The human brain's reaction to music
musical parameters
​For this part of my project, I have chosen 2 songs that I like, I have written my own arrangements and played them on my piano using the information that I have learned. The last song is a scary song that I have learned on my piano and and I have analyzed it to explain why we perceive it as something scary.
First song: "Up All Night"- Charlie Puth
•This song is perceived as “happy”. Here is why:
•It has a fast beat, faster than 100 pulses per minute
•Its rhythm is also fast, which can produce motor activation and excitement.
•For the harmony, almost all of the chords are major chords, consonant chords that are associated with joy.
•The tonality is major, and the key of the song is C.
•I’m playing high notes at a low volume.
Second song: "Not About Angels"-Birdy
•This song is originally perceived as “sad” and “intimate”, but I have changed that in my arrangement:
•The tonality is minor, since the key is A minor.
• Part 1 of the song:
•It feels intimate, since I am playing high notes at a low volume
•Both the rhythm and beat are slow, slower than 100 beats per minute.
•The main melody (right hand) uses rests, which are also calming.
• Part 2 of the song:
•The beat and rhythm are faster, which doesn’t feel as intimate.
•The melody (which is exactly the same as in the first part) is an octave lower and I’m playing it at a higher volume, (again) breaking the intimacy that I had created in the first part.
•On my left hand, I have eliminated the third note in all of the chords. This note is the one that gives chords a major or minor sound, so in this case the chords that I'm playing are not minor or major and they are more emotionally empty.
•Final part:
•Volume and rhythm are at its highest and fastest points and I’m playing high notes. This part, even though it has the same melody that we have previously listened to, feels more positive and happy, even in a minor tonality, which proves that musical parameters DO influence how we perceive music.
Third song: "Halloween theme"
In this video I'm playing a part of a Halloween song. It evokes feelings of fear, terror or danger. Here is why:
•On my left hand I’m playing very low notes at a high volume. Our brain unconsciously associates this with something big, like a monster’s roar, which we perceive as something scary.
•On my right hand I’m playing high notes, which could remind us of a human voice. In this case, I’m playing the second minor
note of each note, which is one of the most dissonant musical intervals, as we associate that sound with something negative. Following the example of the human voice, we would associate it with a voice that is crying or screaming. Moreover, I’m playing these high notes at a high volume, which is disturbing and places us in a state of extreme attention, similar to the feeling you would get if you were in a horror movie.