Empirical Musicology Review

An Information-Theoretical Method for Comparing Completions of Contrapunctus XIV from Bach’s Art of Fugue

Iván Paz — 2023-08-10

The unfinished final Contrapunctus from Bach’s posthumously-published Kunst der Fuge has received several dozen completions over the past century. Although the majority of these have been published and recorded, none has yet established themselves as the leading solution among performers, and this may have more to do with their perceived ‘Bach-ness’ than the undoubted contrapuntal skill and ingenuity that they each demonstrate. This study uses an established information-theoretical method drawn from mathematics to explore the extent to which it is possible to ‘measure’ the similarity of these reconstructions to the original, and so determine which are closest to the musical lines of Bach’s existing opening of Contrapunctus XIV.

How Accurate is whosampled.com?: Exploring the reliability of a user-generated resource

Jeremy Orosz — 2023-08-10

Whosampled.com is a website that hosts user-compiled lists of samples, covers, and remixes of pre-existing music. This article will evaluate the accuracy of the information on whosampled.com through cases studies on the music of Bruno Mars, Janelle Monáe, Dua Lipa, and the reported samples of Classical music, to determine which types of entries are most likely to be accurate and why. While the site is an informative resource for exploring clear examples of direct samples in genres like hip hop, it is less reliable in documenting other forms of borrowing, especially in genres in which digital sampling is not commonly practiced.

Reexamining the Effects of Ratio Simplicity and Familiarity on Abstract Pattern Learning in Dyad Sequences

Ronald S. Friedman — 2023-08-10

In this study, we conceptually replicated two experiments by Crespo-Bojorque and Toro (2016; Experiments 4a & 5a) in an attempt to corroborate their finding of improved performance in abstract pattern learning within sequences of conventionally consonant versus dissonant dyads. In addition, to determine whether the processing advantages for consonance that they reported were due to the ratio simplicity or the familiarity of the stimuli, we added a condition in which participants were either presented with unconventionally tuned small versus large integer-ratio dyads. Results failed to replicate Crespo-Bojorque and Toro’s (2016) original findings: Neither conventionally consonant nor unconventionally tuned small integer-ratio dyads conferred any advantage in pattern learning or generalization. However, in a post hoc analysis using a subsample of participants with no music training, there was evidence that initial pattern learning was more efficient when the patterns were embedded within familiar as opposed to unconventionally tuned dyads. This is consistent with Crespo-Bojorque and Toro’s (2016) proposition that interval familiarity may bolster abstract pattern detection. Discussion centers on the need for additional research on the impact of consonance on pattern learning, highlighting the importance of adjudicating between the effects of ratio simplicity and enculturation.

A Demographic Sampling Model and Database for Addressing Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Bias in Popular-music Empirical Research

Nicholas J. Shea — 2023-08-10

This report summarizes the development and application of a demographic encoding model designed to assist researchers in aligning dataset diversity with real-world diversity in popular-music corpus studies. Drawing on sampling strategies in machine-learning research and encoding procedures in health sciences and the humanities, the model and its associated open-access data provides researchers with a tool to generate more inclusive databases along the parameters of race, ethnicity, and gender. The model itself attempts to reconcile the intersectional boundaries of personal identity with the binarity required by statistical encoding and analysis. Importantly, it facilitates a mindful approach through conditional parameters; for example, by minimizing the risk of tokenizing minoritized artists in multi-member ensembles by considering said artist’s agency and demographic proportion within the group. Applying the model to artist samples from various popular-music corpora affirms the underrepresentation of non-white and non-male artists in related research. In response, the report outlines how a researcher might utilize intentional demographic sampling when developing future corpus-based popular-music studies.

Commentary on “An Information-Theoretical Method for Comparing Completions of Contrapunctus XIV from Bach’s Art of Fugue”

Stefanie Acevedo — 2023-08-10

Information entropy can be a powerful tool for analyzing differences in musical style as suggested in Paz et al. (2022). The application of such a tool, however, requires unambiguous operationalization of the variables being measured, and establishment of clear relations between the variables and the distinguishing features of the style. Without these, interpreting entropy, or any other relative measure of difference, leads to no useful conclusions regarding the similarity between style.

Blurred Lines in Allegations of Musical Intertextuality: A Response to Orosz

Trevor de Clercq — 2023-08-10

This commentary responds to Orosz’s recent EMR article, which presents research on the accuracy of user-generated information on the whosampled.com website. In general, we find Orosz’s main conclusions—that the accuracy of an entry tends to relate to the type of sample (direct or interpolated), how distinct the sample is, and the style of music—are convincing and well-supported by examples. That said, we believe Orosz’s ultimate appraisal of the web site as an invaluable resource to be contingent on the user. From the viewpoint of a music theorist such as Orosz, the web site may indeed be a beneficial resource. But for other users, especially students aspiring to create popular music, a lack of education about the legal issues surrounding the web site may foster a problematic perspective on music sampling.

The Prolactin Theory of Sad-Music Enjoyment is Wrong.

David Huron — 2023-08-10

No abstract available.

Editor’s Note

Daniel Shanahan — 2023-08-10

No abstract available.