EDWARD'S LECTURE NOTES:
More notes at http://tanguay.info/learntracker
C O U R S E 
Introduction to Classical Music
Craig Wright, Yale University
https://www.coursera.org/course/introclassicalmusic
C O U R S E   L E C T U R E 
Music and Emotions
Notes taken on April 27, 2015 by Edward Tanguay
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music's influence on us
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the poetry of the air
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can move your emotions
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music can manipulate us
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advertisers know this
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to persuade us to buy something
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e.g. a high end watch
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Mozart, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
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reinforces the message, that this watch is a classic
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it's timeless like Mozart's music
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certain music works better at different times
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Bach and Handel
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usually get played in the morning
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romantic dinner
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Bach BWV 578
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bad choice
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makes your mind think rather than melt
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encourages analytical thinking
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Puccini, "O mio babbino caro"
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good choice
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melts your emotions
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definition of music
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the rational organization of sounds and silences passing through time
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any sound is a disturbance of the atmosphere
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sound waves are simply differing air pressures
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large sound waves generate low pitches
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small sound waves generate high pitches
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low note on piano
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string vibrates about 30 times per second
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literally 12 feet long as it goes through the atmosphere
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high note on piano
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string vibrates about 4000 times per second
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results in sound waves coming in regular patterns
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sound waves of different length enter ear and are converted to electrochemical impulses
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the basilar membrane is tonotopic [toh-noh-TAH-pic], each of the many cilia responds to one frequency
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sound is then processed in the brain, it too, tonotopic, neurons responding only to certain frequencies
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if you are playing music, the sounds need to be coordinated to motor control of playing the instrument
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another part of the brain is responsible for how we feel about the music
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music can excite us for sports or can calm us down when stressed
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neurotransmitters are stimulated
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excite neighboring cells which release chemicals such as dopamine and glutamates which are responsible for our emotions
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music can have the same effect of other euphoria-inducing stimuli such as food, sex and drugs
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music is like candy the mind