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Questions tagged [music]

For questions regarding the sensation or perception of the musical form within the brain, or the creativity involved in writing music.

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Is There Any Evidence that People Prefer Just Intonation

In music, it's common to hear the refrain that people like harmonics (notes played at frequencies that are rational multiples of one another) the most out of different combinations of notes (at least ...
Thomas Anton's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
16 views

What are the scientific basics (if any) of "BioDanza"?

Defined in the 1960s by a psychologist in Chile, Biodanza is a self-development movement now found in 54 countries, in South America, North America, Australia and Eurasia. It is mostly based on music, ...
J..y B..y's user avatar
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1 vote
0 answers
112 views

What can cause us to stop to enjoy music?

I have a growing impression, that people tend to enjoy music less as they grow older, as I look at other people, who used to love to listen to music, now listen to it much less or stops to listen at ...
Maxim's user avatar
  • 119
1 vote
0 answers
1k views

Why do people express disgust when enjoying to certain music?

There's a word for this, stank face. Not sure what genres it is associated with, but I experience it mainly when I listen to and enjoy funk or rap. The "fatter" the beat and the groovier the ...
A. Kvåle's user avatar
  • 271
1 vote
0 answers
36 views

Do humans identify groups using music like birds do?

Some species of birds recognise members of their family by the specific songs they sing. Similarly this may be true with other animals such as whales. I wonder, does this explain social phenomena such ...
zooby's user avatar
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1 vote
0 answers
32 views

Does yoga affect music?

I am currently studying for a bachelor's degree in psychology, as part of the degree, I was asked to conduct a study during which I will examine the interaction effect of yoga and music and their ...
Oran Sherf's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
69 views

Can Krashen's Input Hypotheses be applied to areas other than Language Acquisition?

Background Stephen Krashen and Tracy Tarrell have given an interesting approach to learning new languages which they call Natural Approach. In this approach, they bring the naturalistic approach of ...
shivams's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
77 views

Why is music more addictive than film?

From my personal experience and from the (anecdotal) evidence it seems like music is way more addictive (for the lack of a better word) than film (movies). For instance, when a new record from my ...
ruslaniv's user avatar
  • 119
1 vote
0 answers
828 views

How do I complete and report a Generalised Linear Mixed model from SPSS into APA?

I'm trying to learn how to do GLMM for my phd in psychology. I was intending to do a mixed model ANOVA, but the GLMM allows me to consider more variables simultaneously and so I have decided to go ...
Claire Howlin's user avatar
4 votes
0 answers
241 views

Are there positive/negative effects of new/repetitive music in work performance?

I work the weekend closing shifts at a local supermarket. There are many stores in the chain, and they all have the same soundtrack - consisting mostly of 70's music - which is played on repeat ...
Cardinal System's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
48 views

Neural correlates of pleasantness and unpleasantness

There are some basic cases of stimuli that are typically experienced either as pleasant or unpleasant, e.g. the major third as opposed to the tritone. Assuming that there are different processes ...
Hans-Peter Stricker's user avatar
4 votes
0 answers
107 views

Can repetitive music help remember by increasing theta waves?

Can repetitive music (minimal) help remember by increasing theta waves? As far as I understand theta waves are involved in memory tasks. If correct, can I try increase theta waves with audio neuro-...
khofstadter's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
133 views

How can sound and music be used with 'Fractionation' to reach deeper levels of mind? [closed]

On Quora I read: "Fractionation is going in and out a state repeatedly in order to reach deeper levels." How can sound and music be used with this method to reach deeper levels e.g. more theta ...
khofstadter's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
37 views

Does learning to compose music change our perceptions? Even without playing or singing

I am aware that the music and IQ question has already been asked. But I am not focused on IQ or intelligence here. Let me explain. Four years ago I taught myself music from scratch; I didn't know what ...
Snack_Food_Termite's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
306 views

Why do we sometimes(i often) go to trance while listening to music?

What's the scientific reason behind it? I can't quite figure out what's around me and it feels so soothing same as the effect of meditation. It feels like an enlightenment.(I feel like I'm connected ...
Stewart Gilligan Griffin's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
108 views

Is mapping sound frequencies to the vertical axis universal?

Shrill notes are said to be "high", and rumbles are said to be "low". Humans seem to metaphorically map frequency to the vertical axis, and in the cultures that I know of, high frequency is ...
200_success's user avatar
3 votes
0 answers
59 views

Is there a model for designing a tracklist to get the most engaged reaction from a crowd at a rock concert?

At a recent rock concert, I noticed that the "headliner" is almost always preceded by several bands whose job it is to "warm up the crowd," and that during those "opener acts," the crowd does indeed ...
Caleb Jay's user avatar
  • 131
8 votes
2 answers
186 views

How are musical hooks defined/studied in psychology?

I know about the common concept of a 'musical hook': a "short riff, passage, or phrase, that is used in popular music to make a song appealing and to 'catch the ear of the listener'." The Wikipedia ...
Steven Jeuris's user avatar
  • 3,502
3 votes
2 answers
51 views

Are there any introductory books about the relationship between art and psychology/cognition?

I'd like to know more about art, music, psychology, and cognition. Since they are related to each other, I'd like to read a book with a topic covering those. Bonus if it's for beginners.
Ooker's user avatar
  • 1,771
1 vote
2 answers
553 views

Why do people like to listen to sad songs?

Why do people like to listen to sad songs? Sadness is not a positive feeling, so people should avoid it, right? Listening to sad songs is like inflicting some pain to yourself just for pleasure. Did ...
user46147's user avatar
  • 119
8 votes
3 answers
2k views

Does learning (to play) music increase IQ?

In one fairly cited study by E. Glenn Schellenberg (~800 citations in Google Scholar) we find that Compared with children in the control groups, children in the music groups exhibited greater ...
Fizz's user avatar
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3 votes
0 answers
92 views

Innateness of perceiving music as happy or sad

From John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, book 2, chapter 9: I shall here insert a problem of that very ingenious and studious promoter of real knowledge, the learned and worthy ...
Hans-Peter Stricker's user avatar
12 votes
1 answer
225 views

By which neuronal mechanisms does music make us happy or sad?

There are brain regions (X) that show stronger activation for joyful music, regions (Y) that show stronger activation for sad music, and regions (Z) that show similar activation for both. Assuming ...
Hans-Peter Stricker's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
122 views

Do children learn to play musical instrument more easily than adults?

People say that it is harder for adults to learn to play instrument, because their muscle became stiff. Is there evidence for this claim?
golopot's user avatar
  • 111
3 votes
2 answers
1k views

Sleep vs. Trance

I've been recently reading about hypnosis and I'm asking this question because I've had certain personal experiences that makes me confuse the term Trance with just simple sleep. I'm not a fan of ...
Arnold Zahrneinder's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
1k views

Why do we come to like some songs after re-listening to them a few times?

It happens in the case of some songs that they don't strike as extremely good the first time one listens to them but after listening to them a few more times, one suddenly starts loving them. What ...
ACat's user avatar
  • 1
5 votes
0 answers
79 views

Is the effect of music on stress just due to beat entrainment?

Different music genres have different beat and rhythm patterns. The lower beat and rhythm frequencies are similar to the frequency of heartbeat and this relax us. However in my opinion, it's relevant ...
Fil's user avatar
  • 1,524
8 votes
1 answer
163 views

Why does the tempo tend to get faster?

Suppose you're learning to sing or play an instrument, and you'd start playing some piece of music. If you are not experienced enough, the tempo would be unstable, usually getting faster until the end....
puzzlet's user avatar
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1 vote
0 answers
66 views

Why do some people cycle musical tastes, and some people continually listen to the same type of music? [closed]

This is solely based on a personal observation of mine, but I've noticed people like me who constantly cycle music taste, and others who always listen to the same type of music. I, for example, ...
Scott Taylor's user avatar
3 votes
3 answers
1k views

Do workers retain information from audio lectures when working in a physically demanding job? [closed]

If I were to start listening to lectures instead of music will I retain the information? I've attempted to do this myself once with Assembly Language but I worked in a loud environment (sand ...
Philip Rollins's user avatar
3 votes
0 answers
104 views

Testing earworms without ethical problems

Earworms (or sometimes referred as sticky tunes, involuntary musical imagery, stuck songs) is a phenomenon that many people experience in their daily lives. Although several studies suggest that they ...
ThePortakal's user avatar
8 votes
2 answers
2k views

Why do people tap their foot to music?

When listening to music, I often see people tap their feet either to the main beat or the dominating rhythm of the music. Why do people do this?
416E64726577's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
2k views

Can music be addictive?

As playing games for a prolonged period, tend to develop a addictive behavior in humans, Is there any possibility for addiction to music? I.e., when a person listens to certain list of songs and gets ...
Snazzy Sanoj's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
102 views

Why I dont like music? [closed]

I'm not sure, if I'm alone, but I never liked music, any kind of music. It never made me happy or sad. Actually it never ever had any effects on me right from my childhood days. My iPod(received as a ...
Stranger's user avatar
  • 113
3 votes
1 answer
256 views

What brain areas are involved in memorizing sections of a song?

Typically when I listen to a song, the song will have different sections (e.g. chorus, verses, etc). As a composer, I have found that many songs use this structure to create a sense of repetition and ...
Stan Shunpike's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
163 views

Are there emotions that motivate pattern completion?

I have been studying musical "tension." Musical tension essentially refers to the "expectations" one builds up in a melody that are then "released" when a stimulus matching the expectation occurs. For ...
Stan Shunpike's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
93 views

How does listening to music decrease stress?

I'm interested in how listening to different types of music (such as jazz, classical, etc.) can help some people calm down. More specifically, how does the brain form a link between music heard and ...
user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
124 views

What is the definition of song in the speech to song illusion?

I have been looking at Diana Deutsch's "speech-to-song" illusion and I don't understand what she means by song. I have written a lot of music and I don't hear anything that sounds like a song in her ...
Stan Shunpike's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
885 views

What is the effect of listening to music on walking?

How does music affect walking speed and attitude? What will be the effects of different pitch and tempo of music on a person's walking behavior?
Sulaiman Ayub's user avatar
10 votes
1 answer
321 views

Does classical music enhance intelligence in children more than other genres?

This question is based on a previous question I have written on Parenting SE: Does playing classical music for infants and young children make them smarter? Question: Are these claims actually ...
Stan Shunpike's user avatar
4 votes
0 answers
92 views

Why can good music raise goosebumps?

Listening to really good music right now, I was wondering why it raises goosebumps. Is there any physiological reason for this reaction to specific wavelengths or something? Due sometimes strong ...
jawo's user avatar
  • 159
12 votes
1 answer
10k views

What causes an inability to recall a melody, beat, or music?

Background: I have never been able to recall melodies to songs. I can play a song over and over again but the moment it stops, I cannot remember what it sounds like. I am referring to the music/beat/...
Lv Pepper's user avatar
  • 121
8 votes
1 answer
231 views

Is there any evidence of a relationship between learning music and increased ability in Mathematics?

I've had more than one mathematics teacher say to me that they had heard of a link between music and maths ability. I thought I observed it informally myself, but it was difficult to tell if those ...
hawkeye's user avatar
  • 555
6 votes
1 answer
216 views

How is music preference related to personality traits or particular qualities?

I'm a big music enthusiast myself, and one thing I noticed about myself, and not exactly about other people, is that I don't have any music genre I prefer listening to. For example, I don't mind it ...
razorramon's user avatar
15 votes
2 answers
13k views

432 Hz vs. 440 Hz frequencies: health and psychological effects?

Search for “432 Hz” in YouTube and you’ll find plenty of examples where people have applied a pitch shifter to alter music ranging from a Mozart Requiem to Oasis’ Wonderwall. But some claim that ...
Sufiyan Ghori's user avatar
12 votes
1 answer
608 views

Is there evidence to suggest that music can trigger release of a particular kind of neurotransmitter?

I've recently listened to a podcast, "The music in your brain", in which Dr. Daniel Levitin suggests that: Soothing music can trigger release of oxytocin Sad music triggers release of prolactin An ...
Alex Stone's user avatar
  • 9,350
4 votes
1 answer
172 views

Psychology behind repeated viewing of certain pictures and songs

Often it happens that we like to frequently listen to a particular tune or song or view some pictures or images repeatedly time after time. What are the reasons and psychology behind this?
Unferth's user avatar
  • 151
11 votes
2 answers
293 views

Are there any studies that examine the phenomenon of songs stuck in the head?

Frequently I hear people say (and myself included) "darn it, I can't get that song out of my head!". Are there any studies that examine this phenomenon of songs getting stuck in people's heads? I.e.,...
Greg McNulty's user avatar
  • 1,946
4 votes
2 answers
4k views

Why do individuals initially dislike things that they end up ultimately liking?

Background: I noticed with a lot of things, but especially music I tend to hate certain songs and albums initially but they always seem to grow on me, and vice versa. I noticed this pattern in a lot ...
mikalburr's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
547 views

Psychology of timbre processing

Are there any studies concerning the psychological aspects of timbre processing in the brain, e.g. while listening to music? In particular, can any lower-level correlates be discerned when trying to ...
Marcin Kotowski's user avatar