Dimensionality of perceived violence in rock music: Musical intensity and lyrical violence content

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
This study examined the interaction between the literary (lyrical) and musical (structural) components of 12 rock songs in determining perceived meaning. Evidence presented by R. Serge Denisoff (1975), indicated that the lyrical component of rock compositions was secondary to musical and theatrical factors in influencing perception. The present study predicted that the lyrics would serve to disambiguate the musical message, and that the content of the lyrics would be the primary dimension by which subjects would discriminate violent from non‐violent songs. This prediction was confirmed. Results showed that the addition of a lyrical component to the musical parameters considerably altered the dimension of ‘aesthetic intensity’ as investigated in paintings by Berlyne (1975), and in musical compositions by Wedin (1972).

This publication has 4 references indexed in Scilit: