BBC R3 test: How Musical Are You?

[Lateralthinking1]

doversoul - To encourage interest, discussion and involvement? I'm agreeing with ff on this one. Here's a question. Do others feel emotion more in the music of others or in their words? I'd choose music every time.

[Mark Sealey]

In which case we cannot but note that it's a pretty odd and highly inappropriate selection of illustrations for lovers of serious music.

…Radio 3's - which is another gigantic publicity stunt, press releases, stories in the press, to draw people to the R3 website (as they have to access the test from there) with recommendations and links to Radio 3…

[french frank]

In which case we cannot but note that it's a pretty odd and highly inappropriate selection of illustrations for lovers of serious music.

But (if my cynical view is indeed correct), it's not a test for Radio 3 listeners; it's principally for non Radio 3 listeners. It is in fact skewed towards music lovers other than classical music listeners, people out there in the 'real world'.

People who are intensely musical do, on that basis, start off on an equal footing, regardless of their musical background. Which is the point of the test?

[VodkaDilc]

2) Goldsmith's (as I understand it): a love and appreciation of music is an age-old human attribute. It doesn't matter what training we've had or what music we listen to or why we listen to it.

FF - Sorry to be pedantic, but the college's name marks its connection with the Goldsmiths' Company, not with a poet of any similar name. To avoid the common mistake, the college removed the apostrophe from its official name a few years ago - though to many of us it will always be Goldsmiths'!

[Zucchini]

I've just been expelled! I've got to go to Chris Evans on R2 for correction. All because I got 9% for Enthusiasm and 10% for Emotion. Say bye to Rob and Sara for me.

[doversoul1]

Lateralthinking1
This is meant to be a large scale survey, which is for data collection and not for encouraging discussion amongst the participants (nothing to stop us talking about it but that is not its aim). Also, I am not sure if data collection and self assessment can be done by the same questionnaire.

I think the problem is the fact that the whole thing is less than half baked: nothing is defined, most questions are based on assumptions as Eine Alpensinfonie says somewhere on this thread and they are very ambiguously put (not by intention, I don’t think). You cannot expect any meaningful result from a questionnaire like this. It is fine for fun but it is rather costly fun. I hope at least it has been good publicity (for the right effects…)

[french frank #108]
it's principally for non Radio 3 listeners. It is in fact skewed towards music lovers other than classical music listeners, people out there in the 'real world'.

Ah, that explains it: it’s been baked that way. And by Radio3….?

[Flosshilde]

Hmm, well, my emotional connection, social connection & musical perception are all low. The first surprises me. My enthusiasm for music is medium (which surprises me - perhaps it's because I said I could imagine myself living without music - or something like that - which I can, but that doesn't mean I would enjoy doing so). My musical curiosity is high.

Detail -
musical perception - 1% (this might not surprise some members ). They suggest I might like In Tune (I do) & the Radio 1 Official chart
Social creativity - 7% They suggest I might like the Proms (I do) & something called BBC Blast (Whether you're interested in finding out about radio, music, songwriting, producing or performing, Blast Music and Audio has something for you.) Perhaps they think this might solve or cure my lack of "confidence to contribute to group activities where music is involved, and are not comfortable joining in by singing or clapping along with others. You probably find it very challenging to imagine new melodies in your head."
Enthusiasm for music - 46% Hooray - a respectable score at last! Suggests CD Review (yes) & Friday Night is Music Night - no thank you.
Musical curiosity - 99% Hmm, a bit high probably. Suggested programmes - Late Junction (Not something I listen to - too bitty) & somehting called 'Stuart Maconie’s Freak Zone' "Strange, surprising Sunday evenings, the perfect journey to the Freakier Zone with Stuart Maconie". Sounds dreadful - I don't think I'm that curious.

It's obviously all in the way you answer the questions. I said 'agree' or 'disagree' to most - if I'd said 'strongly' or even 'ever so strongly' to a few my scores would obviously have been different.

For the 'melody memory' test I got 10 out of 12 right, which surprises me enormously. 'Match the beat' 10 out of 18, which again rather surprises me (I should say that I would have thought my scores would be lower)

It would be interesting to know how many participants they get. I would think that it would have to be quite a large number to be at all useful for serious research.

[french frank]

FF - Sorry to be pedantic, but the college's name marks its connection with the Goldsmiths' Company, not with a poet of any similar name. To avoid the common mistake, the college removed the apostrophe from its official name a few years ago - though to many of us it will always be Goldsmiths'!

I paused for ages over that because it had to have an apostrophe, like 'Radio 3's' in the previous paragraph. I tried it after the name and it looked wrong (the aim of a number of unnamed goldsmiths, so I put it in an intuitive position. Yes, wrong again. Thank you

Edit: To explain further - there seemed to be a singularity about Goldsmith's which fitted the college, and a multiplicity about Goldsmiths' which didn't. I wasn't aware that it used to have an apostrophe, but even Goldsmiths' College is a single entitly. Thank you for listening

[Flosshilde]

But (if my cynical view is indeed correct), it's not a test for Radio 3 listeners; it's principally for non Radio 3 listeners. It is in fact skewed towards music lovers other than classical music listeners, people out there in the 'real world'.

Yet it isn't flagged up on the Radio 1 site, so they are missing a whole lot of people who might actually know what the different musical genres, for example, are.

[Mark Sealey]

In which case a useful discussion (here) might be one which examines what can legitimately be described as musicality…

One thing which the devisers of the test seem to have got right is that musicality consists in multiple types of response to music and sound.

But what they also seem to assume is an interest in basic technicalities (rhythm, pitch etc.). It's also questionable from a statistical perspective to allow self-scoring ("I'd die without music") unchallenged.

Half-baked just about sums it up.

But (if my cynical view is indeed correct), it's not a test for Radio 3 listeners; it's principally for non Radio 3 listeners. It is in fact skewed towards music lovers other than classical music listeners, people out there in the 'real world'.

People who are intensely musical do, on that basis, start off on an equal footing, regardless of their musical background. Which is the point of the test?

So - what do we feel 'musicality'/to be 'musical' means?

[Anna]

Hello Mark, so what do we feel musicality means?

I think it means that musicality stirs your soul and lifts you to Heaven on the wings of gorgeousness.

[Lateralthinking1]

Hello Mark,

I hope things are going well for you. It is certainly a good suggestion but how do you envisage this being done?

Are you anticipating that individuals say what musicality means to them personally, so that we then look at the responses as a whole, or that they each attempt to produce a definition that goes beyond their own experiences, and then we look at those?

In other words, a response to a generalized approach or an attempt at an alternative one to that in the tests?

Lat.

[Threni]

Bit late with this only just seen the thread and therefore didn't know about it!

Enthusiasm: 92%
Musical Perception: 99%
Emotional Connection: 93%
Social Creativity: 93%
Musical Curiosity: 98%

[VodkaDilc]

I paused for ages over that because it had to have an apostrophe, like 'Radio 3's' in the previous paragraph. I tried it after the name and it looked wrong (the aim of a number of unnamed goldsmiths, so I put it in an intuitive position. Yes, wrong again. Thank you

Edit: To explain further - there seemed to be a singularity about Goldsmith's which fitted the college, and a multiplicity about Goldsmiths' which didn't. I wasn't aware that it used to have an apostrophe, but even Goldsmiths' College is a single entitly. Thank you for listening

I agree that it can be confusing. Here's a quote from the College website:
1904
The Goldsmiths' Company hands over the Institute to the University of London, which re-names it "Goldsmiths' College".

Generations of students had the importance of that apostrophe drummed into them. The college decided to abandon it altogether sometime in the last decade.

[PatrickOD]

I would like to join Anna in trying to start an answer to Mark's question.

I think 'to be musical' means to have an innate ability to respond with interest, and with some insight, to sounds which are generally regarded as music.
I would add that I don't mean 'musicianship'