Music & Science provides an open-access platform for engaged debate and insight into music research that embraces a wide range of scientific perspectives. A selection of six articles illustrates the highly interdisciplinary scope and focus of the journal. The articles explore topics ranging from the central role of music in mother-infant interaction, to reassessment of the mechanisms underlying music's efficacy in therapy for Autistic Spectrum Disorder, to the responses of plants to vibrations in the form of audible stimuli, to a model of the factors underpinning changes in the structure of the songs of humpback whales, to a re-evaluation and updating of the results of Alan Lomax's monumental Cantometrics project, to a computational study of styles in Swiss yodelling. The papers illustrate clearly the broad and interdisciplinary reach of the general field of music and science, despite the diversity of their topics and the fields in which their results might be expected to have significant implications. Together, these six articles provide a snapshot of the diverse and original research presented in the journal, whilst also demonstrating the value of creating a forum for dialogue between music and the sciences.
Fancourt, D., & Perkins, R. (2018). The effects of mother–infant singing on emotional closeness, affect, anxiety, and stress hormones. Music & Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/2059204317745746
Mother–infant closeness is vital to a human infant's survival and to the wellbeing of both mothers and infants across the life span. However, despite mother–infant singing being practiced across cultures, there remains little quantitative demonstration of any effects of it on mothers or their perceived closeness to their infants. In this study Daisy Fancourt and Rosie Perkins investigated mother-infant interactions among 43 mother-infant pairs, finding that mother–infant singing was associated with greater increases in maternal perceptions of emotional closeness than was the case for other interactions. Singing is also associated with greater increases in positive affect and greater decreases in negative affect, and greater decreases in both psychological and biological markers of anxiety, supporting previous findings concerning effects of singing on closeness and social bonding in other populations as well as suggesting associations between closeness, bonding, and wider mental health.
Janzen, T. B., & Thaut, M. H. (2018). Rethinking the role of music in the neurodevelopment of autism spectrum disorder. Music & Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/2059204318769639
While music as therapy for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has focused on social interaction, communication skills, and social-emotional behaviours, recently there has been an increased research focus on the role of motor and attention functions as part of the hallmark features of ASD. This article by Thenille Braun Janzen and Michael Thaut provides a critical appraisal of these developments, reassessing the role of music as intervention to support healthy neurodevelopment in individuals with ASD. Compelling research evidence indicates that motor and attention deficits are deeply implicated in the healthy neurodevelopment of socio-communication skills and may be key indicators of structural and functional brain dysfunction in ASD. Janzen & Thaut suggest that the significant effect of auditory-motor entrainment on motor and attention functions and brain connectivity may lead to a critical new functional role for music in the treatment of autism.
Kwak, D., Combriat, T., Wang, C., Scholz, H., Danielsen, A., & Jensenius, A. R. (2022). Music for Cells? A Systematic Review of Studies Investigating the Effects of Audible Sound Played Through Speaker-Based Systems on Cell Cultures. Music & Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/20592043221080965
In a large-scale review led by Dongho Kwak, a team at RITMO in Oslo extended our knowledge of the potential effects of music in the non-human world by analysing studies of whether musical sound can be used as cell stimuli. An overview of studies that have used audible sound played through speaker-based systems to induce mechanical perturbation in cell cultures found effects such as enhanced cell migration, proliferation, colony formation, and differentiation ability. However, they also found significant differences in methodologies and cell type-specific outcomes which limited the generalisability of the inferences that could be drawn from the review. They suggested that future experiments must better control their acoustic environments, use standardized sound and noise measurement methods, and explore a more comprehensive range of controlled sound parameters as cellular stimuli.
Mcloughlin, Michael, Lamoni, L., Garland, E. C., Ingram, S., Kirke, A., Noad, M. J., Rendell, L., & Miranda, E. (2018). Using agent-based models to understand the role of individuals in the song evolution of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae). Music & Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/2059204318757021
An interdisciplinary team from the fields of cetacean biology and computer music, led by Michael McLoughlin, explored the ways in which the complex hierarchical structure of male humpback whales may develop in the course of their annual migratory cycles. While these songs appear gradually to change over the course of the breeding season, instances have been recorded of more rapid song changes associated with patterns of migration. In order to understand the mechanisms that drive these song changes, as individual whales cannot be tracked over long migratory routes, we apply methods used in computer music research. We model the migratory patterns of humpback whales, a simple song learning and production method coupled with sound transmission loss, and how often singing occurs during these migratory cycles. Our model shows that shared feeding grounds where conspecifics are able to mix provide key opportunities for cultural transmission, and that production errors facilitated gradually changing songs.
Savage, P. E. (2018). Alan Lomax's Cantometrics Project: A comprehensive review. Music & Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/2059204318786084
Alan Lomax's ambitious and the controversial Cantometrics Project, based on analysis of approximately 1,800 songs from 148 worldwide populations using 36 classificatory features, sparked extensive and fierce debate, and the project never gained mainstream acceptance. In a comprehensive critical review of the Cantometrics Project, focusing on issues regarding the song sample, classification scheme, statistical analyses, interpretation, and ethnocentrism/reductionism, Pat Savage distils Lomax's sometimes-conflicting claims into diagrams summarizing his three primary results: (1) ten regional song-style types, (2) nine musical factors representing intra-musical correlations, and (3) correlations between these musical factors and five factors of social structure. While the links Lomax claimed to have uncovered between song style and social structure are weakly supported, Savage shows that Lomax's historical interpretations regarding connections ranging from colonial diaspora to ancient migrations provide a more promising starting point for both research and teaching about the global arts.
Wey, Y., & Metzig, C. (2021). Machine Learning Classification of Regional Swiss Yodel Styles Based on Their Melodic Attributes. Music & Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/20592043211004497
Yannick Wey and Cornelia Metzig provide a first computational analysis of alpine yodelling, a style of singing that is both idiosyncratic and that has national significance. Through a classification of yodel styles based on their melodic features, the authors demonstrate significant regional differences between yodel tunes in Switzerland, and reveal the most salient musical features that contribute to different yodel styles. The study provides empirical evidence to support anecdotal claims from folklore studies that yodelling, often assumed to have a 'national' style, is in fact rooted in distinct geographic regions. Moreover, the work offers an innovative methodology with potential applications for analysis of other developing or ambiguous genres of music.
Find out more about the journal here: https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/music-science/journal202491.
Ian Cross (Editor-in-Chief), Adam Okeford, Graham Welch, Emily Payne (Assistant Editor)
Dr Emily Payne (she/her)
Lecturer in Music
Assistant Editor, Music & Science
