Product Description

A theory of expectations is used to explain how music evokes various emotions; for readers interested in cognitive science and evolutionary psychology as well as music.The psychological theory of expectation that David Huron proposes in "Sweet Anticipation" grew out of the author's experimental efforts to understand how music evokes emotions. These efforts evolved into a general theory of expectation that will prove informative to readers interested in cognitive science and evolutionary psychology as well as those interested in music. The book describes a set of psychological mechanisms and illustrates how these mechanisms work in the case of music. All examples of notated music can be heard on the Web.Huron proposes that emotions evoked by expectation involve five functionally distinct response systems. For real-world events, these five response systems typically produce a complex mixture of feelings. The book identifies some of the aesthetic possibilities afforded by expectation, and shows how common musical devices (such as syncopation, cadence, meter, tonality, and climax) exploit the psychological opportunities. The theory also provides new insights into the physiological psychology of awe, laughter, and spine-tingling chills. Huron traces the psychology of expectations from patterns of the physical and cultural world through our imperfectly learned heuristics used to predict that world to the phenomenal qualia we experience as we apprehend the world.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #123079 in Books
• Published on: 2008-02-22
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 480 pages

Review
"A richly detailed theory of how and why the audience has particular expectations and emotions....A fascinating journey into the inner workings of music and how it tickles the human mind." - Petr Janata, Nature "A widely knowledgeable and engagingly written book that will serve as a landmark in the cognitive science of music." - Fred Lerdahl, Fritz Reiner Professor of Music, Columbia University"

About the Author
David Huron is Professor of Music and Head of the Cognitive and Systematic Musicology Laboratory in the School of Music at Ohio State University and is affiliated with OSU's Center for Cognitive Science.

Customer Reviews

The Future of Music
We all know about using tarot cards and astrology to predict events. But music? The combination of rigorous experiment, social science and imagination presented in this book suggests purpose in the arts. It's not just the preserve of the opinionated. Music is about what's going to happen next, and that's exciting! I read it because I don't believe in memes (the idea that culture is there because it's there). Huron's book lays the foundations for new ideas of cultural values and the reasons why we 'do' art. Really unmissable!