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  • 8/12/2019 Stereo Thesis Quarterly Review (Apr/Jun 2012)

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    The

    tereo ThesisQuarterly Review

    An E-zine of Articles, Insights, and Ideas for Artists,

    Musicians, and Content Creators

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    (April June 2012)

    Table of Contents

    The 4 Pillars to Great Songwriting3

    The Brain, the Ear, and the Sense of Hearing 6

    The Skillful Use of Questions in Songwriting.9

    Music and the Kama Sutra13

    Hooks and Earworms .17

    Copyright 2012, Marc Avante

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    T h e 4 P i l l a r s t o G r ea t So n gw r i t i n g

    By Marc Avante

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    To receive interesting articles, news, artist info, FREE music, and exclusive access tofuture releases by Stereo Thesis, sign up and join our mailing list. Whenever you signup to receive one of our FREE music samplers by providing your e-mail address inexchange, you give us the permission we need to contact you later via e-mail. Tochoose your FREE sampler and to join our mailing list, just click on....Free STEREOTHESISMusic Samplers.______________________________________________________________________________

    Recently I was thinking back to this last year and I was proud ofhow many new pieces of music I was able to complete. Iremembered which ones I really enjoyed working on and whichones didn't come out as well as I thought they would. I alsoremembered how surprised I was about the ones that come outmuch better than I had originally conceived.

    Then I turned my thoughts to some of the ideas I formulatedabout how I approach composing music and lyrics. So I put mythoughts in writing and here they are shared with you.

    1) Words (the symbolization and concentration of action)Words are the building blocks of complex thinking and language.Our use and development of language forms the basis of ourrelationships with others and dictates some part of the emotionswe feel about our experiences. Some believe that language

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    shapes our thoughts, while others say our language shape ourexperiences. While that debate is continuous, we are safe toassume that there is a dual relationship which is dynamic interactive and interdependent. Spoken words make peoplethink of specific things and cue them to generate acorresponding emotion. And lyrics dramatized through songcontract words into thoughts and emotions, which generate aphysical response in a persons physiology. This might lead tocrying, laughter, smiling, or resentment.2) Music (the codification and structure of sound)Music has its basis in raw sound. The organization of sound ormusical pitches is what fundamentally constitutes music.

    Compositional forms will range from the simple to the complex.Simple music is qualified by its accessibility to most people,while complex music provides entertainment and a challenge tothose whose minds are active. One of the keys to greatsongwriting is the perfect marriage between words and music.3) Human Evaluation (determining the emotionally appropriatemessage to match audience expectations with the composition ofmusic.)

    The subject of Human Evaluation comes from Dianetics, thescience of mind developed by L. Ron Hubbard. In the bible ofHuman Evaluation "Science of Survival you are taught how togauge, judge, and evaluate the average tone (or emotional state)of the audience so that you can communicate to them at theirlevel of reception in a given moment. In split seconds, you needto be able to answer the questions: Who is your audience? Whatare their expectations? Are the messages in my lyrics meetingthe crowds expectations? Are their emotional needs being metwith my musical presentation? Are my songs too fast, too slow,too long, too short, too simple, too complex, etc? All of whichhave to be answered in order to correctly present to an audiencewith specific expectations.

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    4) Communication (emotional packaging, presentation, andconnection with the audience.)Once youve identified the average emotional tone for theaudience youre presenting to, you are now in a position to

    communicate to them. Words and music are both means ofcommunication, but in themselves they are not communication.Communication is something else. Communication is somethingthat happens within the mind of another to whom you arecommunicating. It is what is received by an individual audiencemember through the medium of words and lyrics.

    These were some of the realizations I had about my ideas aboutmusic and songwriting. I had a breakthrough this last year andreached a point of artistic success as a short-term milestone bycompleting about 30 songs in an 8 month period of time. Theseideas were helpful to me and I wanted to share them with you.For every artist of any school or medium it is important to knowhow to communicate with your market or audience utilizing the4 Pillars of Great Songwriting, so study and learn themthoroughly. Then when you put them into practice youll see theresults in quantity and quality of your art, whether or not, it'ssongwriting and in audience response.__________________________________________Related Articles:

    Using the 5 Magic Emotions in Your Songwriting

    Words in Songwriting and their Power as Emotional Triggers(Part 3)__________________________________________

    http://stereothesis.bandcamp.com/5

    http://stereothesis.blogspot.com/2012/07/using-5-magic-emotions-in-your.htmlhttp://stereothesis.blogspot.com/2012/07/using-5-magic-emotions-in-your.htmlhttp://stereothesis.blogspot.com/2012/12/words-in-songwriting-and-their-power-as.htmlhttp://stereothesis.blogspot.com/2012/12/words-in-songwriting-and-their-power-as.htmlhttp://stereothesis.blogspot.com/2012/12/words-in-songwriting-and-their-power-as.htmlhttp://stereothesis.bandcamp.com/http://stereothesis.bandcamp.com/http://stereothesis.bandcamp.com/http://stereothesis.blogspot.com/2012/12/words-in-songwriting-and-their-power-as.htmlhttp://stereothesis.blogspot.com/2012/12/words-in-songwriting-and-their-power-as.htmlhttp://stereothesis.blogspot.com/2012/07/using-5-magic-emotions-in-your.html
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    The B r a i n , t h e Ea r , an d t h e Sen se o f H ea r i n g

    By Marc Avante

    ___________________________________________

    To receive interesting articles, news, artist info, FREE music, and exclusive access tofuture releases by Stereo Thesis, sign up and join our mailing list. Whenever you signup to receive one of our FREE music samplers by providing your e-mail address inexchange, you give us the permission we need to contact you later via e-mail. Tochoose your FREE sampler and to join our mailing list, just click....Free STEREOTHESISMusic Samplers._________________________________________________________________________

    I am so fascinated with the way music affects us. Sometimes itchanges our emotions, stimulates our imagination, or relaxes us.But have you ever really thought about how sound, specificallymusic, affects us physically?To describe a little about how music affects us physiologically Iwrote this article for you.Axiom 1.The body is the conduit of perceptions and sensual experiences.Axiom 2.The process of hearing consists of the internalization of a soundwave and its interpretation.

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    The production of a sound wave from an instrument, singersvoice, or speaker system forces a listener to experiencesomething physically. Because a persons body is in full contactwith the physical universe, the essence of all sensory perceptionis the sense of touch. Light waves touch our retinas, sound wavestouch and vibrate against our ear drums, and odors reach ournoses to touch our sinuses and taste buds.Some of the obvious effects from common interactions with thephysical universe and other life forms are the focusing ofattention, alerting of the mind, intensity of contact, contact-signal velocity, pressure, temperature, meaning, etc.The ear and the sense of hearing are the primary targets of thesongwriter who intends to reach an audience. Whether thataudience consists of one person alone in a room or 10,000 fansin a huge stadium, it is only through the ear that the performerwill reach them.The human ear converts the vibrations it receives through the airby capturing the sound in the ear canal, channeling it throughthree tiny bones, and then passing it through a fluid-filled spiralshaped organ called the cochlea. The sound then gets

    transmitted through exposed nerve endings which bundle intothe auditory nerve which finally sends the signal to the brain.The brain then sorts out the signals into sounds and finally intotheir significance.Isnt it amazing that, through the nervous system, the sense ofhearing gives the songwriter influence over portions of thelisteners mind and emotions?

    Because the nervous system is a closed system, it is inevitablethat one sense can activate any or all of the remaining senses.Therefore, its the brilliance, genius, or strength of the composerand their musical ideas, or some part of their music and lyricsand their hypnotic elements that gives them the ability to attracta listeners attention and guide it. In my experience, its themusic (the rhythm or melody) that prepares the mind and places

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    the person in a receptive state, while the lyrics (the words)command their state of mind.Now as far as lyrics are concerned, its the emotional content andmessage presented in a songwriters lyrics which actuallycommands the mind and senses of an audience member. Byforcing images, personal memories, and aspirations into theforefront of a persons mind, the songwriter commands to agreater or lesser degree the quantity of attention a personpossesses. In some cases nearly all of an individuals mind andattention is consumed by the artists composition and produceswhats known as a trance state.Thats why one of the goals I have as a songwriter and

    instrumentalist is to activate and command as many senses as Ican only using the medium of sound. I use music as stimuli withthe sole purpose of igniting someone elses neurology.

    __________________________________________Related Articles:

    Creativity and 70 Decibels: A Study from the Journal ofConsumer Research

    Music and Trance States of Mind__________________________________________

    http://stereothesis.bandcamp.com/8

    http://stereothesis.blogspot.com/2012/07/creativity-and-70-decibels-study-from.htmlhttp://stereothesis.blogspot.com/2012/07/creativity-and-70-decibels-study-from.htmlhttp://stereothesis.blogspot.com/2012/07/creativity-and-70-decibels-study-from.htmlhttp://stereothesis.blogspot.com/2012/08/music-and-trance-states-of-mind.htmlhttp://stereothesis.blogspot.com/2012/08/music-and-trance-states-of-mind.htmlhttp://stereothesis.bandcamp.com/http://stereothesis.bandcamp.com/http://stereothesis.bandcamp.com/http://stereothesis.blogspot.com/2012/08/music-and-trance-states-of-mind.htmlhttp://stereothesis.blogspot.com/2012/07/creativity-and-70-decibels-study-from.htmlhttp://stereothesis.blogspot.com/2012/07/creativity-and-70-decibels-study-from.html
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    The Sk i l l f u l U s e o f Quest i o n s i n Songw r i t i n g

    By Marc Avante

    ___________________________________________To receive interesting articles, news, artist info, FREE music, and exclusive access tofuture releases by Stereo Thesis, sign up and join our mailing list. Whenever you signup to receive one of our FREE music samplers by providing your e-mail address inexchange, you give us the permission we need to contact you later via e-mail. Tochoose your FREE sampler and to join our mailing list, just click....Free STEREOTHESISMusic Samplers.__________________________________________________________________________

    Have you ever noticed how some really good songs use questions

    to hook you into a story and get you involved in the drama?Questions are used by clever songwriters because of the effect

    they have on you. Effective communication in songwriting

    includes the skillful asking of questions. To ensure the

    effectiveness of the asking of questions it is important to map out

    the exact thought process you want your audience to travel on

    with you during your song.

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    Because the person who is asking the question is in control of the

    exchange, it is up to you to decide how to lead your listeners and

    toward what conclusion or emotional experience. Most people,

    including an audience, wherever you find them, are all too

    willing to answer a question. Why not? Its been inculcated intous from a very earlier age that its socially polite to be helpful and

    when possible to answer an appropriate question. What this

    means is that the asking of good questions will allow you to take

    your listener for an emotional ride by the influence of your song.

    Whenever you are concerned about a weak lyric it's possible to

    fix it with a great question. The reason is a question can work

    miracles by making the obvious your ally, stimulate responses,

    capture attention, reveal what is on your audience's mind, create

    instant agreement with your listeners, make people feel

    important and smart, and force them to make decisions.

    Here are some other powerful effects questions have on the

    listener's thinking.

    1. Questions get immediate attention.

    2. Questions give a listener an opportunity to speak (or respond

    mentally).

    3. Questions maintain a high interest in your subject.

    4. Questions break through resistance.

    5. Questions (in a series) lead a listener toward the conclusion

    you want.

    6. Questions engage and validate a listener FOR thinking.

    7. Questions soften a direct command.

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    8. Questions build confidence into your songwriting (lyrics).

    9. Questions clarify YOUR thinking.

    One great way to ask a question is to use a specific type called a

    leading question. A leading question is used to elicit an exact

    responsepreferably the response you desire. The easiest way to

    do this is to make transform a statement into a question, even if

    youre only stating the obvious. For example, Birds fly, dont

    they? You know I love you, dont cha You like me, dont

    you? and one of the most famous examples ever I bet you think

    this song is about you, dont you?

    The reason why this form of a question can work very well in asong lyric is due to its obviousness. When use to state the

    obvious, it creates instant agreement. The audience nods

    because what youve asked them to do is acknowledge something

    you said which was true and obvious. Of course, everyones felt

    that way before, everyone knows that, we all have seen that sort

    of thing, weve all lived through that kind of experience, so why

    wouldnt they? Its effective because you bypass a persons

    analytical thinking and force them to give you an immediate andautomatic emotional response. Another reason why this

    technique works so well is because its so insidious, the leading

    question virtually forces compliance.

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    Remember, in asking any question it's important to cover as

    broad a base as possible. Refer to the list above to find out how

    much is demanded of your audience in the asking of the question

    you have formulated. If the question can produce the effect of at

    least half (4 to 5) of the 9 objectives on the list above, then yourquestion is a good one.

    The leading question we talked about fulfills points 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,

    7, perhaps 8, and definitely 9. Any question by nature of being a

    question will fulfill several of these objectives automatically. Just

    make sure though that the questions you ask fulfill the purpose

    and style of the song. Their role should be supportive and

    definitely not a leading role.

    __________________________________________Related Articles:

    Words in Songwriting and their Power as Emotional Triggers(Part 3)

    The Human Voice__________________________________________

    http://stereothesis.bandcamp.com/12

    http://stereothesis.blogspot.com/2012/12/words-in-songwriting-and-their-power-as.htmlhttp://stereothesis.blogspot.com/2012/12/words-in-songwriting-and-their-power-as.htmlhttp://stereothesis.blogspot.com/2012/12/words-in-songwriting-and-their-power-as.htmlhttp://stereothesis.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-human-voice.htmlhttp://stereothesis.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-human-voice.htmlhttp://stereothesis.bandcamp.com/http://stereothesis.bandcamp.com/http://stereothesis.bandcamp.com/http://stereothesis.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-human-voice.htmlhttp://stereothesis.blogspot.com/2012/12/words-in-songwriting-and-their-power-as.htmlhttp://stereothesis.blogspot.com/2012/12/words-in-songwriting-and-their-power-as.html
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    Man should study the K am a Su t r a and the arts and sciences

    subordinate theretoEven young maids should study this K a m a

    S u t r a along with its arts and sciences before marriage, and after

    it they should continue to do so with the consent of their

    husbands.

    Her teacher should be one of the following personsthe

    daughter of a nurse brought up with her and already married, or

    a female friend who can be trusted in everything, or the sister of

    her mother (i.e. her aunt), or an old female servant, or a female

    beggar who may have formerly lived in the family, or her own

    sister, who can always be trusted.A public woman, endowed with a good disposition, beauty and

    other winning qualities, and also versed in [these] arts, obtains

    the name of Ganika, or public woman of high quality, and

    receives a seat of honour in an assemblage of men. She is,

    moreover, always respected by the king, and praised by learned

    men, and her favour being sought for by all, she becomes an

    object of universal regard.

    The daughter of a king too, as well as a daughter of a minister,

    being learned in thearts, can make their husbands favourable

    to them, even though these may have thousands of other wives

    besides themselves.

    And in the same manner, if a wife becomes separated from her

    husband, and falls into distress, she can support herself easily,

    even in a foreign country, by means of her knowledge of these

    arts.

    Even the bare knowledge of them gives attractiveness to a

    woman, though the practice of them may be only possible or

    otherwise according to the circumstances of each case.

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    A man who is versed in these arts, who is loquacious and

    acquainted with the arts of gallantry, gains very soon the hearts

    of women, even though he is only acquainted with them for a

    short time.

    After all of this fanfare about the arts to be learned and

    employed in the art of seduction, these are the arts to be studied,

    together with the Kama Sutra:

    1. Singing2. Playing on musical instruments3. Dancing4. Union of dancing, singing, and playing instrumental

    music

    5. Writing and drawing6. Playing on musical glasses filled with water7. Scenic representations; stage playing8. Quickness of hand or manual skill9. Playing a game which consists in repeating versesas

    one person finishes, another person has to commenceat once, repeating another verse, beginning with thesame letter with which the lasts speakers verseended; whoever fails to repeat is considered to have

    lost and to be subject to a forfeit or stake of some kind10. The art of mimicry or imitation11. Reading, including chanting or intoning12. Mental exercises, such as completing stanzas or verses

    on receiving a part of them; or supplying one, two, orthree lines when the remaining lines are givenindiscriminately from different verses, so as to makethe whole an entire verse with regard to its meaning;or arranging the words of a verse written irregularlyby separating the vowels from the consonants, or

    leaving them out altogether; or putting into verse orprose sentences represented by signs or symbols.There are many other such exercises.

    13. Composing poems14. Knowledge of dictionaries and vocabularies15. Knowledge of ways of changing and disguising the

    appearance of persons

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    H o ok s a n d Ea r w o rm s

    By Marc Avante

    _____________________________________________

    To receive interesting articles, news, artist info, FREE music, and exclusive access tofuture releases by Stereo Thesis, sign up and join our mailing list. Whenever you signup to receive one of our FREE music samplers by providing your e-mail address inexchange, you give us the permission we need to contact you later via e-mail. Tochoose your FREE sampler and to join our mailing list, just click....Free STEREOTHESISMusic Samplers.____________________________________________________________________________

    Whenever I get comments from friends and fans about mymusic, its funny, because almost always they complement thepieces I would have thought to be less praiseworthy than others.Its actually quite strange that the songs I write that I thinkshould be complemented or praised more often are almost nevermentioned. So I thought about it.

    What is the reason why this happens? What is it about certainpieces that I or others have written which gets people talking? Isit possible to find a common characteristic or magic qualitythat creates a special connection with listeners? In this article, I

    am going to share some of my thoughts and conclusions on thissubject and try to answer some of the questions I listed earlier.The first thing I realized was that one way to go about writingunforgettable songs is through the brilliant invention ofmemorable Hooks.

    A Hook is a musical idea, which can be a short riff, musicalpassage, or lyrical phrase that makes the song appealing andcaptures the ear of the listener. Often the chorus contains the

    hook and generally the hook is melodic, rhythmic, or verbal.Usually it also incorporates THE MOTIF, a unique or clevermelodic, rhythmic, or lyrical device, specific to the piece.

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    In contrast, an Earworm has a more psychological connotation.It is commonly defined as musical or lyrical material that repeats

    itself c ompu l s i v e l y within ones mind. Studies have determinedthat different people have varying susceptibilities to earwormsbut that almost everyone has been affected by them at one timeor another. For our purposes, the terms h o o k and e a r w o r m canbe used interchangeably. Think about it a Hook can become anEarworm and an Earworm is likely based on a Hook.

    Now that weve cleared that out of the way, lets dig a littledeeper. So is there a magic quality or reason why thishappens? And the answer is yes!

    Although hooks and earworms are catchy, studying them alonedoes not necessarily tell the whole story about what makes themcatchy. What does tell the rest of the story is studying thenature of altered states of consciousness such as trances.Weve already discussed how in popular music such as rock,dance, and pop, there are two terms that identify a catchy songand they were Hookand Earworm. But what brings the Hookand Earworm into existence is a trance generating loop. A

    trance generating loop is created when a certain q u a n t i t y ofrepetition is reached sufficient to produce an altered state ofconsciousness in an individual.

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    Trance researcher David Wier says, Music consists of manytrance generation loops consisting of the multiple rhythms andmelodies [and words]. As one listens to one specific rhythm ormelody, when a certain valueis reached, the melody is 'learned'and a dissociated tranceis produced. He goes on to say thatthe trance becomes stable when additional loops are introducedin order to reinforce the original loop. Further trance researchhas shown that the strength of [a] trance or the duration of theeffect of the trance depends mostly on the number of repetitionsand NOT on the content of the loop." He concludes with, It is astrong [trance force] which gives the sense of w ei r d n ess oro t h er -w o r l d l y quality to deep trance.

    So in a very real sense, we could say that an intelligentsongwriter is capable of inventing or discovering their ownsignature pattern for creating songs y o u c a n t g et o u t o f y o u rhead. Following these discoveries he can then magnify theresults by strategic promotion and marketing. Think about thepower just one song can have in society where that song isseemingly omnipresent. Its played on Internet, satellite, and

    commercial radio, its in millions of peoples iPods, its on T.V.,on T.V. commercials, on movie soundtracks, there are bandsdoing cover videos of the song on YouTube.com, its gettingplayed at clubs, getting remixed by DJs, getting played at schooldances, getting played at house parties, and getting played in thecar next to you.

    However, as you may have noticed not all songs contain Hooksthat are trance worthy so they never become Earworms. For onereason or another they just never become viral and dont affectus too deeply. So dont worry, anything you hear or like listeningto isnt necessarily going to infect your mind but chances are itwill if you listen to it all day and night.

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    This also explains why some of the most popular songs tend to bethe most annoying as Earworms because theyre simple easy toremember, easy to transmit to others. And what if we hear thesesongs several times a day over the course of a week. Its nowonder why then well continue to hear them in our heads whenwe least want to or expect it. So would you like to know how todetect if youre under the influence of an Earworm or not? Well,the only way in which you can identify whether or not you arerelates to whether or not your attention is fixed. When yourattention is so limited that it feels like tunnel vision, then youare in a trance. Beware of this effect.

    If youre mathematically minded heres a simple formula for you

    to remember.

    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++A Formula for Catchiness

    S(H) x P + M = EA Song multiplied by its Hook times the combined effect ofPromotion and Marketing equals its effect as an Earworm.

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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    Here is a link to a video about Earworms featuring a brief

    interview with noted British neurologist and psychologist Oliver

    Sacks. Sacks is the author of numerous bestselling books,including several collections of case studies of people with

    neurological disorders. His 1973 book Awakenings was adapted

    into an Academy Award-nominated film of the same name in

    1990 starring Robin Williams and Robert De Niro. He, and his

    book Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain, were the

    subjects of "Musical Minds", an episode of the PBS series Nova.

    To see the video right now,click here.

    __________________________________________Related Articles:

    Music and Trance States of Mind__________________________________________

    http://stereothesis.bandcamp.com/

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