Justin London

Some Theories of Emotion in Music and Their Implications for Research in Music Psychology

Work in musical aesthetics on musical meaning is relevant to psychological research on musical expressions of emotion. Distinctions between simple emotions, higher emotions, and moods are given, and arguments as to what kinds of emotions or moods music might be able to express (given musics semantic capacities and limitations) are summarized. Next, the question as to how music might express these emotions and moods is considered. The paper concludes with a number of cautionary points for researchers in the psychology of musical emotion: (1) musical expression always involves sonic properties, which must be taken into account. (2) If one uses “real world” musical stimuli, one may be faced with associative interference. (3) Context will often individuate emotional expression, transforming a simple emotion to a higher emotion by providing an intentional object. (4) There is not a simple linear relationship between intensity of a musical parameter and the intensity of an emotional expression. (5) Some perfectly good musical expressions of emotion may not arouse those emotions in the listener, yet it would be incorrect to call such passages “inexpressive.” (6) Any emotions aroused by listening to music, while similar to emotions that occur in non-musical contexts, will nonetheless have a number of important differences.

Tactus ≠ Tempo: Some Dissociations Between Attentional Focus, Motor Behavior, and Tempo Judgment

Three experiments explored the relationships between surface rhythmic activity, tactus or beat rate, attentional focus, sensorimotor synchronization (tapping), and tempo perception. All involved a rhythmic standard followed by a comparison; the experimental task was a judgment of “slower, same, or faster.” In Experiment 1 participants simply judged relative speed; they focused on the beat level in Experiment 2, and they tapped along as they made their judgments in Experiment 3. In all three experiments judgments were highly accurate (89-97% correct, relative to beat-level inter-onset interval) when the standard-comparison involved the same pattern/same tempo, and performed similarly for the same pattern at different tempos (80-83% correct). Performance degraded significantly in other contexts, especially for different patterns at the same tempo. A main effect for pattern (two levels: same vs. different) and a pattern x tempo interaction were observed in all three experiments; a main effect for tempo (collapsed to two levels: same vs. different) occurred only in Experiment 1. Analysis of a subset of the experimental conditions indicated that surface activity was of greater salience than the beat level in some contexts. Tapping along (Experiment 3) did not improve overall performance any more than simply focusing on the tactus level (Experiment 2), and a possible biasing effect of tapping rate on tempo judgment was observed. Thus there is an apparent dissociation between tactus rate, attentional focus, tapping behavior and tempo judgment. This suggests that our perception of musical speed or tempo is more than simple apprehension of the tactus rate. Submitted 2010 August 18; accepted 2010 November 23.

Both Isochronous and Non-Isochronous Metrical Subdivision Afford Precise and Stable Ensemble Entrainment: A Corpus Study of Malian Jembe Drumming.

Most approaches to musical rhythm, whether in music theory, music psychology, or musical neuroscience, presume that musical rhythms are based on isochronous (temporally equidistant) beats and/or beat subdivisions. However, rhythms that are based on non-isochronous, or unequal patterns of time are prominent in the music of Southeast Europe, the Near East and Southern Asia, and in the music of Africa and the African diaspora. The present study examines one such style found in contemporary Malian jembe percussion music. A corpus of 15 representative performances of three different pieces (“Manjanin,” “Maraka,” and “Woloso”) containing ~43,000 data points was analyzed. Manjanin and Woloso are characterized by non-isochronous beat subdivisions (a short IOI followed by two longer IOIs), while Maraka subdivisions are quasi-isochronous. Analyses of onsets and asynchronies show no significant differences in timing precision and coordination between the isochronously timed Maraka vs. the non-isochronously timed Woloso performances, though both pieces were slightly less variable than non-isochronous Manjanin. Thus, the precision and stability of rhythm and entrainment in human music does not necessarily depend on metric isochrony, consistent with the hypothesis that isochrony is not a biologically-based constraint on human rhythmic behavior. Rather, it may represent a historically popular option within a variety of culturally contingent options for metric organization.

Three Things Linguists Need to Know About Rhythm and Time in Music

This paper, directed at researchers in linguistics, introduces three key aspects of musical rhythm and time for their consideration: (1) the distinction between groups of durations (i.e., acoustical events in the world) and our endogenous sense of beats and beat cycles, that is, musical meter; (2) the active nature of rhythmic perception and cognition, which involves both innate and enculturated responses to music, and (3) that musical rhythms involve temporal processes on different time scales (from 100ms to 5-7 seconds), though they are integrated into a coherent perceptual framework. In addition, the relationships between musical rhythm and sensorimotor entrainment, as well as some important differences between musical and linguistic rhythms, are discussed. Submitted 2012 January 6; accepted 2012 July 13.

Synchronization to metrical levels in music depends on low-frequency spectral components and tempo

Previous studies have found relationships between music-induced movement and musical characteristics on more general levels, such as tempo or pulse clarity. This study focused on synchronization abilities to music of finely-varying tempi and varying degrees of low-frequency spectral change/flux. Excerpts from six classic Motown/R&B songs at three different tempos (105, 115, and 130 BPM) were used as stimuli in this experiment. Each was then time-stretched by a factor of 5% with regard to the original tempo, yielding a total of 12 stimuli that were presented to 30 participants. Participants were asked to move along with the stimuli while being recorded with an optical motion capture system. Synchronization analysis was performed relative to the beat and the bar level of the music and four body parts. Results suggest that participants synchronized different body parts to specific metrical levels; in particular, vertical movements of hip and feet were synchronized to the beat level when the music contained large amounts of low-frequency spectral flux and had a slower tempo, while synchronization of head and hands was more tightly coupled to the weak flux stimuli at the bar level. Synchronization was generally more tightly coupled to the slower versions of the same stimuli, while synchronization showed an inverted u-shape effect at the bar level as tempo increased. These results indicate complex relationships between musical characteristics, in particular regarding metrical and temporal structure, and our ability to synchronize and entrain to such musical stimuli.

Rhythm histograms and musical meter: A corpus study of Malian percussion music

Studies of musical corpora have given empirical grounding to the various features that characterize particular musical styles and genres. Palmer & Krumhansl (1990) found that in Western classical music the likeliest places for a note to occur are the most strongly accented beats in a measure, and this was also found in subsequent studies using both Western classical and folk music corpora (Huron & Ommen, 2006; Temperley, 2010). We present a rhythmic analysis of a corpus of 15 performances of percussion music from Bamako, Mali. In our corpus, the relative frequency of note onsets in a given metrical position does not correspond to patterns of metrical accent, though there is a stable relationship between onset frequency and metrical position. The implications of this non-congruence between simple statistical likelihood and metrical structure for the ways in which meter and metrical accent may be learned and understood are discussed, along with importance of cross-cultural studies for psychological research.

The Psychology of Music: Rhythm and Movement

The urge to move to music is universal among humans. Unlike visual art, which is manifest across space, music is manifest across time. When listeners get carried away by the music, either through movement (such as dancing) or through reverie (such as trance), it is usually the temporal qualities of the music-its pulse, tempo, and rhythmic patterns-that put them in this state. In this article, we review studies addressing rhythm, meter, movement, synchronization, entrainment, the perception of groove, and other temporal factors that constitute a first step to understanding how and why music literally moves us. The experiments we review span a range of methodological techniques, including neuroimaging, psychophysics, and traditional behavioral experiments, and we also summarize the current studies of animal synchronization, engaging an evolutionary perspective on human rhythmic perception and cognition.

Rhythm in twentieth-century theory

We have seen in the previous chapter how Riemann attempted to consolidate various trends in nineteenth-century rhythmic theory, synthesizing rhythm, meter, agogics, and phrase structure within his overarching theory of harmonic functionality. As was perhaps inevitable with such a comprehensive project, various tensions and problems remained in Riemann’s mature theory. Many early twentieth-century theorists such as August Halm, Ernst Kurth, and Hans Mersmann were critical of Riemann’s accentual theory, and so in part the history of rhythmic theory, at least at the beginning of the century, can be characterized as “a reaction to Riemann.” In addition, there were other musical and intellectual developments which shaped twentieth-century rhythmic theory, among which can be mentioned: 1. There were new ideas of motion and time, from physics, philosophy, and psychology, that led a number of theorists to place musical energetics and motion at the center of their approach to rhythm. 2. Schenker’s theory of tonality and tonal dynamics influenced a number of approaches to rhythm and the temporal unfolding of musical events, especially amongst North American theorists in the second half of the century. 3. Developments in linguistics and gestalt psychology influenced “architectonic” approaches to rhythm, engendering structuralist theories that emphasize the hierarchical aspects of rhythm and form. 4. Radical changes in musical style, especially the rise of atonality and serialism, demanded new conceptions of rhythm and meter. This led to various prescriptive theories of rhythm that were often developed (and commented upon) by the composers themselves. This chapter will selectively review the work of theorists and musicians from each of these four areas.

Music in the Moment: A Discussion

At the annual meeting of the Society for Music Theory in Chapel Hill, NC, in early December 1998, a symposium on Jerrold Levinsons book, Music in the Moment, was held. The moderator was Justin London, and his introduction was followed by several sets of prepared comments and a reply by Levinson. Even though I had not been present at the symposium, I felt that a discussion of Levinsons book would be of interest to readers of Music Perception and invited the participants to submit their contributions. Londons introduction and the comments of three symposium participants are presented here in somewhat condensed and revised form. I also thought that it would be good to counterbalance these viewpoints from music theory with at least one set of comments by a music psychologist. Unfortunately, the colleague whom I had invited to provide these comments withdrew at the last minute. Since I had read Levinsons book twice, I decided to fill in at fairly short notice. If my comments are not as trenchant as they might have been, at least I have an excuse. Levinsons reply to all four commentators concludes this discussion. Bruno H. Repp Haskins Laboratories

Kulturelle Diversität in der empirischen Rhythmusforschung: Drei Analysen eines Audio-Korpus von Percussion-Ensemblemusik aus Mali

Die Erorterung kultureller Varianz sowohl zwischen als auch innerhalb von Gesellschaften leidet unter der Neigung, das je eigene kulturelle Umfeld als ›naturlich‹ wahrzunehmen. Diese Neigung ist in der Musikforschung nicht zuletzt als eurozentrisches Bias nach wie vor prasent. Unser Artikel mochte zu punktuellen Korrekturen dieses Bias im Feld der empirischen Rhythmusforschung beitragen. Wir analysieren einen Korpus von Audio-Aufnahmen aus Mali und untersuchen dabei das Verhaltnis von Rhythmus und Metrum (Studie 1), den theoretischen Status ungleichmasiger Grundschlagsunterteilung (›Swing-Timing‹, Studie 2) und die Interaktion musikalischer Rollen bei der Ensemble-Synchronisation (Studie 3). Discussions of cultural variation, both between and within societies, suffer from the disposition to conceive of one’s own cultural environment as ›natural.‹ This disposition is still present not least as a euro-centric bias in the study of music. Our article strives to offer a partial correction to the lingering euro-centric bias in the field of empirical rhythm research. We analyze a corpus of audio recordings from Mali, wherein we study three issues: rhythm-meter relations (study 1), the theoretical status of uneven beat subdivision or ›swing timing‹ (study 2), and the interaction amongst musical roles in ensemble synchronization (study 3).