8 - MUSIC PERCEPTION
LITERATURE
Schwartz, B. L. and Krantz, J. H. (2018). Music Perception (Ch.13).
E-Reader
Whitehead, J. C., Armony, J. L. (2018). Singing in the brain: Neural representation of music and voice as
revealed by fMRI. Human Brain Mapping, 39(12), 4913-4924.https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.24333
Limb, C. J. and Roy A. T. (2014). Technological, Biological, and Acoustical Constraints to Music Perception in
Cochlear Implant Users. Hearing research, 308, 13-26.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heares.2013.04.009
LEARNING GOALS
1. Elements of music
2. Brain areas involving music perception
3. Cochlear implants, what are they?
4. Difference in auditory perception for people with a cochlear implant
THE ACOUSTICS OF MUSIC
Music = ordered sound made and perceived by humans, created in meaningful patterns
PITCH, CHROMA AND THE OCTAVE
• As frequency increases, we hear sounds at higher and higher pitches
• Music is generally played in the range of up to max 5000 Hz
• A human bass voice may get as low as 75 Hz, soprano as high as 1300 Hz
• Higher frequencies contribute to the experience of timbre
• Having recording equipment that records at higher frequencies will preserve the timbre of voices and
instruments
• We seldom use the very high frequencies for music
THE OCTAVE
Octave = the interval between one note and a note with either double the frequency or half the frequency of
that note
• A frequency of 200 Hz has octaves of 100 Hz below it and 400 Hz above it
, • We hear similarities between these doubled or halved frequencies
• In musical term; refer to them by the same note name, but at different octaves
• We hear notes that are an octave apart as similar in a fundamental way
• There are perceived similarities between sounds that are an octave apart from one another
Chroma = subjective quality of pitch; we judge sounds an octave apart to be of the same chroma
• When we hear two notes that are an octave apart, they sound
similar to us, despite their difference in pitch
Semitone = the 12 equivalent intervals or notes within each octave
Equal-temperament scale = a tuning system in which the difference
between each successive semitone is constant both in pitch and in
frequency
• Every adjacent note has an identical frequency ratio
• The absolute difference between adjacent notes increases as one
gets higher in frequency, but the ratio matters for perception
• We then perceive the difference between each successive
semitone as equivalent in terms of difference in pitch to the one
before it --- Weber’s law
• Advantage: any melody can be played starting on any particular
note
Pitch helix – as one goes
up the helix, pitches get
progressively higher, but
the twists in the helix
indicate the octave
equivalence across
similar notes
SUMMARY
» Pitch is the psychological experience of frequency
» As frequency gets higher, we hear the sound at a higher pitch
» Musical notes are set at particular frequencies, and the relations between notes in Western music
follow an equal-temperament system
CONONANCE AND DISSONANCE
Harmony = refers to which pitches sound pleasing when played together
, Consonance = the perception of pleasantness or harmony when two or more notes are played (the notes fit
with each other)
Dissonance = the perception of unpleasantness or disharmony when two or more notes do not fit together
• Two notes that could be expressed as a simple ratio of each other tended to sound consonant, but
those more complex sound dissonant
• Two notes separated by an octave have approx. 2:1 ratio (note A is 440 Hz and A above it is 880 Hz)
Chord = when more than two notes are played at the same time
DYNAMICS AND RHYTM
Dynamics = relative loudness and how loudness changes across a composition
o A piece may start off really loud, then grow softer, and then finish loud again
o Changing from loud to soft may be important in transmitting the meaning and emotion in any piece
of music
o Refers to the amplitude measured in decibels
o Forte (loud) = more decibels, piano = fewer decibels (soft)
Rhythm = the temporal patterning of music, including the tempo, beat and the meter
o Complicated feature of music
o In any given piece of music, each note or pitch may also be maintained for either a short period of
time or a long period of time
o A note, such as B-flat, may be played for just one beat or it may be sustained across four or
more beats
o The pattern of notes across these beats also contributes to rhytm
Tempo = the pace at which a piece of music is played
o Ex. A beginning musician may elect to play a piece at a slower tempo so as not to make mistakes, a
more experienced musician may play faster
o Tempo can change within a piece (fast= joy)
Meter = the temporal pattern of sound across time, usually repeats itself across the piece
o Tells you how many beats occur per musical measure (the repeating temporal pattern)
Beat = spaced pulses that indicate if a piece is fast or slow
o Tells you which notes to emphasize
TIMBRE
LITERATURE
Schwartz, B. L. and Krantz, J. H. (2018). Music Perception (Ch.13).
E-Reader
Whitehead, J. C., Armony, J. L. (2018). Singing in the brain: Neural representation of music and voice as
revealed by fMRI. Human Brain Mapping, 39(12), 4913-4924.https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.24333
Limb, C. J. and Roy A. T. (2014). Technological, Biological, and Acoustical Constraints to Music Perception in
Cochlear Implant Users. Hearing research, 308, 13-26.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heares.2013.04.009
LEARNING GOALS
1. Elements of music
2. Brain areas involving music perception
3. Cochlear implants, what are they?
4. Difference in auditory perception for people with a cochlear implant
THE ACOUSTICS OF MUSIC
Music = ordered sound made and perceived by humans, created in meaningful patterns
PITCH, CHROMA AND THE OCTAVE
• As frequency increases, we hear sounds at higher and higher pitches
• Music is generally played in the range of up to max 5000 Hz
• A human bass voice may get as low as 75 Hz, soprano as high as 1300 Hz
• Higher frequencies contribute to the experience of timbre
• Having recording equipment that records at higher frequencies will preserve the timbre of voices and
instruments
• We seldom use the very high frequencies for music
THE OCTAVE
Octave = the interval between one note and a note with either double the frequency or half the frequency of
that note
• A frequency of 200 Hz has octaves of 100 Hz below it and 400 Hz above it
, • We hear similarities between these doubled or halved frequencies
• In musical term; refer to them by the same note name, but at different octaves
• We hear notes that are an octave apart as similar in a fundamental way
• There are perceived similarities between sounds that are an octave apart from one another
Chroma = subjective quality of pitch; we judge sounds an octave apart to be of the same chroma
• When we hear two notes that are an octave apart, they sound
similar to us, despite their difference in pitch
Semitone = the 12 equivalent intervals or notes within each octave
Equal-temperament scale = a tuning system in which the difference
between each successive semitone is constant both in pitch and in
frequency
• Every adjacent note has an identical frequency ratio
• The absolute difference between adjacent notes increases as one
gets higher in frequency, but the ratio matters for perception
• We then perceive the difference between each successive
semitone as equivalent in terms of difference in pitch to the one
before it --- Weber’s law
• Advantage: any melody can be played starting on any particular
note
Pitch helix – as one goes
up the helix, pitches get
progressively higher, but
the twists in the helix
indicate the octave
equivalence across
similar notes
SUMMARY
» Pitch is the psychological experience of frequency
» As frequency gets higher, we hear the sound at a higher pitch
» Musical notes are set at particular frequencies, and the relations between notes in Western music
follow an equal-temperament system
CONONANCE AND DISSONANCE
Harmony = refers to which pitches sound pleasing when played together
, Consonance = the perception of pleasantness or harmony when two or more notes are played (the notes fit
with each other)
Dissonance = the perception of unpleasantness or disharmony when two or more notes do not fit together
• Two notes that could be expressed as a simple ratio of each other tended to sound consonant, but
those more complex sound dissonant
• Two notes separated by an octave have approx. 2:1 ratio (note A is 440 Hz and A above it is 880 Hz)
Chord = when more than two notes are played at the same time
DYNAMICS AND RHYTM
Dynamics = relative loudness and how loudness changes across a composition
o A piece may start off really loud, then grow softer, and then finish loud again
o Changing from loud to soft may be important in transmitting the meaning and emotion in any piece
of music
o Refers to the amplitude measured in decibels
o Forte (loud) = more decibels, piano = fewer decibels (soft)
Rhythm = the temporal patterning of music, including the tempo, beat and the meter
o Complicated feature of music
o In any given piece of music, each note or pitch may also be maintained for either a short period of
time or a long period of time
o A note, such as B-flat, may be played for just one beat or it may be sustained across four or
more beats
o The pattern of notes across these beats also contributes to rhytm
Tempo = the pace at which a piece of music is played
o Ex. A beginning musician may elect to play a piece at a slower tempo so as not to make mistakes, a
more experienced musician may play faster
o Tempo can change within a piece (fast= joy)
Meter = the temporal pattern of sound across time, usually repeats itself across the piece
o Tells you how many beats occur per musical measure (the repeating temporal pattern)
Beat = spaced pulses that indicate if a piece is fast or slow
o Tells you which notes to emphasize
TIMBRE
