Showing papers in "Music Perception in 2011"
TL;DR: This article found statistically significant positive relationships between enjoyment of evoked negative emotion in response to music with both absorption and the recently reported construct of 9music empathy,9 Factor analysis and a regression model confirmed these results.
Abstract: Why do People Seek out Music that Makes Them cry? This paradox is a complex one that appears to have no single answer. Rather, numerous factors appear to be interacting in the diverse responses of individuals to music. The present study tested the hypothesis that individual differences in dissociation, absorption, fantasy proneness, empathy, and rumination would be related to the enjoyment of negative emotion in music. Fifty-nine participants completed a survey pertaining to this question. Results revealed statistically significant positive relationships between enjoyment of evoked negative emotion in response to music with both absorption and the recently reported construct of 9music empathy,9 Factor analysis and a regression model confirmed these results, and the approach suggests that further study of individual differences will continue to provide new insights into some of the subtleties of the enjoyment of negative emotions in music.
179 citations
TL;DR: This article investigated whether the association between music lessons and intelligence is mediated by executive functions and found that at least part of the positive influence music lessons have on executive functions, which in turn improved performance on intelligence tests.
Abstract: the present study investigated whether the association between music lessons and intelligence is mediated by executive functions. Intelligence and five different executive functions (set shifting, selective attention, planning, inhibition, and fluency) were assessed in 9- to 12-year-old children with varying amounts of music lessons. Significant associations emerged between music lessons and all of the measures of executive function. Executive functions mediated the association between music lessons and intelligence, with the measures of selective attention and inhibition being the strongest contributors to the mediation effect. Our results suggest that at least part of the association between music lessons and intelligence is explained by the positive influence music lessons have on executive functions, which in turn improve performance on intelligence tests.
157 citations
TL;DR: This review argues not only that common neural mechanisms for speech and music exist, but that experience in music leads to enhancements in sensory and cognitive contributors to speech processing, including reading and hearing speech in background noise.
Abstract: Human hearing depends on a combination of cognitive and sensory processes that function by means of an interactive circuitry of bottom-up and top-down neural pathways, extending from the cochlea to the cortex and back again. Given that similar neural pathways are recruited to process sounds related to both music and language, it is not surprising that the auditory expertise gained over years of consistent music practice fine-tunes the human auditory system in a comprehensive fashion, strengthening neurobiological and cognitive underpinnings of both music and speech processing. In this review we argue not only that common neural mechanisms for speech and music exist, but that experience in music leads to enhancements in sensory and cognitive contributors to speech processing. Of specific interest is the potential for music training to bolster neural mechanisms that undergird language-related skills, such as reading and hearing speech in background noise, which are critical to academic progress, emotional health, and vocational success.
100 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe some characteristics of persistent musical and verbal retrieval episodes, commonly known as "earworms" and describe how these persistent musical memories were common across people and occurred frequently for most respondents, and were often linked to recent exposure to preferred music.
Abstract: We describe some characteristics of persistent musical and verbal retrieval episodes, commonly known as "earworms." In Study 1, participants first filled out a survey summarizing their earworm experiences retrospectively. This was followed by a diary study to document each experience as it happened. Study 2 was an extension of the diary study with a larger sample and a focus on triggering events. Consistent with popular belief, these persistent musical memories were common across people and occurred frequently for most respondents, and were often linked to recent exposure to preferred music. Contrary to popular belief, the large majority of such experiences were not unpleasant. Verbal earworms were uncommon. These memory experiences provide an interesting example of extended memory retrieval for music in a naturalistic situation.
77 citations
TL;DR: In two experiments, this paper assessed the experiential and cognitive consequences of seven minutes exposure to music (Experiment 1) and speech and found that participants listen to music for seven minutes and reported their emotional experiences based on ratings of valence (pleasant-unpleasant) and two types of arousal: energy (energetic-boring) and tension (tense-calm).
Abstract: In Two Experiments, We Assessed the Experiential and cognitive consequences of seven minutes exposure to music (Experiment 1) and speech (Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, participants listened to music for seven minutes and reported their emotional experiences based on ratings of valence (pleasant-unpleasant) and two types of arousal: energy (energetic-boring) and tension (tense-calm). They were then assessed on two cognitive skills: speed of processing and creativity. Music varied in pitch height (high or low pitched), rate (fast or slow), and intensity (loud or soft). Experiment 2 replicated Experiment 1 using male and female speech. Experiential and cognitive consequences of stimulus manipulations were overlapping in the two experiments, suggesting that music and speech draw on a common emotional code. There were also divergent effects, however, implicating domain-specific influences on emotion induction. We discuss the results in view of a psychological framework for understanding auditory signals of emotion.
61 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the synchronization error (SE) of drum kit playing by professional drummers with an auditory metronome was examined, focusing on the effects of motor effectors and tempi.
Abstract: the present study examined the synchronization error (SE) of drum kit playing by professional drummers with an auditory metronome, focusing on the effects of motor effectors and tempi. Fifteen professional drummers attempted to synchronize a basic drumming pattern with a metronome as precisely as possible at tempi of 60, 120, and 200 beats per minute (bpm). In the 60 and 120 bpm conditions, the right hand (high-hat cymbals) showed small mean SE (∼2 ms), whereas the left hand (snare drum) and right foot (bass drum) preceded the metronome by about 10 ms. In the 200 bpm condition, the right hand was delayed by about 10 ms relative to the metronome, whereas the left hand and right foot showed small SE (∼1 ms). The absolute values of SE were smaller than those reported in previous tapping studies. In addition, the time series of SE were significantly correlated across the motor effectors, suggesting that each limb synchronized in relation to the other limbs rather than independently with the metronome.
46 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, various musical characteristics were manipulated to observe their potential influence on perceived tempo, and the results indicated that comparison melodies were judged faster when displaying a higher pitch and/or a brighter timbre, even when no actual tempo differences existed.
Abstract: Recent research in music cognition has investigated ways in which different structural dimensions interact to influence perception and cognition. In the present research, various musical characteristics were manipulated to observe their potential influence on perceived tempo. In Experiment 1, participants were given a paired comparison task in which music-like patterns differed in both the pitch octave (high vs. low) and timbre (bright vs. dull) in which they were played. The results indicated that relative to their standard referents, comparison melodies were judged faster when displaying a higher pitch and/or a brighter timbre—even when no actual tempo differences existed. Experiment 2 converged on these findings by demonstrating that the perceived tempo of a melody was judged faster when it increased in pitch and/or loudness over time. These results are suggested to stem from an overgeneralization of certain structural correlations within the natural environment that, in turn, has implications for both musical performance and the processing of tempo information.
34 citations
TL;DR: It is concluded that body movements, both real and imagined, may play an important role in the development of music preferences.
Abstract: Music is Intimately Connected with Body movements. Until recently, research has almost exclusively examined the impact of music on body movements. Yet findings on embodied cognition in other domains suggest that the influence might also work in the opposite direction: Real or imagined body movements during music listening may codetermine music preferences. We had participants listen to music and concurrently activate muscles whose innervation has been shown to be associated with "positive" and "negative" affect (activation vs. inhibition of smiling muscles, vertical vs. horizontal head movements, and arm flexion vs. arm extension). Activation of the positively associated muscle groups led to higher preference ratings for the music pieces than activation of the negatively associated ones. A first exploration of candidate explanations for the effect suggests that it is most likely due to conditioning processes. It is concluded that body movements, both real and imagined, may play an important role in the development of music preferences.
33 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the effects of regulatory fit and music training on performance on one subtest of the Montreal Battery of Evaluation of Amusia (MBEA) were examined, showing that regulatory fit impacts performance on the MBEA and highlights the importance of motivational orientation with respect to musician performance advantages.
Abstract: two experiments examined effects of regulatory fit and music training on performance on one subtest of the Montreal Battery of Evaluation of Amusia (MBEA). Participants made same-different judgments about melody pairs, while either gaining points for correct answers (gains condition) or losing points for incorrect answers (losses condition). In Experiment 1, participants were told that the test was diagnostic of their music ability and then were asked to self-identify as a musician or a nonmusician. In Experiment 2, participants were given either a promotion-focus prime (a performance-based opportunity to gain entry into a raffle) or a prevention-focus prime (a raffle ticket was awarded at the start of the experiment and participants prevented its loss by maintaining a certain level of performance). Consistent with a regulatory fit hypothesis, nonmusicians and promotion-primed participants performed better in the gains condition than the losses condition, while musicians and prevention-primed participants performed better in the losses condition than the gains condition. Experiment 2 additionally revealed that regulatory fit effects were stronger for musicians than nonmusicians. This study demonstrates that regulatory fit impacts performance on the MBEA and highlights the importance of motivational orientation with respect to musician performance advantages in music perception.
23 citations
TL;DR: An analysis-by-synthesis approach was used to transform previously recorded clarinet performances by reducing the expressive deviations from the spectral centroid, the intertone onset interval and the acoustical energy.
Abstract: In a Previous Study, Mechanical and Expressive clarinet performances of Bach9s Suite No. II and Mozart9s Quintet for Clarinet and Strings were analyzed to determine whether some acoustical correlates of timbre (e.g., spectral centroid), timing (intertone onset interval), and dynamics (root mean square envelope) showed significant differences depending on the expressive intention of the performer. In the present companion study, we investigate the effects of these acoustical parameters on listeners9 preferences. An analysis-by-synthesis approach was used to transform previously recorded clarinet performances by reducing the expressive deviations from the spectral centroid, the intertone onset interval and the acoustical energy. Twenty skilled musicians were asked to select which version they preferred in a paired comparison task. The results of statistical analyses showed that the removal of the spectral centroid variations resulted in the greatest loss of musical preference.
19 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors studied pianists' keystroke intensity and timing as they produced improvised jazz solos and rehearsed imitations of these solos, and found that the entropy of key stroke intensity was reliably highest for improvisations and corresponding effects for timing were less consistent.
Abstract: while spontaneity is often a desirable quality in music performance, the objective musical features that characterize genuinely spontaneous performances are unclear. We addressed this issue by recording pianists’ keystroke intensity and timing as they produced improvised jazz solos and rehearsed imitations of these solos. Results indicated that the entropy of keystroke intensity was reliably highest for improvisations. Corresponding effects for timing were less consistent. The effects observed for intensity may reflect irregularities in force control associated with relatively wide variations in the performer’s (un)certainty about upcoming actions during real-time musical invention. Related fluctuations in loudness may provide listeners with cues to musical spontaneity, thereby affecting aesthetic evaluations of performance quality.
TL;DR: In an experiment with eight harpsichordists and eight baroque violinists, the authors found that the mean ratio of inequality was 1.63, with mean ratios of individual performers varying between 1.89 and 1.33.
Abstract: notes inegales is a common practice in the performance of French baroque music. It indicates that the first of a pair of equally notated notes is played longer, similar to the use of swing eighths in jazz. The performance of that inequality is an ongoing source of debate, but the actual performance has not been studied yet. In an experiment, eight harpsichordists and eight baroque violinists performed six melodies of French baroque gavottes in three tempo conditions. The mean ratio of inequality was 1.63, with mean ratios of individual performers varying between 1.89 and 1.33. Another significant source of variance was the metric structure, with larger inequality found at metrically important points. Tempo also had an important influence, but individual interpretation varied greatly. For example, while most performers played more evenly while tempo increased, some performers chose the opposite strategy. Pitch interval had only a minor impact on the execution of the notes inegales, but also showed differences between performers. The results show the importance of personal style in music performance: although the music played is highly standardized, we show how the timing of different performers can be influenced by different aspects of the musical structure.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyzed field recordings of performances of one Aboriginal dance-song, Djanba, over a span of 34 years and found that performance tempi deviated positively or negatively, on average, by 2%.
Abstract: songs that are not notated but transmitted through live performance are of particular interest for the psychological study of the stability of tempo across multiple performances. While experimental research points to highly accurate memory for the tempi of well-known recorded music, this study asks whether there is any evidence of absolute tempo in a performance tradition that does not draw on such reference recordings. Fifty-four field recordings of performances of one Aboriginal dance-song, Djanba 14 , were analyzed. Results showed that over a span of 34 years, performance tempi deviated positively or negatively, on average, by 2%. Such small tempo variation is similar to JND thresholds to discriminate the tempi of isochronous sequences. Thirty-five field recordings of another song from the same repertory, Djanba 12 , deviated in tempi by an average of 3%. We discuss the musical, psychological, physical, and cultural factors likely to shape such temporal stability.