In the developing brain, there are millions of neurons that are available for connection. Over time those connections “fuse” as you become familiar with the musical landscape that you are exposed to. Our brains becomes so familiar with the patterns that we are exposed to that we can put them in the background and focus on the nuance of our culture’s music.
Know what the conflicting arguments are between Steven Pinker and Daniel Levitin regarding music and evolution
Pinker believes that musical vibrations create patterns of sound waves in reality that we can actually feel within our bodies. The human brain evolved in a reality with physical principals, and music mimics those patterns and principals. Music can describe mental states and physical realities and the emotional connection that music creates helps us to remember and to learn.
While Levitin believes that music is a reflection of the structure of our physical world, he believes that intense emotions we experience are the illusion of music, rather than a fundamental component of it.
Know how music is used for education and for health care (therapy)
Music can help children learn motor skills, reading skills, spatial skills, and linguistic syntax like the structure of language and grammar. Children can also learn abstract skills such as discipline, emotion, and focus through music. Children that learn an instrument are better at reading, learning quickly, and math.
Music is used to study the breathing rate of premie babies, and the heart rate of cardiac patients. The rhythm of music can help Parkinson’s patients because music engages motor modalities. Music can help people with dementia, stroke, and speech disorder learn to speak.
Be familiar with the phonograph effects discussed in the Katz chapter “Causes”
Tangibility describes our physical interactions with recorded music, like flipping the disk on a record. Portability describes our ability to take music anywhere with us. Invisibility is the effect of not being able to see the performers and missing out on that part of communication. Repeatability describes the effect that repetition has on listener’s expectations for a performance. Temporality describes the length of time that we can listen to music now. Receptivity describes the limitations of recording devices and how it changes the sound of the music.
Know the basic formats use in recorded sound in the 20th century
The phonograph uses the sound vibrations funneled through a horn to emboss a foil drum, then a wax cylinder. The flat disk gramophone recorded with a similar method to a master disk. The electric microphone was much more sensitive and was able to capture a much wider range of notes and sounds. Vinyl replaced shellac disks that could play at a much slower RPM, allowing much more music to be contained on one side of a disk. Stereophonic disks gave a greater sense of perspective. Digital sampling allows composers to create new pieces of music with samples of other recorded sound.
Think about the ways in which recorded sound differs from “live” performance
With recorded music you can pull out the sound of a specific instrument that would not stand out in a live performance. Recorded music is technically perfect, which sets a new standard for live musicians and limits the risks that they can take in live performances.
References
Goodall, Howard. "Howard Goodall's Big Bangs 5 Recorded Sound." YouTube. YouTube, 18 Sept. 2015. Web. 29 Mar. 2016.
Katz, Mark. Capturing sound: how technology has changed music. Univ of California Press, 2010.
Levitin, Daniel J. This is your brain on music: Understanding a human obsession. Atlantic Books Ltd, 2011.
Mannes, Elana. "The Music Instinct." YouTube. YouTube, 18 Oct. 2014. Web. 29 Mar. 2016.
