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Though the article mentions a low-pass strategy, it doesn't specify anything about needing a kick. There is a lot of frequency overlap between a kick and say to

Though the article mentions a low-pass strategy, it doesn't specify anything about needing a kick. There is a lot of frequency overlap between a kick and say toms, snares, so any percussive element should do. And if you have no beat in that range, then you'd probably not use the low-pass strategy described there. I would add that a song must have percussive elements in order to have a "beat" as described by the article. It can have a tempo without a beat (think organ music), but this is called beat detection, not tempo detection.

stephencanon 11y ago
> a song must have percussive elements in order to have a "beat" as described by the article. "You can think to the beat of a song as the rythm you tap your foot at while listening to it." By the stated definition, almost all music has a beat, whether or not it has percussive elements.
- betenoire 11y ago
  a percussive element has little to no attack, and a quick decay. It doesn't have to be drums, you can play a trumpet or flute "percussively". The article also says it's the "beat" that makes you dance. A barbershop quartet can have a beat with just vocals. I'm not disagreeing with what you wrote, just explaining why I think a kick isn't necessary for beat detection, even though it makes it easier.
smosher_ 11y ago
Did you even read the article? The article's description of "beat" doesn't conflict with the musical term but yours does. In fact the article even relates beats to tempo and describes the results in terms of tempo. This is about tempo detection. The reason this technique is called "beat detection" is it can be used to collect the individual beats from the stream contrasted with knowing the just the tempo doesn't tell you where the beats are exactly (and doesn't help a lick with finding the off-beats.) Tempo detection is only one product of these algorithms, and guesses can be constructed from any of them, though sometimes additional heuristics are needed. The accuracy of the LPF technique is well worth criticizing. Yes, it's fairly good, but it's not the best one we have and the article says part 2 will describe a better technique. I should note that even organs and vocals can create transients that are often associated with beats. The LPF probably does better simply by eliminating false-positives.
- betenoire 11y ago
  who the fuck are you arguing with? Yes I read the article, and the linked-to articles within. I've read much more too. I'm simply saying a kick isn't necessary to do beat detection. Would you like to address that point?

stephencanon 11y ago

> a song must have percussive elements in order to have a "beat" as described by the article. "You can think to the beat of a song as the rythm you tap your foot at while listening to it." By the stated definition, almost all music has a beat, whether or not it has percussive elements.

betenoire 11y ago
a percussive element has little to no attack, and a quick decay. It doesn't have to be drums, you can play a trumpet or flute "percussively". The article also says it's the "beat" that makes you dance. A barbershop quartet can have a beat with just vocals. I'm not disagreeing with what you wrote, just explaining why I think a kick isn't necessary for beat detection, even though it makes it easier.

smosher_ 11y ago

Did you even read the article? The article's description of "beat" doesn't conflict with the musical term but yours does. In fact the article even relates beats to tempo and describes the results in terms of tempo. This is about tempo detection. The reason this technique is called "beat detection" is it can be used to collect the individual beats from the stream contrasted with knowing the just the tempo doesn't tell you where the beats are exactly (and doesn't help a lick with finding the off-beats.) Tempo detection is only one product of these algorithms, and guesses can be constructed from any of them, though sometimes additional heuristics are needed. The accuracy of the LPF technique is well worth criticizing. Yes, it's fairly good, but it's not the best one we have and the article says part 2 will describe a better technique. I should note that even organs and vocals can create transients that are often associated with beats. The LPF probably does better simply by eliminating false-positives.

betenoire 11y ago
who the fuck are you arguing with? Yes I read the article, and the linked-to articles within. I've read much more too. I'm simply saying a kick isn't necessary to do beat detection. Would you like to address that point?