Music perception

Question 1

Music

Answer 1

ordered sound made and perceived by human beings, created in meaningful patterns

Question 2

Function of music

Answer 2

sexual selection function: Musical ability as a sign of good health and intelligence. Only a fit person has the time to develop musical talent. Music binds people together in coherent groups: singing and dancing brough people together

Question 3

Relation between pitch and frequency

Answer 3

The higher the frequency, the higher the pitch we hear. The lower the frequency, the lower the pitch we hear

Question 4

Octave

Answer 4

interval between one note and a note with either double the frequency or half the frequency of that note. A frequency of 200Hz has octaves of 100Hz below it and 400Hz above it

Question 5

Chroma

Answer 5

the subjecte quality of a pitch; we judge sounds an octave apart to be of the same chroma.

Question 6

Semitones

Answer 6

the 12 equivalent interval or notes within each octave

Question 7

Equal-temperament scale

Answer 7

A tuning system in which the difference between each successive semitone is constant both in pitch and in frequency.

Question 8

Harmony

Answer 8

the pleasant sound that results when two or more notes are played together

Question 9

Consonance

Answer 9

the perception of pleasantness or harmony when two or more notes are played; that is, the notes fit with each other
-> Notes seperated by an octave, major thirds (C,E), perfect fourths (C,F)

Question 10

dissonance

Answer 10

the perception of unpleasantness or disharmony when two or more notes do not fit together
-> adjacent notes

Question 11

dynamics

Answer 11

relative loudness and how loudness changes across a composition

Question 12

rhythm

Answer 12

the temporal patterning of music, including the tempo, the beat, and the meter

Question 13

Tempo

Answer 13

the place at which a piece of music is played, speed of the music

Question 14

Meter

Answer 14

The temporal pattern of sound across time

Question 15

Beat

Answer 15

spaced pulses that indicate if a piece is fast or slow

Question 16

timbre

Answer 16

complex sound created by harmonics, flute + violin can play the same note, but it sounds different due to the timbre

Question 17

attack

Answer 17

the beginning buildup of a note. how quickly the instrument expresses all its frequencies and if there are any differences in the onset of harmonics

Question 18

decay

Answer 18

how long the fundamental frequency and harmonics remain at their peak loudness until they start to disappear

Question 19

melody

Answer 19

a rhythmically organized sequence of notes, which we perceive as a single musical unit or idea

Question 20

scale

Answer 20

a set of ordered notes starting at one note and ending at the same note one octave higher

Question 21

key

Answer 21

the tonic note (e.g., C in a C major or minor scale) that given a subjective sense of arrival and rest in a musical piece

Question 22

transposition

Answer 22

the process through which one can create multiple versions of a melody that start on different notes but contain the same intervals or sequence of changes in notes

Question 23

Proximity

Answer 23

Elements close together in pitch, time or space are seen as a group. Notes are also grouped together if they are played in time or if they come from the same instrument or section of a larger musical group.

Question 24

similarity

Answer 24

• similar timbres
• once a melody has been established, we may follow the melody because of its similarity across changes in instruments

Question 25

closure

Answer 25

an incomplete pattern is seen as whole when the completion occurs. In music, closure means that a melody should end on the tonic note of any particular scale or another note implied by the progression of the melody

Question 26

good continuation

Answer 26

smooth continuity is preferred over changes in direction. Most composers will tend to have on note be relatively close to the previous in pitch, allowing listeners to hear those notes as connected

Question 27

synesthesia

Answer 27

condition in which a stimulus in one modality consistently triggers a response in another modality.

Question 28

color-music synesthesia

Answer 28

form of synesthesia that occurs when particular pitches, notes, or chords elicit experiences of particular visual colors. Recent with synesthesia tend to have stronger connections between one sensory area and another sensory area than people without do.

Question 29

Neurology Synesthesia

Answer 29

people with synesthesia have different brain organization. tend to have stronger connections between one sensory area and another sensory area than people without do. The white matter between one perceptual area and another is stronger in those with synesthesia

Question 30

amusia

Answer 30

condition in which brain damage interferes with the perception of music, but does not otherwise with other aspects of auditory processing

Question 30

neurology color-music synesthesia

Answer 30

have a stronger connections between the visual and auditory cortices and areas in the frontal lobe. Inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (tract from the sensory areas to the frontal lobe) is enlarged. different structure in the connections between visual areas in the occipital lobe and auditory association areas in the temporal lobe

Question 31

congenital amusia

Answer 31

condition in which people are inherently poor at music perception
-> may be because of a neuroanatomical pathway might be suppressed/impaired, or deficits in the transmission of information from the auditory associative cortex and the area in the frontal lobe (inferior frontal lobe)

Question 32

shepard tones

Answer 32

creates the perception of a continuously ascending or descending scale, yet the pitch never seems to reach a highest or lowest point. Instead, it gives the listener the impression that they are continually moving up or down the scale without ever reaching an endpoint. Achieved by stacking multiple tones separated by octaves. As one tone fades out, another tone at a higher or lower octave fades in, creating the illusion of continuous ascent or descent

Question 33

the octave illusion

Answer 33

two tones are played in alternating stereo channels, with one tone being slightly higher in pitch than the other. However, the timing between the tones is such that the higher-pitched tone is always presented to one ear slightly before the lower-pitched tone is presented to the other ear.

Question 34

scale illusion

Answer 34

involves the perception of changing pitch direction in a repeating sequence of tones, even though the sequence itself remains constant. the brain has difficulty distinguishing between ascending and descending sequences when they overlap in this manner. Instead of perceiving the individual changes in pitch direction, listeners may perceive a consistent trend in one direction (either up or down) throughout the sequence

Question 35

the tritone paradox

Answer 35

listeners are presented with a sequence of two tones played in rapid succession. These tones are sepearated by an interval of a tritone (half octave or the interval spanning six semitones). When the sequence of tones is repeated, listeners perceive the melody as ascending or descending, even though the tones themselves remain the same

Question 36

Difference in processing of music vs sound brain area

Answer 36

Secondary auditory cortex

Question 37

small pitch changes brain area

Answer 37

right temporal lobe

Question 38

better pitch resolution brain area

Answer 38

right secondary auditory cortex (planum temporale and areas within the primary auditory cortex)

Question 39

Increased music training Brain area

Answer 39

left hemisphere more involved, increased activity in the bilateral superior temporal gyrus

Question 40

Rhythm

Answer 40

primary auditory cortex of the right hemisphere (especially belt and parabelt areas), left parietal cortex and cerebellum

Question 41

Singing in the brain paper

Answer 41

Music -> planum polare and temporale
Vocal -> superior temporal sulcus and gyrus
Hierarchical processing of complex social acoustic stimuli along the temporal lobes

Question 42

Technological constraints in Implants

Answer 42

• Primarily optimised to transmit acoustic cues for speech - difficulty with properties that exceed those of speech (spectral, temporal, and timbral complexity)
• Severe pitch limitations

Question 43

Conclusion Implants paper

Answer 43

Patients that undergo music rehabilitation demonstrate improved melodic contour and timbre identification from baseline, with increases in subjective appraisal of music.