Re: [Harp-L] Musical Predictions

[Tom Albanese <reedwrecker@xxxxxxxxx>]

Ratios aside, the message makes total sense. If you can predict 100% of the
music you listen to you will quickly loose interest because you're bored to
tears. But if you can predict none of it, you'll probably have a very hard
time enjoying the music because it's hard to find satisfaction in something
that's totally unfamiliar. That's why avant-garde jazz usually isn't the
biggest part of most record collections.

When I first read this article (
http://scienceblogs.com/cortex/2010/01/musical_predictions.php - in case you
missed it the first time, it's a short read) I thought for a minute about
how it would apply to the blues. Blues can be very predictable but within
the structure it's still possible to surprise and excite your audience by
leading them to expect one thing and then throw a curve ball at them. Easier
said than done but something to shoot for.

tom albanese

On Wed, Jan 27, 2010 at 7:12 PM, joe leone <3n037@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> T H I S  is brilliant.
> s-j
>
>
> On Jan 27, 2010, at 7:45 AM, icemanle@xxxxxxx wrote:
>
>
>>  I teach an understanding of music based on a formula I came up with -
>> 80/20 (not based on scientific evidence - just intuition. Nice to note that
>> this article reaffirms what I've found to be true).
>>
>> 80% of the time, if the audience is able to "predict" what comes next,
>> they become comfortable with the music. However, if you don't surprise them
>> 20% of the time, they will lose interest, as it becomes "too familiar". If
>> you surprise them more than, say 20%, they become uncomfortable in their
>> failure to be able to predict, and you may lose them this way.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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