A new approach to the timbral representation of a nine-piece jazz drum set

Many commercial software-based percussive performance tools employ multisampling and programming techniques to simulate human percussive performance. However, several of these simulations aim to produce a level of timbral consistency which is, paradoxically, only achievable using a computer. This is because existing models fail to consider the microtimbral nuances of human percussive performance, and the complexities of drums timbres. Consequently, opportunities exist in the intersection of music, science and technology to sonically represent a nine-piece jazz drum set comprising membranophones and idiophones. This presents challenges ranging from technological implementation and perceptual organisation, to the simulation of music/performance context; and opportunities include the exploration of percussive timbre for compositional purposes. This study, which is part of a wider research project1, describes these challenges and opportunities and proposes a new approach to percussive timbre classification for the purpose of creating a timbral representation of drums for use in compositional software tools.