Music and Kansei: Relations between Modes, Melodic Ranges, Rhythms, and Kansei

Abstract

In this chapter, at first the authors review the researches on music in Japan Society of Kansei Engineering. Music related researches are classified into 6 categories; Kansei evaluation methodology, music psychological research, physiological measurement, music theoretical research, Kansei music system and recommendation system. Then, the authors present their approaches for research Kansei on melody and rhythm from the music theoretical aspect. A mode, one of the most elemental structures in music, is a sequence of n musical tones, arranged from the 12 tones, that fall within a one-octave range and are chosen and arranged according to the rules of that mode. In this chapter, the authors analyze, using sound tracks composed automatically by computer software, the relationships between modes and Kansei. “Melodic range” is defined as the high and low extent of the tone movements in a mode. Mode and melodic ranges were the parameters they controlled for evaluation by Kansei. Eighteen sample tracks were automatically composed from combinations of six modes and three ranges. Forty-seven Kansei word pairs were used in the research questionnaire. The results of principal component analysis and an analysis of variance reveal a contrast between tracks with major modes and a larger range and tracks with minor modes and small range. The authors also found that modes and ranges can independently or synergistically affect the Kansei. Based on their results, they have developed a real-time melody recognition program that identifies the mode and its corresponding Kansei from music. The authors also studied rhythm with programmed drum patterns and found that the fluctuation of drum beats relates to the degree of activity, with the interval and complexity of the rhythmic variations relating to the strained to bright axis of a principal components loading map.