Tone of Voice and Mind : The Connections between Intonation ...

Musical interlude 91
3. These two low-level psychological effects are the likely foundations on which the two
most important cognitive effects in the perception of music stand: i.e., anchoring and
chordal relations. In brief, anchoring is concerned with the resolution of two-tone dissonance
within the constraints of diatonic scales. Normally, this involves successive tones that
differ by a semitone or whole-tone, where the inherent dissonance is resolved by “anchoring”
to a tone of the diatonic scale, most often the dominant or tonic, following a non-diatonic
tone. Chordal relations involve a higher-level resolution, where the aptness of a sequence
of chords depends on the musical mode and key. These two phenomena are the starting
point for the discussion of the cognition of music [see, Bharucha 1984, 1996; Krumhansl
2001; Povel & Jansen 2001; and Tan et al. 1981], but already go beyond the psychophysical
argument of the present chapter.
4. A related developmental hypothesis has been suggested by Levelt (1999:112). He notes
that “a high register universally expresses vulnerability, helplessness, or special deference.
The origin of that impression may be the child’s very high speech register”. Whether evolutionary
or developmental, the basic idea is that high or rising pitch has an intrinsic biological
meaning – a significance that we may be able to adorn, qualify or elaborate on in music or
speech intonation, but cannot ignore.
5. The high-pitched whimpering and whining of animals in defeat is familiar, but there are
also linguistic phrases that express the same phenomenon. In Japanese, the phrase “ne wo
ageru” is used to indicate giving up, throwing in the towel or admitting defeat. Literally, it
means “to raise one’s sound [tone]” (as distinct from raising the volume of one’s voice).