Consonance

Question 1

Why is it difficult to conduct ‘consonance’ research

Answer 1

‘Consonance’ is a term which is not necessarily cross-cultural, so researchers use the term pleasant instead.
This is problematic as pleasant is not actually the same as consonant.

Question 2

What are the 3 main consonance theories?

Answer 2

1. Periodicity/harmonicity
2. Interference between partials
3. Cultural familiarity

Question 3

Periodicity and harmonicity

Answer 3

• the more periodic the wave, the more harmonic
• linked w simple integer ratios
• these mean that the fundamental frequencies of the sound are multiples of a common integer
  pleasantness =
• correlation w a simpler to understand auditory environment
• harmonicity linked w vocalisation
• harmonicity preference learnt through cultural experience

Question 4

Interference between partials

Answer 4

• linked with phase difference of waveform - out of phase waves create a beating effect
• proposes that overlapping/far apart partials = consonant vs small distance (approx. a semitone) = dissonance
• holds true with different tone spectra
• important ideas = beating and masking

Question 5

Sethares (2005)

Answer 5

Interference between partials holds true with different tone spectra analysis - when harmonics are stretched in a tone

Question 6

Beating phenomenon

Answer 6

• addition of 2 sine waves of similar frequencies create a beating effect
• theorised that this creates ‘sensory dissonance’ - an unpleasant effect linked w dissonance
• esp. between 20-30Hz - ‘roughness’

Question 7

Schwebungsdiaphonie (‘beat diaphony’)

Answer 7

• utilisation of ‘beating’ in Lithuanian genre of music

- problematises ‘beating as dissonant’ theory

Question 8

Masking phenomenom

Answer 8

• linked with idea of resolving partials
• well separated partials = easy to distinguish as they stimulate diff parts of BM
• linked with auditory filters concept
• 2 partials resolved in the same auditory filter causes interference
• partials randomly filtered out

Question 9

Cultural familiarity

Answer 9

Exposure -> enjoyment: Chmiel & Schubert (2017) inverted-U model
- ‘mere exposure effect’
- difficulty in separating preference/appearance - cultural feedback loop
(chicken and egg problem)

Question 10

Chmiel & Schubert (2017)

Answer 10

Inverted U-model - enjoyment and exposure plotted on separate axis (repeated exposure leads to more enjoyment but either end less enjoyment)

Question 11

What are the 4 ways of disentangling consonance theories?

Answer 11

1. Different cultural groups - look at variation across cultural groups
2. Individual difference in perception - variation within individuals of the same culture
3. Tone spectra - changing the tone spectra where we visualise consonance (e.g. stretching harmonics in a tone)
4. Regression modelling - can the results be predictably modelled (extrapolated and used to estimate)

Question 12

Bowling et. al (2017)

Answer 12

Refuting of McDermott et. al (2016)

• criticises the lack of discussion of similarity of tonal organisation across musical cultures
• recurrence of specific intervals and some scales cross-culturally
• most frequently used intervals across a range of musical cultures = the 8ve, perf 5th and perf 4th (important as humans have the capacity to distinguish hundreds of unique intervals)
• presence of exceptional intervals in culture do not negate this idea - show that biological constraints are not the sole definer of musical aesthetics

Question 13

Schellenberg & Trehub (1996)

Answer 13

Six-month-old infants (e.g.) exhibit greater sensitivity to changes in tuning applied to sequences of consonant as compared to dissonant intervals as well as greater attention, more positive affect, and reduced motoric activity.

Question 14

Richner (2016)

Answer 14

Male songbirds with larger black ventral ties (signal of social status and reproductive potential) sing with smaller deviations from small-integer ratios intervals than those with smaller ties. Suggest that melodic singing is evolutionary important in songbirds.

Question 15

McDermott et. al (2012)

Answer 15

​​Presented the same stimuli to participants with congenital amusia, a neurogenetic disorder causing deficits in melody processing. These listeners showed no preference for consonant over dissonant chords, but performed the same as a control group in the rating of roughness. This evidence suggests that although roughness is unpleasant for many listeners, its absence is not the basis of consonance.

Question 16

Cross (2003)

Answer 16

Music as a ‘biocultural phenomenom’ - Investigating whether consonance perception is biologically determined or shaped by culture is likely to be misleading, as it conceives enculturation as a non-biologically constrained process.