The Emotional Characteristics of Bowed String Instruments with Different Pitch and Dynamics

Chau CJ, Gilburt SJM, Mo R, Horner A. The Emotional Characteristics of Bowed String Instruments with Different Pitch and Dynamics. J Audio Eng Soc. 2017;65(7/8):573-588. doi:10.17743/jaes.2017.0020

@article{Chau2017_19173,
  author = {Chau, Chuck-jee and Gilburt, Samuel J. M. and Mo, Ronald and Horner, Andrew},
  title = {{The Emotional Characteristics of Bowed String Instruments with Different Pitch and Dynamics}},
  journal = {Journal of the Audio Engineering Society},
  volume = {65},
  number = {7/8},
  pages = {573--588},
  year = {2017},
  month = jul,
  publisher = {Audio Engineering Society},
  doi = {10.17743/jaes.2017.0020},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.17743/jaes.2017.0020}
}

TY  - JOUR
TI  - The Emotional Characteristics of Bowed String Instruments with Different Pitch and Dynamics
AU  - Chau, Chuck-jee
AU  - Gilburt, Samuel J. M.
AU  - Mo, Ronald
AU  - Horner, Andrew
T2  - Journal of the Audio Engineering Society
J2  - J. Audio Eng. Soc.
VL  - 65
IS  - 7/8
SP  - 573
EP  - 588
PY  - 2017
DA  - 2017/07/06
DO  - 10.17743/jaes.2017.0020
UR  - https://doi.org/10.17743/jaes.2017.0020
PB  - Audio Engineering Society
LA  - en
AB  - This paper investigates how emotional characteristics vary with pitch and dynamics within the bowed string instrument family. Listening tests compared the effects of pitch and dynamics on emotional characteristics of the violin, viola, cello, and double bass. Listeners compared the sounds pairwise over ten emotional categories. Results showed that the emotional characteristics Happy, Heroic, Romantic, Comic, and Calm generally increased with pitch, but decreased at the highest pitches. Angry and Sad generally decreased with pitch. Scary was strong in the extreme low and high registers, while Shy and Mysterious were unaffected by pitch. For dynamics, the results showed that Heroic, Comic, and Angry were stronger for loud notes, while Romantic, Calm, Shy, Sad, and the high register for Happy were stronger for soft notes. Scary and Mysterious were unaffected by dynamics. The results also showed significant differences between different bowed string instruments on notes of the same pitch and dynamic level. The results provide audio engineers and musicians with suggestions for emphasizing emotional characteristics of bowed strings in sound recordings and performances.
ER  -