Subject: On the Grammar of Music From: Martin Braun <nombraun(at)POST.NETLINK.SE> Date: Wed, 25 Apr 2001 15:13:03 +0200The study mentioned below is a remarkable one, indeed. [Maess, B., Koelsc= h, S., Gunter, T. C. and Friederici, A. D. Musical Syntax is processed in Broca's area: an MEG study. Nature Neuroscience 4, 540-545 (2001).] The authors claim to have found evidence for their assumption that there = is a grammar of musical chords, even in non-musicians. This assumption is all the more remarkable, as musicians themselves consi= der such grammars as theoretical artefacts or, at best, as a matter of person= al taste. But, no worry, these authors haven't found what they claim to have found. What they really found is that off-scale notes in a sequence of chords ca= n produce similar brain activity as nonsense words in a sentence. Their conclusion is that music is processed like a language and chords ar= e governed by grammar. Anybody may compare that with his or her own experience. Martin Martin Braun Neuroscience of Music Gansbyn 14 S-671 95 Kl=E4ssbol Sweden nombraun(at)post.netlink.se ----- Original Message ----- From: John Hershey <jhershey(at)cogsci.ucsd.edu> To: <AUDITORY(at)LISTS.MCGILL.CA> Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2001 10:52 PM Subject: Re: Why the music is music and the noise is noise? > according to this study music is language, although the converse is not > clear. > so perhaps you can make noise into music by whispering, but you might h= ave > to whisper a tune. > http://www.nature.com/nsu/010426/010426-4.html (stimulus sound file an= d MEG > picture here) > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Peter Meijer" <peter.b.l.meijer(at)PHILIPS.COM> > To: <AUDITORY(at)LISTS.MCGILL.CA> > Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2001 2:57 AM > Subject: Re: Why the music is music and the noise is noise? > > > > Can we build a system which can turn the noise to the music? > > There is a related news snippet in yesterday's New Scientist > at http://www.newscientist.com/dailynews/news.jsp?id=3Dns9999653 > > Best wishes, > > Peter Meijer