Major-minorness in Tonal music -- Evaluation of Relative Mode Estimation using Expert Ratings and Audio-Based Key-finding Principles

Eerola, Tuomas; Schutz, Michael

Abstract

Mode is a foundational concept of Western music, serving as the basis for chords and harmonies, detection and assessments of cadences and form, and conveying musical emotion. Traditionally treated categorically, here we build upon recent work exploring this crucial musical construct on a continuum, an approach we refer to as “relative mode”. Specifically, we formulate and evaluate a computational model calculating this property from either symbolic or audio representations of music by adapting common key-finding techniques traditionally used to identify mode categorically. Here we use them to infer the relative mode based on differences between the potential strength of key major and minor key candidates. The model evaluation is based on a corpus of excerpts from Preludes by Bach, Chopin, and Shostakovich previously assessed by expert music analysts. Our results suggest that the model (using only audio files) is able to predict relative mode to a degree closely aligning with experts (who used both audio and notated scores). A pragmatic set of parameters for the model is identified and the shortcomings and the applicability of the model to other eras and genres are discussed.

Citation

Eerola, T., & Schutz, M. (in press). Major-minorness in Tonal music -- Evaluation of Relative Mode Estimation using Expert Ratings and Audio-Based Key-finding Principles. Psychology of Music,

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 25, 2024
• Deposit Date: Jan 23, 2025
• Journal: Psychology of Music
• Print ISSN: 0305-7356
• Electronic ISSN: 1741-3087
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/3347632
• Publisher URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/home/pom