Acoustic Correlates of Perceived Emotions among Hindustani Singers

Abstract

Introduction: Music induces precise corporal process as well as mental processes in listener's mind which is generally perceived as emotion. A raga composition consists of a particular combination of notes which creates a mood or atmosphere which can be specialized to uniqueness of the ragas which are perceived subjectively. This study aimed to understand the correlation between acoustic parameters and emotions among Hindustani singers. Materials and Methods: The experiment was carried out on ten trained Hindustani singers in the age range of 20–40 years. Singing samples of ascending and descending scales were recorded for chosen ragas and each raga was analyzed for various acoustic parameters. Results: The results revealed a significant difference (P < 0.01) for the first three formants in swaras such as S2, S3, and S5. Conclusion: Hence it can be concluded that, among three ragas (R1, R2, and R3), change of formant frequency at the position of S2, S3, and S5 will result in perception of different emotions.