 11 Aug, 14:39, Richard Owlett <rowl...@atlascomm.net> wrote:> Rune Allnor wrote: > > On 11 Aug, 13:08, Richard Owlett <rowl...@atlascomm.net> wrote:> >>I was looking on the web for a solo vocal glissandro to use as a test > >>source. The object of the test is twofold. Does my program give useful > >>display? > > > I've done something similar but with the sound of the llack-throated > > loon, Gavia Arctica. The spectrogram is a very powerful intro for > > kids and laymen to basic DSP concepts.> Got a recording I could download?Sorry, no. I bought a CD with bird sounds at the local Hunting / Fishing shop. You might find something similar near you. Don't know if Gavia Arctica is included on CDs on your side of the pond, though. Rune
Reply by ●August 11, 20082008-08-11
Rune Allnor wrote:> On 11 Aug, 14:39, Richard Owlett <rowl...@atlascomm.net> wrote: > >>Rune Allnor wrote: >> >>>On 11 Aug, 13:08, Richard Owlett <rowl...@atlascomm.net> wrote: > > >>>>I was looking on the web for a solo vocal glissandro to use as a test >>>>source. The object of the test is twofold. Does my program give useful >>>>display? >> >>>I've done something similar but with the sound of the llack-throated >>>loon, Gavia Arctica. The spectrogram is a very powerful intro for >>>kids and laymen to basic DSP concepts. > > >>Got a recording I could download? > > > Sorry, no. > > I bought a CD with bird sounds at the local Hunting / Fishing shop. > You might find something similar near you. Don't know if Gavia > Arctica is included on CDs on your side of the pond, though. > > RuneWell I went searching and found http://www.virtual-bird.com/songs/gavia-arctica.mp3 http://www.scricciolo.com/eurosongs/Gavia.arctica.wav and discovered my new and improved program has bigger and better bugs ;) Displayed them with an earlier version and results looked promising, but I have to leave for an appointment shortly.
Reply by ●August 14, 20082008-08-14
Richard Owlett wrote:> Rune Allnor wrote: > >> On 11 Aug, 14:39, Richard Owlett <rowl...@atlascomm.net> wrote: >> >>> Rune Allnor wrote: >>> >>>> On 11 Aug, 13:08, Richard Owlett <rowl...@atlascomm.net> wrote: >> >> >> >>>>> I was looking on the web for a solo vocal glissandro to use as a test >>>>> source. The object of the test is twofold. Does my program give useful >>>>> display? >>> >>> >>>> I've done something similar but with the sound of the llack-throated >>>> loon, Gavia Arctica. The spectrogram is a very powerful intro for >>>> kids and laymen to basic DSP concepts. >> >> >> >>> Got a recording I could download? >> >> >> >> Sorry, no. >> >> I bought a CD with bird sounds at the local Hunting / Fishing shop. >> You might find something similar near you. Don't know if Gavia >> Arctica is included on CDs on your side of the pond, though. >> >> Rune > > > Well I went searching and found > http://www.virtual-bird.com/songs/gavia-arctica.mp3 > http://www.scricciolo.com/eurosongs/Gavia.arctica.wav > and discovered my new and improved program has bigger and better bugs ;) > Displayed them with an earlier version and results looked promising, but > I have to leave for an appointment shortly. >Success *GRIN* ;) http://www.virtual-bird.com/songs/gavia-arctica.mp3 gives a very nice display. I'll post some samples as soon as my ISP solves a glitch. I've also tested with a recording of a cricket and a short oboe solo. The human voice speaking is too complex too give a nice display at this time. Does anyone have suggestions for types of medium complexity sounds that I might want to look at. I'm going to try to find a piano solo of a scale - preferable with and without sustain. Rune, you mentioned having used a spectrogram to demonstrate overtones. I didn't spot any with the loon recording I used. What did you use? Thanks.
Reply by ●August 14, 20082008-08-14
On 14 Aug, 18:51, Richard Owlett <rowl...@atlascomm.net> wrote:> Richard Owlett wrote: > > Rune Allnor wrote: > > >> On 11 Aug, 14:39, Richard Owlett <rowl...@atlascomm.net> wrote: > > >>> Rune Allnor wrote: > > >>>> On 11 Aug, 13:08, Richard Owlett <rowl...@atlascomm.net> wrote: > > >>>>> I was looking on the web for a solo vocal glissandro to use as a test > >>>>> source. The object of the test is twofold. Does my program give useful > >>>>> display? > > >>>> I've done something similar but with the sound of the llack-throated > >>>> loon, Gavia Arctica. The spectrogram is a very powerful intro for > >>>> kids and laymen to basic DSP concepts. > > >>> Got a recording I could download? > > >> Sorry, no. > > >> I bought a CD with bird sounds at the local Hunting / Fishing shop. > >> You might find something similar near you. Don't know if Gavia > >> Arctica is included on CDs on your side of the pond, though. > > >> Rune > > > Well I went searching and found > >http://www.virtual-bird.com/songs/gavia-arctica.mp3 > >http://www.scricciolo.com/eurosongs/Gavia.arctica.wav > > and discovered my new and improved program has bigger and better bugs ;) > > Displayed them with an earlier version and results looked promising, but > > I have to leave for an appointment shortly. > > Success *GRIN* ;)http://www.virtual-bird.com/songs/gavia-arctica.mp3gives a very nice > display. I'll post some samples as soon as my ISP solves a glitch.Good!> I've also tested with a recording of a cricket and a short oboe solo. > The human voice speaking is too complex too give a nice display at this > time. > > Does anyone have suggestions for types of medium complexity sounds that > I might want to look at. I'm going to try to find a piano solo of a > scale - preferable with and without sustain. > > Rune, you mentioned having used a spectrogram to demonstrate overtones. > I didn't spot any with the loon recording I used. What did you use?A standard spectrogram. The frequency range was 0-5kHz, if I remember correctly, and that was sufficient bandwidth to see the overtones.> Thanks.Y're welcome. Rune
Reply by ●August 14, 20082008-08-14
Rune Allnor wrote:> On 14 Aug, 18:51, Richard Owlett <rowl...@atlascomm.net> wrote: > >>Richard Owlett wrote: >> >>>Rune Allnor wrote: >> >>>>On 11 Aug, 14:39, Richard Owlett <rowl...@atlascomm.net> wrote: >> >>>>>Rune Allnor wrote: >> >>>>>>On 11 Aug, 13:08, Richard Owlett <rowl...@atlascomm.net> wrote: >> >>>>>>>I was looking on the web for a solo vocal glissandro to use as a test >>>>>>>source. The object of the test is twofold. Does my program give useful >>>>>>>display? >> >>>>>>I've done something similar but with the sound of the llack-throated >>>>>>loon, Gavia Arctica. The spectrogram is a very powerful intro for >>>>>>kids and laymen to basic DSP concepts. >> >>>>>Got a recording I could download? >> >>>>Sorry, no. >> >>>>I bought a CD with bird sounds at the local Hunting / Fishing shop. >>>>You might find something similar near you. Don't know if Gavia >>>>Arctica is included on CDs on your side of the pond, though. >> >>>>Rune >> >>>Well I went searching and found >>>http://www.virtual-bird.com/songs/gavia-arctica.mp3 >>>http://www.scricciolo.com/eurosongs/Gavia.arctica.wav >>>and discovered my new and improved program has bigger and better bugs ;) >>>Displayed them with an earlier version and results looked promising, but >>>I have to leave for an appointment shortly. >> >>Success *GRIN* ;)http://www.virtual-bird.com/songs/gavia-arctica.mp3gives a very nice >>display. I'll post some samples as soon as my ISP solves a glitch. > > > Good! > > >>I've also tested with a recording of a cricket and a short oboe solo. >>The human voice speaking is too complex too give a nice display at this >>time. >> >>Does anyone have suggestions for types of medium complexity sounds that >>I might want to look at. I'm going to try to find a piano solo of a >>scale - preferable with and without sustain. >> >>Rune, you mentioned having used a spectrogram to demonstrate overtones. >>I didn't spot any with the loon recording I used. What did you use? > > > A standard spectrogram. The frequency range was 0-5kHz, if I remember > correctly, and that was sufficient bandwidth to see the overtones. >I'll have to find a better recording. The background noise has a sharp drop-off ~3-3.5 kHz but there is relatively strong blip 7.1-7.3 kHz. I'm suspicious that it's an artifact rather than a signal.> >>Thanks. > > > Y're welcome. > > Rune
Reply by ●August 15, 20082008-08-15
On 14 Aug, 23:50, Richard Owlett <rowl...@atlascomm.net> wrote:> Rune Allnor wrote:...> >>Success *GRIN* ;)http://www.virtual-bird.com/songs/gavia-arctica.mp3givesa very nice > >>display. I'll post some samples as soon as my ISP solves a glitch....> >>Rune, you mentioned having used a spectrogram to demonstrate overtones. > >>I didn't spot any with the loon recording I used. What did you use? > > > A standard spectrogram. The frequency range was 0-5kHz, if I remember > > correctly, and that was sufficient bandwidth to see the overtones. > > I'll have to find a better recording. The background noise has a sharp > drop-off ~3-3.5 kHz but there is relatively strong blip 7.1-7.3 kHz. I'm > suspicious that it's an artifact rather than a signal.If I interpret the link you posted correctly, you've used an MP3 file. That might not be the best choise, as MP3s have been beaten and battered in all sorts of ways to compress the sound. Try and see if you can find a .wav file. Rune
Reply by ●August 15, 20082008-08-15
Rune Allnor wrote:> On 14 Aug, 23:50, Richard Owlett <rowl...@atlascomm.net> wrote: > >>Rune Allnor wrote: > > ... > >>>>Success *GRIN* ;)http://www.virtual-bird.com/songs/gavia-arctica.mp3givesa very nice >>>>display. I'll post some samples as soon as my ISP solves a glitch. > > ... > >>>>Rune, you mentioned having used a spectrogram to demonstrate overtones. >>>>I didn't spot any with the loon recording I used. What did you use? >> >>>A standard spectrogram. The frequency range was 0-5kHz, if I remember >>>correctly, and that was sufficient bandwidth to see the overtones. >> >>I'll have to find a better recording. The background noise has a sharp >>drop-off ~3-3.5 kHz but there is relatively strong blip 7.1-7.3 kHz. I'm >>suspicious that it's an artifact rather than a signal. > > > If I interpret the link you posted correctly, you've used an MP3 > file. > That might not be the best choise, as MP3s have been beaten and > battered > in all sorts of ways to compress the sound. > > Try and see if you can find a .wav file. > > RuneChuckle ;) I had found a .wav file but chose to to use the .mp3 file because it sounded "cleaner".
