Touch at a Distance

35 snips

Sep 1, 2023

Diana Deutsch, a psychology professor specializing in sound and music, dives into the fascinating interplay between language and musicality. She reveals how certain languages enhance musical perception and discusses the phenomenon of perfect pitch, highlighting its cultural nuances. The conversation takes a turn to explore how sound serves as a tactile connection, shaping emotional responses. Finally, the tumultuous debut of Stravinsky's 'The Rite of Spring' is analyzed, illustrating how dissonance can provoke powerful reactions in listeners.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

ANECDOTE

Speech to Song

Diana Deutsch looped the phrase "sometimes behave so strangely" while working on her CD.
After repetitions, it morphed into a song, highlighting the blurred line between speech and music.

INSIGHT

Musical Languages

Languages possess unique musical personalities, impacting our perception of music.
Tone languages, where pitch alters meaning, offer insights into the interplay between language and music.

INSIGHT

Tone Language and Perfect Pitch

Diana Deutsch's research suggests that tone language speakers may possess a form of perfect pitch.
This is because they learn to discern subtle pitch changes early in life.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

In this episode from 2007, we take you on a tour of language, music, and the properties of sound. We look at what sound does to our bodies, our brains, our feelings… and we go back to the reason we at Radiolab tell you stories the way we do.

First, we look at Diana Deutsch’s work on language and music, and how certain languages seem to promote musicality in humans. Then we meet Psychologist Anne Fernald and listen to parents as they talk to their babies across languages and cultures. Last, we go to 1913 Paris and sneak into the premiere of Igor Stravinsky’s score of The Rite of Spring.

Check out Diana Deutsch's 'Audio Illusions' here (https://deutsch.ucsd.edu/psychology/pages.php?i=201).

Our newsletter comes out every Wednesday. It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Sign up (https://radiolab.org/newsletter)!

Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab (https://members.radiolab.org/) today.

Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing radiolab@wnyc.orgCorrection: An earlier version of this piece incorrectly stated the dates of two performances of “Rite of Spring” and the time that passed between them. The performance that inspired rioting occurred on May 29th, 1913. The second performance that we discussed occurred in April of 1914. The audio has been adjusted to reflect this fact.Correction: An earlier version of this piece incorrectly stated that the “Rite of Spring” was used in the movie “Fantasia” during the part that featured mushrooms. It was in fact used during the part that featured dinosaurs. The audio has been adjusted to reflect this fact.

Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Science Sandbox, a Simons Foundation Initiative, and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.