The temporal perception by musician and non-musician adolescents regarding contemporary music excerpts: a comparative study between France, Brazil and Canada

Abstract: Elaborated in France in 2011 during the doctorate degree, this research aims to observe the effect of various musical structures, extracted from the minimalist, musical current of thought, on temporal auditive perception of musician and non-musician adolescents. Our present goal is to widen this study to other countries. In order to undertake this research, firstly, we established our conception of musical time and the impact we suppose it has on auditive perception. Once the minimalist musical work corpus was selected, we did a musical analysis of the sound excerpts chosen for the elaboration of two experiments. The analysis meant to justify the selection of these excerpts and to guide the music writing processes, been liable to distort duration perception of the subjects. Two experiments, a free categorization task and a duration evaluation task, have been elaborated in France. These experiments have now been applied in Brazil, and soon will take place in Canada. The results of the experiments with young French people showed that only some writing processes used by the minimalist composers seemed to have an effect on the musical structure perception. This result applied for musicians and for non-musicians. Would this result be the same for young people of other countries? That is the question that the study now in course wants to answer.

Bio: Adeline Stervinou – Bachelor’s degree in Music (music education and musicology, 2004), Master in music (modern and contemporary-Musical creation, 2006), Ph.D. in music (Musicology, 2011), all from the University of Toulouse in France. Earned various titles of Conservatories (Rodez and Toulouse in France). Among these, three first prizes, one in flute, and the others in Chamber music and in musical perception. Performed in orchestras of different styles, from jazz to classical music. Taught music history and analysis, as well as guided completions of course work at the Music Department of the University of Toulouse. Currently Assistant Professor at the Federal University of Ceará, where she develops several projects and activities, including conducting, among other professors, of the Symphonic Orchestra of the Federal University of Ceará. She develops research about the relations of cognition and musical education, focusing on collective teaching methodologies of wind instruments and percussion. Moreover, she does research concerning the musical relations between France and Brazil. She is an Associate Researcher of the Research Group LLA Creatis of the University of Toulouse in France and of the Research Group MODAL of the Simon Fraser University in Vancouver.