The Dialectic of Good Continuation in Tonal Music

1985 ◽  
Vol 4 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richmond Browne
Keyword(s):  
Good Continuation ◽  
Tonal Music

The Perceptual Organization of Streams of Sound

2019 ◽  
pp. 46-60
Author(s):  
Diana Deutsch
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Perceptual Organization ◽  
Sound Quality ◽  
Perceptual System ◽  
Sense Organs ◽  
Good Continuation ◽  
Tonal Music ◽  
Film Scores ◽  
Common Fate ◽  
20Th Century Music

Chapter 3 first explores the principles by which we organize elements of an array into groupings. The Gestalt psychologists proposed a set of grouping principles that have profoundly influenced the study of hearing and vision ever since—these include “proximity,” “similarity,” “good continuation,” “common fate,” and “closure.” Passages of conventional tonal music illustrating these principles are described, along with several illusions and other surprising characteristics of music and speech, all presented as sound examples. They involve the segregation of pitch sequences into separate streams based on proximity in pitch or in time, and also on timbre or sound quality. Figure–ground relationships, analogous to those in vision, are also discussed. Much information arrives at our sense organs in fragmented form, and the perceptual system needs to infer continuities between the fragments, and fill in the gaps appropriately. It is shown that this occurs in both music and speech. We have evolved mechanisms to perform these tasks, but these mechanisms often fool us into “hearing” sounds that are not really there. Another approach to perceptual organization in music exploits the use of orchestral sound textures to create ambiguous images. This approach has been used to excellent effect in 20th-century music such as film scores; for example, it contributes to the mysterious ambience in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.

scholarly journals Modifications in the Topological Structure of EEG Functional Connectivity Networks during Listening Tonal and Atonal Concert Music in Musicians and Non-Musicians

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 159
Author(s):  
Almudena González ◽  
Manuel Santapau ◽  
Antoni Gamundí ◽  
Ernesto Pereda ◽  
Julián J. González
Keyword(s):  
Topological Structure ◽  
Phase Synchronization ◽  
Random Network ◽  
Small World ◽  
Surrogate Data ◽  
Musical Structure ◽  
Beta Band ◽  
Tonal Music ◽  
Frequency Bands ◽  
Concert Music

The present work aims to demonstrate the hypothesis that atonal music modifies the topological structure of electroencephalographic (EEG) connectivity networks in relation to tonal music. To this, EEG monopolar records were taken in musicians and non-musicians while listening to tonal, atonal, and pink noise sound excerpts. EEG functional connectivities (FC) among channels assessed by a phase synchronization index previously thresholded using surrogate data test were computed. Sound effects, on the topological structure of graph-based networks assembled with the EEG-FCs at different frequency-bands, were analyzed throughout graph metric and network-based statistic (NBS). Local and global efficiency normalized (vs. random-network) measurements (NLE|NGE) assessing network information exchanges were able to discriminate both music styles irrespective of groups and frequency-bands. During tonal audition, NLE and NGE values in the beta-band network get close to that of a small-world network, while during atonal and even more during noise its structure moved away from small-world. These effects were attributed to the different timbre characteristics (sounds spectral centroid and entropy) and different musical structure. Results from networks topographic maps for strength and NLE of the nodes, and for FC subnets obtained from the NBS, allowed discriminating the musical styles and verifying the different strength, NLE, and FC of musicians compared to non-musicians.

Perceptual Musical Analysis: Segmentation and Perception of Tension

2000 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Rita Addessi ◽  
Roberto Caterina
Keyword(s):  
Musical Analysis ◽  
Tonal Music

Recent investigations have studied the processes of segmentation and perception of the points of tension which occur while listening to tonal and post tonal music. The present study aims to investigate the criteria people use to segment and memorise post tonal pieces.

Segmentation and Process in Post-Tonal Music

1981 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 54-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Hasty
Keyword(s):  
Tonal Music

Formal Structures in Post-Tonal Music

2015 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Howland
Keyword(s):  
Tonal Music

An Algorithm for Harmonic Analysis

1997 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Temperley
Keyword(s):  
Harmonic Analysis ◽  
Spatial Representation ◽  
Tonal Music ◽  
Pitch Class

An algorithm is proposed for performing harmonic analysis of tonal music. The algorithm begins with a representation of a piece as pitches and durations; it generates a representation in which the piece is divided into segments labeled with roots. This is a project of psychological interest, because much evidence exists that harmonic analysis is performed by trained and untrained listeners during listening; however, the perspective of the current project is computational rather than psychological, simply examining what has to be done computationally to produce "correct" analyses for pieces. One of the major innovations of the project is that pitches and chords are both represented on a spatial representation known as the "line of fifths"; this is similar to the circle of fifths except that distinctions are made between different spellings of the same pitch class. The algorithm uses preference rules to evaluate different possible interpretations, selecting the interpretation that most satisfies the preference rules. The algorithm has been computationally implemented; examples of the program's output are given and discussed.

scholarly journals Local and Global Gestalt Laws: A Neurally Based Spectral Approach

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 394-422 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Favali ◽  
Giovanna Citti ◽  
Alessandro Sarti
Keyword(s):  
Mathematical Model ◽  
Spectral Analysis ◽  
Group Theory ◽  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Connectivity Matrix ◽  
Spectral Approach ◽  
Good Continuation ◽  
Functional Architecture ◽  
Lie Group Theory ◽  
Gestalt Laws

This letter presents a mathematical model of figure-ground articulation that takes into account both local and global gestalt laws and is compatible with the functional architecture of the primary visual cortex (V1). The local gestalt law of good continuation is described by means of suitable connectivity kernels that are derived from Lie group theory and quantitatively compared with long-range connectivity in V1. Global gestalt constraints are then introduced in terms of spectral analysis of a connectivity matrix derived from these kernels. This analysis performs grouping of local features and individuates perceptual units with the highest salience. Numerical simulations are performed, and results are obtained by applying the technique to a number of stimuli.

scholarly journals Prediction Under Uncertainty: Dissociating Sensory from Cognitive Expectations in Highly Uncertain Musical Contexts

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iris Mencke ◽  
David Ricardo Quiroga-Martinez ◽  
Diana Omigie ◽  
Franz Schwarzacher ◽  
Niels T Haumann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Predictive Models ◽  
Musical Training ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Behavioral Experiment ◽  
Music Listening ◽  
Tonal Music ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Predictive Processes ◽  
Musical Context ◽  
High Uncertainty

Predictive models in the brain rely on the continuous extraction of regularities from the environment. These models are thought to be updated by novel information, as reflected in prediction error responses such as the mismatch negativity (MMN). However, although in real life individuals often face situations in which uncertainty prevails, it remains unclear whether and how predictive models emerge in high-uncertainty contexts. Recent research suggests that uncertainty affects the magnitude of MMN responses in the context of music listening. However, musical predictions are typically studied with MMN stimulation paradigms based on Western tonal music, which are characterized by relatively high predictability. Hence, we developed an MMN paradigm to investigate how the high uncertainty of atonal music modulates predictive processes as indexed by the MMN and behavior. Using MEG in a group of 20 subjects without musical training, we demonstrate that the magnetic MMN in response to pitch, intensity, timbre, and location deviants is evoked in both tonal and atonal melodies, with no significant differences between conditions. In contrast, in a separate behavioral experiment involving 39 non-musicians, participants detected pitch deviants more accurately and rated confidence higher in the tonal than in the atonal musical context. These results indicate that contextual tonal uncertainty modulates processing stages in which conscious awareness is involved, although deviants robustly elicit low-level pre-attentive responses such as the MMN. The achievement of robust MMN responses, despite high tonal uncertainty, is relevant for future studies comparing groups of listeners' MMN responses to increasingly ecological music stimuli.

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