Continuous and Summative Assessments of Musical Complexity and Intensity

• In Event: HIGH-DENSITY: At the Intersection of Cognition, Emotion, and Message

Abstract

The present research addresses music listening from the perspective of dynamic human-centric communication systems theory (DHCCST; Lang, 2014), which makes a number of distinct assumptions about humans and communication. Drawing from previous work on the distinct concepts of musical complexity and intensity, this experiment will collect data both in real time and after each song is heard in order to compare dynamic, continuous responses to summative, retrospective assessments of the music listening experience. It is hypothesized that listeners will be able to dynamically track fluctuations in music complexity and intensity over time. It is also predicted that summative assessments of musical complexity and intensity will be most influenced by the peak and end levels of these qualities in each song.

Authors

• Edgar Jamison-Koenig

• Robert F. Potter, Indiana U