Music of the body: An investigation of skull resonance and its influence on musical preferences

Abstract

Musical preferences can be attributed to environmental and biological factors. This research analyzes the specific influence of body resonance, and in particular, how the resonant properties of the skull might contribute to auditory perception of music and musical preferences. To examine this issue resonances were sampled from a set of participants and analyzed using FFTs. The fundamental frequencies of each participant's head was correlated against their preference amongst a set of novel melodies presented in each of the 12 major keys. Using this method the spectral properties of the melody could be directly related to the resonant properties of a listeners skull to evaluate their influence. While results were subtle, participants were found to be influenced in their judgments of loudness and musical preference for the melodies. Conclusions from this research support speculation on an embodied model of cognition for musical interactions. © 2013 Acoustical Society of America.