A sound idea: can ambient noise make us work harder?
Super interesting idea that the Times would add the anachronistic sound of typewriters in the news room - and that as they reach press deadline the volume increases. I'm not sure this is the way to go but it will be interesting to see the results. The rest of the article looks at how music has struggled to be utilized as a mass productivity tool, we know from our own studies and research that music is such a personal thing that going for economies of scale isn't going to work. Still, there's no doubt that sound and the auditory system has a huge impact on us humans.
The Psychology of Music | Visual.ly
The University of Florida make their case for the Music program by creating a pretty solid infographic on the psychology of music - a good overview and well worth the time to check it out
Interactive lab explores music’s scientific potential
This is super cool - reminds me of the sound room back in my undergraduate days at Westminster University - there was a soundproofed room in the basement of one of the faculty buildings - it was pretty small but you couldn't spend too much time in there 'cos the sound of your own body started to freak you out. this is that room on a much much bigger scale and by the 'sounds" of it - is going open many doors into how sound and music and auditory experience affects us human beings. I want to go!!!
Science Shows Your Taste in Music Says More About You Than You Think
Yeah - it reads well - but I'm just not sure about this. To me it's still putting people in boxes and just by allocating all the different musical genres into 4 categories defined by salient sonic and emotional characteristics - you're still not going to avoid all the things about genre that researchers are trying to ignore. Studies like this end up delivering big sweeping types of information that people inevitably end up trying to use and then getting it wrong and having arguments blah blah blah....
Scientists Capture The Sound Of A Single Atom
This is frickin' awesome - not so much for the physics - which are pretty amazing - but for the fact that it's a D! I think I read somewhere about Billy Joel and Elton John talking about what their favorite key to compose in was and both of them agreeing that there's just something about the key of D and D minor in particular that just feels good. Now whether this has anything to do with some deep subliminal resonance - who knows - but I like playing in D too!
The Music That Has Helped Me Battle Depression
Deeply personal reflection from an author who deals with depression and who uses music to mitigate its effects as best he can. It's the "No side effects" that seems to resonate throughout the use of music in health related fields - whether its managing mood or impairing energy and memory - music seems to be the one drug you can't overdose on.
Pop music too loud and all sounds the same: official
Yes - this headline will appeal to people over 35 - but I don't think the kids need to get too worried. We're seeing the expression of technology and economy and while Dr. Luke and Max martin might be behind most of the pop out there - it won't stay that way for long. Every generation decried the music of the one that comes after it and while data is interesting - has music ever, really, been about datasets and statistics?!?!?
#musictoworkto #musicresearch #depression #productivity #personality #musicpsychology
Written while listening to: Stampylongnose Second Edit
Image Credit: Philip Krantz, Huffington Post