Science

Published: April 18, 2011

What Makes Music Expressive?

Scientists have been trying to unravel what specific components of music make it emotionally expressive. The following quiz is based on research by Daniel Levitin, director of the laboratory for music perception, cognition and expertise at McGill University. Related Article »

Experiment 1

What Moves You More?

Chopin Nocturne Opus 15, No. 1 (F Major)View the musician's notated sheet music. (PDF) »

In this set, one track is played by a pianist. Another track is that same performance run through a computer, which stripped it of changes in how long notes are held and how loud they are so that it matches what the composer wrote on paper. Another track was created by extrapolating the differences between the mechanical and human versions to create one halfway in between. Try to determine which is which before clicking the "Reveal Answers" button.

Dr. Levitin's research found that listeners, both musicians and non-musicians, rated the original version most expressive and the mechanical version least expressive.

Which Track Is the
Most Expressive?

REVEAL ANSWERS
Track A 
Op15-Exp.mp3
Track B 
Op15-50E.mp3
Track C 
Op15-Mech.mp3

Experiment 2

More Than Human

Chopin Nocturne Opus 32, No. 1 (B Major)View the musician's notated sheet music. (PDF) »

In this set, there is a "50% track" (halfway between human and mechanical), a human track, and a new "150% track" where the human performer's differences have been magnified. Which one do you find the most expressive?

Listeners in the study responded to versions with increasing variation in the timing and loudness of notes—up to a point. When they listened to 125% and 150% versions, they found them no more expressive than the original.

Which Track Is the
Most Expressive?

REVEAL ANSWERS
Track A 
Op32-Exp.mp3
Track B 
Op32-50E.mp3
Track C 
Op32-150E.mp3

Experiment 3

Randomness

Chopin Nocturne Opus 55, No. 1 (F Minor)View the musician's notated sheet music. (PDF) »

Is the expressivness just variation? In this set, mechanical and human renditions are joined by a track with randomized timing and loudness.

When listeners in the study heard a version with changes in timing and volume tossed in at random, they found it decidedly inexpressive.

Which Track Is the
Most Expressive?

REVEAL ANSWERS
Track A 
Op55-Mech_short.mp3
Track B 
Op55-Random_short.mp3
Track C 
Op55-Exp_short.mp3

Experiment 4

Teasing It Apart

Chopin Nocturne KK IVa (C# Minor)View the musician's notated sheet music. (PDF) »

In this final experiment, scientists wanted to see which was more important in making music expressive: changes in the timing or changes in how loud or soft notes are. In one version here, the volume changes but the timing of the notes is mechanical. In another version, the volume is fixed but the timing of how long notes are held changes. Compare those with the original pianist's version.

The research showed that changes in timing were more important than changes in volume in making music sound emotionally expressive to listeners.

Which Track Is the
Most Expressive?

REVEAL ANSWERS
Track A 
KKIVa-FT-Mech.mp3
Track B 
KKIVa-FA-Exp.mp3
Track C 
KKIVa-FA-Exp.mp3


Jon Huang, Pam Belluck, John Niedermeyer/The New York Times