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Music as biology : the tones we like and why / Dale Purves.
Author
Purves, Dale
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Format
Book
Language
English
Published/Created
Cambridge, Massachusetts : Harvard University Press, 2017.
©2017
Description
x, 165 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 25 cm
Availability
Copies in the Library
Location
Call Number
Status
Location Service
Notes
Mendel Music Library - Stacks
ML3820 .P87 2017
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Details
Subject(s)
Music
—
Physiological aspects
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Musical perception
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Music and science
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Summary note
The universality of musical tones has long fascinated philosophers, scientists, musicians, and ordinary listeners. Why do human beings worldwide find some tone combinations consonant and others dissonant? Why do we make music using only a small number of scales out of the billions that are possible? Why do differently organized scales elicit different emotions? Why are there so few notes in scales? In Music as Biology, Dale Purves argues that biology offers answers to these and other questions on which conventional music theory is silent. When people and animals vocalize, they generate tonal sounds--periodic pressure changes at the ear which, when combined, can be heard as melodies and harmonies. Human beings have evolved a sense of tonality, Purves explains, because of the behavioral advantages that arise from recognizing and attending to human voices. The result is subjective responses to tone combinations that are best understood in terms of their contribution to biological success over evolutionary and individual history. Purves summarizes evidence that the intervals defining Western and other scales are those with the greatest collective similarity to the human voice; that major and minor scales are heard as happy or sad because they mimic the subdued and excited speech of these emotional states; and that the character of a culture's speech influences the tonal palette of its traditional music. Rethinking music theory in biological terms offers a new approach to centuries-long debates about the organization and impact of music.-- Provided by publisher.
Bibliographic references
Includes bibliographical references (pages 141-160) and index.
Contents
Sound signals and sound stimuli
The perception of sound signals
Human vocalization
Music and vocal similarity
Consonance and dissonance
Musical scales
Music and emotion
Music and speech across cultures
Implications
Appendix: An overview of the human auditory system.
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ISBN
9780674545151 ((hardcover : alkaline paper))
067454515X
LCCN
2016020279
OCLC
946907405
Other standard number
40026773036
99970458595
Statement on language in description
Princeton University Library aims to describe library materials in a manner that is respectful to the individuals and communities who create, use, and are represented in the collections we manage.
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Music as biology : the tones we like and why / Dale Purves.
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SCSB-10931436