Melodic Contour Research Articles

Mandatory Metal Moments

Through a series of case studies, this article presents a framework of common musical tropes originally only found in heavy metal music. The use of aggressive “double-kick” drum grooves, galloping bass lines, harmonized melodies, and overall fast tempi are all common elements of many styles of metal that first emerged in the 1980s. Video games developed alongside this musical genre; action, platforming, and role-playing games not only embraced these distinguishing characteristics of metal music, but these tropes are now expected in games of various genres. In addition, other extra-musical topics associated with heavy metal’s lyrical themes—such as references to the occult and fantasy—are common archetypes used to build the worlds of these video games. Studies have been conducted that examine the cultural similarities between these two cultures, the relationship of music genre with game genre and function, and the use of rock paired with sacred music specifically in battle themes. By analyzing the arrangements, treatment of melodic contours, rhythmic gestures, and harmonic progressions of these games, this article discusses and demonstrates how metal has disseminated into video game culture. There are strong connections between the fast-paced obstacles in Mega Man with the speed of Iron Maiden, the gothic horror stages of Castlevania and Baroque elegance of Yngwie Malmsteen, and how the themes from fantasy literature made their way into video game design and power metal. The worlds of these games are built on their music, but their music is built on a fusion of tropes used in heavy metal culture.

Rhythm contour drives musical memory.

Listeners' use of contour information as a basis for memory of rhythmic patterns was explored in two experiments. Both studies employed a short-term memory paradigm in which listeners heard a standard rhythm, followed by a comparison rhythm, and judged whether the comparison was the same as the standard. Comparison rhythms included exact repetitions of the standard, same contour rhythms in which the relative interval durations of successive notes (but not the absolute durations of the notes themselves) were the same as the standard, and different contour rhythms in which the relative duration intervals of successive notes differed from the standard. Experiment 1 employed metric rhythms, whereas Experiment 2 employed ametric rhythms. D-prime analyses revealed that, in both experiments, listeners showed better discrimination for different contour rhythms relative to same contour rhythms. Paralleling classic work on melodic contour, these findings indicate that the concept of contour is both relevant to one's characterization of the rhythm of musical patterns and influences short-term memory for such patterns.

Large-scale iterated singing experiments reveal oral transmission mechanisms underlying music evolution

Speech and song have been transmitted orally for countless human generations, changing over time under the influence of biological, cognitive, and cultural pressures. Cross-cultural regularities and diversities in human song are thought to emerge from this transmission process, but testing how underlying mechanisms contribute to musical structures remains a key challenge. Here, we introduce an automatic online pipeline that streamlines large-scale cultural transmission experiments using a sophisticated and naturalistic modality: singing. We quantify the evolution of 3,424 melodies orally transmitted across 1,797 participants in the United States and India. This approach produces a high-resolution characterization of how oral transmission shapes melody, revealing the emergence of structures that are consistent with widespread musical features observed cross-culturally (small pitch sets, small pitch intervals, and arch-shaped melodic contours). We show how the emergence of these structures is constrained by individual biases in our participants-vocal constraints, working memory, and cultural exposure-which determine the size, shape, and complexity of evolving melodies. However, their ultimate effect on population-level structures depends on social dynamics taking place during cultural transmission. When participants recursively imitate their own productions (individual transmission), musical structures evolve slowly and heterogeneously, reflecting idiosyncratic musical biases. When participants instead imitate others' productions (social transmission), melodies rapidly shift toward homogeneous structures, reflecting shared structural biases that may underpin cross-cultural variation. These results provide the first quantitative characterization of the rich collection of biases that oral transmission imposes on music evolution, giving us a new understanding of how human song structures emerge via cultural transmission.

Benefits of long-term music training for segregation of competing speech by tonal language speakers

Extended experience with meaningful pitch information has been shown to benefit music perception as well as speech perception where pitch cues are important, such as segregation of competing speech and tonal language perception. Interestingly, pitch perception has been shown to be similar between non-musicians who speak a tonal language and musicians who speak a non-tonal language, both of which outperform non-musicians who speak a non-tonal language. However, it is unknown whether extensive music training can further benefit pitch perception in tonal language speakers. In this study, melodic contour identification, spectro-temporal pattern perception, and masked speech recognition was measured in 16 adult normal-hearing musicians and 16 non-musicians; all were Chinese native speakers of Mandarin. Melodic contour identification, spectro-temporal pattern perception, and masked speech recognition all were significantly better for musicians than for non-musicians. Compared to non-musicians, musicians better utilized talker sex cues to segregate competing speech; utilization of talker sex cues by musicians was associated with the onset and extent of music training. Across all participants, spectro-temporal pattern perception was associated with better masked speech understanding. The data suggest that early and extensive music training may further benefit tonal language speakers’ perception and utilization of pitch cues.

Description of F0 contours with Legendre polynomials

Phonetic research has developed both impressionistic and more objective means of describing the basic units of intonation. The quantification involved in the approaches based on acoustic measurements provides more detail and it is a necessary prerequisite for the comparability and replicability of the results of different studies. In addition to having these characteristics, a proper description of intonation should be comprehensible and meaningful. This article presents a method for describing melodic contours using Legendre polynomials, which yields a few coefficients that capture the basic properties of the analysed contour (e.g. level or slope). This approach thus connects objectivity and quantitative precision with common linguistic concepts. The article also proposes the use of Legendre polynomials for the description of traditionally recognized Czech melodemes through the analysis of schemes reported in the literature. Further research on real material could verify the validity of these categories and the usefulness of the method itself.

Development of the Musi-CI Training, A Musical Listening Training for Cochlear Implant Users: A Participatory Action Research Approach.

A cochlear implant (CI) is a prosthesis that allows people with severe to profound hearing loss to understand speech in quiet settings. However, listening to music presents a challenge to most CI users; they often do not enjoy music or avoid it altogether. The Musi-CI training course was developed for CI users with the goal of reducing music aversion and improving music enjoyment. A consortium was established consisting of a professional musician with CI, CI rehabilitation professionals and researchers. Participatory action research (PAR) was applied to develop and evaluate the training experiences, collaborating with 37 CI users during three cycles of eight training sessions, each held over a period of 3 months. Input and feedback were collected after each training session using questionnaires, observations and focus group interviews. Almost all participants (86%) completed the training. After completing the training a large majority of participants reported increased music appreciation, increased social participation in musical settings and a positive impact on general auditory perception. The resulting Musi-CI training programme focuses on music listening skills, self-efficacy, and self-motivation. It consists of exercises intended to strengthen attention and working memory, to improve beat and rhythm perception (with online rhythm exercises) and exercises to distinguish timbre of instruments and emotion in music. A Melody Game was developed to improve pitch and melodic contour discrimination.

Re-Evaluating the Roots of Arabesk Music: Grup Metronom

Grup Metronom played a leading role in the development of Turkish arabesk music during the 1970s. Delineating the social and musical relationships within the Band reveals a new perspective on genre blending, challenging the received view of the history of arabesk. Based on in-depth interviews with prominent actors who shaped the scene and witnessed the historical process, the article attempts to illuminate how a group of musicians with diverse backgrounds-from makam (both folk and art), jazz, and Western symphonic traditions- interacted, performed and were perceived by other musicians in the cultivation of arabesk music, thus challenging the assumption that arabesk music was pioneered by a group of marginal musicians who shared a common cultural ground. The argument is also supported by the musical analysis of selected works to define musical tendencies and eclectic structures. Text analysis (e.g., lyrics, melodic contour, scale, and form), performance analysis (arrangement, orchestration, vocal and instrumental interpretation, and timbre), and other musical inputs (recording, use of decorative sounds, and mix) constitute most of the stylistic interpretations in the paper. The article also attempts to elaborate issues related to Arabic influence on arabesk music; and ground some of them through the stories of the actors in the case and analysis of the sonic environment in their products.

Effect of Realistic Test Conditions on Perception of Speech, Music, and Binaural Cues in Normal-Hearing Listeners.

The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of online testing in a quiet room for three auditory perception experiments in normal-hearing listeners: speech, music, and binaural cue. Under Experiment 1, sentence perception was measured using fixed signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs: +10 dB, 0 dB, and -10 dB) and using adaptive speech reception threshold (SRT) procedures. The correct scores were compared between quiet room and soundproof booth listening environments. Experiment 2 was designed to compare melodic contour identification between the two listening environments. Melodic contour identification was assessed with 1, 2, and 4 semitone spacings. Under Experiment 3, interaural level difference (ILD) and interaural time differences (ITD) were measured as a function of carrier frequency. For both measures, two modulated tones (400-ms duration and 100-Hz modulation rate) were sequentially presented through headphones to both ears, and subjects were asked to indicate whether the sound moved to the left or right ear. The measured ITD and ILD were then compared between the two listening environments. There were no significant differences in any outcome measures (SNR- and SRT-based speech perception, melodic contour identification, and ITD/ILD) between the two listening environments. These results suggest that normal-hearing listeners may not require a controlled listening environment in any of the three auditory assessments. As comparable data can be obtained via the online testing tool, using the online auditory experiments is recommended.

Eternal Victory

Starting in the ninth century but gaining momentum the late tenth century Byzantium reclaimed its territories in the East: capturing Crete, Antioch, and northern Palestine. These victories were celebrated with triumphal processions in Constantinople. New chants were written specifically to be performed in the Great Church and the palatine chapels. Some of the poetry and music was composed by the emperor himself. Analyzing the melodic contour of some of these songs shows how they strategically used the acoustics of the dome to offer a glittering vision of power. And the same time, the figural mosaics in Hagia Sophia and in the palatine chapels gave an anthropomorphic concreteness to the experience of the divine in the reverberant sound. None of these figural programs survives. Yet, a monastery near Thebes (Greece), Hosios Loukas, preserves one of the most extensive Byzantine mosaic cycles. As this analysis will reveal, it channels the Constantinopolitan liturgy and enables us to explore how chant and figural images operated together to shape a vision of the resurgent empire.

Imagery Conjured through Melodic Developments in “15 Step” by Radiohead

This paper investigates the melodic developmenst of Radiohead's composition titled 15 Step and how it conjures imagery for the listeners. While the band has website performances, there is a lack of compositional analysis of the group's work. The results of this study are that melodic developments such as melodic contour, melodic motion, and melodic rhythm results in conjured imagery. This paper contributes knowledge to other composers who might be interested in composing music using innovative melody developments to conjure imagery. This research further explains these techniques and gives insight into how Radiohead composes its music.

Neuromagnetic representation of melodic contour processing in human auditory cortex.

The pattern of ups and downs in a sequence with varying pitch can be heard as a melodic contour. Contrary to single pitch, the neural representation of melodic contour information in the auditory cortex is rarely investigated, and it is not clear whether the processing entails a hemispheric asymmetry. The present magnetoencephalography study assessed the neuromagnetic responses of N = 18 normal-hearing adults to four-note sequences with fixed vs. varying pitch that were presented either monaurally or diotically; data were analyzed using minimum-norm reconstructions. The first note of the sequences elicited prominent transient activity in posterior auditory regions (Planum temporale), especially contralateral to the ear of entry. In contrast, the response to the subsequent notes originated from more anterior areas (Planum polare) and was larger for melodic contours than for fixed pitch sequences, independent from the ear of entry and without hemispheric asymmetry. Together, the results point to a gradient in the early cortical processing of melodic contours, both in spatial and functional terms, where posterior auditory activity reflects the onset of a pitch sequence and anterior activity reflects its subsequent notes, including the difference between sequences with fixed pitch and melodic contours.

The Sense of the Fragmentary in Kurtág's Several Movements from Georg Christoph Lichtenberg's Scrapbooks, Op. 37a

ABSTRACTOne of the most distinctive developments in György Kurtág's output from the beginning of the 1980s is his setting of incomplete texts. He entitles these songs ‘fragments’, suggesting that they are musical scraps that accompany the extracts from great writers’ works. Kurtág's most representative contribution to this genre is his chamber song cycle Kafka‐Fragments, Op. 24, for soprano and violin (1986). Slightly over a decade later, Kurtág selected 22 aphorisms by Georg Christoph Lichtenberg and set them in a new vocal chamber cycle for soprano and double bass as Several Movements from Georg Christoph Lichtenberg's Scrapbooks (Op. 37a, 1999). To date, most scholars interested in the fragmentary qualities of Kurtág's songs have focused on Op. 24, leaving Op. 37a relatively unexplored. This article corrects this imbalance by providing analyses of three movements from Op. 37a. I approach these songs from the angles of text setting, pitch structure and melodic contour to show how Kurtág utilises these elements to achieve the defining features of ambiguity and incompletion central to the musical fragment.

Music and Speech Perception in Prelingually Deafened Young Listeners With Cochlear Implants: A Preliminary Study Using Sung Speech.

In the context of music and speech perception, this study aimed to assess the effect of variation in one of two auditory attributes-pitch contour and timbre-on the perception of the other in prelingually deafened young cochlear implant (CI) users, and the relationship between pitch contour perception and two cognitive functions of interest. Nine prelingually deafened CI users, aged 8.75-22.17 years, completed a melodic contour identification (MCI) task using stimuli of piano notes or sung speech with a fixed timbre (same word for each note) or a mixed timbre (different words for each note), a speech perception task identifying matrix-styled sentences naturally intonated or sung with a fixed pitch (same pitch for each word) or a mixed pitch (different pitches for each word), a forward digit span test indexing auditory short-term memory (STM), and the matrices section of the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test-Second Edition indexing nonverbal IQ. MCI was significantly poorer for the mixed timbre condition. Speech perception was significantly poorer for the fixed and mixed pitch conditions than for the naturally intonated condition. Auditory STM positively correlated with MCI at 2- and 3-semitone note spacings. Relative to their normal-hearing peers from a related study using the same stimuli and tasks, the CI participants showed comparable MCI at 2- or 3-semitone note spacing, and a comparable level of significant decrement in speech perception across three pitch contour conditions. Findings suggest that prelingually deafened CI users show similar trends of normal-hearing peers for the effect of variation in pitch contour or timbre on the perception of the other, and that cognitive functions may underlie these outcomes to some extent, at least for the perception of pitch contour. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.21217937.

Combining Place and Rate of Stimulation Improves Frequency Discrimination in Cochlear Implant Users

In the auditory system, frequency is represented as tonotopic and temporal response properties of the auditory nerve. While these response properties are inextricably linked in normal hearing, cochlear implants can separately excite tonotopic location and temporal synchrony using different electrodes and stimulation rates, respectively. This separation allows for the investigation of the contributions of tonotopic and temporal cues for frequency discrimination. The present study examines frequency discrimination in adult cochlear implant users as conveyed by electrode position and stimulation rate, separately and combined. The working hypothesis is that frequency discrimination is better provided by place and rate cues combined compared to either cue alone. This hypothesis was tested in two experiments. In the first experiment, frequency discrimination needed for melodic contour identification was measured for frequencies near 100, 200, and 400 Hz using frequency allocation modeled after clinical processors. In the second experiment, frequency discrimination for pitch ranking was measured for frequencies between 100 and 1600 Hz using an experimental frequency allocation designed to provide better access to place cues. The results of both experiments indicate that frequency discrimination is better with place and rate cues combined than with either cue alone. These results clarify how signal processing for cochlear implants could better encode frequency into place and rate of electrical stimulation. Further, the results provide insight into the contributions of place and rate cues for pitch.

MELODIC ORGANIZATION OF THE PREACHER'S SPEECH IN FILM DISCOURSE

The article is devoted to the study of the peculiarities of the melodic organization of monological expressions of preachers of different ranks - the characters of English-language feature films. Based on the fact that the preacher's speech functions are not limited to preaching from the pulpit, but include speeches outside the temple and private conversations with parishioners on spiritual topics, these three types of speech activities were studied. The research material, which consisted of oral English sermons, speeches and conversations taken from five modern films, was subjected to auditive, auditory and electroacoustic analysis. Auditive analysis involved the selection from the general text of those phrasal units that most clearly demonstrate the prosodic characteristics in all parts of the studied sermons, speeches and conversations. Auditory analysis was aimed at determining the type of spiritual speech and identifying the degree of participation of certain prosodic parameters (melodic contour, phrasal stress, volume, tempo, rhythm, pause) in the realization of the intention of speech and expression of emotions in different parts of the text. Based on the auditive analysis, firstly, the prosodic differences between the three speech realizations at the level of perception were confirmed, and secondly, it was found that the melodic component of intonation is the second most informative component involved in speech differentiation and enhancing its influential effect.The complex auditory and instrumental analysis of the melodic characteristics of the preachers’ speech allows to conclude that there are integral and distinctive melodic parameters inherent in the three types of speech behaviour of the speakers during the sermon, speeches outside the church and conversations with parishioners in private. The private priests’ conversation with parishioners is characterized by the lowest melodic indicators, where facial expressions and kinetic means of expressiveness and emotionality come to the fore.

The Use of Laras in Contemporary Gamelan Music

Gamelan instruments, which have a distinctive tone system (scale) or are called laras, are a challenge for contemporary composers in their working techniques. In contrast to Western music which uses a “well-tempered” system, gamelan music has a distinctive phenomenon in its tone system, including the absence of standardization of basic notes and tone intervals. This article aims to analyze the concept of garap and the phenomenon of the use of laras) in contemporary gamelan music. The method used is content analysis, by taking four contemporary gamelan works that use the concept of garap on the use of a new scale, which is auditorily difficult to identify the scales in conventional musical knowledge. The content used is in the form of audio recordings and notations, which are then analyzed by various parametric musical aspects. The results show that there were two directions of garap on the tone systems (scale) in contemporary gamelan music. First, the direction of the garap is done by limiting the tones of the tone systems used in constructing the sound both vertically and horizontally. As in Supanggah’s “Thongkleng,” only five of the seven notes are used in the laras pelog. Meanwhile, in Mack’s “Crosscurrent,” only four tones are used out of the five notes in the laras degung. The direction of the second interpretation is to expand the tone by mixing other tones to build the impression of a new tone. In O’Neil’s “Lesson of Garden” and Gunawan’s “Noname and Nothing,” there is a chromatic approach to melodic contours to obscure the impression of conventional tone. O’Neil focuses more on melodic tone processing, while in Gunawan’s work, the tone processing is more rhythmic and random.

Prosodic features of maternal input to children with sex chromosome trisomies

The neuropsychological profile associated with sex chromosome trisomies (SCT) is frequently characterised by delays or deficits in linguistic development. Although maternal input could have an important role in influencing and shaping the linguistic development of children with SCT, there is a lack of studies in the literature that have investigated its prosodic characteristics. The study aims to analyse the prosodic features of the maternal input addressed to a group of 8-month-old children with SCT and a group of typically developing (TD) peers. Nineteen mother–child dyads with children with SCT and 19 mother–child dyads with TD children participated in the study. Maternal utterances were collected during video-recorded play sessions, and for each dyad, 50 maternal utterances were selected and analysed using the software Praat. The results showed that the maternal input produced by the mothers in the SCT group was characterised by a significantly lower pitch, less marked and modulated melodic contours, and a shorter final syllable duration than the input addressed to TD children. The prosodic features found in the maternal input addressed to children with SCT were not those expected in the maternal input addressed to children at this developmental stage and could create a non-optimal linguistic environment.

Melodic contours of maternal humming to preterm infants in kangaroo care and infants’ overlapping vocalizations: A microanalytical study

Tonal or melodic contours of maternal voice directed to infants play a role in infants’ self-regulation and vocal responsiveness. However, we are unaware about melodic contours of maternal humming directed to preterm infants and its role for infants’ vocal responsiveness. We aimed (1) to identify the melodic contours (sinusoidal, bell-shaped, U-shaped, rising, falling, and linear contours) of maternal humming directed to preterm infants in kangaroo care and (2) to identify preterm infants’ overlapping vocalizations in each humming melodic contour. Mothers ( N = 36) were invited to speak and to hum (using an improvised melody) for their preterm infants during kangaroo care. A temporal segmentation (frequency and lengths) of melodic contours of humming, and descriptive comparative analyses were performed. We found a predominance of sinusoidal contours, followed by bell-shaped, rising, falling, U-shaped, and, finally, linear contours. Also a predominance of infants’ overlapping vocalizations was found in sinusoidal and in bell-shaped contours. This study underlines the role of melodic contours of maternal humming to preterm infants, highlighting its communicative functions for the vocal engagement of preterm infants during kangaroo care.

Prosodic Differences in the Voices of Transgender and Cisgender Women: Self-Perception of Voice - An Auditory and Acoustic Analysis

The voice is an important parameter for identifying the speaker's gender. Transgender people seek to adapt their bodies to gender identity, and transgender women have greater difficulties in achieving vocal acceptance. In this context, the evaluation of the various parameters of the voice of transgender and cisgender women is essential to make it possible to propose appropriate intervention measures. To identify the differences in vocal characteristics of transgender and cisgender women. An sectional study was conducted. The sample comprised 20 transgender women and 20 cisgender women who underwent evaluation of acoustic parameters, emotional prosody, self-perception, and perception of gender by lay listeners. The vocal characteristics of transgender and cisgender women differ in terms of the following parameters: f0, glottal noise excitation (GNE), vocal intensity, speech range profile (SRP), the first three formants of the vowel /a/, and in terms of emotional prosody, including duration and melodic contour. Higher values ​​were mostly found in the cisgender population, except for noise level and vocal intensity. In addition, in most cases lay listeners identified the voices of transgender women as belonging to the male gender. There was a negative correlation between vocal dissatisfaction and f0 among transgender women. Even though they perform vocal adjustments, the voices of transgender women are different from cisgender women in terms of acoustic parameters, vocal extension, and emotional prosody including duration and melodic contour. These differences have repercussions on the perception of gender by listeners.

Harmonicity aids hearing in noise

Hearing in noise is a core problem in audition, and a challenge for hearing-impaired listeners, yet the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. We explored whether harmonic frequency relations, a signature property of many communication sounds, aid hearing in noise for normal hearing listeners. We measured detection thresholds in noise for tones and speech synthesized to have harmonic or inharmonic spectra. Harmonic signals were consistently easier to detect than otherwise identical inharmonic signals. Harmonicity also improved discrimination of sounds in noise. The largest benefits were observed for two-note up-down “pitch” discrimination and melodic contour discrimination, both of which could be performed equally well with harmonic and inharmonic tones in quiet, but which showed large harmonic advantages in noise. The results show that harmonicity facilitates hearing in noise, plausibly by providing a noise-robust pitch cue that aids detection and discrimination.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.3758/s13414-021-02376-0.