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Understanding Music Perception: From Tones to Cultural Interpretations

This exploration of music perception delves into the science of sound, including how string instruments like guitars produce varying pitches through physical properties such as mass, tension, and length. It considers how tone height, chroma, and harmonic relationships shape our understanding of music. The discussion extends to cultural interpretations in music, revealing how different traditions reflect unique philosophies. By analyzing rhythm, scale types, and melody in various global contexts, we uncover the psychological and cultural dimensions of music perception.

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Understanding Music Perception: From Tones to Cultural Interpretations

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Presentation Transcript

  1. PSYC 330: Perception Music

  2. Notes Tone height – frequency - but notice what happens at an octave Tone chroma – “color” shared by tones at octaves

  3. How does a guitar make sound? • Plucked strings vibrate • More massive strings vibrate more slowly  lower frequency  lower pitch • Less massive strings vibrate more rapidly  higher frequency  higher pitch • Tension of string matters  tighter string  faster vibration  higher pitch • Length of string also matters  manipulate by playing (fretting) • “Soundboard” vibrates • String vibration travels to bridge which moves soundboard (whole body) • Air inside guitar vibrates • Sound comes out sound hole  ear or bust!

  4. Harmonics

  5. Music and Culture • Modern conceptions • Music as entertainment • Reflection of philosophy • E.g. Western music reflects analytic tradition, elements put together to form whole • E.g. Indonesian music reflect mandalic philosophy (circular repetition), epicycle within cycle http://cybermesa.com/~bjackson/Papers/audiofiles/gamela24.wav • Analysis of rhythm (organization of sounds in time) • Human nature to hear rhythm, but not necessarily to present it the same • Western – precision, mathematical (syncopation – two rhythms which converge to provide interest) • Native American – physical drone drum, heartbeat http://cybermesa.com/~bjackson/Papers/audiofiles/ojibwa4.wav • Japan – unpredictability of naturehttp://cybermesa.com/~bjackson/Papers/audiofiles/gagaku1.wav

  6. Types of scales • Octaves pretty universal, how many steps to divide the rest? • My guitar: 12 equal steps – but how to divide it beyond that? • Heptatonic (7 note) • Pentatonic (5 notes) Quarter step inclusion: • Indian http://cybermesa.com/~bjackson/Papers/audiofiles/saran1-2.wav • Arabic http://cybermesa.com/~bjackson/Papers/audiofiles/islam1-4.wav • Indonesian – two scales • Pelog scale consists of seven unequally spaced notes of which five are used depending on the mode of the song • Slendro scale has five equally spaced notes and uses all notes in the songs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ku9iH2pU9g

  7. Melody (and Harmony) • Sequence of sounds that are perceived psychologically • Psychological, not physical reality • Melody survives transposition • Consistent with a relativistic interpretation (color constancy) • Also culturally selected

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