Post by Morreion on May 19, 2018 10:09:59 GMT -5
Yeah yeah, I know, it's from 2017 but I missed it. I am highly skeptical of science telling me about the best music, but I think their pick was rather good.
What's the Best Song, According to Science? (Gizmodo)
For as long as we've had toes to tap, society's great minds have tried to explain the inner workings of music, searching for what makes it "good."
The results of this search range from the most basic reductions like minor-key-sad/major-key-happy to sophisticated brain wave data analysis and dopamine measurements — all aimed at decoding how a composer's decisions impact the quality of a song.
So when Gizmodo asked a small group of neuroscientist and music enthusiasts for their take on science's role in determining what makes a song "good," the answers touched on every aspect of music interpretation from the most analytical to the most visceral.
The results of this search range from the most basic reductions like minor-key-sad/major-key-happy to sophisticated brain wave data analysis and dopamine measurements — all aimed at decoding how a composer's decisions impact the quality of a song.
So when Gizmodo asked a small group of neuroscientist and music enthusiasts for their take on science's role in determining what makes a song "good," the answers touched on every aspect of music interpretation from the most analytical to the most visceral.
What's the Best Song, According to Science? (Gizmodo)
David Poeppel
Professor of Psychology and Neural Science at New York University
How fast is the typical song?
There are numbers about what’s on average how fast music is, whether or not you like it. Let’s say you take a whole bunch of music—classical, rock, single instruments and ensembles—you can calculate the mean rate. On average, the rate music is played at because is about two hertz—two cycles per second—which translates into 120 beats per minute. Across musical styles and eras, there’s a typical “mean rate” of music, which is kind of surprising. It’s faster than the heartbeat and slower than speech.
Why do certain songs tend to stick with us throughout life while others don’t?
One of the hard things from a scientific point of view is trying to figure out how taste works is to account for the huge range of taste across people and across, even, your own age. Songs from puberty are particularly well-remembered for some reason—like the first time you fell in love, or something. But then, maybe in retrospect you think, “Wow, what the f*ck, I liked Blondie?” It shows that even your own aesthetic experience changes pretty drastically over the course of your lifetime.
So from an individual point of view, what makes you happy, stimulated or excited changes even within you over time.
Is the best song of all-time “Africa” by Toto?
Actually, Toto turns out to be remarkably good and sophisticated according to musicians. Toto was a group of hardcore, highly respected studio musicians. They crafted those songs pretty carefully and were incredibly successful with those four albums. And musicians actually really love Toto.
Science says “Africa” is the best song ever made. Says a scientist.
Professor of Psychology and Neural Science at New York University
How fast is the typical song?
There are numbers about what’s on average how fast music is, whether or not you like it. Let’s say you take a whole bunch of music—classical, rock, single instruments and ensembles—you can calculate the mean rate. On average, the rate music is played at because is about two hertz—two cycles per second—which translates into 120 beats per minute. Across musical styles and eras, there’s a typical “mean rate” of music, which is kind of surprising. It’s faster than the heartbeat and slower than speech.
Why do certain songs tend to stick with us throughout life while others don’t?
One of the hard things from a scientific point of view is trying to figure out how taste works is to account for the huge range of taste across people and across, even, your own age. Songs from puberty are particularly well-remembered for some reason—like the first time you fell in love, or something. But then, maybe in retrospect you think, “Wow, what the f*ck, I liked Blondie?” It shows that even your own aesthetic experience changes pretty drastically over the course of your lifetime.
So from an individual point of view, what makes you happy, stimulated or excited changes even within you over time.
Is the best song of all-time “Africa” by Toto?
Actually, Toto turns out to be remarkably good and sophisticated according to musicians. Toto was a group of hardcore, highly respected studio musicians. They crafted those songs pretty carefully and were incredibly successful with those four albums. And musicians actually really love Toto.
Science says “Africa” is the best song ever made. Says a scientist.
