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.