How Music Hijacks Our Perception of Time

[Acoustic Interloper]

I am not sure whether How Music Hijacks Our Perception of Time belongs in the Composition forum, but it certainly has implications for composition.

[Acoustic Interloper]

Opening line is, "A composer details how music works its magic on our brains." Yeah, Composition.

[Antimon]

Interesting, thanks for sharing. Are there any other pieces of music that you yourself feel distort time like this?

[Acoustic Interloper]

[ChamomileShark]

interesting - I think this was also the subject of Richard Pinhas's (Heldon) Ph D thesis - it sounds as if he then applied some of those ideas in the 70s/80s.

[mosc]

Thanks for posting this, Dale. I didn't know about this journal. It has some interesting articles.

Most articles have an academic tone (too many words) which has the affect on me of making time go slow, inducing me to scan through these articles to try to get to the point.

For me, when listening to good music, my mind moves from one level of perception to another. For example, there is nature of the sounds that evokes memories and imagination. The music begs for some sort of conscious musical analysis - form, tonality, ethnicity, style, rhythm, etc. Then there is always an awareness of the performer(s) - their skill, apparent involvement, showmanship, etc. There is also the evocative nature of the music that can send you imagination and emotions soaring. Sometimes, a particular part in the musical mix will attract and hold my attention. There are many more levels of perception.

I like historical recordings on Victrola records. These take me back in time.

Moving from one level to another while listening does distort the experience of time, sense of self, and many other states of awareness. It's a blessed thing, indeed.

[Acoustic Interloper]

[mosc]

Of course, there is a huge difference in the duration of a piece and our sense of time. Sometimes, there are physical causes for duration.

The most prominent physical constraint that comes to my mind is the less than 3 minute duration of pop music tunes. This comes from the maximum capacity of the 10 inch 78 RPM disks that was invented in 1900. By the the longer formats became available in the 1950s, 2 to 3 minutes had began to feel right for pop and folk music. I think it may still be the customary length for a "song".

Before that, as best as I can tell, 5 to 10 minutes was the chosen length by composers for a movement or section.

In any case, what feels natural for a piece is cultural. African tribal music often lasts for hours uninterrupted.