The relationship between musical structure and perceived expression

Author(s):  
Alf Gabrielsson

This article discusses the relationship between musical structure and perceived expression. Musical structure is an umbrella term for a host of factors, such as tempo, loudness, pitch, intervals, mode, melody, rhythm, harmony, and various formal aspects (e.g. repetition, variation, transposition). The discussion focuses on perceived expression rather than expression somehow inherent in the music. The listener may apprehend music as ‘pure’ music (absolutism) or as expression of emotions, characters, events, or whatever, and may very well alternate, consciously or unconsciously, between different approaches during the course of a piece. The focus will be on referential meaning.

Author(s):  
Dörte Schmidt

Abstract The article discusses how new developments in the notation of contemporary music were negotiated within the framework of the Darmstadt Summer Courses and which interests and actors played a role in this. The first part examines the publications and publication projects that emerged in the context of the Notation conference in 1964. The focus is on the interests of institutions such as the International Music Council and the International Association of Music Libraries, in whose name the New York publisher Kurt Stone attempted to persuade the International Music Institute Darmstadt to cooperate and, following on from the debates there, to systematically record various forms of notation together. In a second step, the content of the debates at the conference is examined, with a particular focus on the different and sometimes conflicting perspectives of interpreters and composers. Numerous connections to fundamental aesthetic discussions of the time can be worked out, in particular to the relationship between the composer’s intention and interpretation, which was renegotiated in a form of notation that was individualized to the extreme. Finally, with a view to later discussions, this topic is pointed to the question of the relationship between morphology and musical structure, exemplified by positions of Wolfgang Rihm (1982), Klaus Huber (1988) and John Cage (1990).


2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jagjit Kaur ◽  
Mohita Junnarkar

Emotional Intelligence is the ability to understand, manage one’s own and other’s feelings in order to adapt to the demands of the environment. Intimacy refers to the feelings of closeness and bondedness in close relationships. Emotional Intelligence help enhance intimacy by open expression of emotions and empathetic response to the partner’s self-disclosure. The study examined the relationship between emotional intelligence and intimacy in 108 young adults currently in a heterosexual romantic relationship, belonging to the age group of 20-35 years (M=24.1 years, SD= 3.23 years) consisting of 36 (30%) males and 72 (70%) females. The study employed three scales namely Sternberg’s Love Triangular Scale (1988), Schutte Emotional Intelligence Scale (1998) and Intimacy Attitude Scale Revised (1985). Data was collected through Google forms by emailing the questionnaire to the participants known to be in relationship through common friends and also by personally giving the questionnaire to students of universities in Delhi, NCR region. Positive correlation was found between Attitude towards intimacy and emotional intelligence; commitment and managing owns emotions subscale of emotional intelligence; attitude towards intimacy and managing other’s emotions subscale of emotional intelligence. Thus emotionally intelligent individuals have a greater desire towards intimacy and commitment in their relationships.


2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 244-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander P. Demos ◽  
Roger Chaffin ◽  
Topher Logan

Musicians’ sway during performance seems to be related to musical structure. However, it has yet to be shown that examples of the relationship are not simply due to chance. Progress has been impeded by three problems: the assumption that musical structure is constant across performances; the complexity of the movements; and the inability of traditional statistical tests to accurately model the multilevel temporal hierarchies involved. We solved these problems in a study of the side-to-side postural sway of two trombonists as they each recorded two performances of each of two solo pieces in each of three different performance styles (normal, expressive, non-expressive). The musicians reported their phrasing immediately after each performance by marking copies of the score. We measured the rate and stability (mean line) of recurrence (self-similarity) and assessed the effect of serial position within a phrase, using mixed linear models to model the nesting of phrases within pieces, within performances, across expressive styles and musicians. Recurrence and stability of recurrence changed systematically across the course of a phrase, producing sinusoidal-like and arch-shaped phrasing contours that differed with the performance style and length of phrase. As long suspected, musicians’ expressive movements reflect musical structure.


2019 ◽  
pp. 122-138
Author(s):  
Patrik N. Juslin

Having established that expression and perception of emotions are important phenomena in music, this chapter takes a closer look at how psychological processes actually work. A first step is to consider the musical features. Which are the relevant features? How do they co-vary with specific emotion categories and dimensions? How are they modulated by musical style, culture, and historical context? It is a recurring notion from Ancient Greece that there are systematic relationships between musical structure and expression of emotions. Modern studies, however, differ from previous treatises by using psychological experiments to uncover ‘causal relationships’ between musical features and perceived emotions. The chapter focuses on the five emotions most frequently studied thus far (sadness, happiness, anger, tenderness, and fear). It also considers how musical features correlate with broader emotion dimensions, such as tension, arousal, and valence.


2007 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renee Timmers ◽  
Richard Ashley

ORNAMENTATION IS ONE ASPECT OF MUSIC ASSOCIATED with emotional affect in Baroque music. In an empirical study, the relationship between ornamentation and emotion was investigated by asking a violinist and flutist to ornament three melodies in different ways to express four emotions: happiness, sadness, love, and anger. The performers adapted the type of ornaments to the instructed emotion as well as the characteristics of the ornaments. The flutist specifically varied the duration, timing, and complexity of the ornamentation, while the violinist varied the complexity, density, and sound level of the performances. The ability of the performers to communicate the emotions was tested in a listening experiment. Communication was found to be generally successful, with the exception of the communication of happiness. This success was not due to general consensus about the expression of emotions through ornamentation. Rather the listeners were sensitive to a performer's specific use of ornamentation.


Author(s):  
Maria Tapias

This chapter explores the elusive and porous boundaries of the body among Punata residents as well as the relationship between physicality and sociality. It also considers the conceptualizations people have about the “fluidity” of emotions and the predicaments inherent in the expression of emotions, larger Andean notions of corporeality, sociability, and the flow of substances between individuals. It shows that the individual and social bodies are intrinsically interconnected throughout the Andes: action in one physical or emotional sphere can exert effects in another. It explains how the boundaries of the body are deeply challenged in the context of Punata and offer insights into how illness processes are conceptualized and lived. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the politics of emotional expression; how the “mechanics” of the accumulation and elimination of emotions are inextricably linked to gender, class, ethnicity, and age.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Philippa Algie

<p>The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how aspects of Schopler's TEACCH (Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication Handicapped Children) might be related to music therapy practice, using my own practice in an attached unit at a public primary school in New Zealand as a guide. Using a deductive exploratory research approach, I investigated whether and to what extent themes drawn from TEACCH literature were also evident in my music therapy data. This approach can also be described as secondary analysis of data. That is, clinical data relating to individual and group music therapy sessions with children who have autism was subjected to a process of thematic analysis to answer the research question. The TEACCH philosophy advocates a structured teaching approach in order to support students with autism to develop independence and skills for self management. This study finds that many elements of music therapy practice are closely linked to TEACCH values. Results from the study show that many TEACCH strategies align with fundamental aspects of music therapy, but the frequency and consistency of these similarities can vary due to the diverse strengths and needs of individuals with autism. As the process of comparing the TEACCH literature to my clinical practice developed and changed, some aspects of TEACCH became more integrated within my music therapy practice. The study also highlights the importance of balancing structure and freedom within the work and how musical structure or form can link with TEACCH strategies.</p>


2014 ◽  
pp. 7-23
Author(s):  
Michela Balconi ◽  
Giovanni Lecci ◽  
Verdiana Trapletti

The present paper explored the relationship between emotional facial response and electromyographic modulation in children when they observe facial expression of emotions. Facial responsiveness (evaluated by arousal and valence ratings) and psychophysiological correlates (facial electromyography, EMG) were analyzed when children looked at six facial expressions of emotions (happiness, anger, fear, sadness, surprise and disgust). About EMG measure, corrugator and zygomatic muscle activity was monitored in response to different emotional types. ANOVAs showed differences for both EMG and facial response across the subjects, as a function of different emotions. Specifically, some emotions were well expressed by all the subjects (such as happiness, anger and fear) in terms of high arousal, whereas some others were less level arousal (such as sadness). Zygomatic activity was increased mainly for happiness, from one hand, corrugator activity was increased mainly for anger, fear and surprise, from the other hand. More generally, EMG and facial behavior were highly correlated each other, showing a "mirror" effect with respect of the observed faces.


Author(s):  
Shao-Chieh Liao ◽  
Pei-Yin Chen ◽  
Jiun-Hung Lin ◽  
Julie Chi Chow ◽  
Willy Chou ◽  
...  

Background: An infant is an individual who possesses his/her own innate personality. Crying is a form of communication, an expression of emotions and temperament. Our study aims to predict an infant’s temperament in the early stage by analyzing the crying sound after painful stimulation of vaccination. Methods: We analyze three types of information: (i) the crying sounds caused by the pain stimuli from being injected with a Hepatitis B vaccine, (ii) the answers provided by the parents in a temperament assessment scale (TAS) questionnaire, and (iii) backend analyses of the audio signals of the crying sounds. These data are subjected to correlation analyses, T-tests, and normal distribution for deriving the relationship between crying and temperament. Results: The results show that the manifestations of an infant’s temperament may be affected by the living environment and feeding habits. A tendency exists for a group of infants with similar and focused crying sounds to have higher average scores for three of nine temperament traits: approach or withdrawal, intensity of reaction, and quality of mood. Conclusions: An infant’s crying sounds in response to a pain stimulus can be used to predict his/her temperament in terms of the three aforementioned traits.


Author(s):  
Mariko Anno

This chapter investigates flute performance as a space for exploring the relationship between tradition and innovation and traces the characteristics of the nohkan and its music. It examines the musical structure and nohkan melodic patterns of five traditional Noh plays. It also assesses the degree to which Issō School nohkan players maintain the continuity of their musical tradition in three contemporary Noh plays inspired by the twentieth-century Irish poet William Butler Yeats. The chapter reviews three contemporary works draw upon Yeats's At the Hawk's Well, which was influenced by Noh drama. The chapter argues that traditions of musical style and usage remain vastly influential in shaping contemporary Noh composition and performance practice, and that the freedom within fixed patterns can be understood through a firm foundation in Noh tradition.


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