A synthesizer is something that is used in techno music. It is an electronic instrument capable of creating a range of sounds by generating and combining signals of different frequencies. There are three main types of synthesizers which operate differently: analog, digital and software-based. Rather than creating direct sounds, synthesizers create electrical signals which are processed through headphones or a loudspeaker.
Synthpop is a subgenre of New Wave music. In Synthpop, the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument that is used. It is associated with the era between the late 1970s and early to middle 1980s however it has continued to exist and develop even up to this day. The German group Kraftwerk and Japanese group Yellow Magic Orchestra are said to pioneer this style of music, however a lot other musicians have improved to the original style.
Ambient music is a musical genre where sound is more important than notes and is recognized by its environmental and atmospheric feel. The main effect of this kind of music is to drift in and out of the listener’s awareness. This genre came from early 20th century forms of “semi-audible music”, from Erik Satie’s impressionism, through Terry Riley and Philip Glass’ minimalism of concrete music and Brian Eno’s deliberate sub-audible approach. During later times, ambient music is applied to rhythmic music at raves and dance events.
Music psychologists investigate all aspects of musical behavior by applying methods and knowledge from all aspects of psychology. Topics of study include for example:
* everyday music listening
* musical rituals and gatherings
* the specific skills and processes involved in learning a musical instrument or singing in a choir
* musical behaviors such as dancing and responding emotionally to music
* development of musical behaviours and abilities throughout the lifespan
* the role of music in forming personal and group identities
* preferences: the reasons why we like some kinds of music and not others
* the structures that we hear within music: melody, phrasing, harmony, tonality, rhythm, meter
* the psychological processes involved in musical performance
Topics in the field include the following and others:
* A listener’s perception of grouping structure (motives, phrases, sections, etc.)
* Rhythm and meter (perception and production)
* Key inference
* Expectation (including melodic expectation).
* Musical similarity
* Emotional, affective, or arousal response
* Expressive, musical performance
Some aspects of cognitive music theory describe how sound is perceived by a listener. While the study of human interpretations of sound is called psychoacoustics, the cognitive aspects of how listeners interpret sounds as musical events is commonly known as music cognition.
