A Comparison of Average Pitch Height and Interval Size in Major- and Minor-key Themes: Evidence Consistent with Affect-related Pitch Prosody

An analysis of 9,788 instrumental themes shows that minor-key themes are, on average, slightly lower in pitch than major-key themes. The lower pitch is not merely an artifact of structural differences in the scales. In addition, instrumental themes in minor keys show a weak though significant tendency to use smaller pitch intervals. Both results are consistent with observations in speech prosody, where sad speakers exhibit a lower F0 and narrower pitch fluctuation compared with normal or happy speakers

Comparison of Word Intelligibility in Spoken and Sung Phrases

Twenty listeners were exposed to spoken and sung passages in English produced by three trained vocalists. Passages included representative words extracted from a large database of vocal lyrics, including both popular and classical repertoires. Target words were set within spoken or sung carrier phrases. Sung carrier phrases were selected from classical vocal melodies. Roughly a quarter of all words sung by an unaccompanied soloist were misheard. Sung passages showed a seven-fold decrease in intelligibility compared with their spoken counterparts. The perceptual mistakes occurring with vowels replicate previous studies showing the centralization of vowels. Significant confusions are also evident for consonants, especially voiced stops and nasals

On the Role of Embellishment Tones in the Perceptual Segregation of Concurrent Musical Parts

An analysis of 50 chorale harmonizations by J.S. Bach shows that the use of embellishment tones is consistent with several principles known to contribute to the perceptual segregation of auditory streams. The results imply that a major role of embellishment tones may be to enhance the perceptual independence of the individual parts or voices. In addition, it is shown that Bach tends to distribute embellishment tones in alternating voices. This “turn-taking” is consistent with a single-channel model of attention where asynchronous onset cues are used to refresh the presumed auditory image for each voice

Valeurs publiques et formations universitaires : le cas des masters en management public

International audienceFor the last fifteen years, programs of master degrees in public management have been developed in universities. These master degrees, constituted by different step the project emergence, the diploma creation and the validation of the Ministry, are all managed by the person in charge of the diploma. This person, intimately convinced by the importance of public affairs is the leader of the program. This conviction requires dedication to a set of values to define, that can be qualified of "public". This contribution is based on the concept of public value developed by Moore. It’s defined as the direct use of public benefits, created by the government, the impartiality and equity of the production and distribution of service, and the guarantee of citizens’ satisfaction. The purpose of this research is to determine if there is a shared vision of public value as defined by Moore, within the Director of master degrees in public Management in the French universities. To this end, a typology of mechanisms generating values will be mobilized. The empirical approach is based on a qualitative survey composed of structured interviews conducted with the person in charge of master degrees in public management.Depuis une quinzaine d’années les programmes de master en management public se sont développés dans l’offre de formations des universités. Leurs mécanismes de constitution comprenant émergence du projet, ouverture du diplôme et procédures d’habilitation du ministère, sont gérés par le responsable de la formation. Ce dernier, convaincu par la chose publique est un acteur incontournable du programme. La conviction passe par l’adhésion à un corpus de valeurs à définir que l’on pourra qualifier de « publiques ». Cette contribution s’appuie sur le concept de valeur publique développée par Moore définie comme l’utilité directe des avantages engendrés par le gouvernement, l’impartialité et de l’équité de la production et de la distribution du service ainsi que la satisfaction des exigences des citoyens. L’objet de cette recherche est de déterminer s’il existe une vision partagée de la valeur publique au sens de Moore, par les directeurs de formation de Master en Management public dans les différentes universités françaises. A cet effet, une typologie de mécanismes générateurs de valeurs sera mobilisée. La démarche empirique est fondée sur une enquête qualitative à base d’entretiens directifs effectués auprès des responsables de formations de Master 2 en management public

Le management public local au regard de la spécificité territoriale française

L'histoire et la culture sont à l'origine de la singularité de la situation locale française. Ce particularisme exige des décideurs locaux des réponses et mesures adaptées. Le recours systématique au partenariat, la réorganisation de la prise de décision, et le partage des rôles entre élus et fonctionnaires semblent consacrer l'émergence du management public local français.Management public, fonction publique territoriale, prise de décision

Interval Size and Phrase Position: A Comparison between German and Chinese Folksongs

It is well known that the pitch of the voice tends to decline over the course of a spoken utterance. Ladd (2008) showed that there is also a tendency for the pitch range of spoken utterances to shrink as the pitch of the voice declines. Motivated by this work, two studies are reported that test for the existence of “late phrase compression” in music where the interval size tends to decline toward the end of a phrase. A study of 39,863 phrases from notated Germanic folksongs shows the predicted decline in interval size. However, a second study of 10,985 phrases from Chinese folksongs shows a reverse relationship. In fact, the interval behaviors in Chinese and Germanic folksongs provide marked contrasts: Chinese phrases are dominated by relatively large intervals, but begin with small intervals and end with medium-small intervals. Germanic phrases are dominated by relatively medium intervals, but begin with large intervals and end with small intervals. In short, late phrase interval compression is not evident cross-culturally

Characterizing Idiomatic Organization in Music: A Theory and Case Study of Musical Affordances

A theory of idiomaticism is developed and illustrated using music for B- flat valve trumpet. Physical measures were collected from two trumpet performers and used to construct a computer model of the instrument/performer. Using this model, several works composed by both trumpet virtuosi and non-trumpet players were analyzed. A conceptual distinction is made between measures of performance difficulty (how hard it is to play a particular passage) and measures of performance idiomaticism (how well suited a passage is to a specific instrument). Methods for characterizing both difficulty and idiomaticism are described. In general, the results suggest that detailed modeling of the mechanics of performance can help to pinpoint aspects of musical organization that arise from performance idioms or affordances. Repercussions for ethnomusicology, historical musicology and music analysis are discussed

Dynamic Levels in Classical and Romantic Keyboard Music: Effect of Musical Mode

An analysis of dynamic markings in 140 works representing three musical periods (Classical, early Romantic, late Romantic) is reported. We tested the hypothesis that minor-mode music from the Romantic period is more likely to exhibit louder dynamic levels than minor-mode music from the Classical period. This hypothesis was motivated by the theory that in the Romantic period, in addition to conveying sadness, the minor mode was more likely to be used to convey affects that are associated with higher dynamic levels, such as seriousness, passion or aggression. Our analysis showed no absolute differences regarding the notated dynamic levels of the minor-mode pieces. However, regardless of the musical mode, pieces from the earlier period exhibited higher dynamic levels than pieces from the later periods. This effect is attributable to a decrease in dynamics for major-mode pieces in later musical periods, while minor-mode pieces do not show a change in dynamics over time. Using the mean dynamic level for each period as a reference, these observations are consistent with the theory that Romantic music is more likely than Classical music to employ the minor mode to represent or convey affects that are associated with higher dynamic levels

A Comparison of Dynamics in Major- and Minor-key Works

An analysis of dynamic markings in 24 paired preludes in major and minor keys shows that the minor mode is associated with a generally lower dynamic level than the major mode. The results are consistent with observations in speech prosody, where sad or depressed speakers show reduced acoustic energy compared with normal or happy speakers