David Huron, Ohio State University, USA: "Describing music, interpreting music, explaining music"

This Distinguished Lecture is co-sponsored by BRAMS.

ABSTRACT:
Music exhibitis a multitude of different kinds of structures. Some of these structures reflect acoustical, biological, cognitive, perceptual, historical, idiomatic, economic, formal, religious, social, cultural, and other factors. Much music scholarship involves describing and interpreting music. However, this presentation offers a defense of the view that the principal goal of music scholarship is to *explain* music -- in the sense of identifying plausible causes, motivations, or influences. Several illustrative examples are provided.

 

ABOUT DAVID HURON:

Huron David Huron is Professor in the School of Music and the Center for Cognitive Science at the Ohio State University.  Originally from Canada, Huron completed doctoral studies in musicology at the University of Nottingham in 1989.  In addition to laboratory-based research, his activities have also involved field studies among various cultures around the world.  His most recent book is"Sweet Anticipation: Music and the Psychology of Expectation" published in 2006 by MIT Press.

http://musiccog.ohio-state.edu/Huron/