The dynamics of attending: How people track time-varying events.

Nine professional musicians were instructed to perform short melodies using various instruments - the violin, electric guitar, flute, and singing voice - so as to communicate specific emotional characters to listeners. The performances were first validated by having listeners rating the emotional expression and then analysed with regard to their physical characteristics, e.g. tempo, dynamics, timing, and spectrum. The main findings were that (a) the performer's expressive intention had a marked effect on all analysed variables; (b) the performers showed many similarities as well as individual differences in emotion encoding; (c) listeners were generally successful in decoding the intended expression; and (d) some emotional characters seemed easier to communicate than others. The reported results imply that we are unlikely to find performance rules independent of instrument, musical style, performer, or listener.

Emotional Expression in Music Performance: Between the Performer's Intention and the Listener's Experience:

Publisher Summary Music performance is a large subject that can be approached in many different ways. This chapter focuses on empirical research of music performance and related matters. Most of this research is concerned with Western tonal music and mainly art music. Excellence in music performance involves two major components like a genuine understanding of what the music is about, its structure and meaning, and a complete mastery of the instrumental technique. Evaluation of performance included many studies which are reviewed earlier. Evaluation occurs in the everyday activity of music critics, music teachers, and musicians. An overall evaluation is considered as a weighted function of the evaluations in the specific aspects. In order to maintain the tempo and to achieve perceived synchrony, musicians should therefore play a small amount ahead of the beat they hear. With sharp attacks the delay is less, and instruments with sharp attacks may therefore serve as “beat-definers” for the rest of an ensemble. In addition, some attempts are made to predict evaluation of music performances from the physical characteristics of the performances.

The Performance of Music

Why does a large proportion of the population engage in some form of gambling, although they know they are most likely to lose, and that the gambling industry makes huge profits? Do gamblers simply accept their losses as fate, or do they believe that they will be able to overcome the negative odds in some miraculous way? The paradox is complicated by the fact that those habitual gamblers who are most aware that systematic losses cannot be avoided, are the least likely to stop gambling. Detailed analyses of actual gambling behaviour have shown gamblers to be victims of a variety of cognitive illusions, which lead them to believe that the general statistical rules of determining the probability of loss do not apply to them as individuals. The designers of gambling games cleverly exploit these illusions in order to promote a false perception of the situation.
Much of the earlier interest in gambling behaviour has been centred on the traditional theories of human decision-making, where decisions are portrayed as choices among bets. This led to a tradition of studying decision-making in experiments on betting. In this title, originally published in 1988, the author argues that betting behaviour should not be used as a typical example of human decision-making upon which a general psychological theory could be founded, and that these traditional views can in no way account for the gambling behaviour reported in this book.

Paradoxes of gambling behaviour

Truslit's (1938) monograph, rarely cited nowadays and found in few academic libraries, contains profound insights into the motional character of music and the performer's role in shaping it. His ideas are highly relevant to contemporary attempts to understand the nature of musical motion and its communication in performance, and, although often speculative and sup- ported only by very marginal data, they provide a valuable source of hypotheses for the more extensive and precise empirical inquiries that are feasible now. To bring Truslit's important theoretical contribution to the attention of contemporary researchers and musicians, this paper presents a highly condensed and annotated translation of his book.

Music as Motion: A Synopsis of Alexander Truslit's (1938) Gestaltung und Bewegung in der Musik

Rhythm in Music

The teaching and administration of high school music

Essentials in Conducting

Music for Every Child; Every Child for Music

Music in the Grade Schools. Karl Wilson Gehrkens. [C. C. Birchard & Co., 221 Columbus Avenue, Boston, Mass.] Perhaps no better statement could be made of any educationalist than that which is particularly true of Professor Gehrkens, namely that he is and will always remain primarily a student. It is for this reason that we confidently expect all he writes to be informative, thoughtful, inquiring, and lastingly stimulating. In this book we find the essence of the man as reacting in the field of his major interest, after ample experience, richly reflected upon. It is a wholly matured product-and the book is a practical one, yet, needless to say, without a trace of the shallowness that often appears as a correlate of the practical. The field surveyed includes the kindergarten and first six grades. In Chapter I, entitled Objectives in the First Six Grades, a twelve-point program is laid down. Then follow, as processes or developments requisite to attainment of the stated objectives, paragraphs on Tone, Rhythmic Response, Tone Quality, Part-Singing, Design, Reading, Theory, Taste, Original Composition, Community Songs, Music Literature, Attitude. Chapter II, Avenues of Approach to Music Appreciation, is similarly of general nature. The Ingredients of Appreciation; Appreciation through Singing; Creating; Factual Study-these are samples of topic headings that disclose both the author's breadth and his practical grasp of a subject that too often has been weakly and superficially treated. The whole chapter is thoroughly sound and strong, and it should be read and its teachings should be accepted. These two chapters have been mentioned in detail because their content underlies the author's thought with respect to all instruction, at all grade levels, as discussed in the chapters following. General discussion, however, is by no means limited to the two. At no time, indeed, does the book become a mere graded outline. "What to do" receives helpful, practical statement, it is true, but the "why" of doing-which is quite as much a practical question, but of a less superficial character-is discussed wisely at every point. Such chapter headings as First Steps in Reading Music, The Observation Song as a Teaching Method, Creative Work, Rhythm Training and Dalcroze Eurhythmics, Correlation-Its Philosophy and Practice, suggest the nature and direction of these really educational discussions. On the other hand, chapters such as Kindergarten and First Grade Problems, and Drills for Practice in Reading Intervals and Rhythms, deal largely with the concrete aspects of the practical. It would be trivial to debate opinions as set forth in the book. A work by a propagandist of some new cult might call for such discussion, but the precise point of view taken by an experienced leader with respect to some detail of belief is of small moment. If I read a book on protective tariffs, I do not want to lose the book in debating the question whether sugar should be taxed a cent more or less than the writer prefers. This book by Professor Gehrkens is an indispensable book for every person connected in any way with instruction in music in public schools. It is such books that are giving us a pedagogy of music that is superior to that possessed by any other nation. But their number is still pitifully small; and that being true, such a book as this, that would command high place were there countless others, is literally invaluable. -Will Earhart

Karl W. Gehrkens

Papers

Rhythm in Music

The teaching and administration of high school music

Essentials in Conducting

Music for Every Child; Every Child for Music

Music in the Grade Schools