You Are a Musical Expert – Elizabeth Hellmuth Margulis – Aeon

11.3.2015

YouareamusicalexpertElizabethHellmuthMargulisAeon

PhilosophySciencePsychologyHealthSocietyTechnologyCultureAboutVideoMostpopularOurwriters

ThemusicinyoubyElizabethHellmuthMargulis3300ReadlaterorKindleRead:

L AT ER

Instapaper

Kindle

PhotobyNationalGeographic

Youmightnotbeavirtuoso,butyouhaveremarkablemusicabilities.YoujustdontknowaboutthemyetTwentyyearsago,apairofpsychologistshookedupashoetoacomputer.Theyweretryingtoteachittotapintimewithanationalanthem.However,thejobwasprovingmuchtougherthananticipated.Justmovingtobeatdominatedmusic,theyfound,requiredagraspoftonalorganisationandmusicalstructurethatseemedbeyondthereachofanordinarypersonwithoutspecialtraining.Buthowcouldthatbe?Anypartygoercanfakeasmile,reachforacheesecubeandtapherheeltoanunfamiliarsonghttp://aeon.co/magazine/culture/howallhumansgottobemusicexperts/

1/13

11.3.2015


withoutsomuchasathought.Yetwhentheguyshesbeenchattingwithtellsherthathesamusician,shemightreply:Music?Idontknowanythingaboutthat.Maybeyouveheardavariationonthistheme:Icantcarryatunetosavemylife.Or:Idonthaveamusicalboneinmybody.Mostofusendupmakingmusicpubliclyjustafewtimesayear,whenitssomeonesbirthdayandthecakecomesout.Privately,itsadifferentstorywebeltouttunesintheshowerandcreateelaboraterhythmtracksonoursteeringwheel.Butwhenwethinkaboutmusicalexpertise,wetendtoimagineprofessionalswhospecialiseinperformance,peoplewedpaytohear.Asfortherestofus,ourbumbling,privateeffortsratherthanillustratingthatweshareanirresistibleimpulsetomakemusicseemonlytodemonstratethatwelacksomeessentialmusicalcapacity.Butthemorepsychologistsinvestigatemusicality,themoreitseemsthatnearlyallofusaremusicalexperts,inquiteastartlingsense.Thedifferencebetweenavirtuosoperformerandanordinarymusicfanismuchsmallerthanthegulfbetweenthatfanandsomeonewithnomusicalknowledgeatall.Whatsmore,alotofthemostinterestingandsubstantialelementsofmusicalityarethingsthatwe(nearly)allshare.Wearenttalkingaboutinstinctive,inbornuniversalshere.Ourmusicalknowledgeislearned,theproductoflongexperiencemaybenotyearsspentoveraninstrument,butalifetimespentabsorbingmusicfromtheopenwindowofeverypassingcar.

Pp

vm b pf ?

mp v f

fv m m f

Sowhydontwerealisehowmuchweknow?Andwhatdoesthathiddenmassofknowledgetellusaboutthenatureofmusicitself?Theanswerstothesequestionsarejuststartingtofallintoplace.

bx

Youremailbb

http://aeon.co/magazine/culture/howallhumansgottobemusicexperts/

2/13

11.3.2015


Thefirstisrelativelysimple.Muchofourknowledgeaboutmusicisimplicit:itonlyemergesinbehavioursthatseemeffortless,likeclappingalongtoabeatorexperiencingchillsattheentryofacertainchord.Andwhilewemightnotgiveathoughttothehiddencognitionsthatmadethesefeatspossible,psychologistsandneuroscientistshavebeguntopeekunderthehoodtodiscoverjusthowmuchexpertisethesebasicskillsrelyon.Whattheyarediscoveringisthatmusicalityemergesinwaysthatparallelthedevelopmentoflanguage.Inparticular,thecapacitytorespondtomusicandtheabilitytolearnlanguagerestuponanamazingpieceofstatisticalmachinery,onethatkeepswhirringawayinthebackgroundofourminds,hiddenfromview.Considerthesituationofinfantslearningtosegmentthespeechstreamthatis,learningtobreakupthecontinuousbabblearoundthemintoindividualwords.Youcantaskbabiesiftheyknowwhereonewordstopsandanewonebegins,butyoucanseethisknowledgeemergeintheirresponsestotheworldaroundthem.Theymight,forexample,starttoshaketheirheadswhenyouaskiftheydlikesquash.Toinvestigatehowthiskindofverbalknowledgetakesshape,in1996thepsychologistsJennySaffran,RichardAslinandElissaNewport,thenallattheUniversityofRochesterinNewYork,cameupwithaningeniousexperiment.Theyplayedinfantsstringsofnonsensesyllablessoundsequencessuchasbidakupado.Thisstreamofsyllableswasorganisedaccordingtostrictrules:dafollowedbi100percentofthetime,forexample,butpafollowedkuonlyathirdofthetime.Theselowprobabilitytransitionsweretheonlyboundariesbetweenwords.Therewerenopausesorotherdistinguishingfeaturestodemarcatetheunitsofsound.Ithaslongbeenobservedthateightmontholdinfantsattendreliablylongertostimulithatarenewtothem.Theresearchersranatestthattookadvantageofthispeculiarfact.Afterthebabieshadbeenexposedtothispseudolanguageforanextendedperiodoftime,thepsychologistsmeasuredhowlongbabiesspentturningtheirheadstowardthreesyllableunitsdrawnfromthestream.Thebabiestendedtolistenonlybrieflytowords(unitswithinwhichtheprobabilityofhttp://aeon.co/magazine/culture/howallhumansgottobemusicexperts/

3/13

11.3.2015


eachsyllabictransitionhadbeen100percent)buttostarecuriouslyinthedirectionofthenonwords(thatis,unitswhichincludedlowprobabilitytransitions).Andsinceabsolutelytheonlythingdistinguishingwordsfromnonwordswithinthisonslaughtofgibberishwasthetransitionprobabilitiesfromsyllabletosyllable,theinfantsreactionsrevealedthattheyhadabsorbedthestatisticalpropertiesofthelanguage.

PlayasimpleDoReMiFaSolLaTibutwithholdthefinalDoandwatcheventhemostavowedmusicalignoramussquirmThisabilitytotrackstatisticsaboutourenvironmentwithoutknowingweredoingsoturnsouttobeageneralfeatureofhumancognition.Itiscalledstatisticallearning,anditisthoughttounderlieourearliestabilitytounderstandwhatcombinationsofsyllablescountaswordsinthecomplexlinguisticenvironmentthatsurroundsusduringinfancy.Whatsmore,somethingsimilarseemstohappenwithmusic.In1999,thesameauthors,workingwiththeircolleagueElizabethJohnson,demonstratedthatinfantsandadultsaliketrackthestatisticalpropertiesoftonesequences.Inotherwords,youdonthavetoplaytheguitarorstudymusictheorytobuildupanuancedsenseofwhichnotestendtofollowwhichothernotesinaparticularrepertoire:simplybeingexposedtomusicisenough.Andjustasababycannotdescribeherverballearningprocess,onlyrevealingherachievementbyfrowningatthewordsquash,theadultwhohasusedstatisticallearningtomakesenseofmusicwillrevealherknowledgeexpressively,clenchingherteethwhenaparticularlyfraughtchordarisesandrelaxingwhenitresolves.Shehasacquiredadeep,unconsciousunderstandingofhowchordsrelatetooneanother.Itseasytotestoutthebasicsofthisacquiredknowledgeonyourfriends.Playsomeoneasimplemajorscale,DoReMiFaSolLaTi,butwithholdthefinalDoandwatcheventhemostavowedmusicalignoramusstarttosquirmorevenfinishthescaleforyou.LivinginaculturewheremostmusicisbuiltonthisscaleisenoughtodevelopwhatseemslessliketheknowledgeandmorelikethefeelingthatthisTimustresolvetoaDo.http://aeon.co/magazine/culture/howallhumansgottobemusicexperts/

4/13

11.3.2015


PsychologistssuchasEmmanuelBigandoftheUniversityofBurgundyinFranceandCarolLynneKrumhanslofCornellUniversityinNewYorkhaveusedmoreformalmethodstodemonstrateimplicitknowledgeoftonalstructure.Inexperimentsthataskedpeopletoratehowwellindividualtonesfittedwithanestablishedcontext,peoplewithoutanytrainingdemonstratedarobustfeelforpitchthatseemedtoindicateacomplexunderstandingoftonaltheory.ThatmightsurprisemostmusicmajorsatUSuniversities,whooftendontlearntoanalyseanddescribethetonalsystemuntiltheygetthere,andstrugglewithitthen.Yetwhatsdifficultisnotunderstandingthetonalsystemitselfitsmakingthisknowledgeexplicit.WeallknowthebasicsofhowpitchesrelatetoeachotherinWesterntonalsystemswesimplydontknowthatweknow.StudiesinmylabattheUniversityofArkansashaveshownthatpeoplewithoutanyspecialtrainingcanevenhearapauseinmusicaseithertenseorrelaxed,shortorlong,dependingonthepositionoftheprecedingsoundswithinthegoverningtonality.Inotherwords,ourimplicitunderstandingoftonalpropertiescaninfuseevenmomentsofsilencewithmusicalpower.Anditsworthemphasisingthattheseseeminglynaturalresponsesariseafteryearsofexposuretotonalmusic.Whenpeoplegrowupinplaceswheremusicisconstructedoutofdifferentscales,theyacquiresimilarlynaturalresponsestoquitedifferentmusicalelements.ResearchIvedonewithPatrickWongofNorthwesternUniversityinIllinoishasdemonstratedthatpeopleraisedinhouseholdswheretheylistentomusicusingdifferenttonalsystems(bothIndianclassicalandWesternclassicalmusic,forexample)acquireaconvincingkindofbimusicality,withouthavingplayedanoteonasitaroraviolin.Sostrongisourproclivityformakingsenseofsoundthatmerelisteningisenoughtobuildadeeplyinternalisedmasteryofthebasicmaterialsofwhatevermusicsurroundsus.Other,subtlermusicalaccomplishmentsalsoseemtobewidespreadinthepopulation.Bydefinition,hearingtonallymeanshearingpitchesinreferencetoacentralgoverningpitch,thetonic.YourfellowpartygoersmightstartaroundofHappyBirthdayononepitchthisweekendandanotherpitchthenext,andthereasonbothrenditionssoundlikethesamesongisthateachpitchisheardmosthttp://aeon.co/magazine/culture/howallhumansgottobemusicexperts/

5/13

11.3.2015


salientlynotintermsofitsparticularfrequency,butintermsofhowitrelatestothepitchesaroundit.Aslongasthepatternisthesame,itdoesntmatteriftheindividualnotesaredifferent.Thiscapacitytohearthesepatternsiscalledrelativepitch.

peoplecandistinguishfamiliarTVthemesongsfromversionsthatstartonadifferentpitch:TheSiiiiiimpsonsjustdoesntsoundrightanyotherwayRelativepitchisacommonplaceskill,onethatdevelopsnaturallyonexposuretotheordinarymusicalenvironment.Peopletendtoinvestmoreprestigeinabsolutepitch,becauseitsrare.Sharedbyapproximately1in10,000people,absolutepitchistheabilitytorecognisenotanotesrelationstoitsneighbours,butitsapproximateacousticfrequency.PeoplewithabsoluteorperfectpitchcantellyouthatyourvacuumcleanerbuzzesonanF#oryourdoorbellstartsringingonaB.Thiscanseemprodigious.Andyetitturnsoutnottobesofarfromwhattherestofuscandonormally.Anumberofstudieshaveshownthatmanyoftheother9,999peopleretainsomevestigeofabsolutepitch.ThepsychologistsAndreaHalpernofBucknellUniversityinPennsylvaniaandDanielLevitinofMcGillUniversityinQuebecbothindependentlydemonstratedthatpeoplewithoutspecialtrainingtendtostartfamiliarsongsonorverynearthecorrectnote.WhenpeoplestarthummingHotelCalifornia,forexample,theydoitatprettymuchthesamepitchastheEagles.Similarly,EGlennSchellenbergandSandraTrehub,psychologistsattheUniversityofToronto,haveshownthatpeoplewithoutspecialtrainingcandistinguishtheoriginalversionsoffamiliarTVthemesongsfromversionsthathavebeentransposedtostartonadifferentpitch.TheSiiiiiimpsonsjustdoesntsoundrightanyotherway.Itlooks,then,likepitchprocessingamongordinarypeoplesharesmanyqualitieswiththosegifted1in10,000.Furthermore,fromacertainangle,relationalhearingmightbemorecrucialtoourexperienceofmusic.Muchoftheexpressivepoweroftonalmusic(acategorythatencompassesmostofthemusicwehear)comesoutofthephenomenologicalqualitiestension,relaxation,andsoonthathttp://aeon.co/magazine/culture/howallhumansgottobemusicexperts/

6/13

11.3.2015


pitchesseemtopossesswhenwehearthemrelationally.Musicalsensitivitydependsontheabilitytoabstractawaythesurfacecharacteristicsofapitchandhearitrelationally,sothataBseemsrelaxedinonecontextbuttenseinanother.So,perhapstheonlyprodigiesneedapplyreputationofabsolutepitchisundeservedatthesametimethatitsmorecommonrelativeisundervalued.Aspectsoftheformerturnouttobesharedbymosteverydaylisteners,andrelativepitchseemsmorecriticaltohowwemakesenseoftheexpressiveaspectsofmusic.

v

28 MINUTESThe ecstasy of jazz, raisingconsciousness towards a lovesupreme

Anothervastlyundervaluedskillisjusttappingalongtoatune.Whenin1994PeterDesainofRadboudUniversityintheNetherlandsandHenkjanHoningoftheUniversityofAmsterdamhookedupashoetoacomputer,theyfoundwhatmanystudiessincehavedemonstrated:thattogetacomputertofindthebeatinevensomethingasploddingandsteadyasmostnationalanthemsyouhavetoteachitsomeprettysophisticatedmusictheory.Forexample,ithastorecognisewhenphrasesstartandstop,andwhichcountasrepetitionsofothers,andithastounderstandwhichpitchesaremoreandlessstableintheprevailingtonalcontext.Beats,whichseemsorealandevidentwhenweretappingthemoutonthesteeringwheelorstompingthemoutonthedancefloor,arejustnotphysicallypresentinanystraightforwardwayintheacousticsignal.Sowhatisabeat,really?Weexperienceeachoneasaspeciallyaccentedmomentseparatedfromitsneighboursbyequaltimeintervals.Yetthemusicalsurfaceisfullofshortnotesandlongnotes,lownotesandhighnotes,performedwiththesubtlevariationsinmicrotimingthatareahallmarkofexpressiveperformance.Outofthisacousticwhirlwind,wegenerateaconsistentandregulartemporalstructurethatispowerfulenoughtomakeuswanttomove.Oncewevegraspedthepattern,werereluctanttoletitgo,evenwhenaccentsinthemusicshift.Itsthistenacitythatmakesthespecialforceofsyncopationoffbeataccentspossible.Ifwehttp://aeon.co/magazine/culture/howallhumansgottobemusicexperts/

7/13

11.3.2015


simplyshiftedourperceptionofthebeattoconformwiththesyncopation,itwouldjustsoundlikeanewsetofdownbeatsratherthanatenseandpunchycontrarymusicalmoment,butourmindsstubbornlycontinuetoimposeastructurewithwhichthenewaccentsmisalign.

concerts,danceclubsandreligiousserviceswherelotsofpeoplemovetogethertoabeatcreateapowerfulsenseofbondingInotherwords,perceptionofrhythmdependsonamoregeneralabilitytosynchronisewithoursurroundings.Butthisraisesthequestionofwhywemighthavesuchanabilityinthefirstplace.Itseemstellingthatitemergesveryearlyinparentinfantinteractions.Peopletendtospeakinspecificwaystotheirbabies:slowly,withexaggeratedpitchcontours,extrarepetition,andregulartiming(sobigsobigsooooooobig).Allofthesearemoretypicalofmusicthaninordinaryspeech.Anditseemsthatthesemodificationshelpinfantstoengagepredictivelywiththespeechstream,anticipatingwhatsgoingtohappennext,andultimatelytoinserttheircoooreyebrowliftatpreciselytherightmomenttogenerateasenseofsharedtemporalorientationbetweenparentandchild,anexperiencethatcontributestothepowerfulbondbetweenthem.Musicpiggybacksonthisability,usingittochoreographexperiencesofsharedtemporalattention,sometimesamonglargegroupsofpeople.Experiencesatconcerts,danceclubsandreligiousserviceswherelotsofpeoplemovetogethertoabeatoftencreateapowerfulsenseofbonding.Whenmusicallowsustoperceivetimeinasharedway,wesenseourcommonalitywithothersmorestrongly.Andsothecapacitytotrackabeat,whichmightseemtrivialonfirstglance,infactservesalargerandmoresignificantsocialcapacity:ourabilitytoattendjointlyintimewithotherpeople.Whenwefeelinsyncwithpartners,asreflectedindancing,grooving,smoothconversationalturntakingandmovementsalignedtothesametemporalgrid,wereporttheseinteractionsasmoresatisfyingandtherelationshipsasmoresignificant.Theoriginsoftheabilitytoexperiencecommunionandconnectionthroughmusicmightlieinourveryearliestsocialexperiences,andnotinvolveaguitarorfiddleatall.http://aeon.co/magazine/culture/howallhumansgottobemusicexperts/

8/13

11.3.2015


Ithasoftenbeenobservedthatthereisaspecialconnectionbetweenmusicandmemory.ThisiswhatallowsasongsuchasTomLehrersTheElements(1959)toteachchildrentheperiodictablebetterthanmanychemistrycourses.Youdontneedtohaveanyspecialtrainingtobenefitfromthememoryboostconferredbysettingatexttomusicitjustworks,becauseitstakingadvantageofyourownhiddenmusicalabilitiesandinclinations.Musiccanalsoabsorbelementsofautobiographicalmemorythatswhyyouburstintotearsinthegrocerystorewhenyouhearthesongthatwasplayingwhenyoubrokeupwithyourboyfriend.Musicsoaksupallkindsofmemories,withoutusbeingawareofwhatshappening.Whatslesswellknownisthattherelationshipgoesbothways:memoryalsoindexesmusicwithastonishingeffectiveness.Wecanflipthrougharadiodialorplaylistathighspeed,almostimmediatelyrecognisingwhetherwelikewhatsplayingornot.In2010,themusicologistRobertGjerdingenofNorthwesternUniversityinIllinoisshowedthatsnippetsunder400millisecondsliterallytheblinkofaneyecanbesufficientforpeopletoidentifyasongsgenre(whetheritsrap,countryorjazz),andlastyearKrumhanslshowedthatsnippetsofsimilarlengthcanbesufficientforpeopletoidentifyanexactsong(whetheritsPublicEnemysFightthePowerorBillyRayCyrussAchyBreakyHeart).Thatisntlongenoughfordistinctiveaspectsofamelodyorthemetoemergepeopleseemtoberelyingonarobustanddetailedrepresentationofparticulartexturesandtimbralconfigurationselementswemightbeverysurprisedtolearnwedfiledaway.Andyetwecanretrievethemalmostinstantly.

justbylivingandlistening,wehaveallacquireddeepmusicalknowledgeThatfactbecomesbothmoreandlessamazingwhenyouconsiderjusthowsteepedinmusicweallare.Ifalltheexposureinelevatorsandcafsandcarsandtelevisionsandkitchenradioswasputtogether,theaveragepersonlistenstoseveralhoursofmusiceveryday.Evenwhenitisntplaying,musiccontinuesinourmindsmorethan90percentofusreportbeinggrippedbyastubbornearwormatleastonceaweek.Peoplelisttheirmusicaltastesondatingwebsites,usingthemasaproxyfortheirvaluesandsocialaffiliations.Theytravelamazingdistancestoheartheirfavouriteband.Themajorityofhttp://aeon.co/magazine/culture/howallhumansgottobemusicexperts/

9/13

11.3.2015


listenershaveexperiencedchillsinresponsetomusic:actualphysicalsymptoms.Andifyouaddsomesoaringstringstoanotherwiseordinarysceneinafilm,itmightbringeventhehardiestofustotears.So,thenexttimeyouretemptedtoclaimyoudontknowanythingaboutmusic,pausetoconsiderthesubstantialexpertiseyouveacquiredsimplythroughalifetimeofexposure.Thinkaboutthemanywaysthisknowledgemanifestsitself:inyourabilitytopickoutaplaylist,orgetpumpedupbyafavouritegymsong,orclapalongataperformance.Justasyoucanholdyourowninaconversationevenifyoudontknowhowtodiagramasentence,youhaveanimplicitunderstandingofmusicevenifyoudontknowasubmediantfromasubdominant.

xp

&

M

f-mpvm

Infact,forallitsremarkablepower,musicisingoodcompanyhere.Manyofourmostfundamentalbehavioursandmodesofunderstandingaregovernedbysimilarlyimplicitprocesses.Wedontknowhowwecometolikecertainpeoplemorethanotherswedontknowhowwedevelopasenseofthegoalsthatdefineourliveswedontknowwhywefallinloveyetintheveryactofmakingthesechoiceswerevealtheeffectsofahostofsubterraneanmentalprocesses.Thefactthattheseresponsesseemsonaturalandnormalactuallyspeakstotheirstrengthanduniversality.Whenweacknowledgehow,justbylivingandlistening,wehaveallacquireddeepmusicalknowledge,wemustalsorecognisethatmusicisnotthespecialpurviewofprofessionals.Rather,musicprofessionalsowetheirexistencetothefactthatwe,too,aremusical.Withoutthatprofoundsharedunderstanding,musicwouldhavenopowertomoveus.8January201530Commentshttp://aeon.co/magazine/culture/howallhumansgottobemusicexperts/

10/13

11.3.2015


RealtalkFordecades,theideaofalanguageinstincthasdominatedlinguistics.Itissimple,powerfulandcompletelywrongByVyvyanEvans4,200words

GoingtothechapelPaulSimonsalbumGracelandisajoyouspoliticalstatement.DoesitstrikethesamechordinthesombreRothkoChapel?ByNathanDunne2,000words

OnemoretimeWhydowelistentoourfavouritemusicoverandoveragain?Becauserepeatedsoundsworkmagicinourbrainshttp://aeon.co/magazine/culture/howallhumansgottobemusicexperts/

11/13

11.3.2015


ByElizabethHellmuthMargulis2,700words74k

LikeusonFacebook56k

FollowusonTwitterSignuptoournewsletter

Share


12/13

11.3.2015



13/13

Documents

You Are a Musical Expert – Elizabeth Hellmuth Margulis – Aeon