Re: Minor third (Elyse Sussman )


Subject: Re: Minor third
From:    Elyse Sussman  <esussman(at)AECOM.YU.EDU>
Date:    Fri, 28 Jan 2005 18:07:07 -0500

My understanding of the "universal" is that you have to go to a children's playground and listen to the kids calling to each other spontaneously (e.g., "Johnny is a baby, nah- nah-na-nah-nah") and then you'll hear the minor 3rd -- independent of the content of the name calling. Music teachers used this observation of the natural fall of the voice when writing songs for children. Though I don't remember the details any longer, you may want to ask an elementary school music teacher. Regards, Elyse Sussman > I am curious just how "universal" this "universal" is. I have seen > cases where what has been claimed as a universal is merely a case of > ignoring any data that don't fit the model. I haven't listened to > street vendors lately (that being a disappearing breed in the US) but > I have been to many basketball games and can't recall hearing too many > cries of "Air Ball". Either the crowd groans (if it's the home team) > or shouts "Briiiick....". > > Any data? > > Brian Gygi > Postdoctoral Fellow > Speech and Hearing Research > East Bay Institute for Research and Education > Martinez, CA > > >To: pdivenyi(at)EBIRE.ORG > >From: "Jeremy Day-O'Connell" <jdoc(at)uchicago.edu> > >Subject: Intoned calls > > > >Dear Professor Divenyi, > > > >I am a music theorist currently working on the possible linguistic > >sources of certain stereotyped musical gestures. I'm especially > >interested in what I think of as "calling thirds" (what Ladd and > >others have called "stylized intonation"). > > > >Although I'm new to linguistics, I have been in touch with John > >Ohala, who thought you might be of some assistance. > > > >I was wondering if you (or anyone you're aware of) has thought about > >the purported universality of the minor third interval (give or take > >a semitone) in stylized intonation -- the calls of street vendors, > >the vocatives so widely cited by linguists, the cry of "Air ball!" at > >basketball games.... For instance, in addition to Ohala's "frequency > >code," might there be an "interval code"? > > > >(My own hypothesis is that the minor third represents a compromise > >between two opposite tendencies, one vocal, one perceptual: 1) the > >_smaller_ the interval, the easier to produce a consistent vocal tone > >on the two notes; 2) the _larger_ the interval, the easier the task > >of melodic "scene analysis" in noisy real-world situations.) > > > >I'd be grateful for any thoughts or references you might be able to > >share. > > > >Yours, > >Jeremy > **************************************** Elyse Sussman, Ph.D. Department of Neuroscience Albert Einstein College of Medicine 1410 Pelham Parkway S Bronx, NY 10461 Ph: 1-718-430-3313 Fax: 1-718-430-8821 EMAIL: esussman(at)aecom.yu.edu *****************************************


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