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Art and Design - 17.06.2015

Head-banging tunes can have same effect as a warm hug
Extreme music - such as heavy metal - can positively influence those experiencing anger, a study by The University of Queensland has revealed. In contrast to previous studies linking loud and chaotic music to aggression and delinquency, research by UQ's School of Psychology honours student Leah Sharman and Dr Genevieve Dingle showed listeners mostly became inspired and calmed.

Art and Design - Health - 28.05.2015

Acquiring ’perfect’ pitch may be possible for some adults
If you're a musician, this sounds too good to be true: UChicago psychologists have been able to train some adults to develop the prized musical ability of absolute pitch, and the training's effects last for months. Absolute pitch, commonly known as "perfect pitch," is the ability to identify a note by hearing it.

Art and Design - Life Sciences - 20.05.2015

How we discovered the three revolutions of American pop
Dr Matthias Mauch discusses his recent scientific analysis of the "fossil record" of the Billboard charts prompted widespread attention, particularly the findings about the three musical "revolutions" that shaped the musical landscape of the second half of the 20th century. The journey that got me here started in 1992, when I was a sheltered 12-year-old boy, growing up in a small town in Germany.

Health - Art and Design - 27.04.2015

Work, Money Worries Leave Many Musicians Singing the Blues
AUSTIN, Texas - Researchers from Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin , in collaboration with the mental health-focused SIMS Foundation , have identified work and financial stress as risk factors that may increase clinical depression and anxiety among musicians, according to new study findings presented at the 36 th Annual Performing Arts Medicine Association International Symposium in Orange, California.

Art and Design - Media - 15.04.2015

Games can power up from merely fun to meaningful experiences
Participants in the study suggested that story details in the game were critical to feelings of appreciation. They also indicated that more meaningful games were associated with heightened feelings of insight or enrichment. UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. It may be game over for critics who claim that video games are nothing more than a fun diversion.

Art and Design - Life Sciences - 02.03.2015

Classical music relaxes dogs in rehoming centres
A study conducted by the Scottish SPCA and the University of Glasgow shows that music has a calming effect on dogs. The research, conducted by the charity's education and research manager Gilly Mendes Ferreira and PhD student Amy Bowman, involved testing two groups of dogs over two consecutive weeks at the Scottish SPCA's Dumbarton & West of Scotland animal rescue and rehoming centre in Milton, West Dunbartonshire.

Art and Design - Linguistics / Literature - 17.02.2015

Communicating emotions
Mandarin-speaking Chinese more likely to read emotions in voices of others; English-speaking North Americans rely more on facial expressions Mandarin-speaking Chinese more likely to read emotions in voices of others; English-speaking North Americans rely more on facial expressions If you are a Mandarin-speaker from China and want to understand how someone else is feeling, you are likely to concentrate on their voice rather than on their face.

Art and Design - Life Sciences - 04.11.2014

Hermit Thrush or Humans - who sets the tone?
The songs of the hermit thrush, a common North American songbird, follow principles found in much human music - namely the harmonic series. Researchers from the University of Vienna, Austria, the Cornish College of the Arts, USA, and the Philipps University of Marburg, Germany, are the first to demonstrate note selection from the harmonic series in a non-human animal using rigorous analytical methods.

Art and Design - Social Sciences - 04.09.2014

How good is the fossil record?
Press release issued: 10 September 2014 The effect of movies featuring dogs on the popularity of dog breeds can last up to ten years and is correlated with the general success of the movies, according to new research from the University of Bristol, the City University of New York, and Western Carolina University.

Art and Design - Psychology - 20.06.2014

Isn’t it romantic? Movies, TV shows strongly shape how we view love
ANN ARBOR-Do you believe in love at first sight? If so, chances are you're not missing an episode of "The Bachelor" or "Millionaire Matchmaker." And if seeing a romantic movie is your idea of a good time, you likely believe that "love finds a way," carrying a couple through any obstacles it might face, according to a new University of Michigan study about how movies and television shows affect our beliefs about relationships and romance.

Art and Design - 20.05.2014

Keeping to the beat is no mean feat: Scientists reveal how two tracks of music become one
How does a DJ mix two songs to make the beat seem common to both tracks? A successful DJ makes the transition between tracks appear seamless while a bad mix is instantly noticeable and results in a 'galloping horses' effect that disrupts the dancing of the crowd. How accurate does beat mixing need to be to enhance, rather than disrupt perceived rhythm?

Art and Design - Life Sciences - 23.04.2014

If music be the food of love, play something complex
If music be the food of love, play something complex Although Charles Darwin first argued that music's primary function was sexual courtship, there has been little clear evidence to prove it. Now a new University of Sussex psychology study supports his theory by showing that during the most fertile phase of their menstrual cycle, women prefer sexual mates who are able to produce more complex music.

Art and Design - Social Sciences - 17.04.2014

Get on up: What the Godfather of Soul knew about rhythm
What is it about the rhythms of some music that makes us want to get up and dance? Oxford University researchers believe they may have found part of the answer in a new study. They say that an ideal balance of rhythmic predictability and complexity explains why James Brown will get most people up and grooving, while many of us struggle to tap our feet along with experimental jazz.

Art and Design - 03.03.2014

World-class orchestras judged by sight not sound
World-class orchestras can be accurately identified by silent video footage of performances, but not through sound recordings, a UCL study has found. Both professional musicians and musical novices are better at identifying top-ranked orchestras from non-ranked orchestras when shown silent video footage, suggesting that such judgements are driven at least in part by visual cues about group dynamics and leadership.

Art and Design - Pedagogy - 11.12.2013

Muting the Mozart effect
Muting the Mozart effect Contrary to popular opinion, research finds no cognitive benefits to musical training C hildren get plenty of benefits from music lessons. Learning to play instruments can fuel their creativity, and practicing can teach much-needed focus and discipline. And the payoff, whether in learning a new song or just mastering a chord, often boosts self-esteem.

Art and Design - Life Sciences - 18.11.2013

Brain study suggests classical musicians should improvise
Researchers have found that listeners engage with classical music more when musicians improvise. A collaboration of researchers from Imperial College London and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama examined the electrical signals in the brains of musicians and listeners. Although improvisation is not commonly associated with classical music, the new study suggests that introducing elements of improvisation into classical concerts could increase audience engagement.

Life Sciences - Art and Design - 12.11.2013

Monkeys "understand" rules underlying language musicality
Many of us have mixed feelings when remembering painful lessons in German or Latin grammar in school. Languages feature a large number of complex rules and patterns: using them correctly makes the difference between something which "sounds good", and something which does not. However, cognitive biologists at the University of Vienna have shown that sensitivity to very simple structural and melodic patterns does not require much learning, or even being human: South American squirrel monkeys can do it, too.

Art and Design - Physics - 06.11.2013

Solar panels perform better when listening to music
The sound vibrations that make up music can make solar panels work harder, according to new research, and pop music performs better than classical. Scientists showed that high pitched sounds like those common in pop and rock music caused the greatest improvement in the solar cells' power output, increasing it by up to forty per cent.

Art and Design - History / Archeology - 30.10.2013

Lost van Gogh painting validated via canvas weave
Left in an attic and missing for decades, the long-lost Vincent van Gogh painting - "Sunset at Montmajour" - was authenticated by the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam in September. After a two-year investigation, art historians and researchers identified the work with pinpoint precision, in part, thanks to a technique based on a canvas "weave-map" developed in a Cornell-initiated project.

Physics - Art and Design - 22.10.2013

Atomic movies reveal 'ultimate spring'
An international team, including Oxford University scientists, has used the powerful X-ray laser at the US Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory to create atomic-scale movies of 'the ultimate spring'. Normally, when a metal is crushed suddenly, as during an impact, it deforms and buckles, with the atoms re-arranging themselves in a complex way to take up the deformed shape - and usually only small pressures allow a metal to 'bounce back' like a spring.