piątek, 17 lutego 2012

Jak muzyka wywołuje emocje

Okazuje się, że jest to trochę bardziej skomplikowane niż "albo kopie, albo nie"



Michaeleen Doucleff z Wall Street Journal analizuje "Someone Like You" Adele żeby sprawdzić, co dokładnie czyni tą piosenkę wyciskaczem łez. Dowiemy się też czemu lubimy słuchać smutnych kawałków mimo że powodują pozornie negatywną reakcję emocjonalną, i jakie cztery elementy powinna posiadać kompozycja żeby wywołać u słuchacza fizyczną reakcję wzruszenia*.

"Twenty years ago, the British psychologist John Sloboda conducted a simple experiment. He asked music lovers to identify passages of songs that reliably set off a physical reaction, such as tears or goose bumps. Participants identified 20 tear-triggering passages, and when Dr. Sloboda analyzed their properties, a trend emerged: 18 contained a musical device called an "appoggiatura."

An appoggiatura is a type of ornamental note that clashes with the melody just enough to create a dissonant sound. "This generates tension in the listener," said Martin Guhn, a psychologist at the University of British Columbia who co-wrote a 2007 study on the subject. "When the notes return to the anticipated melody, the tension resolves, and it feels good."

Chills often descend on listeners at these moments of resolution. When several appoggiaturas occur next to each other in a melody, it generates a cycle of tension and release. This provokes an even stronger reaction, and that is when the tears start to flow.

"Someone Like You," which Adele wrote with Dan Wilson, is sprinkled with ornamental notes similar to appoggiaturas. In addition, during the chorus, Adele slightly modulates her pitch at the end of long notes right before the accompaniment goes to a new harmony, creating mini-roller coasters of tension and resolution, said Dr. Guhn."

Przeczytaj całość "Anatomy of a Tear-Jerker" na online.wsj.com

*Podobnymi zagadnieniami zajmuje się Oliver Sacks w książce "Muzykofilia".

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