Geïnteresseerd om student-assistent (SA) te worden bij MCG? [Dutch]

Ben je student aan de UvA en op zoek naar een interessante bijbaan binnen de universiteit? De muziekcognitiegroep (MCG) is op zoek naar een student-assistent (SA) voor een wetenschapscommunicatieproject waarin een kennis- en luisterspel wordt ontwikkeld. 

MCG heeft dit jaar een prijs van de KNAW ontvangen om een kennis- en luisterspel te ontwikkelen met als doel te laten zien dat luisteraars muzikaler zijn dan dat ze zelf denken. Dit onder de titel Iedereen is muzikaal: Wat muziekcognitieonderzoek kan zeggen over de alledaagse luisteraar.

Doel van dit project is het bijeenbrengen van bestaande luistertestjes en demonstraties uit de verschillende publiekslezingen en media-optredens van MCG.

Op basis hiervan zal een aantrekkelijk en motiverend spel worden ontworpen; een spel dat feedback geeft over je luistertalenten, je voorkeuren en die een relatie legt met de bestaande wetenschappelijke literatuur. Doelgroep is iedereen die van muziek houdt en wil begrijpen hoe onze relatie met muziek in elkaar zit. 

Meer weten? 

Zie de advertentie, en hoe te solliciteren, op deze link. 

Interested in reading what music cognition is (or could be) about?

Music Cognition: The Basics (Routledge, 2021) considers the role of our cognitive functions, such as perception, memory, attention, and expectation in perceiving, making, and appreciating music.  (N.B. Use code SMA09 to get 20% 0ff.)

This volume explores the active role these functions play in how music makes us feel; exhilarated, soothed, or inspired. Grounded in the latest research in areas of psychology, biology, and cognitive neuroscience, and with clear examples throughout, this book concentrates on underappreciated musical skills such as sense of rhythm, beat induction, and relative pitch, that make people intrinsically musical creatures — supporting the conviction that all humans have a unique, instinctive attraction to music.

"Insights from one of the leading researchers working at the intersection of music, psychology, and computer science."  

Dan Levitin, author of This is your brain on music 

"A graceful and precise introduction into the intricacy of what ordinary humans manage to learn about music, naturally and automatically, just by listening." 

Gary Marcus, author of Guitar Zero 

"Honing demonstrates that ordinary listeners, whether children or adults, are a lot more musically savvy than they think they are."  

Sandra Trehub, Department of Psychology, University of Toronto

Interested in a 4 year PhD in Amsterdam?

Are you looking for a PhD position where you can combine insights from music cognition, cognitive behavioral ecology, and cognitive science? If you are excited about doing this kind of research in an interdisciplinary environment, with a team of smart and friendly colleagues, then you may want to join us.

All information on the research project and how to apply can be found here.

Deadline for applications is 1 November 2021.

Interested in a 3 year Postdoc in Amsterdam?

Are you looking for a postdoctoral position where you can combine insights from music cognition with psychometrics and cognitive science? If you are excited about doing this kind of research in an interdisciplinary environment, with a team of smart and friendly colleagues, then you may want to join us.

All information on the research project and how to apply can be found here.

Deadline for applications is 1 November 2021.

 

Hou je van podcasts? [Dutch]

Hou je van podcasts? Hier onder vier recentelijk verschenen afleveringen over het thema 'muzikale dieren'. 

Een headbangede zeeleeuw of een dansende kaketoe: er zijn genoeg voorbeelden van muzikale dieren te vinden op het internet. Maar zijn ze ook net zo muzikaal als mensen?  

 

• Universiteit van Nederland: https://www.universiteitvannederland.nl/podcast/zijn-dieren-net-zo-muzikaal-als-mensen
• Radio Swammerdam: https://soundcloud.com/swammerdam/muzikaliteit-bij-dieren
• BBC: https://play.acast.com/s/63fb67c5-f719-43f7-b264-390cd7edb120/414af9ec-0449-4a39-ade6-2d1f38f66c1b?seek=598
• NRC: https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2018/11/07/onbehaarde-apen-zijn-wij-de-enige-muzikale-dieren-a2754249

Does music have evolutionary origins?

Figure R1 from Savage et al. (2021)*

Recently a special issue of Behavioral and Brain Sciences came out, dedicated to the topic of music and evolution. Two target articles and 60 commentaries (on these target articles) by 109 experts reveal the current and complex debate about the origins of music. This debate is nicely depicted in Figure R1 (see left), showing a wide spread of positions with regard to both target articles.*

Personally, I'm really happy with this special issue and the effort that the authors of both target papers put in formulating their ideas and responded to the commentaries. It will hopefully give another boost to the scientific study of music/ality and its origins!

Nevertheless, in my commentary, I note that both proposals focus on overt musical behavior and largely ignore the role of perception and cognition. Furthermore, both articles blur the boundaries between the potential origins of language and music. It invites for an alternative approach, and concludes that the research focus should be on what makes the capacity for music distinct from that of language. For details see Honing (2021).

Honing, H. (2021). Unravelling the origins of musicality: Beyond music as an epiphenomenon of language. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 44, E78. doi:10.1017/S0140525X20001211

Mehr, S., Krasnow, M., Bryant, G., & Hagen, E. (2021). Toward a productive evolutionary understanding of music. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 44, E122. doi:10.1017/S0140525X21000030

Savage, P., Loui, P., Tarr, B., Schachner, A., Glowacki, L., Mithen, S., & Fitch, W. (2021). Toward inclusive theories of the evolution of musicality. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 44, E121. doi:10.1017/S0140525X21000042

*Software use to generate the Figure (an informal rating of two of the authors) can be found here.

Want to be an intern at MCG in 2021/22?

New internships / master projects at MCG for 2021/22:

1. Explorative design and evaluation of memory-based listening games  
2. What are we actually listening to when we listen to music? Pitch, rhythm or something else?
3. Revisiting rhythm space: modeling diversity in categorical rhythm perception  
4. Ontwerp van kennis- en luisterspel ter promotie muziekcognitie-onderzoek [Dutch] 
5. and more...
   

See for detailed information: https://www.mcg.uva.nl/stages.html.

Interested in rhythm and synchronization in humans and other animals?

Today a novel theme issue of the Philosophical Transactions B came out that assembles current studies that ask how and why precise synchronization and related forms of rhythm interaction are expressed in a wide range of behavior. The studies cover human activity, with an emphasis on music, and social behavior, reproduction and communication in non-human animals.

Greenfield, M. D., Honing, H, Kotz, S A. & Ravignani, A  (2021) Synchrony and rhythm interaction: from the brain to behavioural ecology. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 376 http://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2020.0324

Interested in bridging data science and music research during a PhD at the UvA?

The UvA Data Science Centre seeks to accelerate data driven research within the UvA. Part of that mission is to foster interdisciplinary research. Specifically, in this call, the UvA aims to foster research into new data science methods that help to tackle hard challenging problems in a given domain. Such interaction is realized through joint supervision of the proposed PhD project: one supervisor with core expertise in data science methods, the other with core expertise in the domain problem. 

For details on the PhD-program see here.  

If interested, please contact MCG before September 1, 2021.

Deadline for final applications:  September 23, 2021,17:00.

Zijn álle dieren muzikaal? [Dutch]

Zijn álle dieren muzikaal? Klopt de aanname van Charles Darwin dat álle dieren melodie en ritme kunnen waarnemen en waarderen? Henkjan Honing licht dit toe tijdens een webinar georganiseerd door de KNAW over de communicatie tussen robots en dieren op 9 sep. Meld je aan via: https://bit.ly/3lvq5IS

Cheesecake voor de oren? [Dutch]

Beeld Astrid Anna van Rooij.

 

Muziekliefhebbers mogen tot hun grote vreugde eindelijk weer naar concerten en festivals. Maar waarom genieten we eigenlijk zo van trillende lucht? En heeft dat ook ‘nut’? De vier belangrijkste ideeën gewogen. 

Een artikel geschreven door Niels Waarlo (Volkskrant).

"Kippevel, niet kunnen stilstaan, zelfs tranen in de ogen: breng de lucht op de juiste frequenties aan het trillen en mensen kunnen heftig reageren. En dat heeft verder geen enkel nut, menen sommige wetenschappers. Of, zoals psycholoog en filosoof William James in 1890 al schreef: ‘Muziek is louter een bijkomstigheid van het hebben van een gehoororgaan.’ 

De beroemde Canadese psycholoog Steven Pinker vergeleek muziek in de jaren negentig met cheesecake. Mensen zijn geëvolueerd om voedzame suikers en vetten lekker te vinden vanwege de voedzaamheid, als gevolg daarvan is cheesecake nu in trek. Dat betekent niet dat cheesecake zelf een rol speelde in de evolutie, schreef hij.  

Zo zou het ook met muziek zijn. Die kietelt het brein door een samenkomst van allerlei andere vermogens om geluiden te verwerken, taal te begrijpen en patronen te herkennen. De mensheid zonder muziek is als de mensheid zonder cheesecake: jammer van de lekkernij, voor het voortbestaan van de soort maakt het geen verschil"

Lees het volledige artikel in de Volkskrant.

Dieren net zo muzikaal als mensen? [Dutch]

Muzikaliteit bij dieren? [Dutch]

Redacteuren Mariël Doedens en Lianne Hooijmans spreken in een recente aflevering van Radio Swammerdam over het onderzoek naar deze vraag.

" 'Talking about music is like dancing about architecture”' wordt weleens gezegd. Toch is muziek iets waar mensen graag mee bezig zijn en dus ook graag (in een radio uitzending) over praten. Je hoeft geen conservatorium student te zijn om iets met muziek te hebben. De mens is een muzikale soort stelt. Maar zijn alleen wij mensen muzikaal en is dat iets wat ons uniek maakt of zijn dieren dat misschien ook? "

Radio Swammerdam · Muzikaliteit bij dieren

Unravelling the capacity for music?

We just heard that our research proposal "Unravelling our capacity for music" was granted by NWO SSH in the 2020 Open Competition!

In this  research project we will try to identify which set of music cognitive traits gives rise to our ability to perceive and appreciate music. We will approach musicality as a multicomponent phenomenon, aiming to decompose the capacity for music into its constituent components. The focus will be on melody and rhythm cognition, with special attention to their interaction with timbre. 

The research will result in a ‘phenomics of musicality’, providing a robust and relatively unbiased way of identifying the human capacity for music. Overall, the project serves as an important first step in a larger research programme, that has the aspiration to lay a new, interdisciplinary foundation for the study of musicality. 

See for more information about the research here.

Gingras, B., Honing, H., Peretz, I., Trainor, L. J., & Fisher, S. E. (2015). Defining the biological bases of individual differences in musicality. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences, 370(1664), 20140092. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2014.0092

Honing, H., ten Cate, C., Peretz, I., & Trehub, S. E. (2015). Without it no music: cognition, biology and evolution of musicality. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences, 370(1664), 20140088. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2014.0088

Wat is het belang van wetenschapscommunicatie? [Dutch]

Op initiatief van het ministerie van OCW is bij de KNAW een fonds in het leven geroepen om wetenschappers te ondersteunen die zich structureel inspannen voor wetenschapscommunicatie. De Music Cognition Group is éen van de winnaars. Fred Weerman (decaan FGw van de UvA) bespreekt de do’s & don’ts van de wetenschapscommunicatie in zijn wekelijkse Vlog met penvoerder Henkjan Honing:

Interested in the basics of music cognition?

In September a new booklet will appear in the Routledge's the basics series on Music Cognition. It explores the active role that cognition plays in how music makes us feel: exhilarated, soothed, or inspired. Grounded in the latest research in areas of psychology, biology, and cognitive neuroscience, this book concentrates on our underappreciated musical skills.

 

Honing, H. (2021, September) Music Cognition: The Basics. London: Routledge.

Was Darwin wrong?

The artists of the animal kingdom –  A recent episode of the BBC Earth Podcast series is about exploring whether animals can dance to a beat and, if so, why? Presented by Emily Knight. 

The podcast can be found here.

Thank Cod for Rock 'n Roll? [Dutch]

Houden we van bas dankzij ons evenwichtsorgaan? 

De wetenschap barst van wilde ideeën die nog onbewezen zijn. Maar hoe overtuigend zijn ze?

Deze week schrijft Ronald Veldhuizen in de Volkskrant over waarom we houden van dreunende basklanken. Dit naar aanleiding van Todd & Lee (2015), een terugblik op Todd's "wilde" theorie die hij in 2000 presenteerde op een conferentie met de titel "Thank Cod for Rock 'N Roll", en die elegant werd getest door Trainor et al. (2009), maar helaas nooit  werd gerepliceerd. 

Zie het artikel in de Volkskrant.

Todd, N. P. M., & Lee, C. S. (2015). The sensory-motor theory of rhythm and beat induction 20 years on: a new synthesis and future perspectives. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 9, 444. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2015.00444

Trainor, L. J., Gao, X., Lei, J. jiang, Lehtovaara, K., & Harris, L. R. (2009). The primal role of the vestibular system in determining musical rhythm. Cortex, 45(1), 35–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2007.10.014

Lenc, T., Keller, P. E., Varlet, M., & Nozaradan, S. (2018). Neural tracking of the musical beat is enhanced by low-frequency sounds. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 115(32), 8221–8226. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1801421115

Interested in a Summer School on Musicality?

From 14-24 June 2021 an impressive cast of international lecturers (click on poster on the left), from a wide range of disciplines, will try to unravel our capacity for music. Students will, next to attending lectures, work groups and online social events, work in groups with a designated tutor on a research project, within the broad topic of musicality, which they will present towards the end of the Summer School. 

The ABC Summer School will be taught online (Zoom); The closing ABC Symposium will be hybrid. 

Credits: 4 ECTS. Tuition: €275. N.B. This fee will be waived for all students registered at a Dutch university.

Detailed information can be found at mcg.uva.nl/summerschool.

New podcast series: Hello World! Are you listening?

STEIM –a ‘network laboratory’ for experiments in sound art and electronic live performance– started a new podcast series on how to become a better listener. See below the first episode, including an interview by Leon Lapa Pereira with Henkjan Honing:

Interested in doing a Minor in Amsterdam?

The minor Music, Culture, Cognition enables students to establish links between culture and cognition through the study of music across cultures (and potentially even across species). It offers a unique combination of cultural theory and methods from the cognitive sciences through a focus on music, its workings, functions and origins. You will be working with experts from the fields of both cultural musicology and music cognition. See for more information the UvA website.

Interested in doing a Master in Amsterdam?

Become a Master in Music Studies at the University of Amsterdam: 'Three approaches in a one-year programme – specialize or combine.' Application for 2021/22 is now open!

Note that the deadline for non-EU/EEA students is 1 March 2021. (If you are an applicant with an EU/EEA nationality and wish to apply for housing, you must submit your application by 1 March. N.B. For Dutch/EU students the deadline is 15 May.)

For detailed information on our interdisciplinary program, see www.musicstudies.nl. 

But maybe you want to see and hear more first?  

Feel free to apply to UvA's online Open House. Open House is the perfect way to get to know UvA study programmes and university life from the comfort of your own home.

Interested in doing a PhD in Amsterdam?

The Institute for Logic, Language and Computation (ILLC) at the University of Amsterdam (UvA) currently has a PhD position available. Applications are invited from excellent candidates wishing to conduct research in an area within ILLC (i.e. mathematics, artificial intelligence, linguistics, philosophy, or music cognition) that fits naturally the Faculty of Humanities.

See webpage for more information. Deadline: 31 March 2021.

Where did music come from?

Credit: Erikacarreraph/Shutersttock

Where Did Music Come From? Did humans evolve to sing and dance? Or did we invent our musical pastimes? Asks Cody Cottier in Discovery Magazine:

'Look anywhere and you’ll find music. Without a single exception, every culture produces some form of it. Like language, it’s a universal trait in our species, and over the millennia it has bloomed into a diverse and stunning global symphony. Yet its origin remains one of the great secrets of human history. 

The oldest known instruments are 42,000-year-old bone flutes discovered in caves in Germany. Vocal music surely predates these, but the problem, according to University of Amsterdam musicologist Henkjan Honing, “is that music doesn’t fossilize and our brains don’t fossilize.” With little hard evidence, scientists still debate what evolutionary purpose music serves. And because its purpose is obscure enough to warrant debate, some skeptics question whether it serves any purpose at all.'

Opening text of a recent article in Discovery Magazine.

Interested in the Evolution of Language and Music?

Last semester we finalized a new edition of the course Evolution of Language and Music. As every year, we closed it off with a student mini-conference. You can find the output of this years online edition here: a website full of blog posts and pitch videos that were made by the participating students.

N.B. The next edition will be held in the Spring of 2022 (See UvA Studiegids).