Music as Biology: What We Like to Hear and Why
- 4.3
-
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
Description
The course will explore the tone combinations that humans consider consonant or dissonant, the scales we use, and the emotions music elicits, all of which provide a rich set of data for exploring music and auditory aesthetics in a biological framework. Analyses of speech and musical databases are consistent with the idea that the chromatic scale (the set of tones used by humans to create music), consonance and dissonance, worldwide preferences for a few dozen scales from the billions that are possible, and the emotions elicited by music in different cultures all stem from the relative similarity of musical tonalities and the characteristics of voiced (tonal) speech. Like the phenomenology of visual perception, these aspects of auditory perception appear to have arisen from the need to contend with sensory stimuli that are inherently unable to specify their physical sources, leading to the evolution of a common strategy to deal with this fundamental challenge.
Outline
- Course Introduction
- Welcome to Music as Biology
- A Word About the Course
- Sound Signals, Sound Stimuli, and the Human Auditory System
- Organization of the Auditory System
- Sound Signals and Sound Stimuli
- Tones versus Noise
- Determining the Sources of Sound Stimuli
- Module Resources
- An Overview of the Human Auditory System
- Sound Signals, Sound Stimuli, and the Human Auditory System
- The Perception of Sound Stimuli
- Loudness and Intensity
- Pitch and Frequency
- Timbre and its Causes
- Observation and Linguistics
- Auditory Objects and Scenes
- Module Resources
- The Perception of Sound Stimuli
- Vocalization and Vocal Tones
- The Production of Vocal Sound Signals
- The Perception of Vocal Sound Signals
- The Perception of Intensity (Loudness) in Empirical Terms
- The Perception of Frequency (Pitch) in Empirical Terms
- Relationship of Vocalization to Music
- Module Resources
- Vocalization and Vocal Tones
- Defining Music and Exploring Why We Like It
- Defining Music
- The Chromatic Scale and Some More Musical Terminology
- Consonance and Dissonance
- Tonality vs. Atonality: Frequency of Consonant vs. Dissonant Intervals
- Tension and Resolution
- Cadences
- Mathematical Explanations of Consonance
- A Physical Explanation of Consonance
- A Biological Explanation of Consonance
- Module Resources
- Defining Music and Exploring Why We Like It
- Musical Scales
- Defining Scales and Modes
- The Small Number of Scales Used
- Testing a Biological Explanation of Scale Preference
- Why Is the Number of Intervals in Scales So Limited?
- The Status of the Chromatic Scale and the Semitone in Biological Terms
- Is Music Uniquely Human?
- Module Resources
- Musical Scales
- Music, Emotion, and Cultural Differences
- Introduction to Emotion
- Emotions Elicited by Major versus Minor Scales
- Comparision of Major and Minor Music with Vocalization in Different Emotional States
- Expression of Emotion in Eastern and Western Music
- Language, Speech, and Cultural Differences in Music
- Mbira Music: Background and Cyclical Structures
- Mbria Music: Nonhamronic Frequencies
- Module Resources
- Mozart Variation 8, "Minor"
- Mozart Variation 9, "Major"
- Music, Emotion, and Cultural Differences
- Summing Up
- Additional Resources
- Mozart: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
- Derivations of the Harmonic and Melodic Minor Scales
- Cadences
- Berg Lieder
- Background and Cyclical Structure
- Nonharmonic Frequencies
- Mozart Theme
- Mozart Variation 2, ornamentation
- Mozart Variation 5, rhythmic sync
- Mozart Variation 8, "Minor"
- Mozart Variation 9, "Major"
- Minor Scale Analysis in BWV 002
- Music Theory Rules
- BWV 002 Harmonic Analysis
- BWV 65.2 Harmonic Analysis
- BWV 133.6 Harmonic Analysis
- Schliesse Mir Die Augen Beide
- Tonal Version Sheet Music
- Atonal Version Sheet Music
- Glossary A-O
- Glossary P-W
- Bibliography
Summary of User Reviews
Discover the fascinating connection between music and biology with the Music as Biology course on Coursera. Users have praised the course for its engaging content and knowledgeable instructors.Key Aspect Users Liked About This Course
Engaging contentPros from User Reviews
- Instructors are knowledgeable and passionate about the subject matter
- Course provides a unique and interesting perspective on music
- Assignments are challenging but rewarding
- Course is well-structured and easy to follow
Cons from User Reviews
- Some users found the course to be too technical
- Lack of interaction with other students
- Course may not be suitable for beginners
Dale Purves
4.3 Raiting
Make a Spotify Clone from Scratch: JavaScript PHP and MySQL
- 4.7
-
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
Learn JavaScript, PHP and MySQL by building the ultimate music streaming website from scratch! The complete guide! Do you want to become an expert in JavaScript, PHP and MySQL?...
Acoustic Guitar System | Melodic Guitar Lessons for Beginner
- 4.7
-
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
Guitar Course Packed with Practical Guitar Lessons from Simple Fingerstyle Melodies to Beautiful Extended Chords ACOUSTIC GUITAR SYSTEM is a guitar course for beginners who keep asking the same questions:...
Make Beats Like Kendrick Lamar - Make Jazzy Hip-Hop Beats
- 3.5
-
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
Learn the fundamentals of music production to make Jazzy Hip Hop beats Do you listen to soulful hip hop songs by artists like J....
Bugs 101: Insect-Human Interactions
- 4.9
-
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
Of all the animals on earth, which are the strongest for their size? What about the fastest? Who were the first animals to evolve flight?...
