In
signal analysis
Signal processing is an electrical engineering subfield that focuses on analyzing, modifying and synthesizing ''signals'', such as sound, images, and scientific measurements. Signal processing techniques are used to optimize transmissions, di ...
, beat detection is using
computer software
Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work.
At the lowest programming level, executable code consists ...
or
computer hardware to detect the beat of a
music
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...
al score. There are many methods available and beat detection is always a tradeoff between accuracy and speed. Beat detectors are common in music visualization software such as some
media player plugins. The
algorithm
In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm () is a finite sequence of rigorous instructions, typically used to solve a class of specific problems or to perform a computation. Algorithms are used as specifications for performing ...
s used may utilize simple statistical models based on
sound energy
In physics, sound energy is a form of energy that can be heard by living things. Only those waves that have a frequency of 16 Hz to 20 kHz are audible to humans. However, this range is an average and will slightly change from individ ...
or may involve sophisticated
comb filter
In signal processing, a comb filter is a filter implemented by adding a delayed version of a signal to itself, causing constructive and destructive interference. The frequency response of a comb filter consists of a series of regularly space ...
networks or other means. They may be fast enough to run in
real time or may be so slow as to only be able to analyze short sections of songs.
See also
*
Pitch detection
Pitch may refer to:
Acoustic frequency
* Pitch (music), the perceived frequency of sound including "definite pitch" and "indefinite pitch"
** Absolute pitch or "perfect pitch"
** Pitch class, a set of all pitches that are a whole number of octave ...
External links
Beat This > Beat Detection AlgorithmAudio Analysis using the Discrete Wavelet Transform
Signal processing
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