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Momentum in Music: Musical Succession As Physical Motion Psychomusicology: Music, Mind, and Brain © 2017 American Psychological Association 2017, Vol. 27, No. 1, 14–30 0275-3987/17/$12.00 http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pmu0000171 Momentum in Music: Musical Succession as Physical Motion Timothy L. Hubbard Arizona State University A melodic line involves a note of a given pitch and duration, followed by another note of a given pitch and duration, and so on, but we often perceive such musical succession in time as movement in space (e.g., melodic contours ascend or descend, etc.), and concepts related to motion have been used to describe and understand musical experience. Johnson and Larson (2003) suggested musical motion is analogous to motion of physical objects, and Larson (2012) discussed musical forces analogous to the forces that operate on physical objects. In this review, one such musical force, musical inertia, is compared with momentum-like effects that occur in other (nonmusical) domains. Although musical inertia was previously suggested to be analogous to representational momentum, these two effects operate on different time-scales, and it is proposed that musical representation might exhibit behavioral momentum or psychological momentum or might exhibit a unique form of musical momentum. Such a musical momentum would reflect dynamic mental representation and properties of the functional architecture of music representation; be related to auditory stream segregation, perceptual grouping, and auditory kappa and tau effects; and reflect naive beliefs regarding force. Possible musical analogues of the components of momentum (mass, velocity) are considered. Keywords: momentum-like effect, musical forces, musical inertia, musical motion, representational momentum Metaphors involving motion have shaped discussion and hard to imagine a term that describes physical motion that has understanding of music for millennia. Rothfarb (2001, p. 927) not been, or could not be, applied to music,” and he provided points out that “ever since ancient times authors have identified many examples of spatial and motion metaphors in music (e.g., motion as a functional aspect of music.” Perhaps the most melodies moving by steps or leaps, melodic contours ascending famous example is the so-called “music of the spheres” in or descending, presence of passing and leading tones; see also which Kepler in Harmonices Mundi attempted to connect plan- Johnson & Larson, 2003). etary motion with numerical ratios of musical intervals (Balbi, The purpose here is to review data and theories regarding 2008). St. Augustine in Da Musica defined music as “scientia whether the mental representation of music embodies a dynamic of bene modulani,” which translates as “knowledge of correct motion. Production of music typically requires motion of some sort movement” (MacInnis, 2015), and Rameau’s Treatise on Har- (e.g., vibration of a string, reed, or drumhead; changing configu- mony refers to “collisions” of sounds (Christiansen, 2004). rations of open [not pressed] and closed [pressed] keys on a More recently, Shove and Repp (1995) concluded music can musical instrument, etc.), and so in a trivial sense, music arises represent natural forms of motion, Clarke (2001, 2005) con- from motion. However, music and motion are complex concepts, cluded the relationship between music and motion provides an and not every type of motion is necessarily a potential source of important part of music’s impact and meaning, Eitan and Gra- music. Rather than reviewing the relationship between music and not (2006) considered how music was associated with bodily motion in general, the goal here is simpler: to consider the rela- movement, and Phillips-Silver (2009) concluded a link between tionship between music and a single consequence of motion, music and movement was pervasive in human experience. Con- momentum. It is suggested that the mental representation of music This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its alliedsistent publishers. with this, Larson (2012) suggested an important meta- exhibits momentum-like effects that share many properties with This article is intended solely for the personal use ofphor the individual user and is not toin be disseminated broadly. our conceptualization of music is “Musical Succession momentum-like effects in other domains of perception, cognition, is Physical Motion.” Indeed, Larson (2012, p. 50) noted “it is and behavior. Part 1 explores the notion of musical motion and considers Larson’s discussion of musical forces in general and musical inertia in particular. Part 2 reviews information on differ- ent (nonmusical) momentum-like effects and considers whether Portions of the ideas presented here were presented at the 2015 Auditory musical inertia is consistent with these effects. Part 3 examines Perception, Cognition, and Action Meeting in Chicago, Illinois, and the implications and consequences of musical momentum, and con- 2016 Annual Meeting of the International Society for Psychophysics, siders dynamic representation and functional architecture, an em- Moscow, Russia. phasis on extrapolation across time, auditory streaming and per- The author thanks Justin London for helpful comments on a previous version of the manuscript. ceptual grouping, auditory kappa and tau effects, naive physics of Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Timothy forces, and which aspects of music might map on to different L. Hubbard, Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe components of momentum. Part 4 provides a brief summary and AZ 8528. E-mail: [email protected] conclusions. 14 MOMENTUM IN MUSIC 15 Part 1: Music and Motion Table 2 Comparison of Physical Motion and Musical Succession It has long been thought that music is related to motion (for reviews, see Eitan & Granot, 2006; Phillips-Silver, 2009; Roth- Physical motion Musical succession farb, 2001; Shove & Repp, 1995). Motion of a physical object results from physical forces, and the existence of analogous mu- Physical object Musical event Physical motion Musical motion sical forces associated with musical succession in Western tonal Velocity Tempo music was proposed by Larson (2004, 2012; Larson & van Handel, Location of the observer Present musical event 2005). In Part 1, the idea of musical forces, and the properties of Objects in front of the observer Future musical event a specific musical force—musical inertia—are considered. Objects behind the observer Past musical event Path of motion Musical passage Beginning/ending of physical motion Beginning/ending of musical Musical Succession and Physical Motion passage Temporary cessation of motion Rest, caesura What is it that “moves” in music? Indeed, the idea of musical Repeated motion along a path Recapitulation, repeat motion is something of a puzzle, in that unless the source of the Physical forces Musical forces music (e.g., performer, loudspeaker) is physically moving, the Note. Adapted from “‘Something in the way she moves’ - Metaphors of music per se does not actually physically move (see Larson, 2012; musical motion” by M. Johnson and S. Larson, 2003, Metaphor and Zuckerkandl, 1956). A melodic line typically consists of the pre- Symbol, 18, 63–84. Copyright 2003 by Taylor & Francis. Adapted with sentation of a (stationary) tone of a given pitch and duration permission. followed by the presentation of another (stationary) tone of a given pitch and duration, and so on, and yet we often perceive such musical succession in time as a type of motion in space (e.g., are analogous to physical objects, and musical succession is anal- melodic lines rise or fall, intervals move by steps or leaps, etc.). ogous to physical motion. Both physical motion and musical Johnson and Larson (2003; Larson, 2012) suggest that an observer succession are defined by the rate of change (e.g., velocity, tempo). can be conceptualized as moving through time (a “moving ob- Both physical motion and musical succession take place within a server” or “time’s landscape” metaphor) or that time can be larger spatiotemporal framework in which past and future are conceptualized as moving past an observer (a “moving time” viewed as behind and in front of, respectively, the observer, and in metaphor), and these mappings of space to time are listed in Table which physical motion and musical succession can be viewed as a 1. Furthermore, Johnson and Larson suggest that we seem to passage or trajectory through that spatiotemporal framework. Both spatialize movement through or by time as movement through physical motion and musical succession have a starting point and space (and this spatialization of time is especially relevant in an ending point; along the trajectory between these points there music, see Morgan, 1980). Thus, our concept of musical succes- can be a temporary cessation or rest, and portions of that trajectory sion is influenced by our experience of the movement of physical can be repeated. The most important similarity for current pur- objects through space. Motion of physical objects provides a poses, and the one focused on in the remainder of this article, is the metaphor for understanding, representing, and experiencing music, last one, between musical forces and physical forces. Physical and musical succession is perceived to exhibit or be susceptible to motion is influenced by physical forces, and by analogy, musical forces analogous to those that operate on the movement of physical motion is influenced by musical forces. Indeed, for Larson,
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