Common neural bases for processing speech prosody and music: An integrated model

Do speech and music understanding share common neural mechanisms? Here, brain bioelectrical activity was recorded in healthy participants listening to music obtained by digitally transforming speech into viola music. Sentences originally had a positive or negative affective prosody. The aim was to investigate if the emotional content of music was processed similarly to the affective prosody of speech. EEG was recorded from 128 electrodes in 20 healthy students. Participants had to detect rare neutral piano sounds while ignoring viola melodies. Negative affective valence of stimuli increased the amplitude of frontal P300 and N400 components of ERPs, while positive valence enhanced a late inferior frontal positivity. Similar markers were previously found for the processing of positive versus negative music, vocalizations, and speech. Source reconstruction showed that negative music activated the right superior temporal gyrus and cingulate cortex, while positive music activated the left middle and inferior temporal gyrus and the inferior frontal cortex. An integrated model is proposed of a possible common network for processing the emotional content of music, vocalizations, and speech, which might explain some universal and relatively innate brain reaction to music.

N.Karimov's viola transcriptions in the pedagogical repertoire (on the example of the transcription of «Kuy» by M.Sagatov)

In the Kazakh educational process today, in addition to the generally recognized arrangements and treatments of world music classics and original works for viola, national music adapted for viola is actively involved. There are several collections of works for viola edited, arranged and processed by such authors as A.Nurbayeva, E.Liberchuk, Ya.Fudimana, N.Sagimbayeva, D.Makhmud. The musical literature presented in these collections is widely used at different levels of education – by students of music schools, colleges and even universities of the republic, which is mainly due to the limited repertoire. The article deals with the transcription of N.Karimov's «Kuy» for violin and chamber orchestra by M. Sagatov as one of the first experiments in interpreting the sound of dombra kuy in viola music.

CD Reviews

Panufnik the Symphonist Paul Conway‘Moonstruck’ – F. G. Scott Songs Calum MacDonaldStephen Dodgson & Nicholas Maw Quartets Peter PalmerJohn McCabe, British Viola Music Paul ConwayHoward Hanson's ‘Merry Mount’ Bret JohnsonOthmar Schoeck Peter PalmerDallapiccola Tim MottersheadRichard Arnell Paul ConwaySeriously Sibelius Guy RickardsSadie Harrison Jill BarlowAdditional reviews by Peter Palmer, Paul Conway, Martin Anderson

CD Reviews

Panufnik the Symphonist Paul Conway‘Moonstruck’ – F. G. Scott Songs Calum MacDonaldStephen Dodgson & Nicholas Maw Quartets Peter PalmerJohn McCabe, British Viola Music Paul ConwayHoward Hanson's ‘Merry Mount’ Bret JohnsonOthmar Schoeck Peter PalmerDallapiccola Tim MottersheadRichard Arnell Paul ConwaySeriously Sibelius Guy RickardsSadie Harrison Jill BarlowAdditional reviews by Peter Palmer, Paul Conway, Martin Anderson