Conference article

Moving Forward the Concept: Critical Reflections on Universality of Music Perception

Ilkin Mehrabov
Department of Geography, Media & Communication Studies, HumanIT, Karlstad University, Sweden

Download article

Published in: On the Move: ACSIS conference 11-13 June Norrköping; Sweden 2013

Linköping Electronic Conference Proceedings 95:12, p. 97-108

Show more +

Published: 2014-01-17

ISBN: 978-91-7519-563-6

ISSN: 1650-3686 (print), 1650-3740 (online)

Abstract

This theoretical paper is an attempt of trying to look at universal aspects of music; especially as outlined by Philip Tagg; and engaging into articulation on how music can universally be pleasurable for people who are total strangers to its origins and roots. Main argument of the paper; driving its conclusions from analysis of historical and recent studies concentrating on bio-emotional perception of psychophysical dimensions of musical cues within the different tonal systems; is that only the emotional part of the music; only the hidden emotions of joy and sorrow; unconsciously decoded by audience members listening to it; are responsible for this fascination and nothing else can be counted in when trying to understand the universality of music and musical codes. Paper focuses on critique of semantic interpretations of music and instead calls for moving the focus of scholar attention towards biological perception of music by human brain and nervous system. Paper ends with a call for a more cross-cultural research on emotional perception and interpretation of music; both Western and non-Western.

Keywords

No keywords available

References

Ahlbäck; S. (2004). Melody beyond notes: A study of melody cognition. Doctoral dissertation submitted to Department of Musicology & Film Studies; University of Gothenburg.

Anderson; T. (2006). For the record: Interdisciplinarity; cultural studies; and the search for method in popular music studies. In M. White & J. Schwoch (Eds); Questions of method in cultural studies (pp. 285-307). Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.

Antovic; M. (2009a). Musical metaphors in Serbian and Romani children: An empirical study.  Metaphor and Symbol; 24(3); 184-202

Antovic; M. (2009b). Towards a semantics of music: The 20th century. Language and History; 52(1); 119-129.

Balkwill; L.; & Thompson; W. F. (1999). A cross-cultural investigation of the perception of emotion in music: Psychophysical and cultural cues. Music Perception; 17(1); 43-64.

Baron; J. H. (2010). Chamber music: A research and information guide (3rd ed.). New York; NY: Routledge.

Barthes; R. (1977). Image music text. London: Fontana Press.

Basegmez; V. (2005). Irish scene and sound: Identity; authenticity and transnationality among young musicians. Doctoral dissertation submitted to Department of Social Anthropology; Stockholm University.

Beament; J. (2001). How we hear music: The relationship between music and the hearing mechanism. Woodbridge; Suffolk: The Boydell Press.

Bejenaru; L. (2006). The metaphysics of music at Schopenhauer and Cioran. Cultura. International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology; 5; 35-40.

Bennett; A. (2000). Popular music and youth culture: Music; identity and place. London: Macmillan Press.

Berland; J. (1993). Sound; image and social space: Music video and media reconstruction. In S. Frith; A. Goodwin & L. Grossberg (Eds.); Sound and vision: The music video reader (pp. 25-43). New York; NY: Routledge.

Bhattacharya; J.; & Petsche; H. (2001). Universality in the brain while listening to music. Proceedings of The Royal Society B; 268; 2423-2433.

Born; G.; & Hesmondhalgh; D. (Eds). (2000). Western music and its others: Difference; representation; and appropriation in music. Berkeley and Los Angeles; California: University of California Press.

Cell Press. (2009; March 20). Language of music really is universal; study finds. ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 28; 2012 from

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090319132909.htm

Cross; I. (2001). Music; cognition; culture and evolution. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences; 930; 28-42.

Darwin; C. (1871/1981). The descent of man; and selection in relation to sex: Volume II. Princeton; New Jersey: Princeton University Press.

Deliege; I.; & Sloboda; J. (Eds). (1996). Musical beginnings: Origins and development of musical competence. New York: Oxford University Press.

DeVeaux; S. (1997). The birth of bebop: A social and musical history. Berkeley and Los Angeles; California: University of California Press.

Dissanayake; E. (2006). Ritual and ritualization: Musical means of conveying and shaping emotion in humans and other animals. In S. Brown & U. Volgsten (Eds); Music and manipulation: On the social uses and social control of music (pp. 31-56). New York: Berghahn Books.

Dostoyevsky; F. (2005). Crime and punishment. Clayton; Delaware: Prestwick House.

Dowling; W. J.; & Harwood; D. L. (1986). Music cognition. San Diego; California: Academic Press.

Fallahzadeh; M. (2005). Persian writing on music: A study of Persian musical literature from 1000 to 1500 AD. Doctoral dissertation submitted to Department of Linguistics and Philology; Uppsala University.

Fornäs; J. (1990). Popular music and youth culture in late modernity. In K. Roe & U. Carlsson (Eds); Popular music research (pp. 29-39). Göteborg: Nordicom-­Sweden.

Fritz; T.; Jentschke; S.; Gosselin; N.; Sammler; D.; Peretz; I.; Turner; R.; Friederici A. D.; & Koelsch; S. (2009). Universal recognition of three basic emotions in music. Current Biology; 19(7); 573-576.

Gadalla; M. (2002). Egyptian rhythm: The heavenly melodies. Greensboro; NC: Tehuti Research Foundation.

Gorbman; C. (1987). Unheard melodies: Narrative film music. Bloomington; Indiana: Indiana University Press.

Grout; D. J. (1960). A history of Western music. New York; NY: W. W. Norton & Company.

Hamm; C. (1995). Putting popular music in its place. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Hargreaves; D. J. (1986). The developmental psychology of music. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Hargreaves; D. J.; & North; A. C. (Eds). (1997). The social psychology of music. New York: Oxford University Press.

Harnoncourt; N. (1988). Baroque music today: Music as speech. Ways to a new understanding of music. Portland; Oregon: Amadeus Press.

Hesmondhalgh; D. (2008). Towards a critical understanding of music; emotion and self-identity. Consumption Markets & Culture. 11(4); 329-343.

Hodges; D. A.; & Sebald; D. C. (2011). Music in the human experience: An introduction to music psychology. New York; NY: Routledge.

Horner; B.; & Swiss; T. (Eds). (1999). Key terms in popular music and culture. Malden; Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers.

Inglis; I. (Ed.). (2000). The Beatles; popular music and society: A thousand voices. New York; NY: St. Martin’s Press.

Jones; S. (1992). Rock formation: Music; technology; and mass communication. Newbury Park; California: SAGE Publications.

Juslin; P. N. (1998). A functionalist perspective on emotional communication in music performance. Doctoral dissertation submitted to Department of Psychology; Uppsala University.

Juslin; P.; & Sloboda; J. (Eds). (2010). Handbook of music and emotion: Theory; research; applications. New York: Oxford University Press.

Khalfa; S.; Roy; M.; Rainville; P.; Bella; S. D.; & Peretz; I. (2008).Role of tempo entrainment in psychophysiological differentiation of happy and sad music? International Journal of Psychophysiology; 68; 17-26.

Le Guin; U. (2002). The dispossessed. London: Gollancz.

Lee; S. (2006; May 23). Lost in translation. The Guardian. Retrieved October 28; 2012 from

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/may/23/germany.features11

Longhurst; B. (1995). Popular music and society. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Lunde; A. (2004). ’Garbo talks!’: Scandinavians in Hollywood; the talkie revolution; and the crisis of foreign voice. In J. Fullerton (Ed.); Screen culture: History and textuality (pp. 21-39). Eastleigh: John Libbey Publishing.

MacDonald; R. A. R.; Hargreaves; D. J.; & Miell; D. (Eds). (2002). Musical identities. New York: Oxford University Press.

Malloch; S. (1999). Mothers and infants and communicative musicality. Musicae Scientiae (Special Issue on Rhythm; Musical Narrative and Origins of Human Communication; 1999-2000); 29-57.

Malloch; S.; & Trevarthen C. (Eds). (2008). Communicative musicality: Exploring the basis of human companionship. New York: Oxford University Press.

Manuel; P. (1988). Popular musics of the non-western world: An introductory survey. New York; New York: Oxford University Press.

Marks; M. M. (1997). Music and the silent film: Contexts and case studies; 1895-1924. New York; New York: Oxford University Press.

Mathiesen; T. J. (1999). Apollo’s lyre: Greek music and music theory in antiquity and the Middle Ages. Lincoln and London: University of Nebraska Press.

McGowan; C.; & Pessanha; R. (1998). The Brazilian sound: Samba; bossa nova; and the popular music of Brazil. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

Negus; K. (1996). Popular music in theory: An introduction. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Orbach; J. (1999). Sound and music: For the pleasure of the brain. Lanham; Maryland: University Press of America.

Pareles; J. (2010; March 15). Classical Azeri poetry in song; from a team of father and daughter. The New York Times. Retrieved October 28; 2012 from

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/16/arts/music/16alim.html?ref=music

Proust; M. (2006). Remembrance of things past: Volume 2. Ware; Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions.

Reinholdsson; P. (1998). Making music together: An interactionist perspective on small-group performance in jazz. Doctoral dissertation submitted to Department of Musicology; Uppsala University.

Romanou; K. (Ed.). (2009). Serbian and Greek art music: A patch to Western music history. Bristol: Intellect Books.

Schippers; H. (2010). Facing the music: Shaping music education from a global perspective. New York; New York: Oxford University Press.

Schopenhauer; A. (1958/1969). The world as will and representation: Volume I. (E. F. J. Payne; Trans.). New York: Dover Publications.

Serafine; M. L. (1988). Music as cognition: The development of thought in sound. New York: Columbia University Press.

Shepherd; J.; & Wicke; P. (1997). Music and cultural theory. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Sloboda; J. A. (1985). The musical mind: The cognitive psychology of music. New York: Oxford University Press.

Steinberg; R. (Ed.). (1995). Music and the mind machine: The psychophysiology and psychopathology of the sense of music. Berlin & Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag.

Swain; J. P. (1997). Musical languages. New York; NY: W. W. Norton & Company.

Swiss; T.; Sloop; J.; & Herman; A. (Eds). (1998). Mapping the beat: Popular music and contemporary theory. Malden; MA: Blackwell Publishers.

Tagg; P. (1982). Analysing popular music: Theory; method and practice. Popular Music; 2; 37-65.

Tagg; P. (1990). Music in mass media studies: Reading sounds for example. In K. Roe & U. Carlsson (Eds.); Popular music research (pp. 103-114). Göteborg: Nordicom-­Sweden.

Tagg; P. (2006). Music; moving images; semiotics; and the democratic right to know. In S. Brown & U. Volgsten (Eds); Music and manipulation: On the social uses and social control of music (pp. 163-186). New York: Berghahn Books.

Temperley; D. (2001). The cognition of basic musical structures. Cambridge; Massachusetts: The MIT Press.

Thomas; W. (Ed.). (1998). Composition-performance-reception: Studies in the creative process in music. Aldershot; Hants: Ashgate Publishing.

Thompson; K.; & Bordwell; D. (1994). Film history: An introduction. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Trevarthen; C. (1999). Musicality and the intrinsic motive pulse: Evidence from human psychobiology and infant communication. Musicae Scientiae (Special Issue on Rhythm; Musical Narrative and Origins of Human Communication; 1999-2000); 155-215.

Turner; J. H.; & Stets; J. E. (2005). The sociology of emotions. New York; NY: Cambridge University Press.

van Leeuwen; T. (1999). Speech; music; sound. London: Macmillan Press.

Vickhoff; B. (2008). A perspective theory of music perception and emotion. Doctoral dissertation submitted to Department of Culture; Aesthetics and Media; University of Gothenburg.

Wagner; R. (1966). Beethoven. In R. Wagner; Richard Wagner’s prose works: Volume V Actors and singers (pp. 57-126). New York: Broude Brothers.

Wallin; N. L.; Merker; B.; & Brown; S. (Eds). (2000). The origins of music. Cambridge; Massachusetts: The MIT Press.

Williams; A. (1997). New music and the claims of modernity. Aldershot; Hants: Ashgate Publishing.

Williams; R. (1990). Television: Technology and cultural form (2nd ed.). London: Routledge.

Wollenberg; S. (2003). Music and mathematics: An overview. In J. Fauvel; R. Flood & R. Wilson (Eds.); Music and mathematics: From Pythagoras to fractals (pp. 1-9). New York: Oxford University Press.

Yang; Y.; & Chen; H. H. (2011). Music emotion recognition. Boca Raton; FL: CRC Press.

Zacharopoulou; K.; & Kyriakidou; A. (2009). A cross-cultural comparative study of the role of musical structural features in the perception of emotion in Greek traditional music. Journal of Interdisciplinary Music Studies; 3(1&2); 1-15.

Citations in Crossref