PSY387H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Railways Act 1921, Justin Bieber, Serialism
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42 points of short answer (1 4 points) Comprehension or understanding of music requires formation of a mental representation. It"s difficult to form a mental representation of many atonal pieces. Distinct, coherent voices are typically not the goal. Listeners who make sense of the piece do so in a way unrelated to its construction. Compositional grammar does not equal listening grammar. Many expert listeners cant figure out its organization after many listenings, or tell whether a note is played at the wrong pitch or the wrong time. Boulez piece sounds partly random and partly patterned: the patterns are difficult to figure out. Making sense of a piece requires formation of hierarchical structures, which, in turn, requires: (lerdahl and jackendoff, 1983: grouping structure (phrases, sections) Ex: justin bieber song played in class have sections: identifying a meter (periodic pattern of strong and weak beats, determining important and less important events and patterns of tension and relaxation.
