UPDATED: 18th January to include further information from Dr. Daniel Müllensiefen.

Researchers from the “Music, Mind and Brain research group” at Goldsmiths, University of London are embarking on a project to discover how musical people are – including those who don’t consider themselves musical at all!

In collaboration with the BBC Lab UK, they have developed a simple 25-minute test which you can take online to discover how strong a sense of musicality you have.

The research hypothesis is that people without any level of musical training will be able to do very well – and in some cases just as well as formally trained musicians who take the test. They think it’s possible that people develop a strong sense of music just through everyday exposure to and appreciation of music; even if they’ve never considered themselves a musician.

Click the image below to take the test:

(You’ll need to register with the BBC website if you haven’t before – it’s quick and easy!)

What is “Musicality”?

The test is in seven short parts. Three ask you various questions about music, what it means to you, how much training you’ve had, and so on. Four are interactive musical tests, which ask you to do things like tap along with a song, or arrange short clips into groups that go together musically.

But before you start worrying that you’ll have to whip out your instrument, or brush up on your singing – there’s no need, as the test focuses on aural skills. Dr. Daniel Müllensiefen, one of the lead researchers on the project, explains “Musical performance is one aspect of musicality but by far not the only one – and maybe not even the most important one.”

At the end of the test you’re shown your scores for each of several dimensions of musicality, including “enthusiasm for music”, “musical perception” and “emotional connection”. Click to read the rest…

If you’ve been following the Frequency Fundamentals series, hopefully you’ve already had a go at the first two quizzes (1, 2), designed to test your knowledge of frequencies and harmonics. If not – now’s the time!

This new quiz is a recap of the course, for students who feel they’ve really got to grips with the material.

As usual, the quiz consists of 10 questions, chosen randomly each time you take it so you can keep practising as you learn. This one covers material from throughout the Frequency Fundamentals series, and digs into some corners of the course which the first two quizzes missed out.

You might want to refresh your memory before you dive in:

1. What’s ‘Frequency Training’ All About?
2. Introduction to Frequency Training
3. Percussion Frequencies Part 1 – Drums
4. Percussion Frequencies Part 2 – Cymbals
5. Frequency Band Characteristics – Part 1
6. Frequency Band Characteristics – Part 2
7. Background: EQ Feathering and Spectrum Analyzers
8. Harmonics and Distortion

And the first two quizzes:

Quiz 1: Percussion Frequencies

Quiz 2: Frequency Bands and Harmonics

Also, if you’re just joining the “Hearing Effects” course, now’s a great time to make sure you’re up to speed on frequencies – if you can ace this quiz, you’ll probably manage fine!

We’re always keen to hear from you – let us know what you think of the new quiz in the comments below!

Following on from the previous quiz on Percussion Frequencies, we’re opening up a new quiz today: covering Frequency Bands and Harmonics.

Once you’ve got to grips with the starting material in the Frequency Fundamentals course, you should find you’re getting a good sense of where different frequencies lie in your hearing range. The second half of the course then introduces the 10 standard bands of frequencies used when analysing audio and making adjustments to the frequency balance:
Click to read the rest…