Music: A link between Cognition and Emotion

Krumhans, C.L. Music: A Link Between Cognition and Emotion Association for Psychological Science. (2002)

Summary:

Carol L. Krumhans is a professor in the department of Psychology at Cornell University. In “Music: A Link Between Cognition and Emotion,” she conducts a study in which she attempts to establish the connections between music and emotions. She has conducted various studies which have measured the emotions caused by music, and gathered results taken from the participants based on how they felt, and also measured their physiological reactions. She poses several questions which function as the foundation of the study, such as “How is it that patterns of sound in time can have such a profound effect?”, “What is it in the music that causes the emotion?”, and “Are musical emotions like other emotions?” Krumhansl argues that, in music, cognition and music are very closely linked. Furthermore, she suggests that emotion caused by music is due, in great part to the expectation the listener has of the music, and the actual sounded events that occur. This interplay between the listener’s tension and relaxation as carried out through the fulfillment of expectation, or lack thereof, is evidence for the hypothesis that the emotion derived from music is in large part very closely related to cognition. Krumhans references Meyer, who also argues that expectation is the most crucial aspect of musical emotion.

In terms of these musical expectations, Krumhans also examines the differences cross culturally. She suggests that certain musical expectations and assumptions are carried through various cultures, and therefore many of the emotional connotations carry through as well.

Krumhans goes on to explain certain assumptions that are commonly held. For instance, the assumption that musical emotion is caused by personal memories. However, Krumhans disagrees with this assumption. She accepts that personal memories also cause emotional responses, but they are not the sole reason for them, or even the primary source. Krumhans’ hypothesis is that “musical sounds may inherently have emotional meaning.”

To further this argument, she goes on to examine different aspects of music, such as theory, which provides a technical explanation as to why we have the expectations and reactions we do. Different musical and theoretical techniques inherently cause certain expectations-for instance certain harmonic progressions lead naturally to a V-I cadence, but if the music instead lands on a diminished chord for instance, the listener may be jarred and will likely have some sort of emotional reaction.

Krumhans goes on to examine these theories by comparing emotion in music to emotion in speech and dance, and conducting further studies of her own which measure the participants’ physiological reactions. She concludes by stating that this is a field which is currently undergoing psychological research, but suggests that her hypotheses offer new insights into the psychological effects of music.

Reflection:

I feel that I have mixed reactions to some of Krumhans’ suggestions. I feel that the study is well organized, well conducted and thorough, but I feel she is too quick to discount certain aspects of music. She makes her case based on the assumption that theoretical, harmonic and melodic aspects of music are the most important reasons for musical emotion. However, while making this case it seems that she discounts many other options. For instance, she mentions only briefly that lyrics of songs may carry emotional significance. However, I argue that many songs are most powerful because of their prose. I agree that musical expectation has great significance as to how a listener feels during the performance, either live or recorded of a specific work. The ear is accustomed to hearing repeating patterns, predictable chord progressions and familiar tunes. Often, when the listener is taken out of their comfort zone anxiety, excitement or any number of emotions may arise. However, to suggest that musical expectation takes priority over something like personal memory, in terms of emotional significance I find hard to completely accept. There are many songs that, for many people can be associated with similar memories. Songs typically heard at weddings, songs learned in childhood, or songs associated with festivals or holidays will often evoke a very similar personal reaction amongst many people. And is this due to the theory or technical makeup of the piece? I don’t believe that this is always the case.

That is not to say that I disagree with Krumhans’ findings. I found it very interesting that she compared the emotional reactions in music to the reactions in speech and dance. And the study she conducted wherein she measured the subject’s physiological responses is of great interest. She found that when she measured the responses physiologically, and gathered responses from the participants based on how they felt, often the results differed. This type of observation and data acquisition allowed for her to gather information that the subjects were not even aware of. Overall, I found her findings to be interesting but a little biased, and not always presented with enough flexibility to allow for other explanations.

Music Therapy for Infants

Loewy, Dr. J. Music and Medicine ‘Music Therapy for infants’ (2008)

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/musicinstinct/video/music-and-medicine/music-therapy-for-infants/76/

Summary:

Dr. Joanne Loewy is a New York based Music Therapist who works for the Institute for Music and Neurological Function. In this study, Loewy and a nurse are working with an infant, who is having trouble bottle feeding, and Loewy is using music therapy as a means to calm the baby down to assist the feeding process.

To start off, Loewy describes how, while in the womb, the fetus hears the mothers heartbeat on average 26 million times before the baby is born. She then produces a ‘Gato Box’ in an attempt to recreate the sound of the mother’s heartbeat, a sound that the baby is very familiar with. It is assumed that the infant is then soothed by this sound, while the baby nurses on a bottle. It is very evident, based on the eye movement and facial response that the baby is in fact stimulated by this sound.

Loewy taps the ‘Gato box’ (which is normally beat with a mallet) with her fingers to recreate the sound of the mother’s heartbeat. She suggests that beating the Gato box with a mallet would be too jarring for the infant. The sound produced is soft and gentle, as the sound emanates from inside this enclosed hand held box. The drumming on the gato box is done in time to the baby’s heartbeat so that the baby can suck on the baby bottle to a rhythm. Loewy compares this entrainment to the rhythm a person falls into while running or exercising with an iPod...the rhythm of the exercise is in time with that of the music.

It is explained that at the beginning of the experiment, it is expected that the baby’s heartbeat will rise (which it does) and then settle as the experiment continues (which it also does.)

Reflection:

I found watching this mini documentary on PBS very interesting. Loewy seems to put the infant at ease instantly with a very soothing nature about her. She seems very much like the ‘typical’ music therapist-calm, collected, kind and even has a guitar in her hands! (which she never plays-at least not in this segment.) This process very clearly helps to give the infant a sense of comfort and calm and she seems to be instantly soothed. The process is the same as is suggested for families when a newborn animal is brought into the home-to place a ticking clock which will remind them of their mother, in order to offer comfort. It was fascinating to see the infant react so quickly-as soon as the baby hears the ‘heartbeat’ her eyes seem to light up, and then she settles. Very quickly, she is nursing, (in a sort of rhythm with the Gato box, and thus in rhythm with her own heartbeat, and responding to the stimulus. I found it fascinating to see such response come from something so simple-just hearing a sound that the infant was familiar with, and more importantly one which she is able to associate with her mother instantly earned the desired reaction.

Parkinsonsism and Music's ability to heal

Sacks, Oliver. Music and the Brain ‘Parkinsonsism and Music’s ability to heal’ (2007)

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/musicinstinct/video/music-and-the-brain/parkinsonsism-and-musics-ability-to-heal/51/

This mini documentary, also found on PBS focuses on Oliver Sacks, the well known physician, author and professor of Clinical Neurology and Psychiatry at Columbia University in New York. Here, he is describing in an interview how he first became aware of and interested in music’s ability to heal, or at least help treat the symptoms of patients suffering from Parkinson's disease.

As a physician he was working in the Bronx, and he saw Parkinson’s patients who were so profoundly affected that they were literally rendered motionless and speechless (the question is also raised as to whether or not they were capable of conscious thought while they were in this state) for hours on end. It was difficult to tell whether or not these patients were even conscious. However, with the assistance of music being played, these patients were able to speak, sing, walk and even dance. They became (almost) fully functioning people, able to function in time with the music. But when the music stopped, so did they. Their motion and function was entirely dependent on the stimulus, and when it was gone, they were unable to function.

Sacks explains that he was stupefied then, and still is just as intrigued by the results now.

Sacks raises the issue that it doesn’t necessarily matter what type of music is played. That is to say that different genres work, and it doesn’t have to be music that is liked or even known by the patient. The most important quality necessary in the music is that it must have some sort of secure rhythm, beat and pulse. The motor responses in the patients are synchronized with the music. Sacks explains that the connections (in mammals) between the auditory parts of the brain and the dorsal pre motor cortex in the brain are connected which helps to explain how hearing music can affect movement.

Reflection:

I first became aware of Sacks’ work through the book ‘Musicophilia’ so I was intrigued to see an interview with him. It was heartening to see his true excitement and passion for helping patients suffering from this disease which to quickly diminishes, to a point of almost oblivion any life quality the patient may have had. I find it astonishing that patients who are so crippled by this disease are helped so tremendously by such simple methods. It is so encouraging to think that research is leading us closer and closer to, if not a cure, then at least significant methods of treatment. Furthermore, treatment which is not based on or around drugs or medication. I feel that far too often these days, the medical community chooses to medicate, and often over medicate patients even when alternatives are available. Hopefully with continued research, and publicity about research like this, the non medicinal alternatives will be seen as equal alternatives. Anything that can be done to give patients back their independence, dignity, and quality of life is worthwhile, and it is so inspiring to see the work that is being done through music for patients with diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer's.

Mathematics and Music: A search for Insight into Higher Brain Function

Boettcher, W.S. ‘Mathematics and Music: A Search for Insight into Higher Brain Function’ Leonardo Music Journal (1994).

Summary:

This article, “Mathematics and Music: A Search for Insight into Higher Brain Function” discusses the hypothesis that there are links between ability or facility in music, mathematics and chess. The reason for this assumption is that for great success in areas like mathematics, or activities like chess, a high level of spatial reasoning ability is needed. And, it is argued that music training helps to raise this spatial reasoning ability, and even just listening to music is said to help (if only for short term periods) enhance that spatial reasoning performance. The correlation between music and chess is also argued to be due to the pattern development necessary. Music is defined in this article as “an ordered pattern of sounds,” and is made up of three primary musical structures:melody, harmony, and rhythm. One inherent aspect of music is that it’s structure is commonly made up of some kind of overall pattern, with repetition. Understanding these patterns and structures allows for success in music; just as understanding the possible patterns and structures is crucial for success in chess. Boettcher, Hahn, and Shaw go on to discuss other studies which have been conducted relating to music and mathematics, and then describe their research. For the study used in this article, the researchers interviewed 14 mathematicians who were faculty members at the University of California, Irvine. The interviews were each between 15 minutes and an hour, and four questions were asked. 1. What is your math research? 2. What are some cognitive skills that are required to do this type of research? 3. Do you believe there is a relationship between math and music? 4. Do you listen to music while doing math? The answers to all of the questions varied greatly between the various interviewees, but in terms of answers to the questions regarding math and music, many believed that there were in fact correlations. Some suggested that the links were due to pattern development, while others suggested a link in aesthetic qualities.

Reflection:

I found this article interesting in various ways. It caught my interest because for years, we have all heard the saying “music makes you smarter.” There has also been the suggestion that music makes students excel in areas of math, and other areas of academia. However, I have never been able to simply believe that involvement in, whether that involvement is participation or listening, music suddenly makes students develop mathematic skills. However, the reasonable explanation is that the brain processes music in a similar way to the way in which it processes mathematics. For that reason, students may find that while they are engaging areas of the brain in ways they had not previously done so, the learning process in mathematics may come slightly easier. I find this similar to the idea of exercising a new muscle. When the brain is learning to participate in, and process musical activity, it is exercising a similar region of the brain that is activated when participating in, or processing mathematics. And it is for this reason that the brain has a greater level of facility when processing music and mathematics together. I find that this explanation is really much more thorough than the simple suggestion that making music makes you smarter. The action alone of making, or participating in any kind of musical activity does not make a person smarter. It does, however, exercise the brain in a stimulating way while also teaching good work habits and dedication.

A Hypermusical Species: Williams Syndrome

Sacks, O. Musicophilia- Tales of Music and the Brain p. 317-334 A Hypermusical Species: William’s Syndrome. Toronto, Canada. Random House. (2007)

Summary:
In this chapter of his book ‘Musicophilia,’ Oliver Sacks, the renowned physician, author and professor discusses the ongoing interactions he has with children and adults living with William’s Syndrome. Sacks opens the chapter with a writing style that reads like a narrative work. There is a very constant personal touch-his attachment to the children he interacts with is clearly demonstrated. He gives an account of his visit to a summer camp he visits in 1995, in Lenox Massachusetts. There, he spends his time with a group of children and adults varying in ages from eight to forty six years old. He describes these children as all being extraordinarily sociable and inquisitive who greeted him in an incredibly friendly and familiar manner. He describes their appearances; (which have very few differences even with the large age range) they all have wide mouths, upturned noses, small chins, and round eyes he describes as curious and starry. He goes on to describe the individual interactions he has with each. Each of the children have quite a few things in common-most prevalent here is the great attention and love given to art, sound, drama and music. Sacks also discusses the relationship that these children have with a woman named Charlotte; a music therapist who seems to be able to tap into the interests and passions of each of her patients. His accounts of a woman named Gloria seem to encapsulate the most common characteristics of children with this syndrome; “Gloria has a rich soprano voice and can play on the full sized piano accordion almost any song she hears. She has a repertoire of about 2,000 songs....Yet, like most individuals with Williams Syndrome, she cannot add five plus three, nor can she get along independently.” Sacks describes the three main dispositions which are greatly heightened in people with Williams Syndrome. They are the musical, the narrative and the social. Though many of these people have great difficulty in areas of academia and even basic skills, when it comes to these three main areas, they have an incredible ability, and love complete immersion. If there is a stimulus for one of these three dispositions, it is unlikely that they will focus on anything else. Daniel Levitin also visited this camp, and described the experience as such, “Williams Syndrome individuals had an unusually high degree of engagement with music. Music seemed to be not just a very deep and rich part of their lives, but one that was omnipresent; most of them spent a great proportion of the day singing to themselves or playing instruments, even while walking to the mess hall...” Sacks concludes the chapter with a final story of one young woman he met when she was just eight years old. He received a letter from her mother shortly after the young girl Heidi’s, 18th birthday. Her mother described the new job she had found, at a convalescent home where she spent her time playing bingo, painting the fingernails of the patients, getting them coffee, and talking and listening. She had found her ‘calling’ spending her time sharing her joy with these patients, and was truly happy herself.

Reflection:

I was intrigued by this specific chapter of Sacks’ book after I learned about Williams Syndrome just a few months ago. It is a syndrome which, before this class I knew nothing about and it’s incredible that so few people are aware of its existence. Sacks even gives accounts of a young woman with Williams Syndrome who knew nothing of the syndrome until she was in her thirties.

Sacks’ writing style, and his personal accounts touching and genuine. It is extraordinarily clear that he devotes his time and emotional energy to these projects he undertakes. The stories of the willingness of the children to welcome others into their lives is heartwarming. The young girl Heidi is described as once saying to her mother (when told not to talk to strangers) that there are no strangers-only friends. For us and the way we live our lives, that is a statement which we find hard to understand or believe. However, these children have open hearts and just seem to want to share their love of sociability and music with all those whom they meet. I also found it interesting that though people with Williams Syndrome have an acute love of music, it is not true that all those with the disorder have increased musical ability. Some people are unable to sing basic tunes, but this does not, in any way, affect their love of the music. The chapter was moving and executed well-enough information was provided in conjunction with personal stories and anecdotes to give us a substantial picture of these people he describes. The prose take the characters off the page, and it makes them real to the reader, while lessons are learned about this syndrome.

A Hypermusical Species: Williams Syndrome

Sacks, O. Musicophilia- Tales of Music and the Brain p. 317-334 A Hypermusical Species: William’s Syndrome. Toronto, Canada. Random House. (2007)

Summary:
In this chapter of his book ‘Musicophilia,’ Oliver Sacks, the renowned physician, author and professor discusses the ongoing interactions he has with children and adults living with William’s Syndrome. Sacks opens the chapter with a writing style that reads like a narrative work. There is a very constant personal touch-his attachment to the children he interacts with is clearly demonstrated. He gives an account of his visit to a summer camp he visits in 1995, in Lenox Massachusetts. There, he spends his time with a group of children and adults varying in ages from eight to forty six years old. He describes these children as all being extraordinarily sociable and inquisitive who greeted him in an incredibly friendly and familiar manner. He describes their appearances; (which have very few differences even with the large age range) they all have wide mouths, upturned noses, small chins, and round eyes he describes as curious and starry. He goes on to describe the individual interactions he has with each. Each of the children have quite a few things in common-most prevalent here is the great attention and love given to art, sound, drama and music. Sacks also discusses the relationship that these children have with a woman named Charlotte; a music therapist who seems to be able to tap into the interests and passions of each of her patients. His accounts of a woman named Gloria seem to encapsulate the most common characteristics of children with this syndrome; “Gloria has a rich soprano voice and can play on the full sized piano accordion almost any song she hears. She has a repertoire of about 2,000 songs....Yet, like most individuals with Williams Syndrome, she cannot add five plus three, nor can she get along independently.” Sacks describes the three main dispositions which are greatly heightened in people with Williams Syndrome. They are the musical, the narrative and the social. Though many of these people have great difficulty in areas of academia and even basic skills, when it comes to these three main areas, they have an incredible ability, and love complete immersion. If there is a stimulus for one of these three dispositions, it is unlikely that they will focus on anything else. Daniel Levitin also visited this camp, and described the experience as such, “Williams Syndrome individuals had an unusually high degree of engagement with music. Music seemed to be not just a very deep and rich part of their lives, but one that was omnipresent; most of them spent a great proportion of the day singing to themselves or playing instruments, even while walking to the mess hall...” Sacks concludes the chapter with a final story of one young woman he met when she was just eight years old. He received a letter from her mother shortly after the young girl Heidi’s, 18th birthday. Her mother described the new job she had found, at a convalescent home where she spent her time playing bingo, painting the fingernails of the patients, getting them coffee, and talking and listening. She had found her ‘calling’ spending her time sharing her joy with these patients, and was truly happy herself.

Reflection:

I was intrigued by this specific chapter of Sacks’ book after I learned about Williams Syndrome just a few months ago. It is a syndrome which, before this class I knew nothing about and it’s incredible that so few people are aware of its existence. Sacks even gives accounts of a young woman with Williams Syndrome who knew nothing of the syndrome until she was in her thirties.

Sacks’ writing style, and his personal accounts touching and genuine. It is extraordinarily clear that he devotes his time and emotional energy to these projects he undertakes. The stories of the willingness of the children to welcome others into their lives is heartwarming. The young girl Heidi is described as once saying to her mother (when told not to talk to strangers) that there are no strangers-only friends. For us and the way we live our lives, that is a statement which we find hard to understand or believe. However, these children have open hearts and just seem to want to share their love of sociability and music with all those whom they meet. I also found it interesting that though people with Williams Syndrome have an acute love of music, it is not true that all those with the disorder have increased musical ability. Some people are unable to sing basic tunes, but this does not, in any way, affect their love of the music. The chapter was moving and executed well-enough information was provided in conjunction with personal stories and anecdotes to give us a substantial picture of these people he describes. The prose take the characters off the page, and makes them real to the reader, while lessons are learned about this syndrome.