What sounds more entertaining to you, a 7 year old stumbling through Mary Had a Little Lamb at her recital, or Beethoven conducting his Moonlight Sonata in an opera house filled with men in wigs and musical enthusiasts? Hopefully you chose the latter. Over the past week, I had the pleasure of researching the correlation between music and our emotions, and what factors play a role in how we are affected. While the skill difference between the child and the genius is obviously drastic, many other factors will play a role in how we would feel while listening to the performance. For example, the emotional investment of the audience makes a huge difference in how they experience it. The parents of the 7 year old might weep with joy at their child performing on stage, while the rest of the audience hold back their groans and sneakily cover their ears.
A listener's cultural background also has a bearing on their emotions. If you planted a tribe of Igbo in the middle of Beethoven's performance, they would not appreciate the music like the rest of the audience purely due to their cultural upbringing. If you planted the rich white German audience at an Igbo drum show, you would probably experience something similar. However, the drums would sound much better in the Opera House; a listener's setting is also extremely influential upon their experience.
Some music, however, is naturally appealing to all. Toddlers exposed to consonant and dissonant sounds were able to focus on the consonant for much longer, displaying their interest. The same idea is expressed when a song is on or off-beat: if one performer's playing is off-tempo, our brains immediately notice and take a disliking to it. If a band plays together and is on time, however, the listener has a much better time.
Researching this was extremely interesting, but I was also left with a question: how can modern day artists differentiate themselves from the millions of other artists if the primary platform is the internet, where we have no control over listening environment or cultural background? As I thought about it, one answer that occurred to me is using social media platforms to find people that are interested in your genre, or at least something similar. Also, not all music appeals to all people, and some appeals to very few. Certain genres just aren't as accepted in the mainstream or are only enjoyed by a select few. If somebody tried to release a blues record today, it probably wouldn't get much traction. There is a conscience decision that every musician must make: do I market to the masses, or remain true to myself?
As I reflect on this week's ISM work, I believe I was quite productive and also found some fulfillment in writing about something that I love. I am very excited to continue to learn about all aspects of music, such as it's history, it's place in the future and what it will become. However, I must make an effort to maintain a high quality of work in my research assessments and other assignments, which will require better time management on my part as school picks up.