A procedure for an automated measurement of song similarity

Tchernichovski, O., Nottebohm, F., Ho, C. E., Pesaran, B., Mitra, P. P. (2000) A procedure for an automated measurement of song similarity. Animal Behaviour, 59 (6). pp. 1167-1176. ISSN 00033472 (ISSN)

URL: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10877896
DOI: 10.1006/anbe.1999.1416

Abstract

Assessment of vocal imitation requires a widely accepted way of describing and measuring any similarities between the song of a tutor and that of its pupil. Quantifying the similarity between two songs, however, can be difficult and fraught with subjective bias. We present a fully automated procedure that measures parametrically the similarity between songs. We tested its performance on a large database of zebra finch, Taeniopygia guttata, songs. The procedure uses an analytical framework of modern spectral analysis to characterize the acoustic structure of a song. This analysis provides a superior sound spectrogram that is then reduced to a set of simple acoustic features. Based on these features, the procedure detects similar sections between songs automatically. In addition, the procedure can be used to examine: (1) imitation accuracy across acoustic features; (2) song development; (3) the effect of brain lesions on specific song features; and (4) variability across different renditions of a song or a call produced by the same individual, across individuals and across populations. By making the procedure available we hope to promote the adoption of a standard, automated method for measuring similarity between songs or calls. (C) 2000 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

Item Type: Paper
Uncontrolled Keywords: passerine song vocalization
Subjects: organism description > animal behavior > learning
organism description > animal behavior > song
organism description > animal > bird > Zebra Finch
CSHL Authors:
Communities: CSHL labs > Mitra lab
Depositing User: CSHL Librarian
Date: 2000
Date Deposited: 02 Apr 2012 20:52
Last Modified: 06 Feb 2017 21:25
Related URLs:
URI: https://repository.cshl.edu/id/eprint/25891

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