Pub Date : 2019-04-18DOI: 10.18061/EMR.V13I3-4.6637
W. Gruhn, R. Ristmägi, P. Schneider, A. D'Souza, K. Kiilu
Absolute pitch (AP) is the ability to identify or produce a given pitch without a reference. This study examines the stability of pitch labeling accuracy in a broad sample of AP possessors when natural complex tones are compared to modified sound structures (slightly out-of-tune pitches, sounds with missing fundamentals, and pure tones). A passive listening test with single tones was developed (Tallinn Test of Absolute Pitch, TTAP), with 150 items selected, representing 60 synthetic instrumental tones (violin, clarinet, and trumpet) in different octave ranges and dynamics, and 90 electronically modified sounds, each presented in three different octave ranges. Additional information was collected, regarding handedness, start of instrumental instruction, educational status, occurrence of AP in the family, and associations with processing pitch recognition. Results showed a clear decrease of pitch recognition accuracy between natural complex sounds and pure sine tones. A significant main effect on TTAP scores was found for early starts of instrumental instruction. The findings are discussed in the context of the nature-nurture debate (genetic vs environmental factors), as well as the implications of genetic and memory aspects of pitch recognition.
{"title":"How Stable is Pitch Labeling Accuracy in Absolute Pitch Possessors?","authors":"W. Gruhn, R. Ristmägi, P. Schneider, A. D'Souza, K. Kiilu","doi":"10.18061/EMR.V13I3-4.6637","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18061/EMR.V13I3-4.6637","url":null,"abstract":"Absolute pitch (AP) is the ability to identify or produce a given pitch without a reference. This study examines the stability of pitch labeling accuracy in a broad sample of AP possessors when natural complex tones are compared to modified sound structures (slightly out-of-tune pitches, sounds with missing fundamentals, and pure tones). A passive listening test with single tones was developed (Tallinn Test of Absolute Pitch, TTAP), with 150 items selected, representing 60 synthetic instrumental tones (violin, clarinet, and trumpet) in different octave ranges and dynamics, and 90 electronically modified sounds, each presented in three different octave ranges. Additional information was collected, regarding handedness, start of instrumental instruction, educational status, occurrence of AP in the family, and associations with processing pitch recognition. Results showed a clear decrease of pitch recognition accuracy between natural complex sounds and pure sine tones. A significant main effect on TTAP scores was found for early starts of instrumental instruction. The findings are discussed in the context of the nature-nurture debate (genetic vs environmental factors), as well as the implications of genetic and memory aspects of pitch recognition.","PeriodicalId":44128,"journal":{"name":"Empirical Musicology Review","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-04-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46441511","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-04-18DOI: 10.18061/EMR.V13I3-4.6723
Siu-Lan Tan
Kock and Louven (in this issue) examined the effects of music, sound effects, full sound design (music and sound effects) and no sound on self-reported measures of immersion and suspense in real time, as viewers watched very brief original films. This commentary discusses the method, analysis, and implications of their findings within the broader context of the state of the art of film music research, and future directions for investigations in this area.
{"title":"Investigating Sound Design in Film: A Commentary on Kock and Louven","authors":"Siu-Lan Tan","doi":"10.18061/EMR.V13I3-4.6723","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18061/EMR.V13I3-4.6723","url":null,"abstract":"Kock and Louven (in this issue) examined the effects of music, sound effects, full sound design (music and sound effects) and no sound on self-reported measures of immersion and suspense in real time, as viewers watched very brief original films. This commentary discusses the method, analysis, and implications of their findings within the broader context of the state of the art of film music research, and future directions for investigations in this area.","PeriodicalId":44128,"journal":{"name":"Empirical Musicology Review","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-04-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42468737","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-04-18DOI: 10.18061/EMR.V13I3-4.6597
Kelly Jakubowski
In this commentary, I discuss the results and implications of "How stable is pitch labeling accuracy in absolute pitch possessors?" by Gruhn, Ristmägi, Schneider, D'Souza, and Kiilu (2018). Their work provides some new insights on the accuracy of single tone labeling by absolute pitch (AP) possessors as a function of the spectral content of the presented tones. Previous findings on the effects of the familiarity of timbre and pitch chroma and early training in music are replicated and confirmed, indicating a role of learning and exposure in AP development. Prospects for future research are discussed, including the necessity of a validated psychometric instrument for measuring AP ability, and the need for longitudinal developmental research to more precisely isolate the factors that contribute to AP acquisition.
{"title":"Commentary on Gruhn et al.'s \"How Stable is Pitch Labeling Accuracy in Absolute Pitch Possessors?\"","authors":"Kelly Jakubowski","doi":"10.18061/EMR.V13I3-4.6597","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18061/EMR.V13I3-4.6597","url":null,"abstract":"In this commentary, I discuss the results and implications of \"How stable is pitch labeling accuracy in absolute pitch possessors?\" by Gruhn, Ristmägi, Schneider, D'Souza, and Kiilu (2018). Their work provides some new insights on the accuracy of single tone labeling by absolute pitch (AP) possessors as a function of the spectral content of the presented tones. Previous findings on the effects of the familiarity of timbre and pitch chroma and early training in music are replicated and confirmed, indicating a role of learning and exposure in AP development. Prospects for future research are discussed, including the necessity of a validated psychometric instrument for measuring AP ability, and the need for longitudinal developmental research to more precisely isolate the factors that contribute to AP acquisition.","PeriodicalId":44128,"journal":{"name":"Empirical Musicology Review","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-04-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48904790","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-04-18DOI: 10.18061/EMR.V13I3-4.6572
Maximilian Kock, Christoph Louven
The art of sound design for a moving picture rests basically on the work experience of pragmatists. This study tries to establish some guidelines on sound design: In an experiment 240 participants gave feedback about their emotions while watching two videos, each combined with four different audio tracks – music, sound effects, full sound design (music and sound effects) and no audio (as the comparative "null" version). Each participant viewed an audiovisual combination once to prevent habituation. The lead author employed a tablet-computer with the emoTouch-application serving as a mapping tool to provide information about the emotional responses. The participants moved a marker on the tablet's touch screen in a two-dimensional rating scale describing their felt immersion and suspense. A 3-factor-ANOVA showed significant increases of the median (and maximum) values of immersion and suspense when the participants listened to music and/ or sound effects. These values were always compared to the induced emotions of the participants who watched the videos with no audio at all. The video with full sound design audio tracks increased the median immersion values up to four times and the median suspense values up to 1.4 times. The median suspense values of the video with either music or sound effects dropped by 40 percent compared to the median suspense values of the null version. In contrast, the median immersion values were increased up to 3.6 times. The findings point to the importance of sound effects in an appropriate mix with music to enhance the viewers induced immersion and suspense.
{"title":"The Power of Sound Design in a Moving Picture: an Empirical Study with emoTouch for iPad","authors":"Maximilian Kock, Christoph Louven","doi":"10.18061/EMR.V13I3-4.6572","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18061/EMR.V13I3-4.6572","url":null,"abstract":"The art of sound design for a moving picture rests basically on the work experience of pragmatists. This study tries to establish some guidelines on sound design: In an experiment 240 participants gave feedback about their emotions while watching two videos, each combined with four different audio tracks – music, sound effects, full sound design (music and sound effects) and no audio (as the comparative \"null\" version). Each participant viewed an audiovisual combination once to prevent habituation. The lead author employed a tablet-computer with the emoTouch-application serving as a mapping tool to provide information about the emotional responses. The participants moved a marker on the tablet's touch screen in a two-dimensional rating scale describing their felt immersion and suspense. A 3-factor-ANOVA showed significant increases of the median (and maximum) values of immersion and suspense when the participants listened to music and/ or sound effects. These values were always compared to the induced emotions of the participants who watched the videos with no audio at all. The video with full sound design audio tracks increased the median immersion values up to four times and the median suspense values up to 1.4 times. The median suspense values of the video with either music or sound effects dropped by 40 percent compared to the median suspense values of the null version. In contrast, the median immersion values were increased up to 3.6 times. The findings point to the importance of sound effects in an appropriate mix with music to enhance the viewers induced immersion and suspense.","PeriodicalId":44128,"journal":{"name":"Empirical Musicology Review","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-04-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43033320","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-01-17DOI: 10.18061/EMR.V13I1-2.6316
C. Cutting
Microtonal evaluation of blue notes in the early blues scale by empirical pitch measurement and statistical characterization has not yet been performed in existing research. To address this, fifteen recorded classic blues performances by acknowledged early masters of the blues were studied. Computer based methods were used to collect the audio frequencies of note samples from each performance. Each note had its frequency ratio with respect to the average tonic tone for the performance converted to microtonal cents format. Cluster analysis was performed on these note collections to identify individual note clusters. The fourth and fifth were clearly identified. Three principal "blue note" clusters were isolated with means of 319.1, 582.8, and 1037.9 cents. These values corresponded closely to the harmonic half diminished seventh chord (i.e. 1, ♭3, ♭5, ♭7 with harmonics 5:6:7:9). The "neutral" third was confirmed to occur in this sample. A similar blending of the perfect fourth and tritone was demonstrated in this study. The flat 7th presented as three separate clusters. Several clusters idiosyncratic to individual performers were also identified. Findings are discussed with regards to the array of theories proposed to explain the blues.
{"title":"Microtonal Analysis of \"Blue Notes\" and the Blues Scale","authors":"C. Cutting","doi":"10.18061/EMR.V13I1-2.6316","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18061/EMR.V13I1-2.6316","url":null,"abstract":"Microtonal evaluation of blue notes in the early blues scale by empirical pitch measurement and statistical characterization has not yet been performed in existing research. To address this, fifteen recorded classic blues performances by acknowledged early masters of the blues were studied. Computer based methods were used to collect the audio frequencies of note samples from each performance. Each note had its frequency ratio with respect to the average tonic tone for the performance converted to microtonal cents format. Cluster analysis was performed on these note collections to identify individual note clusters. The fourth and fifth were clearly identified. Three principal \"blue note\" clusters were isolated with means of 319.1, 582.8, and 1037.9 cents. These values corresponded closely to the harmonic half diminished seventh chord (i.e. 1, ♭3, ♭5, ♭7 with harmonics 5:6:7:9). The \"neutral\" third was confirmed to occur in this sample. A similar blending of the perfect fourth and tritone was demonstrated in this study. The flat 7th presented as three separate clusters. Several clusters idiosyncratic to individual performers were also identified. Findings are discussed with regards to the array of theories proposed to explain the blues.","PeriodicalId":44128,"journal":{"name":"Empirical Musicology Review","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-01-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43123574","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-01-17DOI: 10.18061/EMR.V13I1-2.6512
Christopher S. Lee
In this commentary, several problematic aspects of Trevor and Huron's study are discussed and suggestions made for improving the experimental design.
在这篇评论中，讨论了特雷弗和休伦的研究中存在的几个问题，并提出了改进实验设计的建议。
{"title":"Commentary on Trevor and Huron, \"Are Humoresques Humorous? On the Acoustic Similarity Between Laughter and Staccato\"","authors":"Christopher S. Lee","doi":"10.18061/EMR.V13I1-2.6512","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18061/EMR.V13I1-2.6512","url":null,"abstract":"In this commentary, several problematic aspects of Trevor and Huron's study are discussed and suggestions made for improving the experimental design.","PeriodicalId":44128,"journal":{"name":"Empirical Musicology Review","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-01-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43145584","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-01-17DOI: 10.18061/EMR.V13I1-2.6600
Tilo Hähnel
This commentary discusses the target paper Microtonal Analysis of "Blue Notes" and the Blues Scale by Court B. Cutting. Overall, the paper is an interesting and very valuable attempt to shed light on the intonation practice of blue notes in traditional blues music, using an empirical approach which is based in modern acoustic measurements. While the approach and empirical results presented in the target paper undoubtedly have their merits, the paper nonetheless raises some methodological and conceptual questions, leading to some further thoughts that are discussed in this commentary. The issues raised in this commentary might serve as guidance for future empirical investigations into the nature and usage of blue notes.
{"title":"Commentary on Microtonal Analysis of \"Blue Notes\" and the Blues Scale by Court B. Cutting","authors":"Tilo Hähnel","doi":"10.18061/EMR.V13I1-2.6600","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18061/EMR.V13I1-2.6600","url":null,"abstract":"This commentary discusses the target paper Microtonal Analysis of \"Blue Notes\" and the Blues Scale by Court B. Cutting. Overall, the paper is an interesting and very valuable attempt to shed light on the intonation practice of blue notes in traditional blues music, using an empirical approach which is based in modern acoustic measurements. While the approach and empirical results presented in the target paper undoubtedly have their merits, the paper nonetheless raises some methodological and conceptual questions, leading to some further thoughts that are discussed in this commentary. The issues raised in this commentary might serve as guidance for future empirical investigations into the nature and usage of blue notes.","PeriodicalId":44128,"journal":{"name":"Empirical Musicology Review","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-01-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42253468","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-01-17DOI: 10.18061/EMR.V13I1-2.6118
C. Canonne
Is there something peculiar in our appreciation of improvised music? How does knowing that the music we are listening to is improvised affect our experience? As a first step in answering these questions, I have conducted an experiment in which an audio recording of the very same piece of music – a saxophone/clarinet freely improvised duet – was presented to 16 listeners, either as an improvisation ("IMPRO" condition), or as the live performance of a composition for saxophone and clarinet ("COMPO" condition). Listeners were encouraged both to reflect on their listening experience and to describe in their own words the music they heard. First, evaluative judgments were strongly different in the two listening conditions: listeners approached the piece with specific sets of values in mind, by relying on different features or different kinds of criteria (aesthetic ones in the COMPO condition vs ethical ones in the IMPRO condition) to ground their appreciative judgments. Second, and maybe more importantly, listening experiences were quite different in the two conditions: in the COMPO condition, the piece was more commonly experienced as a sonic product, with listeners paying great attention to the various acoustical effects achieved by the musicians and to the overall structure (or lack thereof); in the IMPRO condition, the music was often described as a kind of communicational or relational process, with descriptions that largely interweaved music-specific terms and more broadly social terms. Overall, this experiment shows that our listening experience can be dramatically affected by modal considerations, i.e., by how we think the music was produced. More specifically, it sheds some light on what constitutes the core of the aesthetic experience of improvisation by exhibiting what is centrally at play (and what is not) when we listen to collectively improvised music.
{"title":"Listening to Improvisation","authors":"C. Canonne","doi":"10.18061/EMR.V13I1-2.6118","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18061/EMR.V13I1-2.6118","url":null,"abstract":"Is there something peculiar in our appreciation of improvised music? How does knowing that the music we are listening to is improvised affect our experience? As a first step in answering these questions, I have conducted an experiment in which an audio recording of the very same piece of music – a saxophone/clarinet freely improvised duet – was presented to 16 listeners, either as an improvisation (\"IMPRO\" condition), or as the live performance of a composition for saxophone and clarinet (\"COMPO\" condition). Listeners were encouraged both to reflect on their listening experience and to describe in their own words the music they heard. First, evaluative judgments were strongly different in the two listening conditions: listeners approached the piece with specific sets of values in mind, by relying on different features or different kinds of criteria (aesthetic ones in the COMPO condition vs ethical ones in the IMPRO condition) to ground their appreciative judgments. Second, and maybe more importantly, listening experiences were quite different in the two conditions: in the COMPO condition, the piece was more commonly experienced as a sonic product, with listeners paying great attention to the various acoustical effects achieved by the musicians and to the overall structure (or lack thereof); in the IMPRO condition, the music was often described as a kind of communicational or relational process, with descriptions that largely interweaved music-specific terms and more broadly social terms. Overall, this experiment shows that our listening experience can be dramatically affected by modal considerations, i.e., by how we think the music was produced. More specifically, it sheds some light on what constitutes the core of the aesthetic experience of improvisation by exhibiting what is centrally at play (and what is not) when we listen to collectively improvised music.","PeriodicalId":44128,"journal":{"name":"Empirical Musicology Review","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-01-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42159187","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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