Brief Remarks - All Receptors

This receptor detects: Motives, phrases, melodies, harmonic structures, sections, architectural components, and so on. The more things like this, and the greater the variety, the stronger the stimulation of this receptor.

Receptor may not be able to articulate exactly what the components are; and it may also sense “components” that are not easily defined using conventional music theory.

Receptor may not be able to articulate exactly what the formulas are or even where they occur; and it may sense “formulas” that elude conventional music theory or mathematical theory; it may signal “formulas” where there are none to be found.

This receptor detects: A spatial feeling of the music, with a feeling of shape. Typically the shapes feel big, soft, and flexible/evolving – this is what is meant by “topological”. When this receptor is stimulated, there is a natural inclination to wave ones hands like a conductor, or to engage in free modern-dance-like movements in response to the topological stimulus.

This receptor detects that in some sense that the music occupies vast/unlimited space; or extends over vast stretches of time (is endless or timeless). Slow symphonic music often stimulates this receptor.

This receptor detects that the music is simple (like a nursery rhyme – most of the key elements are easily grasped), or the opposite (overwhelmingly difficult to grasp/assimilate in major respects).

This receptor detects that the music is mostly chaotic (apparently incapable of being comprehended) or its opposite (so orderly that it appears to be comprehensible in almost every major respect).

(This receptor is almost synonymous with comprehensible/incomprehensible. But more precisely, it is a predictor or assessor of the prospects of ever comprehending the music. If the receptor strongly signals “chaos”, this is a kind of a warning signal.)

This receptor detects that the music seems to be freely willed/created by the composer/performer; or otherwise that it seems to have a “life” or “force” of its own which determines it.

A jazz improvisation would typically be detected as freely-willed. Mechanistic passages from Bach (performed in a straightforward way) would tend to be detected as “determined”.

This receptor detects the apparent presence or involvement of the composer/performer in a piece of music. The opposite would typically be described as “impersonal” or “cold”.

[2.1] and [2.2] are closely related, but they feel like separate effects to the listener. The subtlety and abstruseness of these effects actually enhances their effect; they help the experience of music to be deep, wonderful, involving mystery and the ineffable.

This receptor detects: Alterations or enhancements to the ordinary flow of time, for example: Non-metronomic pulses (that are nonetheless perceived as being “regular”); slowing or stretching of time; time standing still; timelessness; time illusions; multiple time-scales occurring simultaneously; confusion about the passage of time.

This receptor is stimulated by perceived issues/conflicts/difficulties about what is “in the music” vs the listener’s subjective reaction/experience of the music.

This receptor is sensitive to “ontological issues” that are implicit in a piece of music, such as the following: “What kind of a ‘thing’ is this music that I am hearing right now? Is it a personal communication from the performer? a ‘message’ from the performer with meaning? an act or action by the performer personal communication from the composer? a ‘message’ from the composer with meaning? an act or action by the composer a timeless artifact (a score, notes, etc)” When a piece of music is rich in issues like this, then this receptor is excited.

Music can result in mirages, illusions, dim perceptions of the “semi-real”. A listener can sense time, fate, shadows, vague presences, topological shapes, and so on. I describe the above as vague “objects” whose ontological status is difficult to characterize. When a piece of music is rich in these respects, then this receptor is excited.

This receptor detects the “spiritual” in music. Religious music often stimulates this receptor, but also many examples of non-religious music (e.g. many passages from keyboard works by Bach; Pachelbel Canon).

This receptor is excited by the beginning of a musical performance. The human intellect is highly aware of beginnings (and endings); this is necessary so that humans can perceive the beginning and ending of an event (very important in practical matters).

Some music uses various techniques to make “the beginning” or a work highly evident, vivid, or dramatic. (e.g. multiple beginnings that are layered together, or a highly transparent presentation of how the work develops). When these techniques are effective, sometimes a listener will describe the effect as the experience of an “act of creation” or even as a “re-experiencing of the creation of the world” (!). This is why we use the term Genesis Effect.

This receptor is quite sensitive. A great beginning can be a massive, unforgettable experience (e.g. the opening of “Also Sprach Zarathustra”). In extreme cases, an entire piece can sound like a gigantic Genesis Effect (possible example: Bach Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor for organ).

This receptor is excited by the way in which a piece of music ends. Some music ends in a rather businesslike way. But in some pieces, the ending is made highly evident, vivid, dramatic. There are techniques to signal to the listener that it is “the beginning of the end”, and then it is possible to carry out the termination in an extended, multi-layered, dramaticized manner. During the termination, the listener can associate to feelings of loss, regret, wistful-memory, shock, and so on. A powerful termination can result in a “shared experience” for the audience. (In a good performance, the audience behavior at the end – artist finishes, long moment of silence, applause, curtain calls – could be considered part of the termination.)

When a piece is rich in the above respects, then this receptor is excited. This receptor is quite sensitive; and a powerful termination can be a massive, unforgettable experience. (An example of a powerful termination is in the last movement of Beethoven Symphony#9).

This receptor detects: The variety or range of high and low sounds, as experienced subjectively. The subjective experience depends not only on what “actually” occurs, but also: Contrasts, organization, context, relation to other musical effects, etc.

This receptor detects: The variety or range of loud and soft sounds, as experienced subjectively. The subjective experience depends not only on what “actually” occurs, but also: Contrasts, organization, context, relation to other musical effects, etc.

This receptor detects: Harmonious effects, dissonant effects as experienced subjectively. The subjective experience depends not only on what “actually” occurs, but also: Contrasts, organization, context, relation to other musical effects, etc. For this receptor, harmonious/dissonant depends not only on harmonic structures, but also: Instrumentation, style of performance, etc.

This receptor detects: Metronomic beats, but also non-metronomic pulses (i.e. a sequence of strong/emphasized moments that may not be timed metronomically). An example would be Rachmaninoff, “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini”, Variation 18 (the one with the big theme). The pulsation of the phrases of the melody is very clear; but as usually played (with plenty of rubato), the pulses are not metronomic.

Non-metronomic pulsation can make a powerful effect on the listener, because it can be experienced not as a mathematical deviation, but rather as an alteration of time (time stretches, compresses, etc.)

This receptor responds to: Melodies, melodic components (motives), melodic fragments. Intuitively some melodic materials are experienced as rich, natural, effective (moving), rich, “good” in comparison to other melodies. This receptor detects or signals the degree to which a melody/motive is rich, natural, effective, good.

Even average listeners are able to “multi-process” music – i.e. they are able to experience many musical effects simultaneously. For instance in a piece of pop music, it can be easy for a listener to simultaneously experience and recognize: The beat, the bass, the harmonic progressions, the lead melody, the backup singers, lyrics, story line, some musical effects, and more. With OMS we generalize on the academic concept of “contrapuntal” to denote any musical passage where there are (rich) simultaneous, coordinated materials that can be experienced/recognized as such.

This receptor signals the degree to which a piece of music is contrapuntal in the above sense. Examples of music that is highly stimulating is this way are: Many Bach fugues (contrapuntal in the classic sense); many of the best songs of James Brown, performed by James Brown (rich in simultaneous materials, and presented with vivid clarity); most classic salsa music.

This receptor detects: The richness of the sound of the piece of music. Factors that contribute to richness: Orchestration, timbre, careful coordination of sounds so that they “blend” and support each other; performer’s ability to adjust sonic output to the instrument, acoustics, and audience real-time.

Listeners are naturally sensitive to beauty in music. This receptor detects beauty as applies narrowly to the sound or sounds within a piece. Factors such as narrative, drama, emotion, meaning, etc. are excluded.

This receptor reports: Actual emotional stimulation. Examples of actual emotional stimulation that can occur with music: Elation; disappointment, mild sadness; mild joy; fear (rare); anger (rare).

This receptor reports: Emotion-like effects which do not qualify as full-fledged emotional responses from a psychological point of view. For instance, romantic-style music such as Rachmaninoff or Chopin, stimulates a stream of mild and subtle “feelings” in many listeners; these feelings are rich, subtle, and evanescent – but they lack the “weight” and persistence of emotional reactions in daily life. To contrast with real e-motions, we call such reactions “mu-motions”. This is not to say that mu-motions are less important than e-motions (some people feel exactly the opposite), it is just to classify them differently. For more discussion, see http://www.omsmodel.com/music/main/docs/060206_OMS_Tackles_Great_Issues.htm

This receptor signals that the music being listened to seems to evoke memories of music that the listener has previously heard (which may or may not actually be the case). E.g., for me personally, in the song “White Christmas”, almost every phrase seems familiar (Haven’t I heard descending chimes like that before?), although I cannot literally cite any of my specific memories. Musical memory is subject to extreme distortion; but this factor contribute to the potency of this receptor. The Musical Memory receptor allows for experience which is vague, remote, tantalizing – and that kind of experience can heighten the overall experience of the music. (Consider the legendary song by Arthur Sullivan “The Lost Chord”, and read the lyrics)

This receptor signals connections with musical materials from the past. E.g. if a piece sounds like a waltz, sounds like a mazurka, sounds like a march, sounds like a national anthem, sounds like “Happy Birthday To You”, then this receptor is stimulated. In the “Theme from Star Wars”, John Williams refers to classic orchestral fanfares. In the James Bond Theme, there are references to nineteenth century orchestral music. Beatles “Eleanor Rigby” refers to eighteenth century string quartet music.

This receptor signals that the music has a speech-like quality (lyrics not required). Factors in speech-like effects include: The detailed structure of a melody, the length and rhythmic structure of the small details; the way that music is organized as phrases, groups of phrases, etc. ; the “declamation” of the music via accents, emphases, management of loud/soft high/low.

In our view, music rarely tells a story or is a story in the literal sense (Exception – there may be lyrics which truly are narrative). However it can “feel” story-like. Additionally, many pieces of music are capable of being narrated (There is a famous PDQ Bach clip in which the first movement of Beethoven’s Symphony#5 is narrated as if it were a baseball game). So in that sense, much music has a narrative aspect.

In classic harmonic theory, there is a view that almost all tonal music is somewhat narrative because of natural movement toward harmonic tension followed by movement to harmonic resolution (Schenker).

This receptor responds to effects such as: Overt imitations of birds, storms, the sea, the wind, people arguing, automobile traffic; subtle suggestions of the preceding or of ticking clocks, breathing, a storm developing, raindrops, and so on. This receptor could be thought of as an alert mechanism, and sometimes it may give false or questionable responses (e.g., I listen to a Bach fugue and say “It sounds to me like mice chasing each other”). The receptor can be stimulated by effects that are ambiguous as to their programmatic content – e.g. a march for brass band could be regarded as just a piece of music, or also a programmatic imitation of “a march”.

When this receptor is stimulated, it triggers a desire or tendency to describe the music as “poetic” (related language includes: “subtle”, “highly imaginative”, “passionate”, “sensitive”, “rhapsodic”)

When this receptor is stimulated, it triggers a desire or tendency to describe the music as occupying or moving around spatially. This receptor is related to the Topological receptor, but is more concerned with space rather than mass.

When this receptor is stimulated, it triggers a desire or tendency to describe the music as having coloristic or other intense visual effects. Typical language: “Color; tone-color; landscape; portrait; delineation; etch; fireworks; explosion; multi-hued; vivid; bright; dark; white-hot”.

When this receptor is stimulated, it triggers associations with odors, tastes, physical sensations. Typical language: “sulphurous; perfumed; foul; sour; sweet; delicious; caress; painful”

This receptor responds to: the presence of lyrics in a piece of music, especially the intensity/effectiveness of the lyrics and their integration with the music.

This receptor responds to sonic effects such as: Bells, echoes, whistles, glissandi, extremely sudden contrasts, sounds that are on the verge of inaudible, extremely high or low sounds, unusually-voiced chords, etc., imitations among sections of an orchestra.

This receptor responds to weird or funny sounds, such as: Strange instrument (theremin in Beach Boys “Good Vibrations”), animalistic grunts (“Louie Louie”), absurd falsetto (some doo-wop music), extreme instrumental sounds (lowest notes in a base clarinet). Funny sounds (also Sonic Effects and Oddity) are important in music, because they trigger “alert mechanisms” in the listener; the effect is to stimulate the listener’s attention, to provide organizational signposts, and to deliver pleasure (these effects are mainly pleasurable, even if at times a mildly naughty pleasure).

This receptor responds to the odd or unusual in a piece, e.g.: The onset of the Turkish March in Beethoven Symphony#9 Mvt4 (initially seems like a non-sequitur after the white-hot climax that immediately precedes it); the brief oboe solo in Beethoven Symphony#5 Mvt1 (a strange interlude to what precedes and follows it – seems “appropriate” but also is puzzlingly brief and sparse, …); the classical-style string quartet accompaniment in Beatles “Eleanor Rigby”; sad songs with happy melodies; the first movement of Moonlight Sonata arranged as a foxtrot (yes, it was done).

This receptor reports: Apparent ethnic content in music. Sometimes ethnic content is rather overt (Germanic march, Viennese Waltz, American Ragtime). Sometimes the ethnic content is subtle (a waltz rhythm with a certain lilt, and schmaltzy melody that is suggestive of Tchaikovsky/Russian, a rhythmic turn that is suggestive of a European folk dance, “blues-y” harmonic/melodic materials).

“DelMo”stands for “Delicious Moment”. Main characteristic of a DelMo: Pleasurable; grabs most of a listener’s attention; “memorable”, relatively easy for a listener to recall (in at least a vague or distorted fashion). A DelMo does not have to be pretty (a shocking moment in music can still be a pleasurable shock). Examples of DelMo’s: Opening of Strauss “Also Sprach Zarathustra”; Theme from Elvira Madigan (Mozart Piano Concerto No. 21); theremin in Beach Boys “Good Vibrations”; Beatles “Eleanor Rigby” (almost an uninterrupted sequence of DelMo’s); the big theme from Tchaikovsky Pathetique Symphony Mvt1.

DelMo’s are so potent experientially that for some listeners they amount to an aesthetic standard (The good-ness of a piece of music is roughly proportional to the amount of DelMo material in the music.)

If a piece is sufficiently packed with DelMo’s, this excites the DelMo2 receptor, which signals that this piece is dominated with DelMo’s. Examples of pieces with a strong DelMo2 stimulation: Beatles, “Eleanor Rigby”; Slow movement from Elvira Madigan piano concerto (Mozart Piano Concerto No. 21); the James Bond Theme. There are large sections of Beethoven Grosse Fugue Op. 133 that are DelMo2; these sections are not pretty, but they probably do qualify as packed with DelMo’s (the “pleasure” is in the nature of strong stimulation, elation, excitement, rather than “pretty”)

Most (actually probably all) music involves various degrees of perception ranging from clear-and-distinct to vague/indistinct to barely-perceptible; also different kinds of perception are subject to varying degrees of inaccuracy (e.g. what is perceived/remembered as a rising melody is actually a falling line). In some pieces, these features are more evident than in others.

This receptor signals the degree to which it feels like composer/performer is communicating to the listener. Typical language: “communication; personal; impersonal”.

This receptor signals the degree to which a piece of music seems to have symbolic content. Examples of symbols which have been associated with various music: God, the devil, angels, male, female, life, death, birth, creation, chaos, conflict, love, …

Examples of music that would stimulate strongly in this regard: Top-quality jazz or other improvised music; virtuoso performances where the performer seems “free” and spontaneous (the performer is living “in the moment”); Beethoven Diabelli Variations, Bach Goldberg Variations; John Cage aleatoric music.

This receptor is stimulated by displays of extreme skill by performer, especially in the face of difficulties. The skill can be mechanical/physical, but could also be skill of communication or clarity, or the ability to unravel some difficult problem (e.g. to perform a 5-part fugue in a compelling manner). Performer-virtuosity involves elements of athleticism and also risk/danger. When the pianist Glenn Gould complained of public performances as being a “blood sport”, it appears that he had in mind something like the Virtuosity receptor.

The Virtuosity receptor can be stimulated by not only the performer but also by the music or the composer. I would say that the Beethoven Diabelli Variations are virtuosic in this sense (the composer shows off tremendous skill in dealing with some challenging materials).

This receptor signals the degree of challenge/adventure experienced by the listener with a piece of music. Challenge/adventure can be stimulated by: New effects; new techniques; difficulties experienced by composer, performer, listener. Examples of music which stimulates many listeners in this regard: Late Beethoven string quartets or piano sonatas; early 12-tone music; most music by Charles Ives; most music by John Adams; best work by Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk; improvisations by Keith Jarrett; Xenakis; “experimental music”.

This receptor signals the degree of certainty, uncertainty and contrast thereof experienced in a piece of music. One factor in the experience of certainty/uncertainty is the listener’s belief that he/she can roughly anticipate/expect how a piece develops, along with the degree of surprises that occur along the way. Another factor is where and how often the listener finds the music “difficult to grasp”.

This receptor signals the degree of passion experienced by the listener in the piece. The passion may be attributed to the performer, the composer, or “the music itself”.

This receptor signals the degree of joyful/celebratory material experienced in the music. For more information, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollonian_and_Dionysian .

This receptor signals the degree of material experienced in the music characterized by order, proportion, beauty, clarity. For more information, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollonian_and_Dionysian .

This receptor reports the degree which the listener experiences the piece not only as some music listened to individually, but also as a group experience. This receptor is most likely to be stimulated strongly in a live concert with a good performer and a good audience. In an ideal situation, the members of the audience feel bound together or connected in a shared experience.

This receptor reports the degree to which the music interacts with various political norms. Examples of music which has been viewed as highly political: Atonal music by Schoenberg (collided with prior orthodox views about the nature, role, aesthetics of music); music by John Adams (collides with some views of Schoenberg and his followers); Eminem (collides with common views about aesthetics, craftsmanship, taste, content); Yanni (popular music with a serious “sound” that collides with many views of the serious musical establishment).

Music often gives listeners things to think about if they are inclined. If a piece is rich in puzzles or difficulties to think about, the Puzzle-Solving receptor is strongly stimulated. Examples of music which stimulate this receptor fairly strongly: Beatles “Strawberry Fields Forever” (Is there a message about “Paul is dead? What is going on in the last minute? Is this song some avant-garde acid rock music, or is it nostalgia, or is it nonsense? …); Bach “Art of the Fugue” (endless intricacies and puzzles to think about); Satie “3 Gymnopedies” (three pieces that seem subtle variations of each other; how do they relate, and what’s going on here?)

Great composers and composers sometimes find ways to stimulate receptors that are rarely stimulated by music. For instance, disco music (and minimalist music with disco-like beats) seems to stimulate some natural part of our neurology which has rarely if ever been stimulated previously to a strong degree. In Ustvolskaya Piano Sonata#6, the piece induces a specific kind of panic-mixed-with-elation which seems to be unique to this piece. The Extraordinary-Stimulation receptor signals that receptors are being stimulated which are rarely stimulated significantly by other music.

This receptor responds to: The “sublime” in the conventional sense. It is possible for music to be sublime without being pretty or beautiful in the conventional sense.

This receptor responds to: Proportion in the relationship of phrases and sections, in the relationship between loud and soft, in the relationship of high and low, and so on.

This receptor responds to: The presence of qualities that mark this piece as being unique or nearly unique. The Pachelbel Canon strikes many listeners as having this kind of individuality . Other strong examples: Beethoven Symphony#5, Mvt1; Beethoven Symphony#9, Mvt4; Ravel "Bolero"; Beatles, "Strawberry Fields"; The Kingsmen, "Louie Louie"; Beach Boys, "Good Vibrations". If the individuality is especially striking, it is sometimes said that the work/performance has a "persona".

This receptor responds to: Individuality that is attributed to the performer or composer (a “personal signature”). Glenn Gould is generally considered to exhibit strong individuality as a performer; Charles Ives as a composer; Thelonious Monk as a jazz composer/performer.

This receptor responds to: Clarity in structure, detail, organization in a piece of music. A Bach fugue, well-played, is considered an outstanding example of transparency. When a listener can be moved in a deep visceral way by a work that is also highly transparent, it is a thrilling experience.

This receptor responds to the presence of a wide range of stimulus and integrated materials in a piece of music. Beethoven Symphony#9 is often cited as a strong exemplar of universality.

This receptor responds to the impression that the piece has a significant range of materials that are tightly integrated (e.g. Beethoven Piano Sonata Op. 110). With jazz, there are many examples of performances that are not tightly integrated – a factor that is almost unavoidable, given that the performances are constructed real-time.

This receptor responds to the composer’s (or performer’s) ability to find “deep” principles to unify the music. Possible principles might be: a large-scale harmonic plan; the use of a small number of compelling motives to unify a large work; skillful use of large-scale pulsations; use of some philosophical idea to organize/unify the music.

This receptor responds to general organizational skill on the part of the composer or performer. When a piece is superbly organized throughout, it can be perceived as a living biological entity.

Reflection occurs when music's stimulation allows the listener to learn something about the himself/herself. Example1: Suppose an "average" listener hears a performance of a Bach fugue and experiences it as comprehensible and transparent; this experience shows the listener that he/she has (in at least this circumstance) a certain kind of intelligence, namely the intelligence to comprehend a complex multi-layered work. Example2: For some listeners, a grim piece such as Gorecki Symphony#3 enables the listener to realize that it is possible to experience a kind of elation even while experiencing something that is sorrowful or grim.

Sometimes a great work will actually create new ways of perceiving – it will literally create new receptors! Some people experience Gershwin “Rhapsody In Blue” in this way.

Sometimes music will literally change a persons life, in at least some small ways. An example that is sometimes cited is Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto#2 – it becomes a part of ones life and lends a poetic sense or backdrop to ones existence. People sometimes cite some piece of rock and roll music as somewhat life-changing.

Sometimes music seems to portend the future or even play a role in how the future develops. Boulez’ greatest works might be examples – they point to a future where a much greater degree complexity is experienced and managed in music and in life. Composers who have claimed Reorg/Prophetic effects for some of their music: Busoni; Scriabin; Schoenberg.

If the listener perceives the work as “familiar” (apparently similar to other music that the listener has heard), this contributes to the effect of listening to it.

If the listener perceives the work as being contrary (or even offensive) to one’s prior base of musical experience, this contributes to the effect of listening to it. This effect will depend somewhat on the listener. Examples: Schoenberg atonal works; New Age music (offensive to many listeners who view mainstream classical and popular music as the norm); rap (strikes some listeners as an intentional offense against their base of experience).