Listeners' images of motion and the interaction of musical parameters

Z Eitan, RY Granot

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

Eitan 
& 
Granot 
(2006; 
hence 
E&G) 
examined
 how
 listeners 
map 
changes 
in
 musical 
parameters 
onto 
aspects 
bodily 
motion. Participants 
associated
 melodic 
stimuli
 with 
imagined 
motions 
of 
a 
human 
character
 and
 specified 
the 
movement 
directions,
 pace 
changes 
and 
type 
of 
these 
motions. 
Stimuli
 consisted 
of 
contrasting
 pairs 
of 
melodic 
figures, 
manipulating
 in dependently
 loudness
 change,
 pitch 
direction,
 tempo, 
and 
pitch 
interval 
size. 
In
 the 
current
 study 
we
begin
 to 
Examine
 systematically 
the
 effects
 of 
interactions 
between
 musical 
parameters 
on 
music‐motion
 mappings.
Twenty 
brief 
melodic 
stimuli
 (3‐6
seconds)
 were 
presented
 to
 78
 participants
 (35
music‐trained).
Participants’ 
task
was
 identical 
to 
those 
in 
E&G. 
Stimuli 
systematically
 combined
 concurrent
 changes
 in 
four 
musical 
parameters: 4 
stimuli 
combined
 loudness 
changes
(crescendo/diminuendo)
 and pitch 
directions 
(up/down), 4 
combined
 loudness and 
tempo 
changes
 (accelerando/ritardando), 
4 
combined
 pitch 
directions and  
tempo 
change, 
and 
8 
combined
 loudness
 change,
 pitch 
direction, 
and
 changes
 in 
interval 
size.
 Results 
corroborate 
that dimensions 
of 
motion 
imagery, 
rather
than 
exhibiting
 one‐to‐one 
mappings 
of 
musical
 and
 motion 
parameters
(pitch→height, tempo→speed,
 loudness→distance),
 are
 affected
 by 
several
musical
 parameters 
and
 their 
interactions. 
Thus,
 speed
 change
 associates
 not 
only 
with 
tempo,
 but 
with 
changes 
in 
loudness
 and 
pitch 
direction
 (e.g.,
 participants 
did 
not 
associate
 an
 accelerated
 stimuli 
with 
increased 
speed 
when 
loudness 
was 
simultaneously
 reduced);
 vertical 
direction 
(rise/fall) 
is
 associated
 not
 only
 with 
pitch
 direction 
but 
with 
loudness
 (pitch 
ascents
 in 
diminuendo were 
associated 
with 
spatial 
descent);
 and 
distance 
change 
is 
associated
 not 
only 
with
 loudness 
change 
but 
with 
pitch
 direction. 
Moreover, 
significant 
interactions among 
musical 
parameters 
suggest 
that 
effects 
of 
single 
musical 
parameters 
cannot 
wholly 
predict 
music‐motion
 mappings.
 For 
instance, 
both 
loudness 
and 
pitch 
and 
pitch
 and 
tempo 
significantly 
interact 
in 
conveying 
distance 
change.
This 
multidimensional
 view
 of 
perceived 
musical 
motion 
may 
bear 
important
 implications 
for 
musical 
multimedia, 
sonification, 
and

music 
theory 
and 
analysis.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication10th Conference of the Society for Music Perception and Cognition (SMPC)
Subtitle of host publication[August
 11-­14, 
2011 ; Eastman 
School 
of 
Music of
 the 
University
 of 
Rochester; Rochester,
 NY]
StatePublished - 2011

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