Computational Approaches to Instrumentation Analysis with Timbre Trait Profiles
Lindsey Reymore · 2026
Abstract Within a musical work, instrumentation often contributes to musical organization, expressive character, narrative, and meaning. This chapter introduces computational approaches to instrumentation and explores how such approaches can support music theoretical analysis of individual works. I first review the Timbre Trait Profiles, a set of participant-generated characterizations of prototypical instrument timbre qualia that can be used in instrumentation analysis. The next section of the chapter considers goals and caveats associated with instrumentation analysis and describes three computationally derived measures: instrumental diversity, hierarchical clustering of instrument combinations, and instrument timbre qualia. The final part of the chapter offers an analysis of the first movement of Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 for the purpose of demonstrating how the types of computational results described thus far can motivate analysis that engages with multiple disciplinary perspectives.