Wood identification and acoustic analysis of three original Aztec teponaztli musical instruments
Teponaztlis exhibited in Mexico’s Anthropology Museum are the most emblematic items among Aztec musical instruments. The purpose of this research was twofold: to correctly identify the wood used to manufacture three of the most important instruments of their kind and to perform an acoustic analysis...
| Egile Nagusiak: | , , , , |
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| Formatua: | Online |
| Hizkuntza: | eng |
| Argitaratua: |
Instituto de Ecología, A.C.
2019
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| Sarrera elektronikoa: | https://myb.ojs.inecol.mx/index.php/myb/article/view/e2511690 |
| _version_ | 1799769351743602688 |
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| author | Herrera-Castro, Mariano Quintanar-Isaías, Alejandra Orduña-Bustamante, Felipe Olmedo-Vera, Bertina Jaramillo-Pérez, Ana Teresa |
| author_facet | Herrera-Castro, Mariano Quintanar-Isaías, Alejandra Orduña-Bustamante, Felipe Olmedo-Vera, Bertina Jaramillo-Pérez, Ana Teresa |
| author_sort | Herrera-Castro, Mariano |
| collection | MYB |
| description | Teponaztlis exhibited in Mexico’s Anthropology Museum are the most emblematic items among Aztec musical instruments. The purpose of this research was twofold: to correctly identify the wood used to manufacture three of the most important instruments of their kind and to perform an acoustic analysis to determine relevant acoustic and musical parameters of these instruments. Wood identification consisted in comparing some anatomical features of teponaztlis to those of known species from a wood collection and other sources. Multivariate analysis shows that species are separated by the percentage of uniseriate and partially biseriate rays at one hand and by fibre wall thickness at the other hand. The results show that the genus Dalbergia was used for these instruments, and the analysis suggests proximity of teponaztlis to Dalbergia palo-escrito, and to D. granadillo. The acoustic analysis was based on digital sound recordings of the instruments played with the under-side cavity closed or open. Results show that musical intervals between the two low and high pitch tones of the instruments are from slightly below a major third, to slightly above a fifth. Tones produced with the under-side cavity closed are slightly shorter in duration, and stronger, in comparison when it is open. Playing one of the two tones faintly produces sound from the other, and also from the sides of the instrument, especially with the under-side cavity open. The musical intervals that are observed in these instruments do not correspond exactly to conventional Western tunings. |
| format | Online |
| id | oai:oai.myb.ojs.inecol.mx:article-1690 |
| institution | Madera y Bosques |
| language | eng |
| publishDate | 2019 |
| publisher | Instituto de Ecología, A.C. |
| record_format | ojs |
| spelling | oai:oai.myb.ojs.inecol.mx:article-16902022-11-29T22:50:09Z Wood identification and acoustic analysis of three original Aztec teponaztli musical instruments Identificación de la madera y análisis acústico de tres teponaztlis, instrumentos musicales aztecas originales Herrera-Castro, Mariano Quintanar-Isaías, Alejandra Orduña-Bustamante, Felipe Olmedo-Vera, Bertina Jaramillo-Pérez, Ana Teresa Dalbergia idiophones México musical pitch radial parenchyma tone duration Dalbergia idiófonos tono musical parénquima radial duración de tonos Teponaztlis exhibited in Mexico’s Anthropology Museum are the most emblematic items among Aztec musical instruments. The purpose of this research was twofold: to correctly identify the wood used to manufacture three of the most important instruments of their kind and to perform an acoustic analysis to determine relevant acoustic and musical parameters of these instruments. Wood identification consisted in comparing some anatomical features of teponaztlis to those of known species from a wood collection and other sources. Multivariate analysis shows that species are separated by the percentage of uniseriate and partially biseriate rays at one hand and by fibre wall thickness at the other hand. The results show that the genus Dalbergia was used for these instruments, and the analysis suggests proximity of teponaztlis to Dalbergia palo-escrito, and to D. granadillo. The acoustic analysis was based on digital sound recordings of the instruments played with the under-side cavity closed or open. Results show that musical intervals between the two low and high pitch tones of the instruments are from slightly below a major third, to slightly above a fifth. Tones produced with the under-side cavity closed are slightly shorter in duration, and stronger, in comparison when it is open. Playing one of the two tones faintly produces sound from the other, and also from the sides of the instrument, especially with the under-side cavity open. The musical intervals that are observed in these instruments do not correspond exactly to conventional Western tunings. Los teponaztlis del Museo de Antropología de México son los instrumentos musicales aztecas más emblemáticos. Por ello, los objetivos de esta investigación fueron identificar correctamente la madera usada para su manufactura y realizar el análisis acústico para determinar los parámetros relevantes. La identificación de la madera consistió en la comparación de los caracteres anatómicos de los instrumentos con los de las especies conocidas de una colección de maderas y de otras fuentes. El análisis multivariado muestra que, en un espacio discriminante, las especies se separan por el porcentaje de rayos uniseriados y parcialmente biseriados (primera forma) y por el grosor de la pared de la fibra (segunda). Los resultados muestran que estos instrumentos fueron elaborados con madera de Dalbergia, y el análisis sugiere proximidad de los teponaztlis con Dalbergia palo-escrito y con D. granadillo. El análisis acústico se realizó en registros digitales del sonido de los instrumentos tocados con la cavidad inferior cerrada o abierta. Se encontró que los intervalos musicales entre los dos tonos son desde ligeramente inferiores a una tercera mayor, hasta ligeramente superiores a una quinta. Los tonos producidos con la cavidad inferior cerrada fueron ligeramente más cortos en duración y más intensos que con la cavidad abierta. Se encontró que al tocar alguno de los dos tonos se produce débilmente sonido del otro tono, y también sonido de las partes laterales del instrumento, especialmente cuando la cavidad inferior está abierta. Los intervalos musicales observados no coinciden con los sistemas de afinación convencionales de la Música occidental. Instituto de Ecología, A.C. 2019-07-19 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Artículo evaluado por pares application/pdf application/xml https://myb.ojs.inecol.mx/index.php/myb/article/view/e2511690 10.21829/myb.2019.2511690 Madera y Bosques; Vol. 25 No. 1 (2019): Spring 2019 Madera y Bosques; Vol. 25 Núm. 1 (2019): Primavera 2019 2448-7597 1405-0471 eng https://myb.ojs.inecol.mx/index.php/myb/article/view/e2511690/1933 https://myb.ojs.inecol.mx/index.php/myb/article/view/e2511690/1941 Derechos de autor 2019 Madera y Bosques |
| spellingShingle | Herrera-Castro, Mariano Quintanar-Isaías, Alejandra Orduña-Bustamante, Felipe Olmedo-Vera, Bertina Jaramillo-Pérez, Ana Teresa Wood identification and acoustic analysis of three original Aztec teponaztli musical instruments |
| title | Wood identification and acoustic analysis of three original Aztec teponaztli musical instruments |
| title_full | Wood identification and acoustic analysis of three original Aztec teponaztli musical instruments |
| title_fullStr | Wood identification and acoustic analysis of three original Aztec teponaztli musical instruments |
| title_full_unstemmed | Wood identification and acoustic analysis of three original Aztec teponaztli musical instruments |
| title_short | Wood identification and acoustic analysis of three original Aztec teponaztli musical instruments |
| title_sort | wood identification and acoustic analysis of three original aztec teponaztli musical instruments |
| url | https://myb.ojs.inecol.mx/index.php/myb/article/view/e2511690 |
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