Foundation and Essence: Natural and Universal Qualities of Children's Media
Formulae for success in creating musical entertainment for children
Matt Slaybaugh
Thesis Project Spring 2005
Finding and applying natural patterns in human perception
reveal primary structures in visual style and music
that represent formulae for success in the creation of media for children.
Human perception is naturally biased toward recognizing and appreciating specific intervals in music and specific colors and shapes.
Aesthetic appreciation lies at the edge between the familiar and the strange. This edge grows outward with experience
New examples of children's media can be analyzed based on these ideas to help determine whether they will be popular.
Human perception is naturally biased toward recognizing and appreciating specific intervals in music and specific colors and shapes.
Musical Intervals in Nature
The Natural Scale
1) Tonic, 2) Per 5th, 3) Maj 3rd, 4) min 7th, 5) Maj 2nd, 6) Aug 4th/dim 5th ...
Overtones in the Human Voice
1) Tonic, 2) Per 5th, 3) Maj 3rd, 4) Maj 6th, 5) Maj 2nd, 6) Aug 4th/dim 5th ...
Prevalence of Intervals in the Tonal Systems of Different Cultures
1) Tonic, 2) Perf 5th, 3) Maj 3rd, 4) Maj 2nd, 5) Per 4th, 6) min 3rd ...
Prevalence of Intervals in the Inflection of Speakers of American English
1) Tonic, 2) Per 5th, 3) Maj 3rd, 4) Per 4th, 5) Maj 2nd ...
Prevalence of Intervals in the Inflection of Speakers of Mandarin Chinese
1) Tonic, 2) Per 5th, 3) Per 4th, 4) Maj 6th ...
Natural Color Bias
Biology of Color Perception
Human retina are optimized to perceive red, yellow, green, and blue
Cultural Similarities of Color Perception
All cultures have been shown to develop color words in a strict order
Black, white, red, yellow, green, blue, brown...
Colors and Intervals Graphed According to Primacy
Natural Recognition of Facial Features
Tricking the Smiling Response
Inherent Definition of Cuteness
Short limbs, pot-belly, big eyes
Aesthetic appreciation lies at the edge between the familiar and the strange. This edge grows outward with experience.
The familiar is boring, the strange is frightening, in between is interesting
Exposure to strange images leads to aesthetic valuation of them
The Importance of Being Abstract
Schenker's 'Aural Gestalt'
Primacy of Perception in terms of foreground, background
Audubon's Bird Drawings
Caricatures and abstraction appeals to the simple need to see foreground exaggerated, background diminished
Pop music is like a caricature of more sophisticated music
Red :: Sweet :: Circular :: Perfect 5th :: Caricature
New examples of children's media can be analyzed based on these ideas to help determine whether they will be popular.
Current media already follows these ideas
Children's and Pop Music uses intervals as decribed above
Analyzing popular music reveals additional qualities that may or may not have biological foundation
Primacy of quarter notes, 4/4 time, short musical and lyrical phrases, monosyllabic words
Understanding theory can lead to earlier dismissal of poor attempts
Understanding theory can lead to superior product, and thus a platform from which to engage in the ultimate goal of this project: to indoctrinate youth with 'good' values and to overturn existing negative stereotypes in children's media
