Music again: Perspectives on repetition in music

Abstract: Huron (2006) observes that music is a uniquely repetitive stimulus. While music theory has examined repetition in the context of form, there has been surprisingly little examination from either music or psychology of the dynamic experience of repeating elements. What is repetition’s function in the learning, syntax, and enjoyment of music? This talk offers some theoretical and empirical approaches to this topic.

Bio: Elizabeth Hellmuth Margulis studied piano with Veda Kaplinsky at the Peabody Conservatory of Music before pursuing a Ph.D. at Columbia University. Her work examines the interface between musical structure and engagement, especially in listeners without formal training, and especially as it occurs dynamically across the course of the listening experience. Her research can be found in diverse journals including Music Perception, Psychology of Music, Journal of New Music Research, Music Theory Spectrum, Computer Music Journal, Review of General Psychology, Human Brain Mapping, American Journal of Bioethics, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, and Journal of Music Theory.