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Music as Biology: What We Like to Hear and Why
  • Level Foundation
  • Duration 17 hours
  • Course by Duke University
  • Offered by

About

The course will explore the tone combinations that humans consider consonant or dissonant, the scales we use, and the emotions music elicits, all of which provide a rich set of data for exploring music and auditory aesthetics in a biological framework. Analyses of speech and musical databases are consistent with the idea that the chromatic scale (the set of tones used by humans to create music), consonance and dissonance, worldwide preferences for a few dozen scales from the billions that are possible, and the emotions elicited by music in different cultures all stem from the relative similarity of musical tonalities and the characteristics of voiced (tonal) speech. Like the phenomenology of visual perception, these aspects of auditory perception appear to have arisen from the need to contend with sensory stimuli that are inherently unable to specify their physical sources, leading to the evolution of a common strategy to deal with this fundamental challenge.

Modules

Course Introduction

    • 1 Videos
    • 1 Readings
    • 1 Discussion
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1 Discussions

  • Music as Biology: In Your Own Words

1 Videos

  • Welcome to Music as Biology

1 Readings

  • A Word About the Course

Sound Signals, Sound Stimuli, and the Human Auditory System

    • 4 Videos
    • 2 Readings
    • 4 Discussion
    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • Sound Signals, Sound Stimuli, and the Human Auditory System

4 Discussions

  • Distinction Between Sound Signal and Sound Stimuli
  • Harmonic Series
  • Auditory Perception
  • Thinking About Music as Biology: Week 1

4 Videos

  • Organization of the Auditory System
  • Sound Signals and Sound Stimuli
  • Tones versus Noise
  • Determining the Sources of Sound Stimuli

2 Readings

  • Module Resources
  • An Overview of the Human Auditory System

The Perception of Sound Stimuli

    • 5 Videos
    • 1 Readings
    • 2 Discussion
    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • The Perception of Sound Stimuli

2 Discussions

  • Correlates and How They Differ
  • Thinking About Music as Biology: Week 2

5 Videos

  • Loudness and Intensity
  • Pitch and Frequency
  • Timbre and its Causes
  • Observation and Linguistics
  • Auditory Objects and Scenes

1 Readings

  • Module Resources

Vocalization and Vocal Tones

    • 5 Videos
    • 1 Readings
    • 3 Discussion
    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • Vocalization and Vocal Tones

3 Discussions

  • Human Vocalization
  • Share Your Work!
  • Thinking About Music as Biology: Week 3

5 Videos

  • The Production of Vocal Sound Signals
  • The Perception of Vocal Sound Signals
  • The Perception of Intensity (Loudness) in Empirical Terms
  • The Perception of Frequency (Pitch) in Empirical Terms
  • Relationship of Vocalization to Music

1 Readings

  • Module Resources

Defining Music and Exploring Why We Like It

    • 9 Videos
    • 1 Readings
    • 3 Discussion
    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • Defining Music and Exploring Why We Like It

3 Discussions

  • Defining Music
  • Share Your Work!
  • Explanations of Consonance

9 Videos

  • Defining Music
  • The Chromatic Scale and Some More Musical Terminology
  • Consonance and Dissonance
  • Tonality vs. Atonality: Frequency of Consonant vs. Dissonant Intervals
  • Tension and Resolution
  • Cadences
  • Mathematical Explanations of Consonance
  • A Physical Explanation of Consonance
  • A Biological Explanation of Consonance

1 Readings

  • Module Resources

Musical Scales

    • 6 Videos
    • 1 Readings
    • 3 Discussion
    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • Musical Scales

3 Discussions

  • Tuning Systems
  • Scales
  • Biological Explanation of Scale Preference

6 Videos

  • Defining Scales and Modes
  • The Small Number of Scales Used
  • Testing a Biological Explanation of Scale Preference
  • Why Is the Number of Intervals in Scales So Limited?
  • The Status of the Chromatic Scale and the Semitone in Biological Terms
  • Is Music Uniquely Human?

1 Readings

  • Module Resources

Music, Emotion, and Cultural Differences

    • 7 Videos
    • 3 Readings
    • 4 Discussion
    • 2 Assignment
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2 Assignment

  • Music, Emotion, and Cultural Differences
  • Summing Up

4 Discussions

  • Relevancy of Emotion
  • Culturally Different Music
  • Your Takeaway
  • Music as Biology: Summing Up

7 Videos

  • Introduction to Emotion
  • Emotions Elicited by Major versus Minor Scales
  • Comparision of Major and Minor Music with Vocalization in Different Emotional States
  • Expression of Emotion in Eastern and Western Music
  • Language, Speech, and Cultural Differences in Music
  • Mbira Music: Background and Cyclical Structures
  • Mbria Music: Nonhamronic Frequencies

3 Readings

  • Module Resources
  • Mozart Variation 8, "Minor"
  • Mozart Variation 9, "Major"

Mozart: Major vs. Minor, and Other Methods of Musical Communication

    • 1 Videos
    • 5 Readings
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1 Videos

  • Mozart: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

5 Readings

  • Mozart Theme
  • Mozart Variation 2, ornamentation
  • Mozart Variation 5, rhythmic sync
  • Mozart Variation 8, "Minor"
  • Mozart Variation 9, "Major"

Harmony and the Development of Minor Scales

    • 1 Videos
    • 1 Readings
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1 Videos

  • Derivations of the Harmonic and Melodic Minor Scales

1 Readings

  • Minor Scale Analysis in BWV 002

Cadences: Musical Sentences

    • 1 Videos
    • 4 Readings
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1 Videos

  • Cadences

4 Readings

  • Music Theory Rules
  • BWV 002 Harmonic Analysis
  • BWV 65.2 Harmonic Analysis
  • BWV 133.6 Harmonic Analysis

Tonality vs. Atonality: Frequency of Consonant vs. Dissonant Intervals

    • 1 Videos
    • 3 Readings
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1 Videos

  • Berg Lieder

3 Readings

  • Schliesse Mir Die Augen Beide
  • Tonal Version Sheet Music
  • Atonal Version Sheet Music

Mbira Music: Outside the Western Tradition

    • 2 Videos
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2 Videos

  • Background and Cyclical Structure
  • Nonharmonic Frequencies

Glossary

    • 2 Readings
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2 Readings

  • Glossary A-O
  • Glossary P-W

Bibliography

    • 1 Readings
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1 Readings

  • Bibliography

Auto Summary

Explore the fascinating intersection of music and biology in "Music as Biology: What We Like to Hear and Why." This foundational course delves into why certain tones and scales resonate with us, examining the biological underpinnings of auditory aesthetics. Led by Coursera, you'll analyze speech and musical databases to understand the chromatic scale, consonance, dissonance, and emotional responses across cultures. With a duration of 1020 minutes, flexible subscription options, and a focus on sensory perception, this course is perfect for science and engineering enthusiasts eager to uncover the biological roots of our musical preferences.

Dale Purves
Instructor

Dale Purves