Acoustic Analysis to Characterize Mizo Folk Songs
Esther Ramdinmawii, Sanghamitra Nath, Vinay Kumar Mittal · 2024
This study is conducted on acoustic examination of six categories of Mizo Folk Songs originating from Mizoram, a North-East Indian state. The identified categories from different sources consist approximately 3 hours of songs in Hunting chants (Hlado), War chants (Bawh hla), Elderly group songs (Pi pu zai), Children's songs (Pawnto hla), and Celebration songs performed on gongs (D â r hla). The primary aim of this study is to identify unique characteristics of Mizo folk songs and facilitate the classification of distinct categories. This paper provides a concise overview of the songs in the database and delves into the analysis conducted, employing fundamental frequency$(F_{0})$, signal energy (E), formants (F1-F5), and spectrograms. The acoustic analysis leverages features derived from both the source and source-system through speech signal processing techniques. Observations suggest that$F_{0}$and$E$in chanting songs are typically higher than normal singing voice. Songs sung in groups are observed to have low$F_{0}$and$E$. The insights gained from the analysis show similarities with folk song studies of other languages and contribute valuable perspectives to the characterization and analysis of Mizo folk songs.