by Mel Clarke. Published April 11, 2009.
Listening to music can be a pasttime for some people, or easily just a form of entertainment. Whether it’s seeing a band live, or listening to a recording, the experience is a pleasurable one which everyone can relate to on one level or another. It seems as though the one thing people can’t agree on, is the best way to listen to music – which medium? The classic vinyl album which we’ve been producing for an incredibly long time, the formation of the compact tape that made music small and portable to the cd, whose function was exactly just then but the quality was exceedingly better. The mp3 came along and seemed to be the homewrecker of the music medium format family, far surpassing any qualities that these other formats owned to themselves that were unique. So here is the breeding ground for the debate; why do we listen to these formats? Which is better? Can there be a better format, or is it like choosing which one of your children you like most? And most of all, is this experience entirely personal taste?
So we’ve got the vinyl records. Originally known as gramophone records after they took over the medium of music used shortly before the turn of the 20th century. These records were pressed from liquid vinyl, with a groove carved in, to which the music was recorded. Records were the main medium for music which carried on for quite some time, there were so many different varieties of records available measured in inches, which dictated the quality and the length of the recording.
The vinyl record has been around for so long, but since the invention of the tape and its thorough use throughout the 80s, the record business seemed to diminish greatly and slowed down production until after ’91, when it they halted production commercially.
Now, records are used by music fanatics that demand quality (also known as audiophiles) and Dj’s who remix samples.
So what’s so great about the record? The record is essentially the reason why music has become so prevalent as it has today. With the ease of access that records were produced, and due to their high demand they were mass produced which made them cheaper and therefore easier to gain. From this, more records were recorded, radio stations were started, and the rock ‘n’ roll revolution took over the world. Records can be of incredibly high quality, and also give a certain air of authenticity to the experience of listening to music – after all, it was this that helped give the world a music industry. Record covers too were somewhat of a high-end art production. Each cover would be designed carefully and intricately, often with the lyrics of the songs on the back or the inside cover. Famous record covers, such as Led Zeppelin’s IV and Pink Floyd’s Darkside of the Moon, which have gained internationally recognised success.
For these reasons, vinyl records give music lovers and collectors a reminiscent approach to their music listening, which also creates a hobby and a passtime for those who like to remember one of the most traditional ways to listen to their music.
By the time 1982 had rolled around, the world’s music genres had changed so diversely from when audio tape was invented as a way of creating smaller, compact and essentially portable music. This revolutionised the way people thought about music with tape players and small tape ‘walkmans’ popping up all over the shops which essentially rendered the use of a vinyl recording obsolete. This medium was based on video recording software which had recently made its way into the market, with information being recorded on magnetic strips of film which would playback once the cogs were encouraged into movement through the tape player.
This form of music has since been rendered obsolete also, with very little defining its existance other than a stigma which it held onto so dearly. After the CD had made its way into the market, the cassette tape has become a signifier for the 80s. The tape image now represents a time of change within the world and genre; the idea of a mix tape still holds strong throughout pop culture, as well as tape recordings and home-made mix tapes being traded amongst friends.
There is little quality to the tape which has not been surpassed by the CD, as well as the album art leaving little to be desired due to the fact that tape containers were so small they were easily lost, and were too minute to be able to include a detailed cover which could be admired as art.
The CD came along towards the end of the 80s, but never really initialised within the industry until the 90s. The CD gave the people the two bonuses of a record and a tape into one: The small compact and transportable ability, combined with a decent size container allowing for album art. The CD is still holding strong as a main source of music buying, but since the invention of the MP3, CD sales have been severely struggling which also deters the social act of music buying and listening. CDs gave the world a higher quality sound than the tape, which audiophiles appreciated, as well as its close similarities to the record. The difference between the CD and the record, is that the CD worked as a digital entity, with the tracks being read through a laser within a cd player – much different to that of the needle in the vinyl groove aspect from the vinyl record.
When fully digitalised music came around, the world had changed itself all over again. Everyone had a computer and the use of the internet had permeated our culture so thoroughly that it became logical that music would take the next step and no longer exist to be a permanent and physical feature within our lives. MP3 has evolved so thoroughly that we no longer require a solid internet connection in order to obtain it – files can be downloaded from a wireless source, as well as transmitted through a bluetooth connection from one digital item of technology to another.
MP3 offers a higher quality of music again, with many different options as to how fast you wish to obtain it and the level of quality you desire. MP3 however; eliminates the need for cover art completely. There is no longer a physical item which people so often long for when it comes to buying something.
So how do they each compare? Vinyl is the traditional style that many hold as a token of their musical past, it has decent quality as well as album art that can be appreciated. The CD also has these aspects but without the authenticity of traditional music listening; due to the rate in which CDs are becoming obsolete, they too may soon be lumped into the category of ‘traditional.’ The tape is a downfall when it comes to listening to music. The quality is poor and the item is small disqualifying the need for album art. The MP3 also has no need for album art, but its winning point is within the quality of the music.
In this case, it’s to each their own. Everyone has their own way of listening to music, whether it be a social aspect, an entertainment aspect or even simply for a job! The quality of the music may change, but the content is always going to be the same. So whether you like convenience or authentic quality, is how you’re going to decide your ultimate music medium.
Clinical studies and anecdotal evidence from music therapists suggest that the sound of music…
manages pain
improves mood and mobility of people with Parkinson’s disease
reduces the need for sedatives and pain relievers during and after surgery
decreases nausea during chemotherapy
helps patients participate in medical treatment that shortens hospital stays
relieves anxiety
lowers blood pressure
eases depression
enhances concentration and creativity
Music is food for the soul they say, it heals everything and most people would agree, and also acknowledge that they in fact have an obsession of a few songs, albums, artists, lyrics etc to the extent that other than probably a pair of keys, and a cell phone, an music player is something that they never forget to carry wherever they go. And of course once you have the option of carrying your music with you, its all about how much you can carry in terms of number of songs and how less you can carry in terms of weight. Well, i guess that is where this music Pill mp3 player comes into play, which is about 2.7 inches long and is definite music medicine to music lovers. The Pill mp3 player will be launched soon, and other than the size and the fact that it resembles a pill, there is no other information about this player. But a good question to ask would be that, is a player the size of our index finger actually small? and does the shape of a pill make it any more convenient to use or carry around? With no specifics to vouch for it, this player would only be fancied by those who like geeky stuff. Still, it does seem similar to the Alarm Clock pill
Er zijn aanwijzingen dat muziek helpt om te genezen. Het zou pijn en angst verlichten en zelfs hersenschade kunnen keren, zo blijkt uit recent onderzoek. De meesten van ons luisteren naar muziek om te ontspannen. Of misschien juist om zich te motiveren of inspiratie op te doen. Toch realiseren maar weinigen zich de kracht van de stimulans die muziek kan zijn. Van oudsher al heeft muziek een helende functie voor lichaam en geest. Inmiddels blijkt uit onderzoek dat muziek ook een effectief geneesmiddel kan zijn bij onder meer depressies, beroerten en hartaandoeningen.
In een recente overzichtsstudie van 23 klinische onderzoeken met in totaal ongeveer 1500 proefpersonen is de functie van muziek bij hartaandoeningen onderzocht. De hartpatiënten kregen willekeurig een behandeling toegewezen met standaardtherapie plus muziek of zonder muziek. Uit de resultaten bleek een heilzaam effect van muziek op bloeddruk, hart- en ademhalingsfrequentie, angst en pijn. De toevoeging van muziek hield in dat patiënten naar muziekopnamen luisterden. Wie weet had de inzet van een speciaal daarvoor opgeleide muziektherapeut nog meer positieve effecten opgeleverd1.
Deze studie vormt een van de vele bewijzen dat muziek bij een groot aantal medische behandelingen kan worden ingezet. De eigenschap van muziek dat hij angst en pijn verlicht, werkt bij zowel volwassenen als kinderen met kanker of vlak voor een operatie2. Een opmerkelijke uitkomst van een ander onderzoek onder 207 patiënten is dat luisteren naar muziek even goed bleek te helpen als kalmerende middelen om de angst voor een operatie te onderdrukken. Er werden geen verschillen gevonden in hartritme en bloeddruk tussen muziekluisteraars en gebruikers van bijvoorbeeld valium in de aanloop naar de operatie3.
Uit een ander overzicht van verschillende klinische onderzoeken door wetenschappers van de Stanford Universiteit bleek dat muziektherapie effectief was bij chronische, soms ernstig invaliderende pijn bij kankerpatiënten. Doordat de angst afnam verminderde automatisch de pijn, waardoor de kwaliteit van leven verbeterde.
Reclamefilmpje voor smartphone
De rode draad van deze campagne is het vernufte van de smartphone koppelen aan het authentieke, namelijk de houten case rondom. De heren Morihiro Harano & Kenjiro Matsuo zijn het brein achter dit indrukwekkend instrument, meer bepaald inlandse marimba. Je kan het vergelijken met een gigantische xylofoon, die bespeeld wordt door een houten balletje dat van de balkjes afrolt.
Het Japans creatief team heeft aan de New York Times bevestigd dat er geen bewerking aan te pas kwam. Zelf al ben je niet gek van klassieke muziek, dit stukje Bach geeft je ongetwijfeld kippenvel.
Basically, there have been experiments trying to convert brain waves (from EEGs) into sound since about 1934. Electroencephalograms, or EEGs are still the only way we really have to see the brain in real time, as fMRI and PET still work on too slow of a scale to allow for good resolution.
But the question is: why convert brain waves into sound? Well…because it’s cool. No really, there’s another reason. Humans actually hear pretty well in a pretty wide range. More importantly, we can hear very small changes in pitch and rhythm. And sound patterns (because of our extensive use of language) may be easier for us to distinguish compared to really complicated visual patterns. So the idea is to turn brain activity into sound, and see if you can come up with anything. Perhaps, for example, people could compare a normal brain with an epileptic one, and hear differences. Of course, differences during a seizure would be pretty obvious, but it’s possible, if the technique got refined enough, that people could be trained to “hear” differences resulting from things like schizophrenia or Alzheimer’s, which could aid in diagnosis, and thus in treatment.
Suffice it to say that the methods contain a lot of equations. I could go into what each of them means, but Sci is tired and in the lab late. Rather, she will show you what it ended up looking like: (see figure 1)
Pretty cool, huh? You can see they took the amplitude from each wave (top panel) and translated it to a pitch (middle panel) which they then corresponded to a note. They even took the duration of the waves and translated it to rhythm. And they got something rather…abstract. One might wonder why they put it only in bass clef, but I’m not going to be picky (c’mon, be scientists! Use tenor clef!).
And how did it end up sounding? Well, go here and check out the supporting information. And it turns out that your brain sounds, not like a Mozart symphony, but rather like a cat on a keyboard.
Now, this doesn’t really give you a picture of the thousands of neuron firings that are taking place per second, rather, it shows you the overall activity of the brain over time.
Of course, the scientists performed several experiments with this, including whether or not eyes were closed, eyes were open, or the person was in REM or slow wave sleep. They found that REM, or rapid eye movement sleep, looked very active (described as “a lively melody”), almost like an awake brain: (see figure 2)
While slow wave sleep was not only slower, it was also at lower amplitude, resulting in a lower pitched tune. (see figure 3)
But the real test is this: can ordinary people distinguish, when hearing brain waves made into music, between different states? It turns out that they can, and very reliably. Now granted, they only used a few sets of clips, but it’s conceivable that people could be trained to distinguish particular brain activity types based on the music, regardless of whether they had heard or identified the clip before. There is one thing, though, that I wish they had done with this paper. Basically, they matched amplitude with tone, put the whole thing on a scale, and made it play on a piano. That’s all well and good, but I don’t know that they got the exact pitch to come across realistically. I think, instead of a piano, they should have used an instrument that can distinguish more than just half and whole tones. For example, a great deal of middle eastern music uses quarter tones as well as half and whole tones, which humans are still perfectly capable of distinguishing (though it’s REALLY hard to sing if you’re not used to it), and which might give more options for how the “music of the brain” might really sound. This paper, if the technique is refined more and studied more, could provide a new way for people to “look” at brain activity patterns by “listening” for them. It would be pretty easy to train humans to professionally distinguish between different types of brain activity patterns to help diagnose disease. And it’d be something that some trained in music might be able to do really well. For example, I am classically trained in music, and I ALWAYS know Bach when I hear it. It would be a good job for an out of work classical musician. At least one who studied a lot of Schoenberg.
With this sculpture belongs a piece of music, composed by Steven Ricks, and is called ‘Force of the mind’. It’s written for 2 trombones and electronics.
The sculpture is made by Brian Christensen. It contains speakers projecting the electronic sounds, as well as a seperate click-track generator that will be plugged headphones into, giving the appearance of our being plugged into a big, brass brain.
