Reaction, Anticipation and Accent in a Gravitational Pitch Space: Commentary on Ammirante and Thompson

Ammirante and Thompson’s intriguing article aims to enhance the ecological validity of their previous findings (Ammirante, Thompson, & Russo, in press) by using music-like melodic stimuli, rather than random pitch sequences. In line with this aim, I will briefly discuss three issues that may be taken into account in relating the motion-like qualities of melody to music and music-related behavior (finger tapping). First, I suggest how the authors’ hypotheses may be examined within a context in which tapping is affected by expectancies for a specific melodic continuation. Second, I discuss how timing and velocity changes associated with melodic distance and contour may give rise to a prototypical joint accent structure, integrating melodic, agogic and dynamic accent. Finally, I note a possible confound of melodic direction and tonality in Ammirante and Thompson’s stimuli, and suggest ways to examine the effects of these two dimensions separately

Commentary on "The Happy Xylophone: Acoustics Affordances Restrict An Emotional Palate" by Michael Schutz, David Huron, Kristopher Keeton, & Greg Loewer

In this commentary, I raise several issues of method and presentation and suggest a number of follow-up experiments associated with some of these issues. Broad suggestions are also made (or rather preached): the need to deal empirically with musical emotions subtler than the oft-investigated basic emotions, and the role that interactions between musical variables may play in shaping subtle musical expression, as exemplified by some well-known xylophone soli from the orchestral repertory

Pitch memory and exposure effects.

Recent studies indicate that the ability to represent absolute pitch values in long-term memory (LTM), long believed to be the possession of a small minority of trained musicians endowed with "absolute pitch" (AP), is in fact shared to some extent by a considerable proportion of the population. The current study examined whether this newly-discovered ability affects aspects of music and auditory cognition, particularly pitch learning and evaluation. Our starting points are two well established premises: (1) frequency of occurrence has an influence on the way we process stimuli; (2) in Western music, some pitches and musical keys are much more frequent than others. Based on these premises, we hypothesize that if absolute pitch values are indeed represented in LTM, pitch frequency of occurrence in music would significantly affect cognitive processes, in particular pitch learning and evaluation. Two experiments were designed to test this hypothesis in participants with no AP, most with little or no musical training. Experiment 1 demonstrated a faster response and a learning advantage for frequent pitches over infrequent pitches in an identification task. In Experiment 2 participants evaluated infrequent pitches as more pleasing than frequent pitches when presented in isolation. These results suggest that absolute pitch representation in memory may play a substantial, hitherto unacknowledged role in auditory (and specifically musical) cognition

Comparative Analysis of DNA Replication Timing Reveals Conserved Large-Scale Chromosomal Architecture

Recent evidence suggests that the timing of DNA replication is coordinated across megabase-scale domains in metazoan genomes, yet the importance of this aspect of genome organization is unclear. Here we show that replication timing is remarkably conserved between human and mouse, uncovering large regions that may have been governed by similar replication dynamics since these species have diverged. This conservation is both tissue-specific and independent of the genomic G+C content conservation. Moreover, we show that time of replication is globally conserved despite numerous large-scale genome rearrangements. We systematically identify rearrangement fusion points and demonstrate that replication time can be locally diverged at these loci. Conversely, rearrangements are shown to be correlated with early replication and physical chromosomal proximity. These results suggest that large chromosomal domains of coordinated replication are shuffled by evolution while conserving the large-scale nuclear architecture of the genome

Musical Objects, Cross-Domain Correspondences, and Cultural Choice: Commentary on “Cross-Cultural Representations of Musical Shape” by George Athanasopoulos and Nikki Moran

The target article illustrates deep cross-cultural gaps, involving not only the representation of musical shape but also the notion of a musical object itself.  Yet, numerous empirical findings suggest that important cross-modal correspondences involving music and visual dimensions are inborn or learned at infancy, prior to the acquisition of language and most culture-specific behavior. Drawing on recent empirical work, the commentary attempts to reconcile this apparent disparity

Style and gesture: A study of melodic peaks

An empirical approach to the discussion of melodic contour as an expressive and structural factor in music is proposed. Underlying this approach is the assumption that contour, if indeed it is an important factor in music, should have an identifiable relation to the organization of other musical dimensions. Correspondingly, two specific hypotheses are suggested. (1) Conspicuous points along the melodic curve--and its peak in particular--are frequently set apart from other points by their association with specific parametric configurations. (2) Melodic peaks are frequently related to elements and relations which convey emphasis or tension (characteristics which have been associated with pitch highpoints in both musical and extra-contexts, such as speech intonation).^ These hypotheses were tested statistically in selections from three very different repertories: Haydn\u27s early (pre-1766) music, Chopin\u27s Waltzes and Mazurkas, and Berg\u27s post-tonal and dodecaphonic works (including the Lyric Suite and Lulu). In each repertory, relevant durational, metric, intervallic, and (in Haydn and Chopin) tonal-functional features were examined in two groups: a group of melodic peaks, and a control group, comprising randomly selected notes. Using a chi-square analysis, the frequencies of these features in the two groups were compared.^ Results indicate: (1) Despite the immense differences among the styles examined, all distinguish peaks from other melodic notes by specific parametric configurations. In particular, peaks cross-stylistically tend to be surrounded by relatively large intervals, and to be presented once only in a segment. (2) The inclination to present peaks emphatically (for instance, by agogic or metrical accents) and the tendency to associate them with climatic and tensional configurations, are the weakest in Haydn and the strongest in Berg. (3) Despite their disparate pitch-grammars, tonal and non-tonal repertories (Berg and Chopin) exhibit close similarity regarding the treatment and functions of peaks. In contrast, the two tonal repertories (Haydn and Chopin) present considerable differences in this respect.^ Results suggest that natural, non-syntactic dimensions of melodic style, such as contour, may be relatively independent of pitch-syntax. Further, they indicate that some non-syntactic, gestural features of melody may apply cross-stylistically, at least within Western music.

Style and gesture: A study of melodic peaks

An empirical approach to the discussion of melodic contour as an expressive and structural factor in music is proposed. Underlying this approach is the assumption that contour, if indeed it is an important factor in music, should have an identifiable relation to the organization of other musical dimensions. Correspondingly, two specific hypotheses are suggested. (1) Conspicuous points along the melodic curve--and its peak in particular--are frequently set apart from other points by their association with specific parametric configurations. (2) Melodic peaks are frequently related to elements and relations which convey emphasis or tension (characteristics which have been associated with pitch highpoints in both musical and extra-contexts, such as speech intonation).^ These hypotheses were tested statistically in selections from three very different repertories: Haydn\u27s early (pre-1766) music, Chopin\u27s Waltzes and Mazurkas, and Berg\u27s post-tonal and dodecaphonic works (including the Lyric Suite and Lulu). In each repertory, relevant durational, metric, intervallic, and (in Haydn and Chopin) tonal-functional features were examined in two groups: a group of melodic peaks, and a control group, comprising randomly selected notes. Using a chi-square analysis, the frequencies of these features in the two groups were compared.^ Results indicate: (1) Despite the immense differences among the styles examined, all distinguish peaks from other melodic notes by specific parametric configurations. In particular, peaks cross-stylistically tend to be surrounded by relatively large intervals, and to be presented once only in a segment. (2) The inclination to present peaks emphatically (for instance, by agogic or metrical accents) and the tendency to associate them with climatic and tensional configurations, are the weakest in Haydn and the strongest in Berg. (3) Despite their disparate pitch-grammars, tonal and non-tonal repertories (Berg and Chopin) exhibit close similarity regarding the treatment and functions of peaks. In contrast, the two tonal repertories (Haydn and Chopin) present considerable differences in this respect.^ Results suggest that natural, non-syntactic dimensions of melodic style, such as contour, may be relatively independent of pitch-syntax. Further, they indicate that some non-syntactic, gestural features of melody may apply cross-stylistically, at least within Western music.