1 minute read
Music - new beats
Is music only sound?
This is something very speculative. When we listen to music, does it matter if we also ‘see’ music? Is the visual aspect more important than the audio?
Advertisement
It sounds very strange really. Especially if we try to look at how we consume music. It is hard to just listen to music as I typically use my cell phone. And there is the video that goes with it. However, I also like to listen to music while driving. That is not the video as well – trust me.
So let us turn to science. This is from an article I found here
Quote: In a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Dr. Chia-Jung Tsay had participants predict the winners of musical competitions based on recordings – some audio-only, some videos with audio, and some silent videos. The results were surprising: Participants who saw videos, even without sound, were able to identify the winners at a significantly higher rate than those who only listened to the music.
Surprising? Well Dr. Tsay says that her intuition had led her into this study as she perceived that the visuals play a significant role in what we ‘consume’.
The study found that the above was independent of musical education. Laypeople and professionals showed the exact same behaviour.
Quote: “Tsay’s study determined that visual input has a distinct impact on how we experience and evaluate music. The next step is to determine why—whether and to what extent neurological predisposition interacts with social biases, conscious or otherwise.
Is this just amusing? It could easily be, but we need only look at a few examples. Film music is a great example. The music has to support the pictures. It has to be a harmonic setting. But the movie is still the important one. OK, next time we take in some classical concert, try to look at what we look at. Seldom do we lean back and close our eyes and just let the music overwhelm us.
Try something: Listen to this one – close your eyes: Listen! Then try again – and admire the video.
What made the bigger impression? Exactly!
