The Harmonic Root: A Fragile Marriage of Concept and Percept

1993 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 385-415 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Thomson
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Pattern Perception ◽  
Linear Perspective ◽  
Musical Structure ◽  
Pitch Class ◽  
Turn On ◽  
Time Interaction ◽  
Fundamental Bass ◽  
Virtual Pitch

The word root, and the harmonic metabolism it helps to describe, plays a central role in how musicians think about musical structure. Vaguely implicit in some early writers' descriptions of intervals and scales, it awaited Rameau's discussions (1722/1971) of the fundamental bass to become explicit. Since then, music theorists have sought to explain its perceptual nature and causes. Their theories usually turn on some version of physical weightings, a root being the pitch class more powerfully reinforced than its companion pitch classes. After representative versions of influential explanations are reviewed, and their generic shortcomings are noted, Ernst Terhardt's "virtual pitch" theory is recognized as uniquely reasonable; it embodies a condition of pattern perception rather than physical reinforcement, thereby skirting a principal flaw of past theories. And yet, a troublesome paradox surfaces, regardless of which conceptualization one favors: empirical studies of interval perception have fallen short of confirming the phenomenal reality our concepts describe so confidently. In an attempt to outflank these empirical/phenomenal clashes, a scheme of pitch/time interaction, or "vectoral dynamics", is outlined. Its consistency with the linear perspective of vision is noted, and the model is applied to the opening of a Wolf song and to a painting by Titian.

scholarly journals Tactusin Performance: Constraints and Possibilities

2012 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Martens
Keyword(s):  
String Quartet ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Initial Study ◽  
Dominant Hand ◽  
Musical Structure ◽  
Performance Constraints ◽  
Sonic Art ◽  
Art Form ◽  
Study Participants

A student string quartet was coached by the author to perform a set of seven musical excerpts twice, keeping the same tempo in each performance but feeling and expressing a different main beat (tactus) in each performance. Two empirical studies were conducted to determine the degree to which the quartet’s intentions were communicated to study participants. In the initial study, participants viewed the full A/V performances and were asked to tap their dominant hand along with the main beat of the music. In a second study, the participants completed the same tapping task in response to either audio-only or video-only versions of the same performances. Finally, the audio and video of these performances were analyzed separately using the meter-finding computer model of Janata & Tomic (2008).Overall, the quartet’s intention significantly influenced participants’ choice of tactus under the A/V and video-only conditions, but not under the audio-only conditions. Thus visual information is key to tactus communication even in an ostensibly sonic art form. In individual excerpts, however, aspects of metric structure appeared to constrain tactus choice, and objective visual and aural cues uncovered by computer analysis were not always matched by participant responses. Together, the results shed light on the extent to which this type of communication depends on the combination of tempo, a performance’s aural and visual components, and musical structure.

The impact of musical structure on enjoyment and absorptive listening states in trance music

2019 ◽  
pp. 254-270
Author(s):  
Kat Agres ◽  
Louis Bigo ◽  
Dorien Herremans
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Altered States Of Consciousness ◽  
Western World ◽  
Musical Structure ◽  
Altered States ◽  
Electronic Dance Music ◽  
Central Java ◽  
States Of Consciousness ◽  
Dance Clubs ◽  
Different Cultures

The act of listening to music to reach altered states of consciousness is common across many different cultures around the world, ranging from tribal settings in Central Java, Indonesia, to EDM (electronic dance music) dance clubs in the Western world. Despite the widespread listenership to trance music, we lack a comprehensive, scientific account of how features of the musical surface and structure map onto the psychophysiological experience of music. This chapter provides an overview of existing research that connects the phenomenology of trancing to psychological and neurophysiological findings. It highlights two recent empirical studies that investigate how listeners’ enjoyment and self-reported altered states of consciousness are influenced by harmonic repetition and complexity in uplifting trance (UT) pieces. This leads to a discussion of the connection between the structural properties of trance music and their impact on listeners’ enjoyment and on altered states of consciousness.

Weather, Risk, and Voting: An Experimental Analysis of the Effect of Weather on Vote Choice

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Bassi
Keyword(s):  
Voter Turnout ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Risk Tolerance ◽  
Vote Share ◽  
Vote Choice ◽  
Turn On ◽  
Inclement Weather ◽  
Weather Risk ◽  
Bad Weather

AbstractA number of theoretical and empirical studies analyze the effect of inclement weather on voter turnout and in turn on parties’ vote share. However, empirical findings suggest that the effect of weather on parties’ vote share is greater than can be explained by its influence on voter turnout alone. This article provides experimental evidence of the effect of weather on vote choice between more- versus less-risky candidates. Findings show that bad weather significantly and sizeably depresses risk tolerance making voters less likely to vote for risky candidates. This article also provides evidence of a possible mechanism: unpleasant weather conditions depress agents’ mood, making agents less inclined to vote for candidates who are perceived as more risky.

scholarly journals Implementation, Stakeholders` Participation and Sustainability of Public Projects in Kenya: A Conceptual Framework

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 100
Author(s):  
N. Gicovi Njue ◽  
A. Sabina Mulwa ◽  
D. Ndunge Kyalo ◽  
J. Mwaura Mbugua
Keyword(s):  
Stakeholder Participation ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Implementation Strategies ◽  
Public Organizations ◽  
Linear Perspective ◽  
Project Implementation ◽  
Public Projects ◽  
Project Sustainability ◽  
The Relationship

Many public organizations are faced with numerous constraints that limit optimum and sustainable realization of their long-term aspirations. Similarly, implementation of public projects is often hampered by rigid bureaucracies that often edge out good opportunities for public and stakeholders to contribute to sustainable decisions. In response, most of innovative public organizations are quickly formulating guidelines and procedures for integrating stakeholders in project decisions making for greater responsiveness and sustainability. However, many public projects never live to full realization of sustainable changes. Questions arise on the strategies employed to ensure inclusive stakeholder participation in sustainable project implementation. Whereas the conceptualization of project sustainability is abstractly defined in literature, studies have linked implementation strategies to sustainability outcomes. But projects are implemented in very dynamic contexts. Hence the need for case-based evaluation of how project implementation connects to sustainability. Despite the indications that stakeholder participation can play a dualistic role in project sustainability, past empirical studies have assessed stakeholders` participation from linear perspective. This study seeks to fill the knowledge gaps by investigating the interaction between stakeholders` participation and the relationship between implementation and sustainability of public projects in Kenya.

Tonal Harmony

2019 ◽  
pp. 466-497
Author(s):  
Ian Quinn
Keyword(s):  
Explanatory Model ◽  
Pitch Class ◽  
Fundamental Bass ◽  
Specific Scale

This chapter introduces a novel explanatory model for the tonal grammar of music from the thoroughbass era, encompassing baroque and galant practices. The framework models the internalized knowledge of a skilled continuo player improvising at the keyboard prior to Rameau’s invention of the fundamental-bass concept. It makes predictions about the tonal tendency of a chord based on the interaction of its constituent scale-degrees. The framework models something like Schenker’s “will of the tones,” predicting whether individual tones in a chord will tend to “feel” stabilized or mobilized. Stabilized tones tend to remain in place, and mobilized tones tend to move by step. These tendencies are regulated by the intervallic relations among notes in a chord, and can be expressed as two simple laws: a Law of Counterpoint that applies to generic pitch-class intervals regardless of which specific scale degrees they span, and a Law of Harmony that makes scale-degree-specific predictions.

scholarly journals Assessing musical skills in autistic children who are not savants

2009 ◽  
Vol 364 (1522) ◽  
pp. 1443-1447 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pamela Heaton
Keyword(s):  
Music Perception ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Musical Structure ◽  
Autistic Children ◽  
Musical Skills ◽  
Musical Pitch ◽  
Savant Syndrome ◽  
Increased Sensitivity ◽  
Cognition And Learning

Descriptions of autistic musical savants suggest that they possess extraordinary skills within the domain. However, until recently little was known about the musical skills and potential of individuals with autism who are not savants. The results from these more recent studies investigating music perception, cognition and learning in musically untrained children with autism have revealed a pattern of abilities that are either enhanced or spared. For example, increased sensitivity to musical pitch and timbre is frequently observed, and studies investigating perception of musical structure and emotions have consistently failed to reveal deficits in autism. While the phenomenon of the savant syndrome is of considerable theoretical interest, it may have led to an under-consideration of the potential talents and skills of that vast majority of autistic individuals, who do not meet savant criteria. Data from empirical studies show that many autistic children possess musical potential that can and should be developed.

Ubiquinone-BODIPY nanoparticles for tumor redox-responsive fluorescence imaging and photodynamic activity

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Byunghee Hwang ◽  
Tae-Il Kim ◽  
Hyunjin Kim ◽  
Sungjin Jeon ◽  
Yongdoo Choi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fluorescence Imaging ◽  
Selective Activation ◽  
Turn On ◽  
Intracellular Environment ◽  
Redox Responsive ◽  
Photodynamic Activity

A ubiquinone-BODIPY photosensitizer self-assembles into nanoparticles (PS-Q-NPs) and undergoes selective activation within the highly reductive intracellular environment of tumors, resulting in “turn-on” fluorescence and photosensitizing activities.

An empirical review of gambling expansion and gambling-related harm

2018 ◽  
Vol 64 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 295-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debi A. LaPlante ◽  
Heather M. Gray ◽  
Pat M. Williams ◽  
Sarah E. Nelson
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Peer Review ◽  
Empirical Data ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Expansion Method ◽  
Responsible Gambling ◽  
Review Literature ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Empirical Comparison ◽  
Related Harm

Abstract. Aims: To discuss and review the latest research related to gambling expansion. Method: We completed a literature review and empirical comparison of peer reviewed findings related to gambling expansion and subsequent gambling-related changes among the population. Results: Although gambling expansion is associated with changes in gambling and gambling-related problems, empirical studies suggest that these effects are mixed and the available literature is limited. For example, the peer review literature suggests that most post-expansion gambling outcomes (i. e., 22 of 34 possible expansion outcomes; 64.7 %) indicate no observable change or a decrease in gambling outcomes, and a minority (i. e., 12 of 34 possible expansion outcomes; 35.3 %) indicate an increase in gambling outcomes. Conclusions: Empirical data related to gambling expansion suggests that its effects are more complex than frequently considered; however, evidence-based intervention might help prepare jurisdictions to deal with potential consequences. Jurisdictions can develop and evaluate responsible gambling programs to try to mitigate the impacts of expanded gambling.

Investigating the Multimodal Nature of Human Communication

2009 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 63-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silke Paulmann ◽  
Sarah Jessen ◽  
Sonja A. Kotz
Keyword(s):  
Visual Information ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Physical Property ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Accurate Information ◽  
Human Communication ◽  
Channel Condition ◽  
Prosodic Cues ◽  
Early Processing ◽  
Related Potentials

The multimodal nature of human communication has been well established. Yet few empirical studies have systematically examined the widely held belief that this form of perception is facilitated in comparison to unimodal or bimodal perception. In the current experiment we first explored the processing of unimodally presented facial expressions. Furthermore, auditory (prosodic and/or lexical-semantic) information was presented together with the visual information to investigate the processing of bimodal (facial and prosodic cues) and multimodal (facial, lexic, and prosodic cues) human communication. Participants engaged in an identity identification task, while event-related potentials (ERPs) were being recorded to examine early processing mechanisms as reflected in the P200 and N300 component. While the former component has repeatedly been linked to physical property stimulus processing, the latter has been linked to more evaluative “meaning-related” processing. A direct relationship between P200 and N300 amplitude and the number of information channels present was found. The multimodal-channel condition elicited the smallest amplitude in the P200 and N300 components, followed by an increased amplitude in each component for the bimodal-channel condition. The largest amplitude was observed for the unimodal condition. These data suggest that multimodal information induces clear facilitation in comparison to unimodal or bimodal information. The advantage of multimodal perception as reflected in the P200 and N300 components may thus reflect one of the mechanisms allowing for fast and accurate information processing in human communication.

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