Support the underground: characteristics of beyond-mainstream music listeners
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Kowald D
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8550054 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:How are listeners able to follow and enjoy complex pieces of music? Several theoretical frameworks suggest links between the process of listening and the formal structure of music, involving a division of the musical surface into structural units at multiple hierarchical levels. Whether boundaries between structural units are perceivable to listeners unfamiliar with the style, and are identified congruently between naïve listeners and experts, remains unclear. Here, we focused on the case of Indian music, and asked 65 Western listeners (of mixed levels of musical training; most unfamiliar with Indian music) to intuitively segment into phrases a recording of sitar ālāp of two different rāga-modes. Each recording was also segmented by two experts, who identified boundary regions at section and phrase levels. Participant- and region-wise scores were computed on the basis of "clicks" inside or outside boundary regions (hits/false alarms), inserted earlier or later within those regions (high/low "promptness"). We found substantial agreement-expressed as hit rates and click densities-among participants, and between participants' and experts' segmentations. The agreement and promptness scores differed between participants, levels, and recordings. We found no effect of musical training, but detected real-time awareness of grouping completion and boundary hierarchy. The findings may potentially be explained by underlying general bottom-up processes, implicit learning of structural relationships, cross-cultural musical similarities, or universal cognitive capacities.
| S-EPMC7862587 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundNoise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) affects millions of people despite being almost completely preventable. For recreational music listening through personal listening equipment (such as earbuds), it seems that listeners do not yet have a way to accurately assess their risk of developing hearing loss and prevent it accordingly.ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to analyze the perceived utility of a hypothetical device that encourages NIHL prevention based on listeners' exposure to noise and to determine the most effective methods of such encouragement. Here, we describe 3 different potential NIHL risk notification method types, as follows: auditory, external visual, and visual.MethodsAn open, web-based survey was created on Google Forms, and the link was posted to Amazon's Mechanical Turk as well as music-related Reddit communities. The survey was designed to gauge each respondent's self-assessed NIHL awareness, willingness to lower their audio if reminded, and NIHL risk notification type preference. The likelihood of a specific notification type to encourage NIHL prevention among its users was based on the average of each user's responses to 2 survey questions. Data collection started on July 13, 2020, and ended on July 17, 2020.ResultsOf the 116 respondents, 92 (79.3%) reported having prior awareness about NIHL; however, 60 (51.7%) described doing nothing to prevent it despite 96 (82.8%) feeling a moderate, high, or extreme risk of developing NIHL. Of those who already prevented NIHL, 96% (53.5/56) described using estimates to guide their prevention instead of using data. A Kruskal-Wallis test corrected for ties showed that despite the visual NIHL risk notification type being selected by the highest number of participants (84/116, 72.4%), the auditory type had a significantly higher (H1=6.848; P=.03) average percentage likelihood of encouraging NIHL prevention (62%, SD 24%) among the 40 respondents who chose it, with a median likelihood of 56% (95% CI 50%-75%). The visual type's average likelihood was 50% (SD 28.1%), with a median of 50% (95% CI 37.5%-56.3%). Regardless of the NIHL risk notification type, 69% (80/116) of respondents were not opposed to using NIHL risk notifications and lowering their audio volume accordingly.ConclusionsThe hypothetical device detailed here was thought to be useful because most respondents (82.8%, 96/116) felt an extreme to moderate risk of developing NIHL and such a device could provide accurate data to those who currently use estimates to prevent NIHL, and most respondents were willing to act on NIHL risk notifications. The most effective NIHL risk notification type seemed to be the auditory type, but many aspects of this study need further research to determine which implementation method should reach the public.
| S-EPMC9274393 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Subjective and psychophysiological emotional responses to music from two different cultures were compared within these two cultures. Two identical experiments were conducted: the first in the Congolese rainforest with an isolated population of Mebenzélé Pygmies without any exposure to Western music and culture, the second with a group of Western music listeners, with no experience with Congolese music. Forty Pygmies and 40 Canadians listened in pairs to 19 music excerpts of 29-99 s in duration in random order (eight from the Pygmy population and 11 Western instrumental excerpts). For both groups, emotion components were continuously measured: subjective feeling (using a two- dimensional valence and arousal rating interface), peripheral physiological activation, and facial expression. While Pygmy music was rated as positive and arousing by Pygmies, ratings of Western music by Westerners covered the range from arousing to calming and from positive to negative. Comparing psychophysiological responses to emotional qualities of Pygmy music across participant groups showed no similarities. However, Western stimuli, rated as high and low arousing by Canadians, created similar responses in both participant groups (with high arousal associated with increases in subjective and physiological activation). Several low-level acoustical features of the music presented (tempo, pitch, and timbre) were shown to affect subjective and physiological arousal similarly in both cultures. Results suggest that while the subjective dimension of emotional valence might be mediated by cultural learning, changes in arousal might involve a more basic, universal response to low-level acoustical characteristics of music.
| S-EPMC4286616 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The theory of Participatory Discrepancies (or PDs) claims that minute temporal asynchronies (microtiming) in music performance are crucial for prompting bodily entrainment in listeners, which is a fundamental effect of the "groove" experience. Previous research has failed to find evidence to support this theory. The present study tested the influence of varying PD magnitudes on the beat-related body movement behavior of music listeners. 160 participants (79 music experts, 81 non-experts) listened to 12 music clips in either Funk or Swing style. These stimuli were based on two audio recordings (one in each style) of expert drum and bass duo performances. In one series of six clips, the PDs were downscaled from their originally performed magnitude to complete quantization in steps of 20%. In another series of six clips, the PDs were upscaled from their original magnitude to double magnitude in steps of 20%. The intensity of the listeners' beat-related head movement was measured using video-based motion capture technology and Fourier analysis. A mixed-design Four-Factor ANOVA showed that the PD manipulations had a significant effect on the expert listeners' entrainment behavior. The experts moved more when listening to stimuli with PDs that were downscaled by 60% compared to completely quantized stimuli. This finding offers partial support for PD theory: PDs of a certain magnitude do augment entrainment in listeners. But the effect was found to be small to moderately sized, and it affected music expert listeners only.
| S-EPMC4542135 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Dynamic range compression serves different purposes in the music and hearing-aid industries. In the music industry, it is used to make music louder and more attractive to normal-hearing listeners. In the hearing-aid industry, it is used to map the variable dynamic range of acoustic signals to the reduced dynamic range of hearing-impaired listeners. Hence, hearing-aided listeners will typically receive a dual dose of compression when listening to recorded music. The present study involved an acoustic analysis of dynamic range across a cross section of recorded music as well as a perceptual study comparing the efficacy of different compression schemes. The acoustic analysis revealed that the dynamic range of samples from popular genres, such as rock or rap, was generally smaller than the dynamic range of samples from classical genres, such as opera and orchestra. By comparison, the dynamic range of speech, based on recordings of monologues in quiet, was larger than the dynamic range of all music genres tested. The perceptual study compared the effect of the prescription rule NAL-NL2 with a semicompressive and a linear scheme. Music subjected to linear processing had the highest ratings for dynamics and quality, followed by the semicompressive and the NAL-NL2 setting. These findings advise against NAL-NL2 as a prescription rule for recorded music and recommend linear settings.
| S-EPMC4753356 | biostudies-literature
Project description:This study tested the influence of expert performance microtiming on listeners' experience of groove. Two professional rhythm section performances (bass/drums) in swing and funk style were recorded, and the performances' original microtemporal deviations from a regular metronomic grid were scaled to several levels of magnitude. Music expert (n = 79) and non-expert (n = 81) listeners rated the groove qualities of stimuli using a newly developed questionnaire that measures three dimensions of the groove experience (Entrainment, Enjoyment, and the absence of Irritation). Findings show that music expert listeners were more sensitive to microtiming manipulations than non-experts. Across both expertise groups and for both styles, groove ratings were high for microtiming magnitudes equal or smaller than those originally performed and decreased for exaggerated microtiming magnitudes. In particular, both the fully quantized music and the music with the originally performed microtiming pattern were rated equally high on groove. This means that neither the claims of PD theory (that microtiming deviations are necessary for groove) nor the opposing exactitude hypothesis (that microtiming deviations are detrimental to groove) were supported by the data.
| S-EPMC5050221 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between spectrotemporal modulation (STM) sensitivity and the ability to perceive music. Ten normal-nearing (NH) listeners, ten hearing aid (HA) users with moderate hearing loss, and ten cochlear Implant (CI) users participated in this study. Three different types of psychoacoustic tests including spectral modulation detection (SMD), temporal modulation detection (TMD), and STM were administered. Performances on these psychoacoustic tests were compared to music perception abilities. In addition, psychoacoustic mechanisms involved in the improvement of music perception through HA were evaluated. Music perception abilities in unaided and aided conditions were measured for HA users. After that, HA benefit for music perception was correlated with aided psychoacoustic performance. STM detection study showed that a combination of spectral and temporal modulation cues were more strongly correlated with music perception abilities than spectral or temporal modulation cues measured separately. No correlation was found between music perception performance and SMD threshold or TMD threshold in each group. Also, HA benefits for melody and timbre identification were significantly correlated with a combination of spectral and temporal envelope cues though HA.
| S-EPMC5768867 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The development of underground workspaces is a strategic effort towards healthy urban growth in cities with ever-increasing land scarcity. Despite the growth in underground workspaces, there is limited information regarding the impact of this environment on workers' health. The Health Effects of Underground Workspaces (HEUW) study is a cohort study that was set up to examine the health effects of working in underground workspaces. In this paper, we describe the rationale for the study, study design, data collection, and baseline characteristics of participants. The HEUW study recruited 464 participants at baseline, of whom 424 (91.4%) were followed-up at 3 months and 334 (72.0%) at 12 months from baseline. We used standardized and validated questionnaires to collect information on socio-demographic and lifestyle characteristics, medical history, family history of chronic diseases, sleep quality, health-related quality of life, chronotype, psychological distress, occupational factors, and comfort levels with indoor environmental quality parameters. Clinical and anthropometric parameters including blood pressure, spirometry, height, weight, and waist and hip circumference were also measured. Biochemical tests of participants' blood and urine samples were conducted to measure levels of glucose, lipids, and melatonin. We also conducted objective measurements of individuals' workplace environment, assessing air quality, light intensity, temperature, thermal comfort, and bacterial and fungal counts. The findings this study will help to identify modifiable lifestyle and environmental parameters that are negatively affecting workers' health. The findings may be used to guide the development of more health-promoting workspaces that attempt to negate any potential deleterious health effects from working in underground workspaces.
| S-EPMC6815877 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Many studies have investigated the effects of music listening from the viewpoint of music features such as tempo or key by measuring psychological or psychophysiological responses. In addition, technologies for three-dimensional sound field (3D-SF) reproduction and binaural recording have been developed to induce a realistic sensation of sound. However, it is still unclear whether music listened to in the presence of 3D-SF is more impressive than in the absence of it. We hypothesized that the presence of a 3D-SF when listening to music facilitates listeners' moods, emotions for music, and physiological activities such as respiration rate. Here, we examined this hypothesis by evaluating differences between a reproduction condition with headphones (HD condition) and one with a 3D-SF reproduction system (3D-SF condition). We used a 3D-SF reproduction system based on the boundary surface control principle (BoSC system) to reproduce a sound field of music in the 3D-SF condition. Music in the 3D-SF condition was binaurally recorded through a dummy head in the BoSC reproduction room and reproduced with headphones in the HD condition. Therefore, music in the HD condition was auditorily as rich in information as that in the 3D-SF condition, but the 3D-sound field surrounding listeners was absent. We measured the respiration rate and heart rate of participants listening to acousmonium and pipe organ music. The participants rated their felt moods before and after they listened to music, and after they listened, they also rated their felt emotion. We found that the increase in respiration rate, the degree of decrease in well-being, and unpleasantness for both pieces in the 3D-SF condition were greater than in the HD condition. These results suggest that the presence of 3D-SF enhances changes in mood, felt emotion for music, and respiration rate when listening to music.
| S-EPMC8637927 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Music performance can be cognitively and physically demanding. These demands vary across the course of a performance as the content of the music changes. More demanding passages require performers to focus their attention more intensity, or expend greater "mental effort." To date, it remains unclear what effect different cognitive-motor demands have on performers' mental effort. It is likewise unclear how fluctuations in mental effort compare between performers and perceivers of the same music. We used pupillometry to examine the effects of different cognitive-motor demands on the mental effort used by performers and perceivers of classical string quartet music. We collected pupillometry, motion capture, and audio-video recordings of a string quartet as they performed a rehearsal and concert (for live audience) in our lab. We then collected pupillometry data from a remote sample of musically-trained listeners, who heard the audio recordings (without video) that we captured during the concert. We used a modelling approach to assess the effects of performers' bodily effort (head and arm motion; sound level; performers' ratings of technical difficulty), musical complexity (performers' ratings of harmonic complexity; a score-based measure of harmonic tension), and expressive difficulty (performers' ratings of expressive difficulty) on performers' and listeners' pupil diameters. Our results show stimulating effects of bodily effort and expressive difficulty on performers' pupil diameters, and stimulating effects of expressive difficulty on listeners' pupil diameters. We also observed negative effects of musical complexity on both performers and listeners, and negative effects of performers' bodily effort on listeners, which we suggest may reflect the complex relationships that these features share with other aspects of musical structure. Looking across the concert, we found that both of the quartet violinists (who exchanged places halfway through the concert) showed more dilated pupils during their turns as 1st violinist than when playing as 2nd violinist, suggesting that they experienced greater arousal when "leading" the quartet in the 1st violin role. This study shows how eye tracking and motion capture technologies can be used in combination in an ecological setting to investigate cognitive processing in music performance.
| S-EPMC8274478 | biostudies-literature