Laya Estimation for Hindustani Classical Vocals, Devoid of Rhythmic Indicators

Laya, also known as Tempo, is an integral part of music. The human body intuitively sways or taps to the tempo while listening to any rhythmic music. Laya depends on two parameters. The first parameter is the number of beats and its structure. The second parameter is the speed. Tempo estimation has previously been achieved for music containing percussive elements. These elements can either be from rhythmic instruments or they can be repetitive melodic sounds. The challenge in Hindustani music, comprising of only vocals, is the lack of any such easily distinguishable rhythmic elements. Hence, existing methods do not deliver satisfactory results. The method proposed in this paper, to extract the tempo has been designed to work exclusively with Hindustani vocal music. This work achieves a minimum accuracy of 95%. The method has been tested for different Taalas, Ragas, and a wide range of tempi.