Or music quality. Generally refers to the characteristics of being able to appreciate, understand, express or create music. However, this term is a broad concept and has a vague meaning. Music psychologists have not been able to come up with a generally accepted definition.
It is generally believed that musical sense includes two types of elements: 1. It is closely related to physiological conditions, such as pitch sense, rhythm sense, timbre sense, harmony sense, etc. ② It is a comprehensive element, such as musical memory, musical imagination, musical form sense, musical aesthetic sense, etc. Musical sense can be improved through training and cultivation, but there is no conclusion yet on how to understand music prodigies and so-called musical geniuses who have a strong sense of music in their early years.
Connected to this is the so-called tone-deaf, that is, a person who has no or extremely poor sense of music. Some tone-deafness can be attributed to physiological obstacles or pathological phenomena in hearing, but there are also situations where the person is physiologically sound but lacks the ability to perceive music, and it is difficult to improve through learning and training. In addition, in terms of appreciation, performance and creative ability, the role of musical sense, the components of musical sense, the formation of musical sense, the measurement of musical sense, and the types of musical sense are all topics that need to be studied in depth.
Also receiving attention is the relationship between music and emotion. Western music psychologists focus on using music as a physical stimulus to measure people's various physiological and psychological reactions through experiments. Find general patterns and individual differences. Since it involves the field of aesthetics, psychologists from various schools have reached quite inconsistent conclusions. The existence of musical talent cannot be denied. However, there is no conclusion yet on what elements musical talent includes and how to cultivate it. For example, Sishore believes that there should be six aspects, namely, pitch sense, tone intensity sense, time value sense, rhythm sense, harmony sense and pitch memory ability. M. Schon believes that musical talent should include: auditory sensitivity, musical emotion and understanding, musical realization, musical intelligence, musical memory, thinking ability, self-confidence and musical temperament, etc. Some people also pointed out that tonal imagination and musical experience are also important to musical ability.
In order to determine the quality of musical ability, the so-called "musical ability test" appeared in the West. Psychologists compiled a series of questions and asked the test takers to answer them, and then judged the superiority of musical ability based on the answers. inferior. The earliest test form was compiled by Sishore, with 100 questions. In 1919, it was recorded into 6 records and released to the public. In 1930, J. Quarvazer (1894-1977)'s music testing method only used 3 tones, but constantly changed the pitch, duration, loudness and rhythm. After 40 and 50 changes, a judgment can be made . Wayne's "Standard Musical Intelligence Test" (1948) requires nearly an hour of piano playing to test content, including chord analysis, pitch changes, musical memory, rhythmic emphasis, harmony, dynamics and phrasing, etc. However, it may still be doubtful whether these tests can truly identify the level of musical ability, but as a reference, they have certain value.
Western psychologists have also conducted a lot of research on whether musical talent is hereditary, the characteristics of musical prodigies, the musical talent of blind people, and the relationship between musical talent and other talents. However, so far, no results have been obtained. A more consistent understanding. Where the composer's creative impulse comes from, how musical ideas are formed, and how they are expressed in specific forms have always aroused the interest of music theorists. Western psychologists focus on exploring the characteristics of psychological activities in the process of music creation, including the relationship between emotion and reason, the impact of the composer's personality, temperament, mental state, and lifestyle on creation, etc.
What is more common is the study of inspiration, including what inspiration is, its source, its role in the creative process, and how to cultivate or find inspiration, etc.
Similarly, the performer's psychological process of re-creation is also the subject of research. Psychologists try to find out the similarities and differences between musical imagination and musical thinking and general imagination and general thinking. A common method is to investigate the situations of musicians and other artists or scientists in different categories, make a comparative analysis, and then find out the characteristics of musicians. Research in this area is still in its infancy.