Chromatopes of Noh: An Analysis of Timbral Progressions in the Introductions to Three Plays

Although it is widely known that timbre serves an expressive means integral to the instrumental and vocal sounds of noh, little research has been undertaken to reveal the impact of timbral designs upon conceptions of musical form with any amount of precision. The following article presents an approach to form in noh specifically from the vantage point of timbre with the aid of spectrographic imaging software, which allows one to discuss elements of the acoustic spectrum in detail. We name these timbre designs “chromatopes” (chroma meaning color, and topos referring to a spatial motif or path).