Abstract
This study examines the idea that cognitive factors may be significant in determining the nature of musical response, arguing against the long-held notion that the meaning of music is denotative in character, that is, embodied in its own internal arrangements of sound. The effects of context on the perception of a Berg “March” was examined by having three groups of subjects rate the piece on a semantic-differential rating scale. Group 1 read a lighthearted passage of prose, while Group 2 read prose chosen to evoke a grim and foreboding mood before listening to the music. Group 3 was the control and read nothing. This manipulation of context resulted in no significant differences between group reactions to the piece, as indexed by the semantic differential.
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This study was part of a master’s thesis by Mary P. O’Briant.
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O’briant, M.P., Wilbanks, W.A. The effect of context on the perception of music. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 12, 441–443 (1978). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03329731
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03329731