Ambiguity in Tempo Perception: What Draws Listeners to Different Metrical Levels?

2006 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin F. McKinney ◽  
Dirk Moelants

The distribution of listeners’ perceived tempi across large collections of music has been modeled previously by a resonance function with a peak near the “preferred tempo” of 120 beats per minute (BPM) [Van Noorden and Moelants, J. New Music Res., 28, 43–66]. Here, through a series of experiments in which listeners were asked to tap to the most salient pulse of musical excerpts,we examined distributions of tapped tempi from single musical excerpts to see if the global resonance of preferred tempo is dependent on musical content. Results show that for some musical excerpts, the distribution of perceived tempi conforms to the global resonant form in that metrical levels with tempi near 120 BPM were perceived as most salient, while for other excerpts the most saliently perceived tempo sat well above or below 120 BPM. We then used a model, which quantifies relative strengths of periodicities in the audio signal, to demonstrate that deviations from the “preferred tempo” can be partially explained by dynamic rhythmic accents drawing listeners to tempi away from the resonance.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Karam ◽  
Frank A. Russo ◽  
Deborah I. Fels

We present a Model Human Cochlea (MHC), a sensory substitution technique and system that translates auditory information into vibrotactile stimuli using an ambient, tactile display. The model is used in the current study to translate music into discrete vibration signals displayed along the back of the body using a chair form factor. Voice coils facilitate the direct translation of auditory information onto the multiple discrete vibrotactile channels, which increases the potential to identify sections of the music that would otherwise be masked by the combined signal. One of the central goals of this work has been to improve accessibility to the emotional information expressed in music for users who are Deaf or hard of hearing. To this end, we present our prototype of the MHC, two models of sensory substitution to support the translation of existing and new music, and some of the design challenges encountered throughout the development process. Results of a series of experiments conducted to assess the effectiveness of the MHC are discussed, followed by an overview of future directions for this research.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Karam ◽  
Frank A. Russo ◽  
Deborah I. Fels

We present a Model Human Cochlea (MHC), a sensory substitution technique and system that translates auditory information into vibrotactile stimuli using an ambient, tactile display. The model is used in the current study to translate music into discrete vibration signals displayed along the back of the body using a chair form factor. Voice coils facilitate the direct translation of auditory information onto the multiple discrete vibrotactile channels, which increases the potential to identify sections of the music that would otherwise be masked by the combined signal. One of the central goals of this work has been to improve accessibility to the emotional information expressed in music for users who are Deaf or hard of hearing. To this end, we present our prototype of the MHC, two models of sensory substitution to support the translation of existing and new music, and some of the design challenges encountered throughout the development process. Results of a series of experiments conducted to assess the effectiveness of the MHC are discussed, followed by an overview of future directions for this research.


1983 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 587-595 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Francès ◽  
Marilou Bruchon-Schweitzer

The present series of experiments used either musical excerpts which subjects listened to and then associated to verbal categories (Exp. I) or videotape recordings of body expression sequences which subjects watched and associated with the same verbal categories. These videotapes were recorded by “actors” under two conditions, (a) after the actors had listened to the musical excerpts (Exp. II) and (b) following the induction in actors of the verbal categories which had been associated to the excerpts in Exp. I (Exp. III). The results demonstrate a partial equivalence between the verbal categories associated with the music in Exp. I and those associated with the videotape recording of Exps. II and III. This partial equivalence of the verbal categories is explained by the existence of a bodily core to musical expression.


Author(s):  
G. Cliff ◽  
M.J. Nasir ◽  
G.W. Lorimer ◽  
N. Ridley

In a specimen which is transmission thin to 100 kV electrons - a sample in which X-ray absorption is so insignificant that it can be neglected and where fluorescence effects can generally be ignored (1,2) - a ratio of characteristic X-ray intensities, I1/I2 can be converted into a weight fraction ratio, C1/C2, using the equationwhere k12 is, at a given voltage, a constant independent of composition or thickness, k12 values can be determined experimentally from thin standards (3) or calculated (4,6). Both experimental and calculated k12 values have been obtained for K(11<Z>19),kα(Z>19) and some Lα radiation (3,6) at 100 kV. The object of the present series of experiments was to experimentally determine k12 values at voltages between 200 and 1000 kV and to compare these with calculated values.The experiments were carried out on an AEI-EM7 HVEM fitted with an energy dispersive X-ray detector.


Author(s):  
H. Lin ◽  
D. P. Pope

During a study of mechanical properties of recrystallized B-free Ni3Al single crystals, regularly spaced parallel traces within individual grains were discovered on the surfaces of thin recrystallized sheets, see Fig. 1. They appeared to be slip traces, but since we could not find similar observations in the literature, a series of experiments was performed to identify them. We will refer to them “traces”, because they contain some, if not all, of the properties of slip traces. A variety of techniques, including the Electron Backscattering Pattern (EBSP) method, was used to ascertain the composition, geometry, and crystallography of these traces. The effect of sample thickness on their formation was also investigated.In summary, these traces on the surface of recrystallized Ni3Al have the following properties:1.The chemistry and crystallographic orientation of the traces are the same as the bulk. No oxides or other second phases were observed.2.The traces are not grooves caused by thermal etching at previous locations of grain boundaries.3.The traces form after recrystallization (because the starting Ni3Al is a single crystal).4.For thicknesses between 50 μm and 720 μm, the density of the traces increases as the sample thickness decreases. Only one set of “protrusion-like” traces is visible in a given grain on the thicker samples, but multiple sets of “cliff-like” traces are visible on the thinner ones (See Fig. 1 and Fig. 2).5.They are linear and parallel to the traces of {111} planes on the surface, see Fig. 3.6.Some of the traces terminate within the interior of the grains, and the rest of them either terminate at or are continuous across grain boundaries. The portion of latter increases with decreasing thickness.7.The grain size decreases with decreasing thickness, the decrease is more pronounced when the grain size is comparable with the thickness, Fig. 4.8.Traces also formed during the recrystallization of cold-rolled polycrystalline Cu thin sheets, Fig. 5.


Author(s):  
G-A. Keller ◽  
S. J. Gould ◽  
S. Subramani ◽  
S. Krisans

Subcellular compartments within eukaryotic cells must each be supplied with unique sets of proteins that must be directed to, and translocated across one or more membranes of the target organelles. This transport is mediated by cis- acting targeting signals present within the imported proteins. The following is a chronological account of a series of experiments designed and carried out in an effort to understand how proteins are targeted to the peroxisomal compartment.-We demonstrated by immunocryoelectron microscopy that the enzyme luciferase is a peroxisomal enzyme in the firefly lantern. -We expressed the cDNA encoding firefly luciferase in mammalian cells and demonstrated by immunofluorescence that the enzyme was transported into the peroxisomes of the transfected cells. -Using deletions, linker insertions, and gene fusion to identify regions of luciferase involved in its transport to the peroxisomes, we demonstrated that luciferase contains a peroxisomal targeting signal (PTS) within its COOH-terminal twelve amino acid.


Author(s):  
J. Drennan ◽  
R.H.J. Hannink ◽  
D.R. Clarke ◽  
T.M. Shaw

Magnesia partially stabilised zirconia (Mg-PSZ) ceramics are renowned for their excellent nechanical properties. These are effected by processing conditions and purity of starting materials. It has been previously shown that small additions of strontia (SrO) have the effect of removing the major contaminant, silica (SiO2).The mechanism by which this occurs is not fully understood but the strontia appears to form a very mobile liquid phase at the grain boundaries. As the sintering reaches the final stages the liquid phase is expelled to the surface of the ceramic. A series of experiments, to examine the behaviour of the liquid grain boundary phase, were designed to produce compositional gradients across the ceramic bodies. To achieve this, changes in both silica content and furnace atmosphere were implemented. Analytical electron microscope techniques were used to monitor the form and composition of the phases developed. This paper describes the results of our investigation and the presentation will discuss the work with reference to liquid phase sintering of ceramics in general.


2009 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 193-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Engeser

In a series of experiments, Bargh, Gollwitzer, Lee-Chai, Barndollar, and Trötschel (2001) documented that achievement goals can be activated outside of awareness and can then operate nonconsciously in order to guide self-regulated behavior effectively. In three experiments (N = 69, N = 71, N = 56), two potential moderators of the achievement goal priming effect were explored. All three experiments showed small but consistent effects of the nonconscious activation of the achievement goal, though word class did not moderate the priming effect. There was no support for the hypothesis that the explicit achievement motive moderates the priming effect. Implications are addressed in the light of other recent studies in this domain and further research questions are outlined.


2002 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 129-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boris Kotchoubey

Abstract Most cognitive psychophysiological studies assume (1) that there is a chain of (partially overlapping) cognitive processes (processing stages, mechanisms, operators) leading from stimulus to response, and (2) that components of event-related brain potentials (ERPs) may be regarded as manifestations of these processing stages. What is usually discussed is which particular processing mechanisms are related to some particular component, but not whether such a relationship exists at all. Alternatively, from the point of view of noncognitive (e. g., “naturalistic”) theories of perception ERP components might be conceived of as correlates of extraction of the information from the experimental environment. In a series of experiments, the author attempted to separate these two accounts, i. e., internal variables like mental operations or cognitive parameters versus external variables like information content of stimulation. Whenever this separation could be performed, the latter factor proved to significantly affect ERP amplitudes, whereas the former did not. These data indicate that ERPs cannot be unequivocally linked to processing mechanisms postulated by cognitive models of perception. Therefore, they cannot be regarded as support for these models.


2014 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 239-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Calin-Jageman ◽  
Tracy L. Caldwell

A recent series of experiments suggests that fostering superstitions can substantially improve performance on a variety of motor and cognitive tasks ( Damisch, Stoberock, & Mussweiler, 2010 ). We conducted two high-powered and precise replications of one of these experiments, examining if telling participants they had a lucky golf ball could improve their performance on a 10-shot golf task relative to controls. We found that the effect of superstition on performance is elusive: Participants told they had a lucky ball performed almost identically to controls. Our failure to replicate the target study was not due to lack of impact, lack of statistical power, differences in task difficulty, nor differences in participant belief in luck. A meta-analysis indicates significant heterogeneity in the effect of superstition on performance. This could be due to an unknown moderator, but no effect was observed among the studies with the strongest research designs (e.g., high power, a priori sampling plan).


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