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Music and the Mind

Music and the Mind. Alexander Ditmanson, Sara Hipp, Eric Martin. Music Scales. Major: WWHWWWH (W:whole, H: half) Minor: WWHWWHW Several Subtypes of major scales, but more of minor 2 constants in music: A before middle C has frequence 440Hz Ratio between half steps is 12 th root of 2.

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Music and the Mind

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  1. Music and the Mind Alexander Ditmanson, Sara Hipp, Eric Martin

  2. Music Scales • Major: WWHWWWH (W:whole, H: half) • Minor: WWHWWHW • Several Subtypes of major scales, but more of minor • 2 constants in music: • A before middle C has frequence 440Hz • Ratio between half steps is 12th root of 2

  3. Music and Mood • “International Language”: conveys emotion • Major keys: bold, uplifting • Minor keys: melancholy, ominous

  4. Fast Rhythm/Tempo • Stimulates central nervous system (dance, movement) • Listen to exciting music for workouts • Listen to heavy metal when angry • Listen to punk/emo when sad or upset

  5. Slow Rhythm/Temp • Triggers relaxation, sleepiness, etc. • Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata makes people sleepy • Natural cds (Ocean, Forest, etc.) relax most • Lullabies: mothers sing to calm their children

  6. Cultural Preferences • Western Music: typically Major scales • Chinese/Japanese Music: more Pentatonic scales • Indian music: Mohammedan scale/harmonic minor scale • Ancient Greek Scale had 5 notes • Approximately A, C, D, E, F (minor scale)

  7. Consonance • Latin: com – with, sonare – sound • Definition: those sounds which seem “pleasing” to the ear • Frequency Ratios: lower simple numbers • Harmonic chord result of similar frequencies at different octave of the chord’s notes • Many definitions do not require exact integer tunings

  8. Consonant Chords

  9. Dissonance • Latin: dis – apart • “An unstable tone combination is a dissonance; its tension demands an onward motion to a stable chord. Thus dissonant chords are ‘active’; traditionally they have been considered harsh and have expressed pain, grief, and conflict.” – Roger Kamien • Temporary, transitional, in need of resolve

  10. Dissonant Chords

  11. Resolution • Dissonance not always “unpleasant”, “grating” • All music with harmony or tone incorporates some degree of dissonance • Buildup and release of tension = dissonance and resolution

  12. Harmony, Math, and Feelings C Major harmonics (emphasize each other) C Minor harmonics (missing correspondence creates darker feel)

  13. Timbre of Music • Harmonic: proportion frequencies and inversely proportional amplitudes • Harmony or there lack of • Metal of brass (trumpet, tuba) rings inharmoiously • Woodwinds (saxophone, clarinet) more harmonious with many tones all played at once.

  14. Timbre of Music (cont.) • Resonance • Conical (clarinet): even-numbered harmonics suppressed • Cylindrical (saxophone): even-number harmonics emphasized • Amplitude of sound waves • Loudness

  15. Nature • Music appreciation is in many ways inherent I’m a raindrop. I’m a raindrop. I’m a raindrop, yes I am. But I’d rather be a raindrop than A drip.

  16. "Babies come into the world with musical preferences. They begin to respond to music while still in the womb. At the age of 4 months, dissonant notes at the end of a melody will cause them to squirm and turn away. If they like a tune, they may coo.” - Willliam J. Cromie

  17. Nurture • Cultural Context • Western: heptatonic scale (blues: hexatonic) • Chinese: pentatonic scale • Middle Easter: pentatonic • Indian (quarter tones instead of semitones) • All still made with the same system of cutting a string into the same fractions • Indian system has 12 notes with flats/inflection

  18. Music and Medicine • While the Mozart effect (playing classical music and making babies smarter) may be a myth, there are many uses • Babies understand words better in song • Regulates blood pressure in patients and during exercise • Premature babies gain weight faster • Calms Alzheimer’s patients

  19. Learning to Play and Learning • Music appreciation and understanding requires both hemispheres of the brain • Dr. Gordon Shaw and Dr. Frances Rauscher studied effects of teaching piano to one group of pre-schoolers and two groups of control subjects (one receiving computer lessons and the other no lessons) The group taught piano lessons scored 34% higher on spatial-temporal ability tests (indicates enhances in higher brain function required for math, chess, science, and engineering)

  20. Questions?

  21. Websites Used http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2001/03.22/04-music.html http://members.cox.net/mathmistakes/music.htp http://cnx.org/content/m11953/latest/ http://solomonsmusic.net/consonance.htm http://www.wikipedia.org

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