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This book uses acoustics, psychophysics, and neurobiology to explore the physical systems and biological processes that intervene when we hear music. It incorporates the latest findings in brain science and tone generation in musical instruments.
Viii book we shall refer a great deal to the discipline of psycho physics, which in a broad sense tries to establish in a quan titative form the causal relationship between the "physical" input from our senses and the psychological sensations and physiological reactions evoked in our mind and body, re spectively. Actually, we shall try to weave a rather close mesh between physics and psychophysics-or, more pre cisely, psychoacoustics. After all, they appear naturally interwoven in music itself: not only pitch, loudness and timbre are a product of physical and psychoacoustical proc esses, but so are the sensations related to consonance and dissonance, tonic dominance, trills and ornamentation, vibrato, phrasing, beats, tone attack, duration and decay, rhythm, and so on. Many books on physics of music or musical acoustics are readily available. An up-to-date text is the treatise of John Backus (1969). No book on psychoacoustics is available at the elementary level, though. Several review articles on pertinent topics can be found in Tobias (1970) and in Plomp and Smoorenburg (1970). A comprehensive discussion is given in Flanagan's book on speech (1972). And, of course, there is the classical treatise of von Bekesy (1960). A com prehensive up-to-date analysis of general brain processes can be found in Sommerhoff (1974); musical psychology is discussed in classical terms in Lundin (1967).
This book deals with the physical systems and physiological processes that intervene in music. It analyzes what objective, physical properties of sound are associated with what subjective psychological sensations of music, and it describes how these sound patterns are actually generated in musical instruments, how they propagate through the environment, and how they are detected by the ear and interpreted in the brain. Using the precise language of science, but without complicated mathematics, the author weaves a close mesh of the physics, psychophysics and physiology relevant to music. A prior knowledge of physics, mathematics, physiology or psychology is not required to understand most of the book; it is, however, assumed that the reader is familiar with music - in particular, with musical notation, musical scales and intervals, and some of the basics of musical instruments. --From publisher's description.
Approx.542 pages
This book deals with the physical systems and psychophysical pro cesses that intervene in what we broadly call "music. " We shall analyze what objective, physical properties of sound patterns are associated with what subjective, psychological sensations of music. We shall describe how these sound patterns are actually produced in musical instruments, how they propagate through the environment, and how they are detected by the ear and interpreted in the brain. We shall do all this by using the physicist's language and his method of thought and analysis-with out, however, using complicated mathematics (this, of course, will neces sarily impose serious limitations on our presentation). While no previous knowledge of physics is required, it is assumed, however, that the reader is familiar with music, in particular with musical notation, musical scales and intervals, that he has at least some basic ideas about musical instru and that he has experienced typical musical "sensations. " ments, Until about 25 years ago, little attention had been paid to the role of the brain, i. e. , the central nervous system, in the actual perception, identification, and evaluation of musical sounds. The highly "mechanicis tic" approach of 19th-century researchers, notably the great von Helm holz (1863) persisted weIl into the first half of this century.
Psychophysics: A Practical Introduction, Second Edition, is the primary scientific tool for understanding how the physical world of colors, sounds, odors, movements, and shapes translates into the sensory world of sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell; in other words, how matter translates into mind. This timely revision provides a unique introduction to the techniques for researching and understanding how the brain translates the external physical world to the internal world of sensation. The revision expands and refines coverage of the basic tools of psychophysics research and better integrates the theory with the supporting software. The new edition continues to be the only book to combine, in a single volume, the principles underlying the science of psychophysical measurement and the practical tools necessary to analyze data from psychophysical experiments. The book, written in a tutorial style, will appeal to new researchers as well as to seasoned veterans. This introduction to psychophysics research methods will be of interest to students, scholars and researchers within sensory neuroscience, vision research, behavioral neuroscience, and the cognitive sciences. Presents a large variety of analytical methods explained for the non-expert Provides a novel classification scheme for psychophysics experiments Disseminates the pros and cons of different psychophysical procedures Contains practical tips for designing psychophysical experiments
This book deals with the physical systems and psychophysical processes that intervene in what we broadly call "music. " We shall analyze what objective, physical properties of sound patterns are associated with what subjective, psychological sensations of music. We shall describe how these sound patterns are actually produced in musical instruments, how they propagate through the environment, and how they are detected by the ear and interpreted in the brain. We shall do all this by using the physicist's language and his method of thought and analysis-without, however, using complicated mathematics (this, of course, will necessarily impose serious limitations on our presentation). Although no previous knowledge of physics, physiology, and neurobiology is required, it is assumed that the reader is familiar with music, in particular with musical notation, musical scales, and intervals, that he has at least some basic ideas about musical instruments, and that he has experienced typical musical "sensations. " Books are readily available on the fundamentals of physics of music (e. g. , Benade, 1976; Pierce, 1983) and music psychology (e. g. , Deutsch, 1982). An excellent and up-to-date general text on musical acoustics is that of Sundberg (1991). The purpose of the present volume is not to duplicate but to synthesize and complement existing literature.
A comprehensive treatment of the skills and techniques needed for visual psychophysics, from basic tools to sophisticated data analysis. Vision is one of the most active areas in biomedical research, and visual psychophysical techniques are a foundational methodology for this research enterprise. Visual psychophysics, which studies the relationship between the physical world and human behavior, is a classical field of study that has widespread applications in modern vision science. Bridging the gap between theory and practice, this textbook provides a comprehensive treatment of visual psychophysics, teaching not only basic techniques but also sophisticated data analysis methodologies and theoretical approaches. It begins with practical information about setting up a vision lab and goes on to discuss the creation, manipulation, and display of visual images; timing and integration of displays with measurements of brain activities and other relevant techniques; experimental designs; estimation of behavioral functions; and examples of psychophysics in applied and clinical settings. The book's treatment of experimental designs presents the most commonly used psychophysical paradigms, theory-driven psychophysical experiments, and the analysis of these procedures in a signal-detection theory framework. The book discusses the theoretical underpinnings of data analysis and scientific interpretation, presenting data analysis techniques that include model fitting, model comparison, and a general framework for optimized adaptive testing methods. It includes many sample programs in Matlab with functions from Psychtoolbox, a free toolbox for real-time experimental control. Once students and researchers have mastered the material in this book, they will have the skills to apply visual psychophysics to cutting-edge vision science.
The psychological theory of expectation that David Huron proposes in Sweet Anticipation grew out of the author's experimental efforts to understand how music evokes emotions. These efforts evolved into a general theory of expectation that will prove informative to readers interested in cognitive science and evolutionary psychology as well as those interested in music. The book describes a set of psychological mechanisms and illustrates how these mechanisms work in the case of music. All examples of notated music can be heard on the Web. Huron proposes that emotions evoked by expectation involve five functionally distinct response systems: reaction responses (which engage defensive reflexes); tension responses (where uncertainty leads to stress); prediction responses (which reward accurate prediction); imagination responses (which facilitate deferred gratification); and appraisal responses (which occur after conscious thought is engaged). For real-world events, these five response systems typically produce a complex mixture of feelings. The book identifies some of the aesthetic possibilities afforded by expectation, and shows how common musical devices (such as syncopation, cadence, meter, tonality, and climax) exploit the psychological opportunities. The theory also provides new insights into the physiological psychology of awe, laughter, and spine-tingling chills. Huron traces the psychology of expectations from the patterns of the physical/cultural world through imperfectly learned heuristics used to predict that world to the phenomenal qualia we experienced as we apprehend the world.
"Any readers whose love of music has somehow not led them to explore the technical side before will surely find the result a thoroughly accessible, and occasionally revelatory, primer."—Seattle Post-Intelligencer What makes a musical note different from any other sound? How can you tell if you have perfect pitch? Why do ten violins sound only twice as loud as one? Do your Bob Dylan albums sound better on CD vinyl? John Powell, a scientist and musician, answers these questions and many more in How Music Works, an intriguing and original guide to acoustics. In a clear and engaging voice, Powell leads you on a fascinating journey through the world of music, with lively discussions of the secrets behind harmony timbre, keys, chords, loudness, musical composition, and more. From how musical notes came to be (you can thank a group of stodgy men in 1939 London for that one), to how scales help you memorize songs, to how to make and oboe from a drinking straw, John Powell distills the science and psychology of music with wit and charm.