A Parametric, Temporal Model of Musical Tension

Abstract

tension in music is a high-level concept that is difficult to formalize due to its complex, multidimensional nature. This paper proposes a quantitative model of musical tension that takes into account the dynamic, temporal aspects of listening. The model is based on data from two experiments. The first was a web-based study that was designed to examine how individual musical parameters contribute directly to a listener's overall perception of tension and how those parameters interact. The second study was an in-lab experiment in which listeners were asked to provide continuous responses to longer, more complex musical stimuli. Both studies took into account a number of musical parameters including harmony, pitch height, melodic expectation, dynamics, onset frequency, tempo, meter, rhythmic regularity, and syncopation. As an initial step, linear and nonlinear models were explored for predicting tension given analytical descriptions of various musical parameters. These models were tested on the continuous-response data from Experiment 2 and shown to be insufficient. An alternate model was proposed based on the notion of a moving perceptual window in time and the concept of trend salience. High correlation with empirical data indicates that this parametric, temporal model accurately predicts tension judgments for complex musical stimuli.

The Influence of Different Structural Features on Felt Musical Tension in Two Piano Pieces by Mozart and Mendelssohn

“…This piece-dependant influence of different features on experienced tension indicates that it is problematic to model musical tension based on the assumption that the contribution of different features on experienced tension remains constant over different pieces. Instead, to increase the accuracy of models of musical tension, features should be weighted dynamically depending on the musical context (as, for example, in the model by Farbood, 2012).…”

“…Various structural features have been identified in mediating musical tension ranging from dynamics, timbre, melodic contour, harmony, tonality, repetition (Nielsen, 1983), phrase structure, and note density (Krumhansl, 1996), to pitch height, loudness, onset frequency, and tempo (Farbood, 2012). From a theoretical perspective, the hierarchical structure of music Lerdahl & Jackendoff, 1983;Rohrmeier, 2007Rohrmeier, , 2011Schenker, 1935) can inform models of tension.…”

“…The notion of an influence of local tonal structure on musical tension has been supported by behavioral studies (Bigand & Parncutt, 1999;Bigand, Parncutt, & Lerdahl, 1996). The most elaborate model of musical tension has been devised by Farbood (2012), and takes into account dynamics, pitch height of melody, bass and inner voices, tempo, onset frequency, and harmony. Additionally, the model accounts for the dynamic nature of the music listening process by incorporating attentional and memory processes.…”

“…The aforementioned studies (Bigand & Parncutt, 1999;Bigand et al, 1996;Farbood, 2012;Krumhansl, 1996) show that different structural features are related to the subjective experience of musical tension, and that experienced tension can be modelled based on such features. However, research investigating how the experimental manipulation of specific structural features in real music pieces affects experienced tension is scarce.…”

Tapping the Plate or Hitting the Bottle: Sound and Movement in Self-accompanied and Musician-accompanied Dance

“…Krumhansl uses the concept of musical tension to link the cognition of musical structures with musical emotions, Ethnomusicology Forum 217 demonstrating that these musical structures can undergo a linear transfer to become tensional qualities articulated in dance. Tension can be defined in terms of changing expectations, realised or denied (Farbood 2006). In dance:…”