Sunday, December 5, 2010
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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.
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