What Do We Hear, When We Hear Music?: Music Perception and Musical Material

2001 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola Dibben
Keyword(s):  
Music Perception ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Physical Space ◽  
Acoustic Properties ◽  
Event Perception ◽  
Musical Meaning ◽  
Auditory Event ◽  
Listening Studies ◽  
Study Participants ◽  
Musical Listening

Theories of auditory event perception have highlighted a distinction between “everyday” and “musical” listening. This paper challenges this account of listening in two ways: first, it extends the notion of source specification to the specification of cultural and compositional categories, and second, it argues that listening to music involves listening to what sounds specify just as much as it involves listening to the acoustic characteristics of sounds. It is argued here that the characterisation of ‘musical’ listening as attending to the acoustic character of sound is a reflection of the prevailing reception ideology of the autonomous art work. This paper reports the results of two empirical studies which provide evidence for the perception of music in terms of categories of musical material (.i.e. what sounds specify). In the first study, participants were presented with triads of musical and everyday sounds presented in conflicting pairings and asked to identify the two that were most similar. In the second study listeners were asked to give commentaries on the sounds. These listening studies showed that while listeners pay attention to the acoustic properties of sounds they are also sensitive to what sounds specify (physical source, physical space and proximity, genre, musical function, performance skill, emotional attributes and social context). The results highlight the way in which listeners privilege particular kinds of specifications, and some of the factors involved in these choices are discussed briefly in relation to a performative theory of musical meaning.

scholarly journals Silent Hands: A Leader’s Ability to Create Nonverbal Immediacy

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Talley ◽  
Samuel R Temple
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Study ◽  
Nonverbal Behavior ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Nonverbal Immediacy ◽  
Hand Gestures ◽  
Core Element ◽  
Leaders And Followers ◽  
Independent Variable ◽  
Study Participants

Nonverbal immediacy is a core element of a leader’s ability to lead followers. Nevertheless, there are no empirical studies regarding a link between a leader’s hand gestures and followers’ perceptions of immediacy (attraction to someone) or nonimmediacy (distancing). Guided by Mehrabian’s theory of nonverbal behavior, this study included one independent variable segmented into seven levels (positive hand gestures defined as community hand, humility hands, and steepling hands; three defensive gestures, defined as hands in pocket, arms crossed over chest, and hands behind back; and neutral/no hand gestures) to test for immediacy or nonimmediacy. In this experimental study, participants (<em>n </em>= 300; male = 164; female = 143) were shown one of seven pictures of a leader. Four hypotheses were tested for main and interactional effects and all were supported by the results. Immediate communication received strong support, meaning immediacy on the part of a leader is likely to lead to increased emotional connection to achieve desirable outcomes. This study advances theory from previous research that specific hand gestures are more effective than others at creating immediacy between leaders and followers.

scholarly journals An Exploratory Study on the Acoustic Musical Properties to Decrease Self-Perceived Anxiety

2022 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 994
Author(s):  
Emilia Parada-Cabaleiro ◽  
Anton Batliner ◽  
Markus Schedl
Keyword(s):  
Exploratory Study ◽  
User Study ◽  
Acoustic Properties ◽  
Musical Work ◽  
State Trait Anxiety Inventory ◽  
Tonal Music ◽  
Acoustic Parameters ◽  
Positive Statements ◽  
Musical Listening

Musical listening is broadly used as an inexpensive and safe method to reduce self-perceived anxiety. This strategy is based on the emotivist assumption claiming that emotions are not only recognised in music but induced by it. Yet, the acoustic properties of musical work capable of reducing anxiety are still under-researched. To fill this gap, we explore whether the acoustic parameters relevant in music emotion recognition are also suitable to identify music with relaxing properties. As an anxiety indicator, the positive statements from the six-item Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, a self-reported score from 3 to 12, are taken. A user-study with 50 participants assessing the relaxing potential of four musical pieces was conducted; subsequently, the acoustic parameters were evaluated. Our study shows that when using classical Western music to reduce self-perceived anxiety, tonal music should be considered. In addition, it also indicates that harmonicity is a suitable indicator of relaxing music, while the role of scoring and dynamics in reducing non-pathological listener distress should be further investigated.

scholarly journals Tactusin Performance: Constraints and Possibilities

2012 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Martens
Keyword(s):  
String Quartet ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Initial Study ◽  
Dominant Hand ◽  
Musical Structure ◽  
Performance Constraints ◽  
Sonic Art ◽  
Art Form ◽  
Study Participants

A student string quartet was coached by the author to perform a set of seven musical excerpts twice, keeping the same tempo in each performance but feeling and expressing a different main beat (tactus) in each performance. Two empirical studies were conducted to determine the degree to which the quartet’s intentions were communicated to study participants. In the initial study, participants viewed the full A/V performances and were asked to tap their dominant hand along with the main beat of the music. In a second study, the participants completed the same tapping task in response to either audio-only or video-only versions of the same performances. Finally, the audio and video of these performances were analyzed separately using the meter-finding computer model of Janata & Tomic (2008).Overall, the quartet’s intention significantly influenced participants’ choice of tactus under the A/V and video-only conditions, but not under the audio-only conditions. Thus visual information is key to tactus communication even in an ostensibly sonic art form. In individual excerpts, however, aspects of metric structure appeared to constrain tactus choice, and objective visual and aural cues uncovered by computer analysis were not always matched by participant responses. Together, the results shed light on the extent to which this type of communication depends on the combination of tempo, a performance’s aural and visual components, and musical structure.

scholarly journals HOW CAN UNIVERSITY LEARNING ENVIRONMENT CONTRIBUTE TO STUDENTS’ CREATIVITY? LITHUANIAN STUDENTS’ PERSPECTIVE

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 162-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nijolė Burkšaitienė
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Research Method ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
The Other ◽  
Special Study ◽  
University Teachers ◽  
Transferable Skills ◽  
University Curriculum ◽  
Study Participants

Students’ creativity has been increasingly researched in higher education. Until recently, however, empirical studies investigating students’ views of how universities can contribute to the development of their creativity have been rare. The present study aims to investigate how university learning environment can contribute to undergraduate philology students’ creativity as seen by the students themselves. The data were collected through questionnaires and analysed using qualitative research method of content analysis. The general conclusion of this study is that the study participants consider that universities can foster their students’ creativity in some ways. Firstly, they think that university curriculum should contain assignments aimed at developing student creativity. Prominent among the findings was the students’ belief that their university teachers are important contributors to this process. Besides, the students considered that their creativity can be developed by introducing a special study subject, by enhancing their transferable skills, and that more collaborative learning and special university events could make an impact on their creativity. On the other hand, the results of the present study have also revealed some challenges that call for further research.

Evaluating and Modeling Auditory Event Perception: Postural Contrasts in Human Gait

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard E. Pastore ◽  
Jeremy R. Gaston ◽  
Matthew J. Solomon ◽  
Jesse D. Flint
Keyword(s):  
Human Gait ◽  
Event Perception ◽  
Auditory Event

scholarly journals Auditory event perception: The source-perception loop for posture in human gait

2008 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. E. PASTORE ◽  
J. D. FLINT ◽  
J. R. GASTON ◽  
M. J. SOLOMON
Keyword(s):  
Human Gait ◽  
Event Perception ◽  
Auditory Event

scholarly journals Synesthesia and music perception

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guilherme Francisco F. Bragança ◽  
João Gabriel Marques Fonseca ◽  
Paulo Caramelli
Keyword(s):  
Music Perception ◽  
Present Review ◽  
Musical Meaning ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Developmental Factors ◽  
Physiological Processes ◽  
Musical Perception ◽  
The Cross

The present review examined the cross-modal association of sensations and their relationship to musical perception. Initially, the study focuses on synesthesia, its definition, incidence, forms, and genetic and developmental factors. The theories of the neural basis of synesthesia were also addressed by comparing theories emphasizing the anatomical aspect against others reinforcing the importance of physiological processes. Secondly, cross-modal sensory associations, their role in perception, and relationship to synesthesia were analyzed. We propose the existence of a lower, unconscious degree of synesthesia in non-synesthetes. This latent synesthesia (without explicit sensory manifestations) would be functional, aiding the construction of abstract associations between different perceptual fields. Musical meaning might be constructed largely by synesthetic processes, where the sensory associations from sound activate memories, images, and emotions.

scholarly journals Music Perception and Cognition Research from 1983 to 2010: A Categorical and Bibliometric Analysis of Empirical Articles in Music Perception

2011 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna K. Tirovolas ◽  
Daniel J. Levitin
Keyword(s):  
Bibliometric Analysis ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Outcome Measures ◽  
Music Perception ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Longitudinal Course ◽  
Music Research

in this review we sought to document the longitudinal course of empirical studies in the journal Music Perception, from the journal’s first issue in 1983 to 2010. The aim was to systematically characterize the nature of empirical research in one of the principal peer-reviewed outlets for work in our field, and to consider these data as a sample representing the overall course of research across the last three decades. Specific domains examined within each article were: Topics, Participants, Stimuli, Materials, and Outcome Measures. In total, 384 empirical articles in the journal were examined. In addition, relevant details were extracted from the full set of 578 articles regarding geographic and disciplinary (departmental) distribution of the authors. Together, the data we report allow an examination of 26-year trends in music research. These are made available in a database that is fully searchable or sortable by interested researchers.

scholarly journals The Mismatch Negativity: An Indicator of Perception of Regularities in Music

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xide Yu ◽  
Tao Liu ◽  
Dingguo Gao
Keyword(s):  
Neural Plasticity ◽  
Mismatch Negativity ◽  
Music Perception ◽  
Internal Representation ◽  
Neural Substrates ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Auditory Event ◽  
Open Questions ◽  
Music Research ◽  
Anterior Negativity

This paper reviews music research using Mismatch Negativity (MMN). MMN is a deviation-specific component of auditory event-related potential (EPR), which detects a deviation between a sound and an internal representation (e.g.,memory trace). Recent studies have expanded the notion and the paradigms of MMN to higher-order music processing such as those involving short melodies, harmony chord, and music syntax. In this vein, we firstly reviewed the evolution of MMN from sound to music and then mainly compared the differences of MMN features between musicians and nonmusicians, followed by the discussion of the potential roles of the training effect and the natural exposure in MMN. Since MMN can serve as an index of neural plasticity, it thus can be widely used in clinical and other applied areas, such as detecting music preference in newborns or assessing wholeness of central auditory system of hearing illness. Finally, we pointed out some open questions and further directions. Current music perception research using MMN has mainly focused on relatively low hierarchical structure of music perception. To fully understand the neural substrates underlying processing of regularities in music, it is important and beneficial to combine MMN with other experimental paradigms such as early right-anterior negativity (ERAN).

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