Psychoacoustics

As I walked my students into the auditorium we could hear music playing and some students who were already seated were singing along. As the current song came to an end and a few cords of the next song began, the teachers listened in amazement as the 500 students in the audience burst into song. The sweet sound of children’s voices singing, Let it Go (Lopez), warmed the cold room. This performance was not planned or practiced; it started by just a few simple musical notes. The reaction of the students was almost automatic; they were not coerced or prodded to perform. For that brief moment school was a place where every student belonged and was eager to perform. Could this same musical magic be used in the classroom? This experience inspired me to research ways that I could use music in my classroom more effectively. After scouring a vast amount of research, I found three intriguing themes that could help me in my quest to becoming a more effective teacher, the connection between music and literacy, the Mozart effect, and the benefits of the arts into the classroom. The following is a summary of literary ideas and resources concerned with using music in the classroom. Literature Review I can’t imagine a movie without music. Music was attached to movies before the spoken word. According to Pisano (2014), “…what makes a good movie great is often at least partially due to the soundtrack”. Could a good classroom become great if the right playlist was used? Singing a…

The Healing Power of Tunes Alternative medicine is not something everybody believes in, but something everybody can feel an effect on the brain, a mood or health. Sometimes it is quiet hard to explain, however it works. Surprisingly, 60 % of people worldwide rely on non-conventional medicine, including herbs, aromatherapy, acupuncture or hand healing. Music therapy is an exception. It is widely used in surgery and treating serious diseases. What result can be expected from just listening to…

The Psychology of Music People have only recently started studying in-depth into music’s connection with brain activity. Scientists are just now starting to develop theories why music has such a big impact on us as humans and our intelligence (Lerch). Music psychology is not a modern idea though. Even the ancient philosophers – Plato, Aristotle, Pythagoras – believed in the calming power of music (“Music and Emotions”). Let’s first talk about what music is, before we explain its correlation to…

Audiology became needed when soldiers began to return from war. A great number of them were suffering from severe hearing loss and the country's hospitals were not equipped to rehabilitate them. With the introduction of the first hearing aid, a new field of medicine was created known as psychoacoustics. People that studied psychoacoustics travelled throughout the country to fit veterans with hearing aids and assess their hearing abilities. The creation of more discrete and portable hearing aids…

Eric Whitacre’s music is undoubtedly compelling. One can find themselves to be struck by its uncommon beauty and wonder why it is that being exposed to this music can affect them so heavily. After an in-depth analysis of several of Whitacre’s choir pieces, it is clear that his complex chord structures are key to his incredibly unique sound. Whitacre uses strong, unexpected chords that demand resolution and possess an intense energy. This paper presents an examination of Whiatcre’s musical…

a modern listeners ear. Although the circumstances in which most sound is heard is artificial and ‘created’, the music played is often the same (Beament, 2003). Conclusion Knowing how your Music will be perceived or performed is a very important part of becoming a composer. If your music isn’t heard correctly or is altered to a different standard the particular emotional impact you were hoping for may not be as effective. Understanding the acoustics of your piece could make or break how the…

A research study at FearNoMore clinic has discovered a new method of therapy called Psychoacoustic Desensitization Reprocessing, which is claimed to be just as effective as medicine to cure anxiety and other fearful thoughts associated with fear. One of the principles this research methodology falls into is Replicability, which states that findings must be capable of being replicated following the same research method. We can only be certain in a claim if it has been tested in numerous…

fluency examination. According to Munson, Johnson, and Edwards, in a study about the difference between Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) and inexperienced listeners, results revealed that experienced SLPs lead to better perception of phonetic detail in children’s speech. Experienced listeners have higher intrarater reliability than inexperienced listeners do. They are also more systematic in their judgments of speech. More experience leads to more consistent ratings or scores of the clients.…

tracks mainly. It acts as a gate, and allows the signal to be constant and to bring down the level of the signal when it goes above the threshold. This can also bring a negative impact on a vocal track because, when the vocalist wants to bring in dynamics in an emotional area, the compressor tries to make the signal constant which reduces the feel of the song. Compression is widely used in the audio industry. Compressors are mainly used on a lead vocals is because most singers cannot singer…

ranges from $280-$999. Loeb and her collogues’s study is the evidence to support this intervention References Loeb D, Gillam R, Hoffman L, Brandel J, Marquis J. The Effects of Fast ForWord Language on the Phonemic Awareness and Reading Skills of School-Age Children With Language Impairments and Poor Reading Skills. American Journal Of Speech-Language Pathology [serial online]. November 2009;18(4):376-387. Available from: Academic Search Premier, Ipswich, MA. Accessed October 26, 2015.…