Sunday, December 5, 2010
How to comment on Posts
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The scheme of the Schema!
In Psychology, a schema refers to a set or model of expectations we have about a certain situation in a given context. For example, if you saw a football player run out onto the field in a wedding gown you would probably be quite shocked and laugh. Why? Because your schema of a football player is one of a very buff, masculine figure wearing a bulky football uniform.
In terms of music, we have many different schemas for different musical context. This is one reason why we find it notable when a Broadway show uses rock music instead of a traditional pit orchestra. We tend to think of musicals as having simple, singable melodies with a small orchestra or piano accompanying. The rise of rock-based musicals have prompted such schemas to change. The next generation will likely have a different schema of musicals than we do.
In Sweet Anticipation, Huron notes that at Northwestern University, an experiment was carried out to measure the speed of style identification of music. Listeners were exposed to brief clips of western music and were found to identify the type of music in just 250 milliseconds. This shows just how ingrained certain schemas are within us. You hear an orchestra, you immediately "classical" (in the general sense), you hear saxophone, you "know" it's likely something jazzy. Your brain doesn't delay the amount of time it takes to relate the stimulus to an auditory schema. As soon as there is an auditory cue, the connection is immediately made. That's the power of the schema. We are able to develop such specific categories and differentiations of music because of the different schemas that have been developed.
Obviously cultural situations also play a role in schema creation. If we don't have a well developed schema, we usually play the "it's all Greek to me" card, but what's "all Greek" to one person might be the "norm" for another person. This is why we have the expression "culture shock." A New Yorker's schema for "fine dining" is quite different than that of a person from Tokyo, Japan.
A question to consider: How would we perceive music if schemas did not exist? I will answer this is a later post. Please feel free to comment with your ideas.
In terms of music, we have many different schemas for different musical context. This is one reason why we find it notable when a Broadway show uses rock music instead of a traditional pit orchestra. We tend to think of musicals as having simple, singable melodies with a small orchestra or piano accompanying. The rise of rock-based musicals have prompted such schemas to change. The next generation will likely have a different schema of musicals than we do.
In Sweet Anticipation, Huron notes that at Northwestern University, an experiment was carried out to measure the speed of style identification of music. Listeners were exposed to brief clips of western music and were found to identify the type of music in just 250 milliseconds. This shows just how ingrained certain schemas are within us. You hear an orchestra, you immediately "classical" (in the general sense), you hear saxophone, you "know" it's likely something jazzy. Your brain doesn't delay the amount of time it takes to relate the stimulus to an auditory schema. As soon as there is an auditory cue, the connection is immediately made. That's the power of the schema. We are able to develop such specific categories and differentiations of music because of the different schemas that have been developed.
Obviously cultural situations also play a role in schema creation. If we don't have a well developed schema, we usually play the "it's all Greek to me" card, but what's "all Greek" to one person might be the "norm" for another person. This is why we have the expression "culture shock." A New Yorker's schema for "fine dining" is quite different than that of a person from Tokyo, Japan.
A question to consider: How would we perceive music if schemas did not exist? I will answer this is a later post. Please feel free to comment with your ideas.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Your brain knows more than you do!
I just finished watching an amazing video clip where music cognition enthusiast and author Oliver Sacks is tested for certain mental response to different musical stimuli. Before Sacks enters the MRI, he states that he prefers Bach to Beethoven. Two tests are then done.
Test 1: Bach is played first and then Beethoven. Sacks knows which is which. He indicates that he "felt" more emotional when listening to the Bach. Similarly, the brain scans reveal a strong reaction from his brain's amygdala (see my 'A Brainy Review' post) when listening to the Bach and almost no reaction when listening to Beethoven.
Test 2: A clip of Bach is played and clip of Beethoven is played. This time, however, the clips played sound very similar and so Sacks cannot determine which is which. He therefore doesn't perceive much emotional change throughout the duration of both recordings, ...or so he thinks...The brain scans tell a different story, however. Even though Sacks couldn't distinguish between the two recordings, his brain could. The scans showed that his amygdala had a much greater response to the Bach than to the Beethoven.
This illustrates a rift between how we are aware we perceive music, and how we truly perceive music from a biological point of view. It also sheds light on how we are still unable to consciously access all parts of our brains.
Watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyY1ul_DbcQ&feature=fvw
Test 1: Bach is played first and then Beethoven. Sacks knows which is which. He indicates that he "felt" more emotional when listening to the Bach. Similarly, the brain scans reveal a strong reaction from his brain's amygdala (see my 'A Brainy Review' post) when listening to the Bach and almost no reaction when listening to Beethoven.
Test 2: A clip of Bach is played and clip of Beethoven is played. This time, however, the clips played sound very similar and so Sacks cannot determine which is which. He therefore doesn't perceive much emotional change throughout the duration of both recordings, ...or so he thinks...The brain scans tell a different story, however. Even though Sacks couldn't distinguish between the two recordings, his brain could. The scans showed that his amygdala had a much greater response to the Bach than to the Beethoven.
This illustrates a rift between how we are aware we perceive music, and how we truly perceive music from a biological point of view. It also sheds light on how we are still unable to consciously access all parts of our brains.
Watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyY1ul_DbcQ&feature=fvw
An Expression of Emotion
I recently subscribed to a magazine journal titled Music Perception published by University of California Press. The other day I read through a very revealing lab report published in the journal titled "Perception of Expression in Conductors' Gestures: A Continuous Response Study."
The results of the experiment show that the eye has more say than the ear in perceiving level of performance expression. The more distance the conductor emphasizes between hands and the more aggressive the movement of his/her hands, the more musical expression of the orchestra is perceived.
A typical concert-goer probably takes for granted without thinking about it "oh yeah, stronger bodily movements = more expression in music." This leads into a conversation about the role of the conductor. Some pessimists speculate that in the future years of exponentially improving technology, there will be no more need for conductors. Every performer will have a computer chip placed in his/her ear that will keep tempo and remind him/her to get louder or quieter at given spots in the music.
While this may work for the orchestra, think about how the audience response would change given the experiment described above. Without being able to see a conductor really get into the music as he conducts the orchestra, the audience would likely perceive much less emotion in the performance because there wouldn't be the visual stimulus of the conductor. People would likely then become less interested in going to live performances which would be detrimental to the concert hall industry.
The results of this lab may also help to explain why people tend to have a stronger emotional response at a concert than if they are just listening to music on an iPod. If a person does have a strong emotional reaction to music they are listening to that isn't live, chances are they are connecting some sort of strong visual and/or physical action to what they are listening to.
The results of the experiment show that the eye has more say than the ear in perceiving level of performance expression. The more distance the conductor emphasizes between hands and the more aggressive the movement of his/her hands, the more musical expression of the orchestra is perceived.
A typical concert-goer probably takes for granted without thinking about it "oh yeah, stronger bodily movements = more expression in music." This leads into a conversation about the role of the conductor. Some pessimists speculate that in the future years of exponentially improving technology, there will be no more need for conductors. Every performer will have a computer chip placed in his/her ear that will keep tempo and remind him/her to get louder or quieter at given spots in the music.
While this may work for the orchestra, think about how the audience response would change given the experiment described above. Without being able to see a conductor really get into the music as he conducts the orchestra, the audience would likely perceive much less emotion in the performance because there wouldn't be the visual stimulus of the conductor. People would likely then become less interested in going to live performances which would be detrimental to the concert hall industry.
The results of this lab may also help to explain why people tend to have a stronger emotional response at a concert than if they are just listening to music on an iPod. If a person does have a strong emotional reaction to music they are listening to that isn't live, chances are they are connecting some sort of strong visual and/or physical action to what they are listening to.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Sequentially Speaking..
The other day, my faculty mentor came up to me with a question about what made a certain piece sound so "appealing." She was referring to a piece called "Crucifixis" by Lotti. The answer to her question lies in the term "musical sequence."As most of you have probably never heard of this piece before, I will illustrate the idea of a musical sequence using a more common example.
Let's take "Angels We Have heard on High," a well known Christmas hymn.
It can be listened to here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IrGV8gG8rs
Please go to 00:25 and pay close attention. What's going on in the music when the words "Glo----ria in excelsis deo" appear??
The answer is a musical sequence. In general, a sequence is an immediate restatement of a given series of notes in a higher or lower pitch. The word "GLO--ria"is held as the music follows a downward sequential pattern.The first note of each measure within the sequence goes down by a step, from 5 to1. The first measure of the sequence starts on the 5th scale degree "GLO", the second measure starts on the 4th scale degree, the third measure starts on the 3rd scale degree, the fourth measure starts on the 2nd scale degree. Similar downward moving 8th notes transition from each of these tones to the next in the a repetitive pattern. Finally the sequence ends and we are back to the "tonic" or "first scale degree" of the key which makes you feel back at home "RIA."
The use of such a pattern is like "ear candy" to the listener, partly because such sequences tend to be "sing songy" in that they follow a very obvious pattern of expectation. If the music begins to fall in a certain pattern, we will expect it to continue falling in that pattern. However, it would be boring if an entire piece was just a long sequence because there would be no element of surprise and therefore no rewarding feeling of being able to make sense of something unexpected (see the ITPRA Theory discussed earlier).
Let's take "Angels We Have heard on High," a well known Christmas hymn.
It can be listened to here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IrGV8gG8rs
Please go to 00:25 and pay close attention. What's going on in the music when the words "Glo----ria in excelsis deo" appear??
The answer is a musical sequence. In general, a sequence is an immediate restatement of a given series of notes in a higher or lower pitch. The word "GLO--ria"is held as the music follows a downward sequential pattern.The first note of each measure within the sequence goes down by a step, from 5 to1. The first measure of the sequence starts on the 5th scale degree "GLO", the second measure starts on the 4th scale degree, the third measure starts on the 3rd scale degree, the fourth measure starts on the 2nd scale degree. Similar downward moving 8th notes transition from each of these tones to the next in the a repetitive pattern. Finally the sequence ends and we are back to the "tonic" or "first scale degree" of the key which makes you feel back at home "RIA."
The use of such a pattern is like "ear candy" to the listener, partly because such sequences tend to be "sing songy" in that they follow a very obvious pattern of expectation. If the music begins to fall in a certain pattern, we will expect it to continue falling in that pattern. However, it would be boring if an entire piece was just a long sequence because there would be no element of surprise and therefore no rewarding feeling of being able to make sense of something unexpected (see the ITPRA Theory discussed earlier).
Sunday, October 31, 2010
A Brainy Review
Before we get too far into music cognition, I'll give you a quick review of the anatomy of the brain as I will be referring to various parts of the brain in later posts. I will add detail to any of the parts that relate most directly to music perception.
Four of the main components of the brain are the Cerebrum, Cerebellum, Limbic System, and Brain Stem.
The Cerebrum is divided into four lobes: frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital. The temporal lobe is where audio processing occurs from the ears. It is associated with speech, auditory perceptions, auditory memories, and other auditory stimuli. The right temporal lobe is the most responsible for areas specific to music- responsible for rhythm, intonation, and melody/pitch processing/
The Cerebellum helps coordinate balance and movement, like when you're dancing or keeping a beat!
The Limbic system is associated with emotion. It is buried in the brain and is made of the thalamus, hypothalamus, amygdala, and hippocampus. If you have an emotional response to music, the limbic system is likely at work.
The Brain stem is what we need for survival. It controls vital operations like heart rate and breathing. How could you listen to music without your brain stem?? It is primal part of the brain underneath the Limbic system.
I will bring more details on the areas to light as they become relevant to my future posts.
Four of the main components of the brain are the Cerebrum, Cerebellum, Limbic System, and Brain Stem.
The Cerebrum is divided into four lobes: frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital. The temporal lobe is where audio processing occurs from the ears. It is associated with speech, auditory perceptions, auditory memories, and other auditory stimuli. The right temporal lobe is the most responsible for areas specific to music- responsible for rhythm, intonation, and melody/pitch processing/
The Cerebellum helps coordinate balance and movement, like when you're dancing or keeping a beat!
The Limbic system is associated with emotion. It is buried in the brain and is made of the thalamus, hypothalamus, amygdala, and hippocampus. If you have an emotional response to music, the limbic system is likely at work.
The Brain stem is what we need for survival. It controls vital operations like heart rate and breathing. How could you listen to music without your brain stem?? It is primal part of the brain underneath the Limbic system.
I will bring more details on the areas to light as they become relevant to my future posts.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
An Insight into Pitch ID
Have you ever heard someone mention that they have "perfect pitch?" For those who are unfamiliar, a person with perfect pitch can be given the name of a certain note and then immediately sing that note. In chapter 5 of Sweet Anticipation Huron gives an in depth look at some of the nuances of this rare ability.
The Hick-Hyman Law of Learning states that a relationship exists between the frequency of a certain stimulus and the amount of time it takes you to process the stimulus.
Here's an example I came up with to explain this law. Think about when you get dressed in the morning. You open up your closet to reveal your many outfit possibilities for the day. Some clothing has been in your closet for years while other articles were purchased recently. The clothing that has been there for years you've seen every single day when you've opened your closet over the past years. You usually just gaze over this clothing without thinking about it. However, your eyes will probably be drawn to what you recently purchased. You are not used to seeing it in your closet because you haven't seen it as often. You will likely spend more time focusing the new outfit deciding if you want to wear it on the given day. The more new information, the slower the mental reaction time.
Experiment 1: Back to music. A Japanese researcher named Ken'ichi Miyazaki found, in general, that those with perfect pitch could identify "white notes" more quickly than they could identify "black notes." (For the non-musical folk, these are two different types of notes on the piano- the white notes appearing more frequently).
Experiment 2: In a later experiment, researchers David Huron and Jasba Simpson found that, after listening to a large sample of music, the count of "white notes" appearing in music is greater than that of "black notes."
So now answer the question:
Why do people with perfect pitch identify "white note" tones more easily??
The answer to that question rests in the Hick-Hyman Law. Because music tends to use more white notes, white notes are more frequent so it takes the brain less time to process them than it does to process black notes.
I play violin the school orchestra. Before each rehearsal we start by tuning to the note "A." So we are always given the pitch of "A" before rehearsal so that we can tune. It is no wonder, then, that "A" is the easiest note for me to produce and recognize quickly! It appears frequently in my life.
QUIZ!! If you were asked to hum a pitch (any random pitch) on the spot, you would probably think you were just humming "some random note." What factors went into the pitch that you thought you "randomly" hummed??
Answer: It would likely be the average note pitch of all the music on your iPod or portable media player!
The Hick-Hyman Law of Learning states that a relationship exists between the frequency of a certain stimulus and the amount of time it takes you to process the stimulus.
Here's an example I came up with to explain this law. Think about when you get dressed in the morning. You open up your closet to reveal your many outfit possibilities for the day. Some clothing has been in your closet for years while other articles were purchased recently. The clothing that has been there for years you've seen every single day when you've opened your closet over the past years. You usually just gaze over this clothing without thinking about it. However, your eyes will probably be drawn to what you recently purchased. You are not used to seeing it in your closet because you haven't seen it as often. You will likely spend more time focusing the new outfit deciding if you want to wear it on the given day. The more new information, the slower the mental reaction time.
Experiment 1: Back to music. A Japanese researcher named Ken'ichi Miyazaki found, in general, that those with perfect pitch could identify "white notes" more quickly than they could identify "black notes." (For the non-musical folk, these are two different types of notes on the piano- the white notes appearing more frequently).
Experiment 2: In a later experiment, researchers David Huron and Jasba Simpson found that, after listening to a large sample of music, the count of "white notes" appearing in music is greater than that of "black notes."
So now answer the question:
Why do people with perfect pitch identify "white note" tones more easily??
The answer to that question rests in the Hick-Hyman Law. Because music tends to use more white notes, white notes are more frequent so it takes the brain less time to process them than it does to process black notes.
I play violin the school orchestra. Before each rehearsal we start by tuning to the note "A." So we are always given the pitch of "A" before rehearsal so that we can tune. It is no wonder, then, that "A" is the easiest note for me to produce and recognize quickly! It appears frequently in my life.
QUIZ!! If you were asked to hum a pitch (any random pitch) on the spot, you would probably think you were just humming "some random note." What factors went into the pitch that you thought you "randomly" hummed??
Answer: It would likely be the average note pitch of all the music on your iPod or portable media player!
Sunday, October 17, 2010
ITPRA!
What is ITPRA you ask? In Sweet Anticipation, Huron presents a model of a string of anticipatory responses in relation to music. He calls this model "The ITPRA Theory of Expectation."
Imagination Response- encourages behavior in ways that will make a forseen possible outcome the most beneficial
Tension Response- adjusts levels of tension to prepare for event
Prediction Response- forms expectations of what is to come
Reaction Response- causes organism to immediately resort to a protecting state by assuming a worse-case-scenario outcome
Appraisal Response- gives positive or negative reinforcement and re-evaluation
Clearly these responses happen in a timeline, that is, one after the other.
Based on my readings up to this point, I will attempt to relate this model to listening to music by focusing on the relationship between 7th chords and their resolutions. For those who are not musicians, please remember the follow statement before I continue "7th chords usually 'like' to resolve to I/i chords"
We IMAGINE the 7th chords will resolve to i chords because they sound like they should. Since they normally do resolve this way in pop culture, our TENSION levels are low because we think we've PREDICTED what the next chord will be (a i chord). We all of a sudden find that the 7th chord does not resolve as it "should" causing our musical minds to REACT by cringing. Perhaps the 7th resolves to a vi chord (deceptive cadence) instead. As the song continues, we APPRAISE what we've heard and decide, be it subconsciously for those who are not into music theory, that we like the deviation from the usual progression. Our brain then gives us a feeling of reward for making sense of something unfamiliar and having the realization that what was unexpected ended up being GOOD.*
Here's a simple analogy. Imagine if your Aunt Annie always bakes a blueberry pie whenever you visit her. One day you find yourself on your way to Aunt Annie's house. You start to salivate as you think about the delicious blueberry pie you will soon be consuming. However, as she greets you at the door you realize that what you smell coming from the kitchen is not blueberry. It's apple! For years Annie has always baked you blueberry pie and now all of a sudden she presents you with apple pie! As you tentatively take a bite and chew, you decide that you like the apple pie just as much if not more than the blueberry pie. Though you were expecting blueberry, apple ended up being a welcome change even though it wasn't what you had predicted.
Congratulations if you've made it through this whole post! It was a dense journey, but hopefully now you will have a new way of thinking about how you listen to music and react.
*Please note that I may edit this description, or anything I post, if further studying causes me to need to refine what I have written.
Imagination Response- encourages behavior in ways that will make a forseen possible outcome the most beneficial
Tension Response- adjusts levels of tension to prepare for event
Prediction Response- forms expectations of what is to come
Reaction Response- causes organism to immediately resort to a protecting state by assuming a worse-case-scenario outcome
Appraisal Response- gives positive or negative reinforcement and re-evaluation
Clearly these responses happen in a timeline, that is, one after the other.
Based on my readings up to this point, I will attempt to relate this model to listening to music by focusing on the relationship between 7th chords and their resolutions. For those who are not musicians, please remember the follow statement before I continue "7th chords usually 'like' to resolve to I/i chords"
We IMAGINE the 7th chords will resolve to i chords because they sound like they should. Since they normally do resolve this way in pop culture, our TENSION levels are low because we think we've PREDICTED what the next chord will be (a i chord). We all of a sudden find that the 7th chord does not resolve as it "should" causing our musical minds to REACT by cringing. Perhaps the 7th resolves to a vi chord (deceptive cadence) instead. As the song continues, we APPRAISE what we've heard and decide, be it subconsciously for those who are not into music theory, that we like the deviation from the usual progression. Our brain then gives us a feeling of reward for making sense of something unfamiliar and having the realization that what was unexpected ended up being GOOD.*
Here's a simple analogy. Imagine if your Aunt Annie always bakes a blueberry pie whenever you visit her. One day you find yourself on your way to Aunt Annie's house. You start to salivate as you think about the delicious blueberry pie you will soon be consuming. However, as she greets you at the door you realize that what you smell coming from the kitchen is not blueberry. It's apple! For years Annie has always baked you blueberry pie and now all of a sudden she presents you with apple pie! As you tentatively take a bite and chew, you decide that you like the apple pie just as much if not more than the blueberry pie. Though you were expecting blueberry, apple ended up being a welcome change even though it wasn't what you had predicted.
Congratulations if you've made it through this whole post! It was a dense journey, but hopefully now you will have a new way of thinking about how you listen to music and react.
*Please note that I may edit this description, or anything I post, if further studying causes me to need to refine what I have written.
Monday, October 11, 2010
The 3 P's: Psychology, Physics, and Pitch!
I am currently reading two books on music cognition as part of my studies: This is Your Brain on Music by Daniel Levitin, and Sweet Anticipation- Music and the Psychology of Expectation by David Huron.
According to Levitin, musical pitch is "a purely psychological construct, related both to the actual frequency of a particular tone and to its relative position in the musical scale...refers to the mental representation an organism has [of sound]." (p.15-22) This certainly makes sense seeing as our emotional response to music is based primarily on the melody, which is made up of many pitches. Without the psychological element, we're just talking about air molecules vibrating at certain frequencies.
Quiz time! Could you hear music in a vacuum?
Nope! Pitches produced at different frequencies cause surrounding air molecules to vibrate at the given frequency. Your ear drum in turn vibrates at that same frequency. We then use our inner ears and brain to analyze the way our ear drums vibrate and make connections. However, in a vacuum there are no air molecules so the tone "produced" would never make it to your ear. What if you were underwater??
According to Levitin, musical pitch is "a purely psychological construct, related both to the actual frequency of a particular tone and to its relative position in the musical scale...refers to the mental representation an organism has [of sound]." (p.15-22) This certainly makes sense seeing as our emotional response to music is based primarily on the melody, which is made up of many pitches. Without the psychological element, we're just talking about air molecules vibrating at certain frequencies.
Quiz time! Could you hear music in a vacuum?
Nope! Pitches produced at different frequencies cause surrounding air molecules to vibrate at the given frequency. Your ear drum in turn vibrates at that same frequency. We then use our inner ears and brain to analyze the way our ear drums vibrate and make connections. However, in a vacuum there are no air molecules so the tone "produced" would never make it to your ear. What if you were underwater??
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Britney Spears meets Kol Nidre
[edited]
How could a song performed by a pop-artist share commonalities with a holy Jewish prayer melody?
A couple weeks ago I was accompanying Yom Kippur services at Temple and for one of the preludes I played "Kol Nidre" which is a standard tune used at this service. It utilizes the chord progression: i --> V4/3. Note that the 5th of the chord is in the bass. This is invoked in me, and would in most listeners, a sense of tension as the bass tone does not immediately resolve and is rather unstable. We anticipate an immediate resolution due to the tension caused by such a seventh chord but we do not get it right away.
A little while after the service, I was watching a GLEE episode featuring Britney Spears. I wasn't thinking at all about the service I had played at earlier until Rachel started singing "Baby, One More Time." After GLEE's faithful rendition of this hit track, something sparked in my head, I wasn't sure what, but it was something important, so I went online to listen to the song again. I then realized I felt unsettled as I did during Kol Nidre. But wait, these two pieces are totally different! Why would I make this connection? After analyzing the first couple bars of "Baby One More Time" I realized the chorus uses a seventh in a similar way: the i to V6/5. This time the leading tone is in the bass of the chord instead. However, just like in Kol Nidre, the seventh chord is used in a way that it dangles unstably instead of comfortably resolving right away to minor tonic as any listener would anticipate,whether he/she was conscious of this or not.
Later I plan to look more closely at chord progressions and how other chord progressions affect emotion. It is so interesting that two totally different songs can evoke a similar emotional response just based on the way they treat chords!
(credit to my conductor and teacher for helping me with this post!)
How could a song performed by a pop-artist share commonalities with a holy Jewish prayer melody?
A couple weeks ago I was accompanying Yom Kippur services at Temple and for one of the preludes I played "Kol Nidre" which is a standard tune used at this service. It utilizes the chord progression: i --> V4/3. Note that the 5th of the chord is in the bass. This is invoked in me, and would in most listeners, a sense of tension as the bass tone does not immediately resolve and is rather unstable. We anticipate an immediate resolution due to the tension caused by such a seventh chord but we do not get it right away.
A little while after the service, I was watching a GLEE episode featuring Britney Spears. I wasn't thinking at all about the service I had played at earlier until Rachel started singing "Baby, One More Time." After GLEE's faithful rendition of this hit track, something sparked in my head, I wasn't sure what, but it was something important, so I went online to listen to the song again. I then realized I felt unsettled as I did during Kol Nidre. But wait, these two pieces are totally different! Why would I make this connection? After analyzing the first couple bars of "Baby One More Time" I realized the chorus uses a seventh in a similar way: the i to V6/5. This time the leading tone is in the bass of the chord instead. However, just like in Kol Nidre, the seventh chord is used in a way that it dangles unstably instead of comfortably resolving right away to minor tonic as any listener would anticipate,whether he/she was conscious of this or not.
Later I plan to look more closely at chord progressions and how other chord progressions affect emotion. It is so interesting that two totally different songs can evoke a similar emotional response just based on the way they treat chords!
(credit to my conductor and teacher for helping me with this post!)
Music and the Brain as an Independent Study
Hi all,
As an Independent Study this year, I will be engaging in a year-long investigation of music cognition. The study will include the biology, psychology, and musicality behind how we respond to music and why. What makes music memorable? How do different pieces induce different feelings in us? What makes music "sticky," that is, what causes us to remember certain segments and not others? How can music be used therapeutically? Which parts of our brain are active when we listen to music, compose, and perform? I will attempt to address all of these questions and more through research, analysis, and lab studies.
Some posts will be general while other posts will be more directly related to music theory. So if you are not fluent in "music talk", please bear with me! Hopefully everyone will be able to get something out of my posts.
Being a student organist, violinist, composer, and conductor, I have always been interested in this area and hope you will join me on this intellectual and musical investigation and follow the blog!
As an Independent Study this year, I will be engaging in a year-long investigation of music cognition. The study will include the biology, psychology, and musicality behind how we respond to music and why. What makes music memorable? How do different pieces induce different feelings in us? What makes music "sticky," that is, what causes us to remember certain segments and not others? How can music be used therapeutically? Which parts of our brain are active when we listen to music, compose, and perform? I will attempt to address all of these questions and more through research, analysis, and lab studies.
Some posts will be general while other posts will be more directly related to music theory. So if you are not fluent in "music talk", please bear with me! Hopefully everyone will be able to get something out of my posts.
Being a student organist, violinist, composer, and conductor, I have always been interested in this area and hope you will join me on this intellectual and musical investigation and follow the blog!
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