Why we love repetition in music - Elizabeth Hellmuth Margulis

譯者: Ya Hui Hung 審譯者: Sherry Chen

How many times does the chorus repeat in your favorite song?

你最喜歡的歌曲裡，副歌部分重複幾次?

And, take a moment to think, how many times have you listened to it?

花點時間想想 這副歌部分，你聽過幾次?

Chances are you've heard that chorus repeated dozens, if not hundreds, of times,

沒準有幾十次，甚至上百次

and it's not just popular songs in the West that repeat a lot.

而且不只是在西方流行歌 有多次副歌的重複

Repetition is a feature that music from cultures around the world tends to share.

重複性是來自世界各地文化中的音樂 所有的一項共同特點

So, why does music rely so heavily on repetition?

為什麼音樂如此重視重複性?

One part of the answer come from what psychologists call the mere-exposure effect.

一部分原因來自心理學家所謂的 單純曝光效應

In short, people tend to prefer things they've been exposed to before.

總之，人們傾向於 喜歡他們接觸過的東西

For example, a song comes on the radio that we don't particularly like,

例如，收音機播放 不怎麼喜愛的歌

but then we hear the song at the grocery store, at the movie theater

但後來在雜貨店、

電影院、

and again on the street corner.

街角，

持續聽到這首歌

Soon, we are tapping to the beat, singing the words,

很快地，我們會擊打節拍、唱出歌詞

even downloading the track.

甚至下載這首歌

This mere-exposure effect doesn't just work for songs.

單純曝光效應不限於歌曲

It also works for everything from shapes to Super Bowl ads.

也適用於每樣事物， 從形狀到超級盃廣告

So, what makes repetition so uniquely prevalent in music?

為何重複性會在音樂中 如此獨特地凸顯出來?

To investigate, psychologists asked people to listen to musical compositions

為了研究這個問題，心理學家請實驗對象

that avoided exact repetition.

聽不完全相同但重複的音樂

They heard excerpts from these pieces in either their original form,

聽到的音樂片段是原版的

or in a version that had been digitally altered to include repetition.

或是以電子更改加入重複的版本

Although the original versions had been composed by

雖然原版的音樂

some of the most respected 20th century composers,

來自一些20世紀的知名作曲家

and the repetitive versions had been assembled by brute force audio editing,

而重複性版本是由 音頻編輯強制組成

people rated the repetitive versions as more enjoyable, more interesting

實驗對象認為重複性版本 比較好聽、有趣

and more likely to have been composed by a human artist.

更有可能是真人作曲家之作

Musical repetition is deeply compelling.

重複性音樂十分引人入勝

Think about the Muppets classic, "Mahna Mahna."

想想經典「大青蛙劇場」中的歌 《Mahna Mahna》

If you've heard it before,

你如果聽過

it's almost impossible after I sing, "Mahna mahna,"

在我唱了《Mahna Mahna》 幾乎一定

not to respond, "Do doo do do do."

會以《Do doo do do do》回應

Repetition connects each bit of music

重複性將一段音樂

irresistibly to the next bit of music that follows it.

引誘性地連接到下一段

So when you hear a few notes, you're already imagining what's coming next.

所以當你聽到幾個音符 你已經想像到接下來的音符

Your mind is unconsciously singing along,

在心裡不經意的唱著

and without noticing, you might start humming out loud.

而在不知不覺中可能開始哼出聲

Recent studies have shown that when people hear a segment of music repeated,

近期研究顯示， 當人們重複聽到一段音樂

they are more likely to move or tap along to it.

他們較有可能隨著律動或敲擊

Repetition invites us into music as imagined participants,

重複性邀請我們進入音樂 成為想像中的參予者

rather than as passive listeners.

而不是被動的聽眾

Research has also shown

研究報告也顯示

that listeners shift their attention across musical repetitions,

在音樂重複時， 聽者轉移注意力

focusing on different aspects of the sound on each new listen.

在每次重複中， 專注聲音的不同面

You might notice the melody of a phrase the first time,

第一次聽，你可能只注意到一句旋律

but when it's repeated, your attention shifts to how the guitarist bends a pitch.

但當旋律重複時，你會將注意力轉移到 吉他手如何塑造一個音調

This also occurs in language, with something called semantic satiation.

這相當於語言中的 「語義飽食」

Repeating a word like atlas ad nauseam

不斷地重複一個詞，比如 atlas (地圖集)，ad nauseam (令人作嘔)

can make you stop thinking about what the word means,

能讓你停止思考這個字的意義

and instead focus on the sounds: the odd way the "L" follows the "T."

而專注於聲音: “T” 奇怪地連接著 ”L” 聲

In this way, repetition can open up new worlds of sound

如此，重複性能開啟一個新地聲音世界

not accessible on first hearing.

一個在初次試聽時無法觸及地世界

The "L" following the "T" might not be aesthetically relevant to "atlas,"

“T” 接著 “L” 對於 “atlas” 可能沒有審美性的關聯

but the guitarist pitch bending might be of critical expressive importance.

但吉他手的音調塑造 可能具有關鍵的表達重要性

The speech to song illusion captures how simply

語音到歌曲的錯覺 是簡單的抓到

repeating a sentence a number of times shifts listeners attention

多次重複一個句子， 將聽眾的注意力

to the pitch and temporal aspects of the sound,

轉移到聲音的音調和時序

so that the repeated spoken language

讓重複的口語

actually begins to sound like it is being sung.

果真聽起來像是被唱出來的

A similar effect happens with random sequences of sound.

聲音的隨機序列有類似的效果

People will rate random sequences they've heard on repeated loop

重複聽過的隨機序列將被公定

as more musical than a random sequence they've only heard once.

比只聽過一次的隨機序列 更具音樂性

Repetition gives rise to a kind of orientation to sound

重複性給予聲音一種方針

that we think of as distinctively musical, where we're listening along with the sound,

使我們認為是有獨特音樂性的， 讓我們聽到聲音時

engaging imaginatively with the note about to happen.

用想像力參與將要出現的音符

This mode of listening ties in with our susceptibility to musical ear worms,

這種聆聽形態連結於 我們對音樂耳蟲的感受性

where segments of music burrow into our head,

有音樂片段鑽入腦中

and play again and again, as if stuck on repeat.

彷彿停留在 一遍又一遍的播放

Critics are often embarrassed by music's repetitiveness,

評論家常對 音樂中的重複性感到介意

finding it childish or regressive,

覺得這幼稚或具退步性的

but repetition, far from an embarrassment, is actually a key feature

但重複性，不是值得羞愧的事， 而是一個關鍵地特點

that gives rise to the kind of experience we think about as musical.

讓我們擁有那種所謂音樂性的體驗