Week of December 28, 2002
Music can get us "amped up" or "mellowed out;" it can soothe, arouse, amuse, irritate, and delight us. Why? Why should mere sequences of musical sounds have such power over how we feel? And how do good musicians orchestrate that power? "Music and the Mind" includes a round table discussion on music and emotion, featuring composer and performance artist Laurie Anderson; musicologist Dr. David Huron, Professor of Music and Director of the Cognitive and Systematic Musicology Laboratory at Ohio State University; and neuroscientist Dr. Mark Jude Tramo, Assistant Professor of Neurology, Harvard University. In a special report on "Muzak and the Mind," The Infinite Mind's Devorah Klahr hears from Alvin Collis, Vice President of Audio Architecture at the Muzak Corporation. Reporter Eva Neuberg looks into the so-called "Mozart effect" with Dr. Lawrence Parsons, National Science Foundation; Dr. William Thompson, Professor of Music, York University; Dr. Lori Custadero, Teachers College, Columbia University; and Dr. Frances Rauscher, Professor of Psychology, University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh. Pianist Emanuel Ax compares the joys of Mozart to the joys of procreation. Plus commentator John Hockenberry talks about Hendrix, Beethoven, and N'Sync, and plays the flute (not at the same time).
In an introductory essay, host Dr. Fred Goodwin recalls "the good old days" of Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Richie Haven, and Chubby Checker. Even today, he says, when he hears the music he grow up with, something kicks in, "especially if I'm on the dance floor!" He points out that musical tastes can and do change... today he also likes and listens to classical music: Mendelssohn, Beethoven, and Handel are among his favorites today. These symphonic compositions are called "classical" because they've stood the test of time, says Dr. Goodwin. "Will the rock and roll I grew up with have that kind of staying power?" he asks. "Ask me again, a couple of centuries from now."
Can listening to Mozart make you smarter? Next, reporter Eva Neuberg explores what scientists are learning about the so-called "Mozart effect." In the spring of 1993, psychologists Dr. Frances Rauscher and Dr. Gordon Shaw did an experiment at the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh, on a group of college students. They found that listening to Mozart's Sonata K448 for two pianos appeared to boost student scores on a spatial visualization task that is a component of common IQ tests. "The Mozart effect" has become a trademarked phrase. There are books, workshops, lectures and CDs. Since Dr. Rauscher's experiment, researcher Dr. Lawrence Parsons has found that it was the Mozart's energetic rhythms, rather than its melodies or harmonies, that created the performance enhancing effect. Dr. William Thompson of York University has found similar results. Energetic music by Schubert produces the same effect; a slower, sadder piece by Albioni does not. But if rhythm's the thing, well, classical music has no monopoly. Dr. Lori Custodero is the head of early Childhood Music Concentration at Columbia University Teachers College. She researches how children respond to different kinds of music and musical activities. "I use music that children respond to,"says Custodero. The song "La Bamba," says Custodero, is a particular favorite with the children, "because its tempo or speed feels right to them." According to Dr. Thompson's research, music training may also help children with learning to read emotion in tone of voice, an important aspect of interpersonal relations. We then hear from Olivia Riveira-Flynn, age six, who is learning to play the cello. Her mother notes that learning to play the cello is helping Olivia to develop her skills of concentration and determination. What some people fear may get lost in all the attention to music's practical benefits is the notion that music is valuable for its own sake. "I would like to see that we listen to Mozart because it's really wonderful stuff and second because it improves the mind," says renowned pianist Emanuel Ax. "It's a bit like procreation."
To contact Dr. Frances Rauchser, visit this web site at the Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh or write to her at Clow Faculty Building, Room 29800 Algoma Blvd., Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54901
To contact Dr. Lawrence Parsons, click here. Or write to him at The National Science Foundation 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia 22230.
To contact Dr. William Thompson write to Atkinson College, York University 4700 Keele Street Toronto, Ontario, M3J 1P3 or visit Dr. Thompson's web site.
To contact Dr. Lori Custodero, write to 525 West 120th St. New York, 10027 or visit the web site at Teacher's College, Columbia University.
To learn more about Emanuel Ax's upcoming performances or new CDs, or to contact Emanuel Ax, click here. To buy Emanuel Ax's CDs click here.
Next, Dr. Goodwin hosts a round table discussion on music and emotions with composer and performance artist Laurie Anderson; musicologist Dr. David Huron, Professor of Music and Director of the Cognitive and Systematic Musicology Laboratory at Ohio State University; and neuroscientist Dr. Mark Jude Tramo, Assistant Professor of Neurology at Harvard University. Why does some music sound "sad" or "angry" and other music sound "happy?" Partly it's cultural, says Dr. Huron. For instance, in the West music in a minor key is associated with a sense of sadness, but in Eastern Europe listeners don't have that association. But there are also universal connotations of some sounds, for example, a loud, dissonant sound will evoke a "startle response" everywhere. What music we like is partly determined by our personalities and experience. For instance, most people have a special fondness for the music they listened to during adolescence. Dr. Tramo points out that in the case of the startle response, sound takes a very direct route to the limbic system, which is the seat of emotions, and to the cyngulate gyrus, part of the limbic system that controls emotion-based movement. Laurie Anderson talks about her association of a certain rhythm - about 120 beats per minute - with thinking. She says she often uses it in her work. "I've found that the way people listen to music also has a lot to do with how they respond to it," says Anderson. In some of her work she's given listeners very different alternatives to the "decorative" sort of sound produced by a typical stereo system. For instance she built a sound table that allowed listeners to put their elbows on the table and, through cupping their ears with their hands, have the sound conducted through their bones.
Why should treble be associated with happiness and bass with something ominous, asks Laurie Anderson. Dr. Huron points out that research has shown that among all animals low vocalizations are associated with aggression and higher pitched vocalizations with submissiveness. Smiling, for instance, leads to pulling back the zygomatic muscles of the face, reducing the volume of the resonant cavity, and shifting pitch upwards. Dr. Tramo talks about some of the many ways musicians in the pop music idiom can play with our expectations of music, for instance prolonging the delay before a closing chord, the subdominant to tonic "ritardando." Laurie Anderson talks about why she's interested in learning about musical expectations -- she likes to do the opposite of what's expected. In her new work, "Happiness," Laurie Anderson challenged herself to examine her own expectations and to put herself in new situations in which she had no idea of how to act. For instance, she worked at an Amish farm for awhile, and at a McDonald's in New York City's Chinatown for two weeks. She talks about music and euphoric experience. Performing for others and making contact; improvising with other musicians; and "getting lost" playing the violin are some of the ways in which she has experienced musical highs. Music has been proven to have many therapeutic uses "as an adjunct to medical care," says Dr. Tramo. One dramatic example is in the care of infants. Researchers in an intensive care unit for premature infants found that when mothers or nurses made a practice of humming as they approached and held the preemies, the babies gained weight faster, suffered fewer complications, and were able to leave the hospital after shorter stays than the other infants. There's strong evidence that music may be an evolutionary adaptation, says Dr. Huron. Every culture has music and it's been around for a very long time. The oldest musical instrument yet to be discovered was unearthed in a pre-human, Neanderthal site in Europe. It's a bone flute, fashioned out of the tibia of a now extinct bear.
To contact Dr. David Huron or learn more about his work, visit this web site. Or write to him at School of Music 1866 College Road Ohio State University Columbus, OH 43210.
To contact Dr. Mark Jude Tramo or learn more about his work, visit this web site. Or write to him at Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA. 02114
To contact Laurie Anderson or learn more about her upcoming performances, visit www.laurieanderson.com. To order Laurie Anderson's CDs (her newest include "Life on a String" and - in May - "Live from Town Hall" - click here.
Next, the Infinite Mind's Devorah Klahr reports on Muzak and the mind. In the late 1920s, a man named George Squire patented a way to pump music over electric wires. One early application had to do with the skyscrapers that were then popping up over the United States. The tall buildings required elevators, but these new-fangled contraptions made many people anxious. Why not pump music into them? suggested Squire. Thus, elevator music. Soon Squire's own business - the Muzak Corporation - was booming. Other businesses began to research how they could use music to help their own businesses. For instance, restaurants who wanted to encourage high turnover, learned to play fast music to encourage people to eat quickly and leave. David Breunger, Assistant Professor of Music Marketing at the University of Texas, San Antonio says that the widespread belief in the power of science led to the popularity of using music to affect people's moods and behaviors in business settings. Since research had shown that music with vocals tends to distract people, most businesses began to use instrumental "background music." Eventually, there was a backlash.
"For many years, Muzak put out really bad music," admits Alvin Collis, Vice President of Audio Architecture at the Muzak Corporation. Today the Muzak Corporation only rarely uses the sort of background, instrumental music many people still associate with its name. Instead, it provides businesses with carefully culled compilations of original recordings, the sort of music you might easily hear on the radio. As part of his research, Collis goes to stores to figure out who shops there, then tailors the music for that store to appeal to certain groups of people, a practice called "narrowcasting." The idea is to help businesses create an environment that welcomes the shoppers they're trying to attract, and makes them want to stay, since research has shown that the more time a person spends in a store the more likely she or he is likely to make a purchase. Recently, Alvin Collis worked with executives at the Gap clothing store chain. The Gap's new line was going to be all about sweaters. "What is a sweater? A sweater is like an old friend... you feel protected," says Collis. In choosing music for that season, the Muzak Corporation looked for music that was "expressive of sweaters." Louis Armstrong, says Collis, fit the bill. For instance "A Wonderful World"... "just gives you this incredible feeling that's like pulling on a sweater." At a Gap megastore in New York's Herald Square, Devorah Klahr checked in with shoppers. Mostly they seemed to like the music. One shopper says it helps him relax. Is there music in his office? "No. Just people screaming and my phone ringing."
To contact David Bruenger or learn more about his work, visit this web site. Or write to him at The Division of Music, UTSA, 6900 N. Loop 1604 West, San Antonio, Texas, 78249 (210) 458-4355.
To contact Alvin Collis or the Muzak Corporation or learn more about the Muzak Corporation, visit www.muzak.com. Or write to him care of Muzak LLC 3318 Lakemont Boulevard Fort Mill, SC 29708.
Concluding the show - commentator John Hockenberry talks about the conjunction between music and celebrity. "Check it out... Franz Liszt was every bit the groupie swooner as Kurt Cobain or that cute blond guy from N'Sync... what's his name?" When Hockenberry was growing up, he learned to play the piano. He wanted to be another van Kliburn. Then he learned to play guitar and dreamed of being another Jimi Hendrix. In college he learned to play the flute. "The problem is," says Hockenberry, "I kind of sucked at all of them." He wasn't terrible - he just wasn't cut out to be another Hendrix or Franz Liszt. Eventually, he put away his instruments. Then one day, he decided to buy a piano and his life changed. He started to play again. He got engaged, married, had kids. And today, he says, when he plays "Wheels on the Bus" to his four children on his flute -- "that is one rapt audience." They all join in - "Mommy on drums; Olivia and Zoe on spoons... Zachary and Regan on vocals." They may not sound great, he says, but they have a great time. And that's part of what music is really about - the courage to perform, to play, even badly.
