[Smt-talk] Aesthetics of Computer-Generated Music

[Martin Braun]

Michael Morse asked:

"In other words, does it in fact tell us something useful about teaching
skiing, cattle rustling, or symphonic conducting to know that learning the
skill occurs in one sector as opposed to another?"

No, it does not. If the question is which of two training methods is the
better one, conventional test will be more specific and much less expensive
than brain imaging studies.

Neuroscience of music is dealing with plenty of other things. Many are only
weakly related to the common subjects of this list. But there are some
exceptions:

For two of the following four phenomena there are today physiologically
based functional models.

Octave circularity
Fifth similarity
Translation invariance of intervals
Preference of 5-limit harmonicity in scales

In philosophy it is today common to examine concepts like "conscience",
"self", and "free will" using data from neurophysiology.

This would suggest that one day also the field of music theory will discuss
issues around its central concepts of "tonicality" and "modality" using data
from neurophysiology.

Martin

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Martin Braun
Neuroscience of Music
S-671 95 Klässbol
Sweden
email: nombraun at telia.com
web site: http://www.neuroscience-of-music.se/index.htm





----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Michael Morse" <mwmorse at bell.net>
To: <lseltzer at alumni.caltech.edu>; <smt-talk at societymusictheory.org>
Sent: Monday, April 18, 2011 12:24 AM
Subject: Re: [Smt-talk] Aesthetics of Computer-Generated Music


> But there are fMRI studies of the learning of music; one question is
> whether the activation areas of the brain are different when learning
> music as compared to learning other tasks.
>
> Linda Seltzer post-enrolled, grad, Princeton
>
> > In support of the other side of the "field of musical neuroscience" one
> > should add that for many, perhaps most, researchers music is as little
> > cognitive as walking, skiing, dancing and whistling.

But what could such research results actually tell us about musical
experience? Or for that matter, musical learning? Do we now know enough
about the brain to draw clear and intelligible inferences from the
constitutive involvement of its different sectors in our conduct and
behaviour? In other words, does it in fact tell us something useful about
teaching skiing, cattle rustling, or symphonic conducting to know that
learning the skill occurs in one sector as opposed to another? Forgive the
naiveté of the question; I have often seen answers presumed, but have yet to
hear from anyone who knows what they're talking about on this!

MW Morse
Trent University
Peterborough/Oshawa