Taking A Look At A Percussion Ensemble

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Recommended: Effects of music on psychology

The activity that I attended that I don’t normally participate in was going to a concert on campus. I attended a Percussion Ensemble on Tuesday February 18, 2014 at 8:00 pm. The group performing were student musicians with a faculty director Andrew Spencer. The concert hall was completely filled with students, faculty and adults. Even though the hall was completely full, the atmosphere was very quiet as people were just sitting back and relaxing, waiting for a great performance. What motivated me to attend this event was the curiosity of musical perception. I saw that the Staples Family Concert Hall was hosting a percussion ensemble. I enjoy listening to music and this is an event I wouldn’t normally attend, so I figured it would be perfect for this exercise. The concert and the entire experience correlated to several themes in psychology. The concert related to sensation and the stimulation of a sense organ by an external physical stimulus, which in this case was sound. I was able to detect various octaves and intervals between two sound melodies. With the variety of instruments playing, the tone height and sound quality corresponded to diverse levels of pitch, which monotonically related to frequency. Tone chrome was vividly present in the percussion ensemble with the sound quality being shared by octave interval tones connecting to a musical helix, which helped me visualize a musical pitch during different pieces. Perception connected to the concert and the sensation. Perception works together to help people sort out the complex information available to them. The percussion instruments triggered a sensation and allowed me to appreciate the various instruments. When there is more than one instrument playing at once, it can som... ... middle of paper ... ...ly without a sense of risk. I believe anyone who does an activity that takes them out of their comfort zone is a psychological boost to their mental conditioning and personality. Stepping out of one’s comfort zone raises their level of anxiety and stress response. This trigger results in enhanced levels of concentration and focus. This experience affected me personally and enhanced my focus and allowed me to gain new knowledge and sills. The experience itself connected to sensation, perception, constructive coping and acute stress response. Different people are going to experience different psychological themes and connections depending on what type of activity they do, but personally, I believe the act of stepping out of one’s comfort zone and taking part in an event that is different from what they normally do is the most valuable asset gained from this exercise.

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