| | --- |
| | license: cc0-1.0 |
| | task_categories: |
| | - audio-classification |
| | tags: |
| | - drum-samples |
| | - percussion |
| | - one-shot |
| | - sample-library |
| | - idiophones |
| | - membranophones |
| | pretty_name: VCSL Percussion |
| | size_categories: |
| | - 1K<n<10K |
| | configs: |
| | - config_name: default |
| | data_files: |
| | - split: train |
| | path: data/train-* |
| | dataset_info: |
| | features: |
| | - name: audio |
| | dtype: audio |
| | - name: filename |
| | dtype: string |
| | - name: instrument |
| | dtype: string |
| | - name: relative_path |
| | dtype: string |
| | splits: |
| | - name: train |
| | num_bytes: 1656709710 |
| | num_examples: 1542 |
| | download_size: 1255215594 |
| | dataset_size: 1656709710 |
| | --- |
| | |
| | # VCSL Percussion |
| |
|
| | ## Quick Start |
| |
|
| | ```python |
| | from datasets import load_dataset |
| | |
| | # Stream to avoid downloading the entire dataset |
| | ds = load_dataset("schismaudio/vcsl-percussion", streaming=True) |
| | |
| | # Or download locally |
| | ds = load_dataset("schismaudio/vcsl-percussion") |
| | ``` |
| |
|
| | ## Dataset Description |
| |
|
| | **VCSL Percussion** is the percussion subset of the [Versilian Community Sample Library (VCSL)](https://github.com/sgossner/VCSL), a free, open community project providing high-quality instrument samples for composers and developers. This subset contains 1,524 WAV samples across two Hornbostel-Sachs families: **Idiophones** (struck, friction, and plucked instruments whose bodies vibrate to produce sound) and **Membranophones** (instruments that produce sound from a vibrating membrane). |
| |
|
| | The full VCSL library covers orchestral and world instruments; this dataset extracts only the percussion-relevant directories, totaling approximately 1.5 GB. All samples are released under the **CC0-1.0 (public domain)** license, meaning no attribution is required and the samples can be used for any purpose without restriction. |
| |
|
| | ## Dataset Structure |
| |
|
| | ### Data Fields |
| |
|
| | | Field | Type | Description | |
| | |-------|------|-------------| |
| | | `audio` | `Audio` | WAV file, typically 44.1 or 48 kHz | |
| | | `filename` | `string` | Original filename | |
| | | `instrument` | `string` | Instrument name derived from directory path | |
| | | `family` | `string` | Top-level family: `Idiophones` or `Membranophones` | |
| | | `subcategory` | `string` | Playing technique category (e.g., `Struck Idiophones`, `Struck Membranophones`) | |
| |
|
| | ### Directory Structure |
| |
|
| | ``` |
| | Idiophones/ |
| | Friction Idiophones/ (16 samples) |
| | Wine Glasses |
| | Plucked Idiophones/ (109 samples) |
| | Kalimba (Kenya, Tanzania) |
| | Mbira (multiple regional variants) |
| | Nyunga Nyunga |
| | Struck Idiophones/ (678 samples) |
| | Agogo Bells, Anvil, Balafon, Bell Tree, Brake Drum, |
| | Cabasa, Cajon, Claps, Clash Cymbals, Claves, Cowbells, |
| | Finger Cymbals, Flexatone, Glockenspiel, Gongs, Guiro, |
| | Hand Bells, Hand Chimes, Hi-Hat Cymbal, Marimba, |
| | Mark Trees, Ratchet, Shakers, Slapstick, Sleigh Bells, |
| | Slit Drum, Suspended Cymbals, Tambourines, Triangles, |
| | Tubular Bells, Tubular Glockenspiel, Vibraphone, |
| | Vibraslap, Woodblock, Xylophone |
| | Membranophones/ |
| | Struck Membranophones/ (718 samples) |
| | Bass Drums, Bongos, Conga, Darbuka, Frame Drum, |
| | Snare Drums (Modern + Rope Tension), Timpani, Toms |
| | Other Membranophones/ (3 samples) |
| | Ocean Drum |
| | ``` |
| |
|
| | ## Class Taxonomy |
| |
|
| | ### Idiophones (803 samples) |
| |
|
| | **Struck Idiophones** (47 instrument directories, 678 samples): |
| | - **Metallic pitched:** Glockenspiel, Tubular Bells (3 sets), Tubular Glockenspiel, Vibraphone (bowed, hard mallets, soft mallets) |
| | - **Metallic unpitched:** Agogo Bells, Anvil, Bell Tree, Brake Drum, Cowbells, Finger Cymbals, Hand Bells (Nepalese), Hand Chimes, Mark Trees, Sleigh Bells, Triangles |
| | - **Cymbals:** Clash Cymbals (2 sets), Hi-Hat Cymbal, Suspended Cymbals (2 sets) |
| | - **Wooden pitched:** Balafon (hard/soft/traditional mallet), Marimba, Xylophone (hard/medium/soft mallets) |
| | - **Wooden unpitched:** Claves, Guiro, Ratchet, Slapstick, Slit Drum, Woodblock |
| | - **Auxiliary:** Cabasa, Cajon, Claps, Flexatone, Shakers (large/small), Tambourines (5 variants), Vibraslap |
| |
|
| | **Friction Idiophones** (1 instrument, 16 samples): |
| | - Wine Glasses (sustains and releases at two dynamics) |
| |
|
| | **Plucked Idiophones** (5 instruments, 109 samples): |
| | - Kalimba (Kenya), Kalimba (Tanzania), Mbira Mavembe (Zimbabwe), Mbira dzaVadzimu (Zimbabwe), Nyunga Nyunga (Mozambique) |
| |
|
| | ### Membranophones (721 samples) |
| |
|
| | **Struck Membranophones** (17 instrument directories, 718 samples): |
| | - **Bass drums:** Bass Drum 1, Bass Drum 2, Bass Drum 3 (Legacy) |
| | - **Snare drums:** Snare Drum Modern 1-3, Snare Drum Rope Tension (hi/low), Legacy Snares (4 variants) |
| | - **Toms:** Tom 1 (mallet/stick), Tom 2 (mallet/stick), Legacy Toms (tenor higher/lower) |
| | - **World drums:** Bongos, Conga, Darbuka, Frame Drum |
| | - **Orchestral:** Timpani 1 (hit/roll), Timpani 2 (hit) |
| |
|
| | **Other Membranophones** (1 instrument, 3 samples): |
| | - Ocean Drum |
| |
|
| | ## Usage Examples |
| |
|
| | ### Browse instruments by family |
| |
|
| | ```python |
| | from datasets import load_dataset |
| | from collections import Counter |
| | |
| | ds = load_dataset("schismaudio/vcsl-percussion") |
| | |
| | families = Counter(s["family"] for s in ds["train"]) |
| | print(families) |
| | # Counter({'Idiophones': 803, 'Membranophones': 721}) |
| | ``` |
| |
|
| | ### Load specific instrument samples |
| |
|
| | ```python |
| | from datasets import load_dataset |
| | |
| | ds = load_dataset("schismaudio/vcsl-percussion") |
| | |
| | snares = ds["train"].filter(lambda x: "Snare" in x["instrument"]) |
| | print(f"Snare samples: {len(snares)}") |
| | |
| | for s in snares.select(range(3)): |
| | print(f" {s['filename']} — {s['instrument']}") |
| | ``` |
| |
|
| | ### Playback in a notebook |
| |
|
| | ```python |
| | import IPython.display as ipd |
| | from datasets import load_dataset |
| | |
| | ds = load_dataset("schismaudio/vcsl-percussion") |
| | sample = ds["train"][0] |
| | ipd.Audio(sample["audio"]["array"], rate=sample["audio"]["sampling_rate"]) |
| | ``` |
| |
|
| | ## Dataset Creation |
| |
|
| | ### Source Data |
| |
|
| | All samples originate from the **Versilian Community Sample Library (VCSL)**, a community-driven project initiated by Versilian Studios to provide free, high-quality instrument samples. Contributors record and donate samples under the CC0 license. The library covers orchestral strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion; this dataset packages only the **Idiophones/** and **Membranophones/** directories from the [VCSL GitHub repository](https://github.com/sgossner/VCSL). |
| |
|
| | Samples are provided as WAV files at 44.1 or 48 kHz. Many instruments include multiple velocity layers and round-robin variations, making the library suitable for realistic sample-based synthesis as well as machine learning applications. |
| |
|
| | ### Annotations |
| |
|
| | No additional annotations have been added. Instrument labels are derived from the original VCSL directory structure. The Hornbostel-Sachs family and subcategory tags (`Struck Idiophones`, `Struck Membranophones`, etc.) follow the VCSL organizational hierarchy. |
| |
|
| | ## Known Limitations |
| |
|
| | - **No velocity or MIDI annotations:** Samples are organized by instrument but do not include standardized velocity labels or MIDI note mappings. |
| | - **Variable recording conditions:** Samples come from multiple community contributors using different recording setups. Audio quality, room characteristics, and microphone placement vary across instruments. |
| | - **Legacy samples:** Some instruments include "Legacy" directories with older recordings that may differ in quality from newer contributions. |
| | - **Non-WAV files:** A small number of samples (26 files) are in OGG or MP3 format rather than WAV, primarily in legacy instrument directories (Tubular Bells 3, Gong 2). |
| | - **Uneven coverage:** Struck idiophones and struck membranophones are well-represented, while friction idiophones (16 samples) and other membranophones (3 samples) have minimal coverage. |
| |
|
| | ## Related Datasets |
| |
|
| | This dataset is part of the [Drum Audio Datasets](https://huggingface.co/collections/schismaudio/drum-audio-datasets) collection by [schismaudio](https://huggingface.co/schismaudio). Related datasets: |
| |
|
| | - [schismaudio/dynamic-percussion](https://huggingface.co/datasets/schismaudio/dynamic-percussion) -- Anechoic one-shot percussion samples with OpenL3 embeddings (Tampere University, 2020) |
| | - [schismaudio/drum-percussion-kits](https://huggingface.co/datasets/schismaudio/drum-percussion-kits) -- Diverse drum and percussion one-shots from SampleSwap, organic recordings, and generated samples |
| |
|
| | ## Citation |
| |
|
| | ```bibtex |
| | @misc{vcsl, |
| | title = {Versilian Community Sample Library (VCSL)}, |
| | author = {Gossner, Sam and {VCSL Contributors}}, |
| | year = {2024}, |
| | publisher = {GitHub}, |
| | url = {https://github.com/sgossner/VCSL}, |
| | note = {Percussion subset (Idiophones and Membranophones)} |
| | } |
| | ``` |
| |
|
| | ## License |
| |
|
| | This dataset is released under the [CC0-1.0 (Creative Commons Zero)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) license. |
| |
|
| | **This is a public domain dedication.** You are free to copy, modify, distribute, and use the samples for any purpose -- including commercial use -- without asking permission and without attribution. No rights are reserved. |
| |
|
