Statistical analysis of classical piano recordings in MIDI format


Martin Keane


New Zealand Acoustics, 17(4), pp.19- 28 . (2004).

Abstract
Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) recordings of classical piano are analysed for note pitch, velocity and duration. Measured changes in spectrum between notes are not due to the accumulated hammer use of each note. Pitch follows a Gaussian distribution but with some interesting differences. Duration resembles a Weibull distribution. Some differences between composers are noted. MIDI pitch data is compared to a long term spectrum of the same recording in WAV format.

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