MLB Exam 2

timbre

The quality or “color” of a sound that makes it unique, even if pitch and loudness are the same (why a violin and flute sound different playing the same note)

harmonics

Whole-number multiples of a sound’s fundamental frequency

formants

Resonant frequencies of the vocal tract that shape sound quality (important in vowels)

spectrogram

Shows how frequency and amplitude change over time (3D view: frequency, amplitude, time)

spectrum

Snapshot showing amplitude by frequency at a single moment

source

The vocal cords- where sound is produced (phonation)

filter

The throat (pharynx), oral cavity, and nasal cavity- shape and amplify the sound

changing pitch

Adjusted by tightening or loosening the vocal cords

voice differences

People sound different due to variations in source and filter

source

vocal cord structure, vibration

filter

shape/size of vocal tract

glottal fry

Low, crackly voice—slow vocal cord vibrations

falsetto

High-pitched voice—fast, tense cord vibrations

vocal qualities

glottal fry and falsetto

low-pass filter

Lets low frequencies through

high-pass filter

Lets high frequencies through

band-pass filter

allows a specific range (telephone sound)

rhythm

The pattern of sounds and silences in time

tempo

The speed of the beat

meter 

How beats are grouped (e.g., 4/4, 3/4)

basal ganglia

Acts as the brain’s “timekeeper”

most common western meter

4/4 (duple meter)

odd time signatures

Uneven groupings like 5/4 or 7/8

groove

The sense of rhythmic “feel” or flow that makes music move naturally

recognizing

Temporal lobe

time keeping 

Basal ganglia, cerebellum

lyrics

Left hemisphere (language areas)

emotions

Limbic system (especially amygdala)

playing/reading music 

Motor cortex, visual cortex, and parietal areas

left hemisphere

Speech and language

right hemisphere

Intonation (prosody), melodic contour, speaker identity

prosody 

The rhythm, stress, and intonation of speech that conveys emotion or emphasis

speaking skills

Requires timing, motor control, and memory

speech vs musical timing

Speech has stricter timing rules for natural flow

language timing types 

stress-timed/syllable-timed languages

stress-timed languages

Syllables occur at regular intervals (e.g., English)

syllable-timed languages 

Each syllable takes roughly the same time (e.g., Spanish)

rhythm’s effect on meaning

Changes in rhythm or stress can change word meaning or emotional tone

fluent speech

Has natural rhythm and stress patterns

foreign speech

Accent often changes rhythm/timing

reduced vowels 

Sound more neutral (e.g., the schwa sound “uh” in “sofa”)

melodies as “auditory objects”

We can mentally transform or recognize a melody even when transposed (Gestalt psychology: the whole is greater than the sum of its parts)

tonal language

Meaning depends on pitch (e.g., Mandarin)

Non-tonal language 

Meaning is not pitch-dependent

postlexical intonation

Pitch changes that affect sentence meaning rather than individual words

why we hum music but not speech

Speech pitch patterns serve communication, while melodies are abstract and repeatable

declination

The gradual drop in pitch during speech — may have a physiological cause (relaxation of vocal muscles)

melodic contour

The shape of pitch movement- helps infants learn speech and recognize emotion

parentese

The exaggerated, sing-song speech adults use with babies: slower tempo, higher pitch, helps infants learn vowel sounds and emotional tone

syntax

The structure and order of elements (words, phrases, clauses) in language — or notes/chords in music.

levels of syntax

Words, phrases, clauses, sentences, discourse (connected sentences)

prescriptivist

Rules for how language should be used

descriptivist

How people actually use language

Chomsky’s Universal Grammar

Innate, universal, hierarchical, and recursive

innate

Humans are born with language ability

universal

All languages share underlying structure.

hierarchical

Language is built in nested layers

recursive

Rules can repeat within themselves (e.g., clauses inside clauses)

Chomsky’s belief

Language is biologically universal

Everett’s belief

Language is shaped by culture and experience

generativity

Language is generative — we can produce and understand infinite new sentences

musical syntax

Chords and progressions create a sense of order and a tonal center (home key), music has rules of progression similar to grammar

common cord progressions

I – V – vi – IV and I – IV – V