Musical Tastes

What is one of the hallmarks of Western music?

• The use of only consonant notes

• The combination of notes to create pleasant and unpleasant sounds

• The exclusive use of dissonant notes

• The absence of any note combinations

What have scientists hypothesized about the preference for consonance over dissonance?

• It is irrelevant to music

• It has a biological basis

• It is a cultural invention

• It is unique to Western listeners

What do ethnomusicologists and composers typically assume about consonance?

• It is a cultural invention

• It is the same across all cultures

• It is disliked by Western listeners

• It is a biological trait

Why has the question of consonance preference remained unresolved?

• Everyone agrees on the answer

• It is not an important question

• There is little experimental data from individuals without Western exposure

• There is too much experimental data

Where did researchers go to conduct experiments on consonance and dissonance?

• A town in the United States

• A village in Europe

• A rural part of Bolivia

• A city in Bolivia

What society did the researchers study in Bolivia?

• The Maya

• The Chimane

• The Inca

• The Aztec

What equipment did researchers bring to the Chimane villages?

• Books and papers

• Laptops, headphones, and a gasoline generator

• Musical instruments

• Television sets

How did the Chimane rate consonant and dissonant combinations of notes?

• They preferred dissonant combinations

• They preferred consonant combinations

• They disliked both

• They rated them as equally pleasant

How did the Chimane respond to recordings of laughter and gasps?

• They found both unpleasant

• They found both pleasant

• They responded similarly to Westerners

• They did not understand the recordings

What do the results suggest about the preference for consonance?

• It is irrelevant to music preference

• It is something we are born with

• It develops from any kind of music exposure

• It requires exposure to a particular kind of music