Radif Corpus; Symbolic Dataset for Non-Metric Iranian Classical Music

RADIF CORPUS: A SYMBOLIC DATASET FOR NON-METRIC IRANIAN
CLASSICAL MUSIC
Mazia Kanani
Uni e si y o Galway
[email p o ec ed]
Sean O’Lea y
TU Dublin
[email p o ec ed]
James McDe mo
Uni e si y o Galway
[email p o ec ed]
ABSTRACT
Non-me ic music o ms he co e o he epe oi e in
I anian classical music. Das g¯
ahi music se es as he un-
de lying heo e ical sys em o bo h I anian a music and
ce ain olk adi ions. A he hea o I anian classical mu-
sic lies he adi , a ounda ional epe oi e ha o ganizes
melodic ma e ial cen al o pe o mance and pedagogy.
In his s udy, we in oduce he i s digi al co pus ep-
esen ing he comple e non-me ical adi epe oi e, co -
e ing all 13 exis ing componen s o his epe oi e. We
p o ide MIDI iles (abou 281 minu es in o al) and da a
sp eadshee s desc ibing no es, no e du a ions, in e als,
and hie a chical s uc u es o 228 pieces o music. We
ai h ully ep esen he onali y including qua e - ones,
and he non-me ic aspec . Fu he mo e, we p o ide sup-
po ing basic s a is ics, and measu es o complexi y and
simila i y o e he co pus.
Ou co pus p o ides a pla o m o compu a ional s ud-
ies o I anian classical music. Resea che s migh employ i
in s udying melodic pa e ns, in es iga ing imp o isa ional
s yles, o o o he asks in music in o ma ion e ie al,
music heo y, and compu a ional (e hno)musicology.
1. INTRODUCTION
While e hnic music adi ions om a ound he wo ld ha e
ecen ly gained mo e a en ion in compu a ional esea ch,
many s ill lack he necessa y da ase s o suppo such s ud-
ies. I an, wi h i s ich di e si y o e hnic and olk musical
adi ions, o e s g ea po en ial o compu a ional analysis
ha e lec s i s egional musical iden i y.
In his wo k, we ake a s ep owa d add essing his gap
by in oducing a da ase speci ically ocused on I anian
non-me ic classical music, aiming o suppo and inspi e
u u e s udies in his a ea. We begin by in oducing I anian
classical music and i s co e epe oi e, he adi . A e e-
iewing p e iously published da ase s, we p esen ou own
da ase in de ail. Finally, we p o ide a s a is ical and i-
sual o e iew o he da ase , which can se e as a use ul
e e ence o esea che s and p ac i ione s.
© M. Kanani, S. O’Lea y, and J. McDe mo . Licensed un-
de a C ea i e Commons A ibu ion 4.0 In e na ional License (CC BY
4.0). A ibu ion: M. Kanani, S. O’Lea y, and J. McDe mo , “Radi
Co pus: A Symbolic Da ase o Non-me ic I anian Classical Music”,
in P oc. o he 26 h In . Socie y o Music In o ma ion Re ie al Con .,
Daejeon, Sou h Ko ea, 2025.
1.1 Founda ions o I anian Classical Music
I anian classical music comes om a la ge s yle o mu-
sic called das g¯
ahi music. This e m desc ibes he heo-
e ical amewo k unde lying I anian classical music and
ce ain s yles o I anian olk music, such as bakh i¯
a i. The
co e epe oi e o I anian classical music is adi (li e ally
"o de "), a s uc u ed collec ion o melodies ansmi ed
ac oss gene a ions and ounda ional o pe o mance and
pedagogy.
Radi is a collec ion o melodies o ganized in o a spe-
ci ic sequence, ypically di ided in o 12 subca ego ies ( a-
di ionally 13). Ou o hese, se en a e p ima y subca e-
go ies known as das g¯
ah, and i e ( espec i ely six) a e
seconda y, e e ed o as ¯
a ¯
az, which can also be consid-
e ed as smalle das g¯
ah and se e as subca ego ies o he
p ima y se en. Each o hese subca ego ies is known o i s
dis inc i e cha ac e is ics. They a e ypically ecognized
based on hei main mode (In oduced in he i s g¯
usheh),
he unc ional oles o hei ones wi hin ha mode, and he
speci ic sequence o g¯
ushehs wi hin hem.
The das g¯
ahs a e: shu ,seg¯
ah,na ¯
a,hom¯
ay¯
un,
chah¯
a g¯
ah,m¯
ah¯
u , and ¯
as panjg¯
ah.
The ¯
a ¯
azes a e: bay¯
a -e-ko d,bay¯
a -e- o k (also e-
e ed o as bay¯
a -e-zand), dash ¯
ı,ab¯
u’a ¯
a,a sh¯
a ¯
ı, and
bay¯
a -e-es ah¯
an.
Among he six ¯
a ¯
azes,bay¯
a -e-es ah¯
an is a subca ego y
o he hom¯
ay¯
un, while he emaining a e subca ego ies o
he shu . In many accoun s, adi is conside ed o ha e
5¯
a ¯
azes, as bay¯
a -e-ko d is o en omi ed. The eason is
ha mos expe s dispu e he equi emen o ecognizing
i as a independen ¯
a ¯
az. In his s udy, we ha e included
bay¯
a -e-ko d o ensu e a comple e ep esen a ion.
Each o hese subca ego ies comp ises pieces called
g¯
ushehs. These g¯
ushehs can ange om being as b ie as a
single sen ence o as ex ensi e as a ull composi ion, wi h
pe o mances las ing se e al minu es.
G¯
ushehs can be di ided in o h ee ypes: modal,
melodic, and hy hmic. Modal g¯
ushehs a e played o in-
oduce a mode as a small amewo k o imp o isa ion.
Melodic g¯
ushehs in oduce a speci ic melody and i s a ia-
ions, whe e ha speci ic melody emains ixed in di e en
pe o mance e sions. Rhy hmic g¯
ushehs ep esen a spe-
ci ic hy hm and i s a ia ions. The same g¯
usheh names
may appea in di e en das g¯
ahs o ¯
a ¯
azes.Ke eshmeh is
a hy hmic g¯
usheh ha appea s mul iple imes in he adi ,
sha ing he same hy hmic pa e n in each case. Ano he
60
example is haz¯
ın, a melody ha is pe o med in di e en
modes; i is classi ied as a melodic g¯
usheh.Qa acheh is an
example o a modal g¯
usheh ha appea s in mo e han one
das g¯
ah.
The e m ¯
a ¯
az has h ee meanings: 1) b oadly, i e e s
o singing; 2) mo e gene ally, i e e s o I anian non-
me ic music; and 3) mo e speci ically, i signi ies he seg-
men s o adi ha a e smalle han a das g¯
ah. This s udy
ocuses on he hi d de ini ion, hough he o he wo mean-
ings a e cla i ied whe e ele an .
Non-me ic music e e s o musical o ganiza ion ha
lacks egula me e while po en ially main aining o he
empo al s uc u es [1]. The dis inc ion be ween non-
me ic music and ee- hy hm music cen e s on he p ese -
a ion o p opo ional du a ional ela ionships. [2] de ines
ee hy hm as “ he hy hm o music wi hou pe cei ed
pe iodic o ganiza ion,” encompassing music whe e em-
po al o ganiza ion se es non- hy hmic goals such as ex
ansmission o melodic exposi ion. We conside ha non-
me ic music main ains ela i e p opo ional ela ionships
be ween no e du a ions despi e lacking me ical o ganiza-
ion, while ee- hy hm music may abandon p opo ional
consis ency en i ely.
Tsuge discusses he concep o non-me ic music and
emphasizes i s g ea e impo ance in I anian music com-
pa ed o o he adi ions [3]. He explains ha he hy hmic
s uc u e o ¯
a ¯
az (second de ini ion) music is mainly based
on he poe ic hy hm sys em, whe e a epea ing pa e n o
di e en numbe and size o syllables shapes i s hy hm.
This s uc u e is closely connec ed o he na u e o he Pe -
sian (Fa si) language and i s classical poe y sys em which
plays a signi ican ole in how he melody is o med and
pe cei ed. Kanani and Azadeh a [4] desc ibed he key
¯
a ¯
az (second de ini ion) pa e ns commonly ound in non-
me ic adi ional I anian ocal music.
The exac o igins o he adi sys em in I anian music
a e no clea ly de ined. Some sou ces, like B uno Ne l, be-
lie e i o igina ed in he 17 h cen u y, while o he s sugges
he 18 h cen u y as he s a ing poin [5–7]. Wha is clea ,
howe e , is ha adi de eloped om he la e Sa a id e a
(1670s-1730s) h ough o he mid-Q¯
aj¯
a pe iod (1850s).
The lack o p ecise da ing can be linked o he o al adi-
ion o his music and he absence o eco ding echnology
a he ime.
I is belie ed ha adi was c ea ed o suppo he each-
ing o musical modes and o enhance skills in imp o i-
sa ion and modula ion wi hin I anian a music [8]. The
same adi can be in e p e ed di e en ly by di e en mu-
sicians, and once a s uden becomes a mas e , hey a e able
o de elop hei own e sion o he adi . O e ime, many
p ominen music mas e s ha e c ea ed hei own in e p e-
a ions, leading o di e en e sions o adi . These musi-
cians de eloped hei adi based on hei pe sonal unde -
s anding, expe ience, and exp ession o I anian modes, ei-
he o hei own pe o mances o o each younge lea n-
e s. T adi ionally, adi was passed down o ally om mas-
e o s uden , p ese ing i s legacy and echnical de ails
h ough gene a ions.
The e sion o adi cu a ed by musician and educa o
M¯
ı z¯
a ’Abdoll¯
ah has become he mos widely used choice
in p i a e lessons, uni e si y music educa ion and conse -
a o ies o e he pas cen u y. Ini ially, i was mainly asso-
cia ed wi h he ¯
a and se ¯
a ins umen s, bu oday, i has
been adap ed and pe o med on many key I anian ins u-
men s, including kamancheh,san ¯
u ,ney,q¯
an¯
un,o¯
ud, and
qeychak.
1.2 Explo ing Da ase s
In ecen yea s, he c ea ion and sha ing o digi al music
co po a has gained signi ican a en ion among esea che s
in a eas such as music in o ma ion e ie al, compu a-
ional musicology, and na u al language p ocessing. Va -
ious s udies ha e demons a ed ha well-cu a ed da ase s
can acili a e analysis o bo h symbolic and audio musi-
cal ea u es, he eby p omo ing new insigh s in o musical
adi ions [9,10], s yles, and echnologies.
Many music in o ma ion e ie al (MIR) co po a a e
p ima ily audio-based, wi h anno a ions o pi ch, iming,
s uc u al in o ma ion, e c., e.g. [11, 12], while o he s a e
symbolic / sco e-based. O he la e , some a e based on
au oma ed eading o pape sco es [13]. Ou s di e s in
ha we ha e manually w i en he digi al sco e.
Conside ing o he musical adi ions in he geog aphi-
cal egion, he e is no symbolic co pus a ailable o A a-
bic Maq¯
am music, whe eas a symbolic co pus does exis
o Tu kish Makams, known as SymbT [14].
The e a e some audio da ase s ela ed o hese musi-
cal adi ions, such as he Dunya co pus, which includes
Tu kish Makam [15], Ca na ic, Hindus ani [16], Beijing
Ope a [17], and A ab-Andalusian music [18]. The Dunya
co pus is pa o a la ge p ojec called CompMusic [19].
To he bes o ou knowledge, he e was no symbolic
co pus a ailable o I anian music be o e ou p e ious
wo k, in which we in oduced he Shou Co pus [20]. This
co pus includes one sec ion o he adi (shu ) and was
used in ou s udy on disco e ing pa e ns and p oducing
meaning ul a ia ions h ough g amma ical ep esen a ion
(comp ession) in his musical s yle.
KUG Das g¯
ahi [21] and [22] a e wo audio da ase s o
I anian music. Na a [23] is an audio da ase designed o
I anian ins umen ecogni ion, while A -MGC is a da ase
o A abic music gen e classi ica ion [24].
1.3 Ou Con ibu ion
A he ime o w i ing his pape , o he bes o ou knowl-
edge, he e is no symbolic da ase co e ing he en i e adi .
This led us o c ea e he Radi Co pus, which includes all
non-me ic pieces om M¯
ı z¯
a ’Abdoll¯
ah’s adi . Ou o he
se e al ansc ip ions o M¯
ı z¯
a ’Abdoll¯
ah’s adi , we ha e
selec ed he edi ion i led “Radi Analysis - based on he
no a ion o M¯
ı z¯
a ’Abdoll¯
ah’s adi wi h anno a ed isual
desc ip ion” by Da iush Talai [25]. This edi ion consis s
o a eco ded pe o mance, oge he wi h a sco e de i ed
om he pe o mance, no a ed wi h hie a chical s uc u e.
Al hough adi also includes some me ic pieces, which
a e usually pe o med a he end o each das g¯
ah/¯
a ¯
az, ou
P oceedings o he 26 h ISMIR Con e ence, Daejeon, Ko ea, Sep embe 21-25, 2025
61
co pus excludes hem as we a e ocusing on non-me ic
music. Figu e 1 p esen s an example o a ansc ip ion
om he book.
Figu e 1. T ansc ip ion sample om Da iush Talai’s
“Radi Analysis," illus a ing he second g¯
usheh s uc u e
in he shu das g¯
ah. The h ee whi e boxes indica e he
main s uc u al di isions, while he las whi e box con ains
a u he sub-di ision ma ked in g ay.
In [19], Se a iden i ied i e c i ical c i e ia o co po a
in he CompMusic p ojec : Pu pose, Co e age, Comple e-
ness, Quali y, and Reusabili y. These a e c i e ia ha we
also conside ed in ou wo k. Ou pu pose has al eady been
s a ed; Co e age and Comple eness a e achie ed by in-
cluding an en i e adi collec ion. Rega ding Quali y, we
belie e he ansc ip ion is accu a e, as i has been double-
checked by one o he au ho s who is an expe in his mu-
sical s yle. Reusabili y is add essed by p o iding open da a
in a documen ed o ma .
This co pus is a esou ce o MIR, compu a ional musi-
cology, and e hnomusicology, enabling applica ions such
as melodic pa e n ecogni ion, au oma ic ansc ip ion,
and mode classi ica ion. I enables symbolic music gen-
e a ion and AI-assis ed imp o isa ion. The da ase also a-
cili a es c oss-cul u al music s udies, allowing o compa -
a i e analysis wi h Tu kish Makams and A abic Maqams,
as well as ph ase-le el examina ions o melodic p og es-
sion. Addi ionally, i s s uc u ed o ma aids compu-
a ional analysis o non-me ic hy hm and hie a chical
s uc u e unde s anding, making i a ounda ional da ase
o explo ing I anian classical music in bo h adi ional and
compu a ional domains.
2. RADIF CORPUS DESCRIPTION
Ou co pus includes all hese das g¯
ahs/¯
a ¯
azes, ea u ing
228 non-me ic g¯
ushehs. The MIDI iles con ain a o al
o 43,441 no es, wi h a o al playback du a ion o app oxi-
ma ely 16,825 seconds (abou 281 minu es).
The da ase ep esen s each musical piece as a sequence
o no es, whe e o each no e we s o e mic o onal pi ch, du-
a ion, pi ch (qua e ones), in e al, MIDI pi ch numbe
and MIDI bend. Da a o ma s a e cs iles and MIDI iles,
which ha e been manually ansc ibed om he book.
Addi ionally, we p o ide MusicXML iles con e ed
om he CSV da a. These XML iles p ese e he mi-
c o onal pi ch in o ma ion using ac ional <al e > al-
ues ollowing MusicXML 4.0 s anda ds. Fo non-me ic
hy hm ep esen a ion, we use lexible ime signa u es ha
accommoda e he o al du a ion o each piece. Howe e ,
we no e ha some cu en music no a ion so wa e imple-
men a ions show limi a ions in bo h mic o onal playback
and non-me ic ep esen a ion. We obse ed ha qua e -
ones a e no played back co ec ly, and he so wa e
ends o gene a e complex ime signa u es (e.g., 342/8) as
a wo ka ound o ep esen ing non-me ic music, which,
while unc ional, may no p o ide an aes he ically ideal
no a ion display. The MusicXML con e sion sc ip is in-
cluded in he eposi o y o esea che s who wish o ex-
pe imen wi h di e en no a ion so wa e o con ibu e o
imp o ing mic o onal MusicXML ende ing capabili ies.
These iles don’ ep esen hie a chical s uc u es.
The da ase includes se e al igu es ha a e explo ed
u he in he con inua ion o his pape . Ou digi al e -
sion exac ly mimics he pape sou ce, while o simpli y he
da ase and a oid addi ional complexi y, g ace no es o o -
namen s a e no included in he da ase .
The accu a e ep esen a ion o I anian classical music
in ol es dealing wi h wo main issues: non-me ic hy hm
and mic o- onal pi ch. In he ollowing subsec ions, we
desc ibe ou me hods o add ess hese challenges.
Tonali y. No es a e symbolized by
C, D, E, F, G, A, B, wi h acciden al signs including
la (Z), Ko on (k), So i (s), and sha p ( ). He e, “Ko on”
and “So i” indica e mic o- onal adjus men s speci ic
o I anian music - qua e ones lowe and highe ,
espec i ely.
Ch oma ic Scale. Al hough hese in e als sugges a
24-qua e - one ch oma ic scale pe oc a e, which can be
seen in some con empo a y composi ions, I anian ins u-
men s adi ionally employ only 18 speci ic no es: C, DZ,
Dk, D, EZ, Ek, E, F, Fs, F , Gk, G, AZ, Ak, A, BZ, Bk, B,
wi h co esponding qua e - one in e als: 2, 1, 1, 2, 1, 1,
2, 1, 1, 1, 2, 1, 1, 2, 1, 1.
MIDI. Pi ch bend is a commonly used me hod o ep-
esen ing mic o ones in MIDI iles in mic o onal music
s yles. To encode Ko on, we assign i a MIDI no e numbe
one semi one lowe han he na u al no e and a pi ch bend,
i.e. inc ease o 2048 (a qua e one); o So i, he MIDI
no e numbe is he same as he na u al, wi h a pi ch bend
inc ease o 2048.
Oc a es. We conside he lowes no e in he i s g¯
usheh
P oceedings o he 26 h ISMIR Con e ence, Daejeon, Ko ea, Sep embe 21-25, 2025
62
o each das g¯
ah/¯
a ¯
az as he s a no e o he main oc a e.
Fo example in he i s g¯
usheh o ou co pus he lowes
no e is F3 so he main oc a e is om F3 o F4. The mu-
sic in he main oc a e is ep esen ed only by i s symbols
and acciden al signs (i any a e p esen ). Fo no es in oc-
a es o he han he main one, we use ‘+’ o ‘-’ ollowed
by a numbe o indica e he numbe o oc a es abo e o be-
low he main oc a e. Fo example, an Ak om one oc a e
highe han he main oc a e would be w i en as Ak+1.
In e als. The In e als column ep esen s he pi ch
di e ence be ween consecu i e no es, wi h "1" indica ing
a qua e - one s ep.
Du a ions. The e m non-me ic does no mean he
same as ee hy hm. In his musical s yle, no es a e ela ed
o each o he h ough p opo ional du a ion di e ences,
wi h some being longe o sho e han o he s. These e-
la ionships c ea e he hy hmic s uc u e, which is mos ly
ixed and no al e ed by he pe o me . While he exac
du a ions a e no s ic ly de ined, hey can be ca ego ized
in o ou main ypes: e y sho , sho , long, and e y long.
These can be said o co espond o six een h, eigh h, qua -
e , and hal no es [25] and a e nume ically ep esen ed as
1, 2, 4, and 8 in he co pus, whe e 1 hy hmic uni is equi -
alen o 1 six een h no e.
G ea e Hie a chical S uc u es. We also docu-
men ed he hie a chical s uc u e o each piece, as p o ided
in he o iginal p in ed sou ce (see Figu e 1). In ou no a-
ion, b acke s ep esen hie a chical ela ionships, o ming
a ee s uc u e. An open-b acke “[” in he da ashee ma ks
he beginning o a ee node, wi h ollowing no es ep e-
sen ing he con en s o a sec ion o subsec ion un il he
ma ching close-b acke “]”. Each une is enclosed wi hin
b acke s, ep esen ing he oo node. Addi ional pai s o
b acke s de ine child nodes, which can hemsel es con ain
u he subsec ions, o ming a nes ed hie a chy.
Fo example, in Figu e 1, he abs ac hie a chical s uc-
u e can be ep esen ed as [[][][[]]].
The ou e b acke s enclose he en i e une. The second pai
o b acke s de ines he i s sec ion, co e ing he i s h ee
lines in Figu e 1. The hi d pai co esponds o he sec-
ion spanning lines h ee o six. The nex open b acke is
ollowed by ano he open b acke , indica ing he p esence
o a subsec ion, which co esponds o lines eigh and nine.
The subsec ion is highligh ed in he las line.
3. STATISTICAL AND VISUAL OVERVIEW
In he da ase , o each g¯
usheh, we p o ide bo h a pi ch
his og am and an in e al his og am. Figu e 2 p o ides an
example o he in e al his og am o a g¯
usheh.
Each das g¯
ah o ¯
a ¯
az comes wi h a sp eadshee gi ing
in o ma ion abou i s g¯
ushehs, like he numbe o no es and
o al du a ion. Table 1 p esen s he numbe o g¯
ushehs in
each das g¯
ah o ¯
a ¯
az, along wi h he numbe o no es, du-
a ion in bo h uni s and seconds, and pi ch ange.
M¯
ah¯
u has he highes numbe o g¯
ushehs wi h 34, ol-
lowed by chah¯
a g¯
ah wi h 31 and shu wi h 29. I also
con ains he la ges numbe o no es, wi h 6104 in m¯
ah¯
u ,
5788 in chah¯
a g¯
ah, and 4830 in shu . These h ee also
4
3
2
1
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
In e al
0
10
20
30
40
50
F equency
07 - Gab i
Figu e 2. In e al his og am o Gab i, a g¯
usheh in ab¯
u’a ¯
a
ha e he longes du a ions, wi h alues o 12480, 11606,
and 9839 hy hmic uni s, espec i ely.
A sh¯
a ¯
ıhas he ewes g¯
ushehs wi h 4, ollowed by
bay¯
a -e-es ah¯
an wi h 5, and dash ¯
ıand bay¯
a -e-ko d wi h
6 each. The sho es das g¯
ah/¯
a ¯
az in e ms o du a ion is
dash ¯
ı, wi h 1308 no es and a du a ion o 2685 uni s, ol-
lowed by bay¯
a -e-ko d wi h 1360 no es and a du a ion o
2432 uni s. a sh¯
a ¯
ıis he hi d sho es , wi h 1520 no es
and a du a ion o 2681 uni s.
Rega ding indi idual g¯
ushehs,ke eshmeh in seg¯
ah is
he sho es g¯
usheh in he co pus, while bay¯
a -e ¯
aje’ a
o ¯
ud in bay¯
a -e-es ah¯
an is he longes .
das g¯
ah/¯
a ¯
az g¯
usheh
Coun
Numbe
o
No es
To al
Du a ion
(uni )
MIDI Pe o -
mance Du a-
ion (second)
Pi ch Range
Shu 29 4830 9839 1966 [F, AZ+2]
Bay¯
a -e-ko d 6 1360 2432 486 [G-1, AZ+1]
Dash ¯
ı6 1308 2685 536 [F-2, G+1]
Bay¯
a -e- o k 16 2544 4986 996 [F-1, G+1]
Abua a 7 2194 3959 791 [F, AZ+1]
A sh¯
a ¯
ı4 1520 2681 536 [F-1, AZ+1]
Seg¯
ah 20 3283 6559 1310 [F, F+2]
Na ¯
a19 3252 5975 1194 [D-1, C+1]
Hom¯
ay¯
un 27 5323 9780 1954 [D, F+2]
Bay¯
a -e-es ah¯
an 5 1669 3264 652 [D-1, F +1]
Chah¯
a g¯
ah 31 5788 11606 2319 [C-1, G+2]
M¯
ah¯
u 34 6104 12480 2493 [C-1, G+2]
R¯
as panjg¯
ah 24 4266 7958 1590 [D-1, C+2]
Table 1. Summa y o g¯
usheh in o ma ion o each das g¯
ah
and ¯
a ¯
az, including he numbe o g¯
ushehs, o al no es, du-
a ion in uni s and seconds and pi ch ange.
3.1 Melodic P og ession
One o he main objec i es when a musician pe o ms
a comple e conca ena ed das g¯
ah is o ollow sey , o
melodic mo emen [26]. In adi ional I anian music, sey
e e s o he p og ession o melodies wi hin a piece, shap-
ing he o e all pi ch di ec ion o he music h ough i s in-
oduc ion, de elopmen , climax, and esolu ion.
Sey unde lines he impo ance o ansi ional no es and
melodic ph ases in es ablishing he iden i y and modal
cha ac e o he piece. These elemen s play a c ucial ole
in guiding he melodic low om one sec ion o ano he ,
ensu ing a cohe en and exp essi e musical jou ney.
Each das g¯
ah/¯
a ¯
az olde includes a pi ch con ou plo
o show i s sey . The pi ch con ou plo illus a es how he
melody and pi ch e ol e ac oss di e en g¯
ushehs.
P oceedings o he 26 h ISMIR Con e ence, Daejeon, Ko ea, Sep embe 21-25, 2025
63
01 - Da amad-e A al
02 - Dogah
03 - Da amad-e Do om
04 - Da amad-e Se om
05 - Haji Hasani
06 - Bas eh-Nega
07 - Zanguleh
08 - Khos a ani
09 - Naghmeh
10 - Feyli
11 - Shekas eh
12 - Meh abani
13 - Jameh-da an
14 - Mehdi Za abi
15 - Ruh ol- a ah
16 - Qa a
Gusheh
F-1D-1Ek-1 F G Ak Bb C D EbF+1G+1
Mic o onal Pi ch
0 0 0 0.052 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.036 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.005 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.010 0 0
0.057 0.028 0.008 0.003 0.011 0.009 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.030 0 0.104
0.075 0.028 0.032 0.003 0.011 0 0 0 0 0 0.026 0.024 0.007 0.081 0.181 0.199
0.264 0.187 0.207 0.110 0.078 0.054 0.058 0.045 0.064 0.022 0.039 0.106 0.103 0.203 0.381 0.283
0.340 0.449 0.355 0.310 0.251 0.232 0.250 0.149 0.277 0.130 0.065 0.220 0.267 0.365 0.310 0.275
0.255 0.280 0.291 0.313 0.263 0.429 0.365 0.119 0.436 0.152 0.091 0.195 0.260 0.249 0.078 0.101
0.009 0.028 0.088 0.158 0.162 0.205 0.231 0.194 0.223 0.261 0.156 0.220 0.199 0.056 0.014 0.038
0 0 0.020 0.045 0.123 0.071 0.096 0.179 0 0.239 0.325 0.187 0.123 0 0 0
0 0 0 0.006 0.073 0 0 0.269 0 0.174 0.299 0.041 0.034 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0.028 0 0 0.045 0 0.022 0 0.008 0.007 0 0 0
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
No malized F equency
Figu e 3. Hea map o pi ch occu ences ac oss 16 g¯
ushehs in bay¯
a -e- o k ¯
a ¯
az, shown along he ime axis, illus a ing
onal unc ionali y in each g¯
usheh and shi s in he mos epea ed one h oughou he melodic p og ession.
3.2 Analyzing he Func ionali y o Pi ches
One o he o he key di e ences be ween I anian classi-
cal music and Wes e n music lies in how he cen al pi ch
is ea ed. In Wes e n music, he onic (o oo no e) is he
main pi ch a ound which a key is buil , p o iding a sense o
s abili y and esolu ion. In con as , I anian music uses he
concep o sh¯
ahed, a pi ch ha is emphasized o se es as a
ocal poin wi hin an ¯
a ¯
az o das g¯
ah, bu does no neces-
sa ily ac as he inal es ing no e. The sh¯
ahed can shi o
be e-emphasized wi hin a das g¯
ah/¯
a ¯
az pe o mance. Ad-
di ionally, Pe sian music dis inguishes be ween he sh¯
ahed
(poin o ocus), Is (s ops o longe es s h ough ph ases
o melody) and Kha emeh (caden ial no es), while in Wes -
e n heo y, he onic usually plays all h ee oles. Due o
hese di e ences, he sh¯
ahed and onic may occasionally
coincide, bu hey ep esen dis inc concep s. Unde s and-
ing his dis inc ion is essen ial o analyzing he s uc u e
and ph asing o I anian classical music. We don’ anno-
a e any o hese concep s in he da ase as he e is some
ambigui y in hem and hey a e no p o ided in he sou ce.
Fig. 3 shows he equency o occu ence o each pi ch
in each une. This plo can be adap ed o s udying pi ch
unc ionali y in each g¯
usheh. I also shows how he mos
epea ed pi ch has shi ed. This hea map can be ound in
he da ase o each das g¯
ah/¯
a ¯
az.
3.3 Complexi y Analysis
McCo mack e al. [27] a gue ha complexi y is undamen-
al o human c ea i i y and obse e ha mos a occupies a
middle g ound—nei he oo simple no oo complex. Ou
p e ious wo ks [20, 28, 29] and ongoing esea ch a emp
o compa e musical complexi y ac oss di e en pieces.
We calcula ed he no malized Pa hway Assembly Index
(PAI) [30] o assess he complexi y o each g¯
usheh. The
PAI ep esen s he numbe o s eps needed o econs uc
a melody h ough he bina y conca ena ion o pi ches
and p e ious conca ena ions (e.g., {a, b, c, d,
} -> ca -> ab -> a -> cad -> ab a ->
cadab a -> ab acadab a [30] gi es PAI=7). The
no malized PAI is he PAI di ided by he une leng h.
Da amad
Jameh-da an
Baya -e Raje a Fo ud
Naghmeh
Suz-o godaz
0.33
0.35
0.38
0.40
0.43
0.45
0.48
0.50
No malized PAI
No malized PAI (In e al)
No malized PAI (Pi ch)
Figu e 4. No malised complexi y ac oss bay¯
a -e-es ah¯
an
Figu e 4 displays he no malized PAI o ¯
a ¯
az bay¯
a -e-
es ah¯
an, whe e we calcula e PAI o e he une ep esen ed
as pi ches, and hen sepa a ely o e he une ep esen ed
as in e als. Ac oss he da ase , he a e age PAI is 0.47.
Speci ically, shu (pi ch) shows he highes complexi y
a 0.51, while a sh¯
a ¯
ı(pi ch) eco ds he lowes a 0.36.
Highe complexi y means less epe i i e pa e ns. We
didn’ obse e any consis en end in complexi y wi hin
das g¯
ah/¯
a ¯
az.
3.4 Simila i y Analysis
An in e es ing aspec is he compa ison o simila i-
ies wi hin each das g¯
ah/¯
a ¯
az and ac oss he en i e
da ase . We analyzed simila i y using no malized
Dame au-Le ensh ein dis ance, a me hod commonly used
o melody simila i y compa ison [31, 32]. Speci ically,
pi ch sequences we e compa ed wi hin each das g¯
ah/¯
a ¯
az,
and in e al sequences we e used o compa isons ac oss
he en i e da ase . This app oach helps o limi he e -
ec s o musical ansposi ion and iden i ies simila mo i s’
mo emen s ha appea in di e en sec ions o he adi .
Figu e 5 p esen s a simila i y ma ix o he 228 g¯
ushehs
in he da ase , wi h co esponding ma ices o each indi-
idual das g¯
ah/¯
a ¯
az a ailable in he co pus. 1
We added ho izon al and e ical lines o isually sep-
1High- esolu ion e sion o he simila i y ma ix: h ps://
limewi e.com/d/IXH5G#ZUZyGVbiqi
P oceedings o he 26 h ISMIR Con e ence, Daejeon, Ko ea, Sep embe 21-25, 2025
64

Shou
Baya -e-ko d
Dash i
Baya -e-To k
Abua a
A sha i
Segah
Na a
Homayoun
Baya -e Es ahan
Chaha gah
Mahou
Ras Panjgah
Shou
Baya -e-ko d
Dash i
Baya -e-To k
Abua a
A sha i
Segah
Na a
Homayoun
Baya -e Es ahan
Chaha gah
Mahou
Ras Panjgah
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
Figu e 5. Simila i y ma ix ac oss he co pus. Ligh colou s indica e high simila i y.
a a e each das g¯
ah/¯
a ¯
az. This igu e highligh s no able
musical esemblances: he sho diagonal lines e.g. nea
bo om-cen e indica e s ong simila i ies among some
g¯
ushehs in chah¯
a g¯
ah and seg¯
ah, as well as among some
in hom¯
ay¯
un and ¯
as panjg¯
ah.
The la ge squa e block in he op-le co ne sugges s
ha all das g¯
ahs/¯
a ¯
azes wi hin ha egion ( om sh¯
u o
na ¯
a) sha e signi ican simila i ies. Fu he mo e, he ig-
u e e ec i ely illus a es he sel -simila i y wi hin mos
das g¯
ah/¯
a ¯
az. All excep hom¯
ay¯
un o m dis inc blocks
along he diagonal line ha ep esen hese in e nal simila -
i ies. The block in he bo om- igh con i ms he simila i y
be ween m¯
ah¯
u and ¯
as panjg¯
ah.
A p ominen poin along his diagonal co esponds
o se e al g¯
ushehs wi h s ong mu ual esemblance. In
hom¯
ay¯
un, se e al g¯
ushehs a e named a e no ¯
uz (no ¯
uz
‘a ab’,no ¯
uz sab¯
a, and no ¯
uz kh¯
a ¯
a), and pa s o hese
a e highly simila . These indings could pa e he way o
u he s udies based on hese musical simila i ies ma ices
in u u e esea ch.
4. AVAILABILITY AND ACCESS
The Radi Co pus is openly a ailable on Zenodo unde
he DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.15742125. I includes he mu-
sical da a in CSV MIDI, and MusicXML o ma s. In addi-
ion, i con ains suppo ing igu es, pi ch and in e al his-
og ams, pi ch con ou plo s, and simila i y ma ices o
eachdas g¯
ah and ¯
a ¯
az.
All ma e ials a e eleased unde a CC-BY 4.0 license,
allowing o euse and adap a ion wi h p ope c edi . Re-
sea che s a e encou aged o ci e his pape when using he
da ase in academic o c ea i e wo k.
5. CONCLUSION
In his pape , we ha e in oduced he Radi Co pus, a com-
p ehensi e symbolic da ase o I anian classical music
ha co e s all 13 das g¯
ah/¯
a ¯
az o his adi ion, speci i-
cally he non-me ic pieces om M¯
ı z¯
a ’Abdoll¯
ah’s adi .
This da ase add esses he non-me ic co e o I anian a
music by documen ing mic o onal pi ch, melodic p og es-
sions, and hie a chical s uc u es ac oss 228 pieces. By
o e ing de ailed anno a ions in bo h MIDI and CSV o -
ma s, he Radi Co pus p o ides a aluable pla o m o
esea ch in music in o ma ion e ie al, music heo y, and
compu a ional (e hno)musicology. We hope i will inspi e
u u e explo a ions o I anian classical music and se e as
a ounda ional esou ce o ad ancing analy ical and c e-
a i e s udies in his domain.
6. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This wo k was conduc ed wi h he inancial suppo
o he Resea ch I eland Cen e o Resea ch T aining
in Digi ally-Enhanced Reali y (d- eal) unde G an No.
18/CRT/6224. Fo he pu pose o Open Access, he au-
ho has applied a CC-BY public copy igh license o any
Au ho Accep ed Manusc ip e sion a ising om his sub-
mission.
P oceedings o he 26 h ISMIR Con e ence, Daejeon, Ko ea, Sep embe 21-25, 2025
65
7. ETHICS STATEMENT
Ou wo k uses publicly a ailable music co po a and does
no in ol e human pa icipan s di ec ly. The music collec-
ion is pa o he I anian classical music adi ion, which
is no i sel owned o copy igh ed by any indi idual com-
pose . The edi ion we ha e used is used by pe mission o
he au ho .
This musical adi ion is cul u ally impo an , and we
ha e ied o be espec ul and ca e ul in how we alk abou
i and use i .
The au ho s decla e no con lic s o in e es .
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