For an introduction and explanation of the use of dendrograms in chant-series comparisons, see these
sections of the Responsory Series: Advent and Lent instructional pages:
3.2.i - Referring to the table of previously-made groups (on the "Cantus
Series" tab), enter one or more "group" names in the "Group filter" box.
"Cut and paste" the group name from the table to ensure correct spelling, spacing and punctuation.
3.2.ii - **Wildcard** the group names with asterisks following the feast
name, the office and the genre to ensure that all appropriate series are extracted
from the CANTUS database fields, many of which have trailing spaces.
3.2.iii - Fill in the "N" value to indicate the number of series to be included
in the dendrogram. (Use a large number - like, 500 - to include all possible
series.)
3.2.iv - Click the "Get N Random Series" button.
If any series that match your criteria in the fill-in boxes are found in the groups ("Cantus Series" tab), those series
will be displayed at the bottom of the page preceded by their group name and name postfix (siglum, date and provenance).
3.2.v - Once series appear at the bottom of the page, you can make a dendrogram by clicking the "Make Dendrogram" button.
If all available manuscript sources are to be included in the dendrogram, leave the "Series filter" box blank. If you wish to limit
the dendrogram to specific manuscript sources, enter wildcarded name postfixes (i.e., the manuscript sigla) separated by commas
(but without intervening spaces) into the "Series filter" box.
For example, enter "Klo*,Bam*" to limit the chant series to sources from Klosterneuburg and Bamberg.
Wildcard asterisks can be added within group names, such as "Dom*a*", which will access all "Dom. N Adventus" groups.
Multiple group names can also be entered into the "Group filter" box; separate each name with a comma, wildcarded as necessary.
For example, "Dom. 1*,Dom. 2*."
Minimal Series Length - The "Minimal series length" is a filter to remove incomplete or short series;
the minimum number of chants in an admitted series is "5" by default, but this can be altered by the user
to include shorter or longer series.
Comparative Methods and Calculations - Several options are available in the pull-down box (and are explained here), but the similarity measure
known as "Edit Distance" is the most useful for these chant-series comparisons.
Cluster Method - "Ward's averaging" is the most useful of the "cluster methods;
it is the default here. This method of calculation represents a group/cluster
as the average of its constituent items.
Title - The title which is printed in the header of your dendrogram is generated automatically, but you can adjust it in the "Title" box if you wish.
Chop series after - This fill-in box is a useful feature intended to provide greater accuracy in its limiting of long series.
For example, numerous manuscripts provide lengthy lists of responsory chants on Sundays, the number exceeding the usual nine
for secular Matins or twelve for the monastic cursus; the additional chants could be alternates but are more likely for the
weekdays following that Sunday. The "Chop series after" feature allows the user to limit series lengths for the comparison calculations, such as
might be useful in the removing of suspected ferial chants from the end of lengthy series.
Name length - You might adjust the "Name length" if the group names and name postfixes are not displaying completely on your dendrogram.
Paper width - Adjusting the "Paper width" will impact on the width of the display of your dendrogram.
Show simmat - The "Show simmat" button, when clicked, will fill your screen with the similarity matrix calculations on which the dendrogram is based.
