Volume 13, No. 1

PERCEPTION SPECIAL RESEARCH INTEREST GROUP

Newsletter Vol. 13, No. 1

Spring 1997

Kimberly C. Walls, Chair

Eugenia Costa-Giomi, Vice-Chair

Perceptions:

A Dialogue on Issues of Importance to Perception Researchers

Many music educators rarely have the opportunity to discuss issues

in perception research with others who have experience in the area. This

column is an opportunity to share ideas about directions in perception

research. Thanks to Don Coffman and Ana-Lucia Frega for responding to the

question: "How can the Perception SRIG promote more activity in music

perception research?"

From Ana-Lucia Frega, National University Of Rosario, Argentina:

I think it would be interesting, at least for me as foreign

research member of MENC, to get involved in cross cultural research on

perception: myself and my students would appreciate this kind of

possibilities.

From Don D. Coffman, The University of Iowa:

For what it's worth, my thoughts about "How can the Perception SRIG

promote more activity in music perception research?" revolve around the

potential for collecting research via the Internet. Other disciplines are

ahead of us in this respect, particularly acoustics. Perhaps our

readership is already aware of the potential and doesn't need to be

alerted, but I find surfing these sights to be quite informative and prods

me to consider new venues.

It's conceivable that the SRIG could increase our collective

awareness about data collection via the net using the SRIG home page. Who

knows, if more people pursued this route, the home page could contain links

pointing towards various online research efforts.

Below I've included some interesting sites that could at least

suggest some possibilities for examination.

http://www.cs.colorado.edu/~andreas/Teaching/Music/Experiments.html

Prof. Andreas Weigend, Department of Computer Science and Institute

of Cognitive Science at the University of Colorado at Boulder posted 4

music cognition experiments on the web a couple of years ago.

http://ear.berkeley.edu/auditory_lab/

Another example is from the department of Psychology at U. C. Berkeley.

Here is a description I lifted from the site:

"The research currently being conducted in the auditory Lab is

concerned primarily with issues involved in the higher-order processing of

auditory information, especially as it impacts listening in real world

situations."

http://www.music.mcgill.ca/auditory/Auditory.html

Yet another example, this one from McGill University:

"A multimedia presentation of selected topics in Auditory

Perception, including auditory demonstrations, discussion and experiments

in perception."

http://sound.media.mit.edu/~dpwe/AUDITORY/postings/

The AUDITORY list is a mailing list for researchers interested in

organizational aspects of auditory perception, created by Professor Al

Bregman.

http://salmon.psy.plym.ac.uk/mscprm/forms.htm

How to put questionnaires on the internet.

http://www.premier.net/~cogito/psycresearch-online/main.html

"Psycresearch-online" is first and foremost a mailgroup forum

instituted to address issues related to the use of the Internet for

psychological research, assessment, and data collection.

Here are a couple of sites with dozens of links:

http://capella.dur.ac.uk/doug/acoustics.html

http://www.ecgcorp.com/velav/vldocs/academic.html

From the Chair

Eugenia Costa-Giomi is our vice-chair and will begin chairing the P

SRIG at the Biennial Conference. Her Ph.D. is from The Ohio State

University and she is Associate Professor of Music Education at McGill

University, Canada. She teaches general method courses and research

seminars and conducts research in music perception and early childhood.

Her articles have been published in JRME, CRME, and Psychology of Music.

She has co-chaired the 4th International Conference on Music Perception and

Cognition held in Montreal in August 1996.

Many of our new members have requested information about the

Perception SRIG. The P-SRIG is part of MENC, the Music Educators National

Conference. SRIG members should be members of MENC. Our newsletter is

published twice a year, via email for members who have email, via postal

mail for those who do not. Contributors receive hard copies. Content of

the newsletter is determined by the contributions we receive from the

membership. We have a short business meeting once every two years at the

MENC Biennial Conference.

Thanks again to Steven Demorest, Webmaster

(http://weber.u.washington.edu

/d62/demorest/PSRIG.html) and Rebecca Brown, Bulletin Board

Maintainer (http://imr.utsa.edu/~kwalls/P-SRIG).

Please send changes to email addresses to Kim Walls. Also, please send submissions for the next

newsletter to the same address by November 15, 1997.

Singing Familiar Songs is Found to Use Spatial Abilities

Singing appears to be much more than just a fun thing to do; it

seemingly uses a person's spatial intelligence. Researchers in the United

States and New Zealand report in the current issue of the English

scientific journal The Psychology of Music that the simple act of singing

changes the way the brain "thinks" about music. These findings come on the

heals of recent reports showing that piano playing increases the spatial

ability of children. Now it seems that singing uses the same mental

skills.

Spatial intelligence is that aspect of our intelligence that allows

us to make judgments about the three dimensional world in which we live.

A football player catching a pass relies on spatial intelligence to judge

the trajectory of the ball. An architect uses it to visualize what a

building will look like when it is completed. We all use it every time we

drive a car and have to judge the distance to the car in front of us.

Advanced math courses requires good spatial intelligence.

The report tells of a fairly complex experiment that was conducted

to determine how the human brain thinks about music while singing.

The experiment counted on the brain's natural desire to group

things together. For example, if a person goes to the grocery store, but

forgets their list, they will to try to remember what was on the list. The

most common way would be to remember the items according to some logical

groups; say dairy products, meat products, and cleaning products. Another

way would be to remember by menu; if they were having hot dogs for lunch

they would remember hot dogs, buns, baked beans, mustard and ketchup and

then go on to the next meal which is planned.

If you watched this person in the grocery store you could tell how

they had things grouped in their head by the paths they took around the

store. This same logic was used with the singing experiment.

Drs. Robert Cutietta from The University of Arizona and Gregory

Booth from The University of Auckland taught college students to sing many

melodies by hearing and singing them over and over for five weeks. The

melodies were deliberately written to be very similar to each another. It

soon became obvious that the students were grouping the songs in order to

remember them. But what happened was the they grouped them according to a

very abstract aspect of music: the shape of the melody even though there

were many other more obvious ways they could have been grouped. Melodies

with similar patterns of notes going up and down were grouped together by

the students. This happened even though they had never seen the music for

the songs and did not know they were supposed to group them.

Thus, the students were converting the sounds into an image in

their heads. This image was actually a picture of what the melody would

look like if it were somehow projected on a piece of paper.

Interestingly, trained musicians and non-musicians did it exactly

the same way showing that it is probably a basic way the brain works, not

something that is learned.

These findings help answer a fundamental question about music.

Researchers have long wondered why a person can recognize a song when it is

played in different keys. For example, if "Happy Birthday" is played in

two different keys, the two versions could have no actual notes in common.

Yet almost everyone, regardless of

musical training, will recognize it as the same song. It has long been

suspected that the brain remembers music by the "shape". This research

supports that idea.

These findings also add support to music programs for children in

elementary school. Music classes, filled with singing, are often

considered fluff by many school administrators. Now it seems, this fun

activity is actually developing a child's spatial ability: an ability

important in everything from driving a car to advanced math.

Contact: Robert Cutietta,

The University of Arizona School of Music and Dance,

Tucson, AZ 85721

(520) 621-3231

Reference: Robert Cutietta & Gregory Booth. The Influence of

Metre, Mode, Interval Type, and Contour in Repeated Melodic Free-Recall.

The Psychology of Music, vol. 24, No 2. Pages: 222-236.

Announcements

Senior Researcher Award "To Recognize Significant Scholarly

Achievement Maintained over a Period of Years"

The MENC Senior Researcher Award will be made to a researcher who

has a record of scholarly publication sustained for a minimum of 15 years

beyond the date of his or her initial published research; demonstrates in

his or her publications creativity, originality, and the sustained

productivity in research that has clear implications for improved music

teaching or for greater understanding of the processes of music learning or

of the human response to music; and has a continuing influence on

contemporary research in music education. All members of the Society for

Research in Music Education (SRME) are eligible (unless they are currently

elected to or serving on the National Executive Board). ANy current member

of the SRME may nominate an individual for the award. One award will be

presented during each biennium. The recipient will be selected by the

National Executive Board based on recommendations of the executive

committee of the Music Education Research Council. Each nominee must agree,

if selected, to present a major address to the SRME at an award

presentation ceremony at the next biennial in-service conference of the

MENC.

Please provide the following: (1) Name, address, and affiliation of

the nominee; (2) Curriculum vitae for the nominee; (3) Formal letter of

nomination that specifically addresses all qualifications of the nominee

(including a list of publications that cite the nominee's work,

publications that continue research directions originated by the nominee,

or master's theses or doctoral dissertations directed by the nominee); and

(4) any additional documentation that may be of help to the selection

committee.

Send twelve copies of the nomination and accompanying materials by

no later than August 1, 1997, to: Patricia J. Flowers, Chair, Executive

Committee of the Music Education Research Council, School of Music, Ohio

State University, 110 Weigel Hall, 1866 College Road, Columbus, OH

43210-1170

Please provide the following: (1) Name, address, and affiliation of

the nominee; (2) Curriculum vitae for the nominee; (3) Formal letter of

nomination that specifically addresses all qualifications of the nominee

(including a list of publications that cite the nominee's work,

publications that continue research directions originated by the nominee,

or master's theses or doctoral dissertations directed by the nominee); and

(4) any additional documentation that may be of help to the selection

committee.

Send twelve copies of the nomination and accompanying materials by

no later than August 1, 1997, to: Patricia J. Flowers, Chair, Executive

Committee of the Music Education Research Council, School of Music, Ohio

State University,110 Weigel Hall, 1866 College Road, Columbus, OH

43210-1170

Seventeenth International Seminar on Research in Music Education

Johannesburg, South Africa

July 11-17, 1998

and

XXIII ISME International Conference

Pretoria, South Africa

July 19-24, 1998

The Research Commission of the International Society for Music

Education invites (a) reports of recent research in music education for the

Seventeenth International Seminar to be held from July 11-17, 1998 in

Johannesburg, South Africa, and (b) research posters for the XXIII

International Conference of ISME to be held from July 19-25, 1998 in

Pretoria, South Africa.

The purpose of these meetings is to provide discussion of the

results and implications of recently completed research as well as its

methodology. Papers selected will normally reflect and experimental,

observational, descriptive,ethnographic, philosophical, or historical

research design. Papers selected will focus upon a clearly articulated

research question or hypothesis.

Twenty-five (25) papers will be selected from those submitted, and

the authors will be invited to participate in the seminar as guests of the

Commission (room and board for the week will be provided). Papers will also

be selected for the poster session as part of the Research Commission's

presentation at the XXIII ISME International Conference in Pretoria.

(Participants in the poster session will be expected to pay for their own

accommodation and board.)

Procedures for submitting papers are as follows:

1. Submit three copies of a paper reporting recently completed

research which contributes to the theory or practice of music education.

The implications of the research for music education should be stated

clearly.

2. The paper must be submitted in English, sine the formal

sessions of the seminar will be in English.

3. The paper must be complete, but must not exceed 2000 words

excluding references. A word count should be included on the title pages.

No more than on table and one figure shall be included.

4. Three copies of an abstract (of no more than 200 words) music

accompany the paper.

5. If a multiple-author paper is selected, only one author will be

invited.

6. Papers and abstracts must be typed and double spaced.

7. At the top of the first page of the paper and of the abstract,

the following information should be included:

a. Name, b. Complete mailing address, with FAX number and email

address if available, c. ONE of the following statements: (i) "This paper

is submitted for consideration for the Seventeenth International Research

Seminar, Johannesburg, South Africa, July 1998. (ii) "This paper is

submitted for consideration for the poster session as part of the Research

Commission's presentation at the XXIII ISME International Conference in

Pretoria, South Africa, July 1998."(iii) "This paper is submitted for

consideration for BOTH the Seventeenth International Research Seminar,

Johannesburg, and the poster session at the XXIII ISME International

Conference, Pretoria, South Africa,July 1998".

8. Submit a one-page curriculum vitae, including the highest

academic degree held, current teaching (or other) position, a bibliography

of research articles published since January 1994 and principal area(s) of

research interest.

9. Papers submitted for the Seminar should not have been

previously published or be currently submitted for publication Papers

should contain original data not published, presented, or submitted for

presentation at major conferences or symposia. (See for example the Code of

Ethics for research publication/presentation in the Journal of Research in

Music Education.)

10. Decisions concerning the acceptance of papers rests solely

with the Research Commission as communicated by the Chair of the Research

Commission.

11. Submitted materials not meeting these criteria will not be

considered by the Research Commission. Manuscripts submitted will not be

returned. The Research Commission reserve the right to publish invited

Seminar papers, and poster titles and abstracts.

12. Three copies of the 2000 word paper, the 200-word abstract and

the one-page curriculum vitae must be postmarked AIRMAIL no later than

November 1, 1997. All materials should be sent directly to the Research

Commission member in your geographic region:

Asia: Prof. Tadahiro Murao, Dept. of Music, Aichi University of

Education, Kariya 448, JAPAN. Canada,

Australia, New Zealand: Prof. Robert Walker, Music Education, Dept.

of Curriculum Studies, University of British Columbia, 2125 Main Mall,

Vancouver B.C., CANADA V6T 1Z4.

Europe: Dr. Magda Kalmar, Institute of Psychology, Eotvos Lorand

University, Budapest Pf .4 VI. Izabella u. 46, H-1378 HUNGARY.

Portugal, Spain, Latin America: Dr. Alda De Jesus Oliveira,

Leteamento Clolina da Fonte-Itapoan, Rua Tadeu Santos, 2, 41 630-740

Salvador, Bahia, BRAZIL. UK,

Africa: Prof. Graham Welch, Faculty of Education, Roehampton

Institute London, Froebel College, Grove House Roehampton Lane, London SW

15 5PJ, UK.

United States: Prof. John Geringer, School of Music, The

University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712-1208, USA

For further information please write to the Chair of the Research

Commission, Tadahiro Murao, at the address above.