More from the website:
“The hypothesis is, if we can hear a difference, we should be able to see something that will show us what the acoustic attribute is that means that the brain hears it in that way.” But to study this you need an anechoic chamber – a room designed to prevent any sound from being reflected, which means only the purest tones of volunteer singers are recorded. …He says: “In our experiments it looks as if that particular ‘ring’ is happening above the normal speech area, in the region up around 8,000 Hz, where there is something appearing when you get this really shimmery sound.“It’s something that makes you sit up, it’s something that communicates with the soul. It’s way beyond the words, it’s way beyond the music, it’s something about the content going from the brain of a singer to the brain of a listener.”
I love those last few sentences – we are involved with something that makes people sit up – something that communicates with the soul – something that goes from our brain and into another.
Allen H Simon says
Tom Carter says
Audience members are moved deeply if and when the singer’s personal connection to text and music is compelling and complete. If the singers’ thoughts are primarily technical – if they are focusing on notes, phrasing, lyrics, dynamics, beauty of tone, vocal technique, et cetera – then these are the thoughts that will be communicated to the audience and this is the “connection” that will be made.
Unfortunately, this type of performance leaves both singer and audience member disconnected and detached from their common humanness, and the spirit of the music remains on the printed page. Even when singers try to convey the emotion of the music through their sound, attempt to communicate its mood and meaning through the use of corresponding facial expressions, or try to channel the director’s vulnerable and empathic connection, audience members will remain relatively disengaged.
On the other hand, if the singers are genuinely connected at a meaningful personal level with the music and the lyrics, then their faces, bodies, hearts, souls, and voices express that connection … and the audience can not help but be engaged likewise. When that happens, all involved are transported; the concert becomes a passionate celebration of shared humanity.