In this study, an investigation was conducted to seventy-five students in the classes of music at junior high school. Three musical pieces employed were selected from the list of appreciation instruction introduced in a textbook based on the course of study (MEXT),and were considered as having three different levels of psychological complexity. Participants listened to the assigned music seven times at the beginning and end of classes held once a week, and rated on twelve7-point semantic differential scales four times only at odd order of repetitions. Factor analysis revealed Evaluation factor and Complexity factor, and the factor scores were analyzed by ANOVA regarding given musical pieces(DM),musical career of participants(MC)and times of repeated exposure(RE).The result showed that main effects on Evaluation factor ［like-dislike］ were significant with DM (Vn Concerto ＜ The Rite of Spring＝Figaro) and MC (with musical career ＜without musical career)and those on Complexity factor ［simple-complex］ were significant with DM (Figaro ＝ Vn Concerto ＜T he Rite of Spring), MC (without musical career ＜ with musical career)and RE (7th ＝ 5th ＝ 3rd ＜ 1st)respectively, and no significant interactions were found. Then the effect of repeated exposure to classical music on subjective evaluation and psychological complexity for junior high school students were discussed.

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In an attempt to observe changes in pianists' skill levels, the current study proposes a method using step-altered auditory feedback. In this method, a stepwise perturbation in the auditory feedback is given to a pianist, and by analyzing his/her response as a step response assuming that a pianist is a linear, time-invariant system, we can obtain the characteristics of his/her piano performance in terms of a frequency transfer function. A brief experiment was conducted to verify the potential of the proposed method. Two pianists (whose levels of performance skill were clearly disparate) were asked to adjust their performances to compensate for a stepwise perturbation in the auditory feedback, i. e., the intensity level of the feedback sound was unexpectedly increased in the middle of the performance. The response of each pianist was measured via the key-velocity value of the MIDI signal. The time course of the velocity data represented the step response of each pianist. Each response pattern was analyzed by Fourier transform, and represented in the forms of amplitude and phase spectra. The results showed a difference between the two pianists in the obtained spectra. This indicates that the proposed method can reveal differences between two pianists' performance abilities through the use of auditory feedback. Although the number of observations was limited, the proposed method could provide new, detailed information to discuss how the skill differences between a highly trained pianist and a less-trained one, and would thus constitute a powerful research tool for future work.

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This study investigated how moods before listening to music influenced on rating the affective value of music. In Experiment 1, participants after mood induction listened to either depressed or happy music and rated their affective value of music while listening to them. In Experiment 2, participants evaluated the affective value of music either having high strength and solemnity or having high affinity and solemnity with listening to them. In Experiment 3, participants rated the affective value of music having neutral affective value. As a result, there were little effects of moods on evaluating the affective value of music as to music having distinguished characteristics. However, as to music having neutral affective value, participants had felt sad rated the music as more depressive, but they had felt happy rated it as more calm. It suggested that more neutral affective value of music was, stronger the influences of prior moods of listeners were.

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This article describes the fundamentals of acoustics in concert halls. The first sound we hear in concert halls is the direct sound produced by the performers. After a short time, we hear various sounds reflected from interior surfaces of a hall. These reflections play an important role in acoustics in concert halls. Influences of the intensity and the direction of reflections, and the time delay from the direct sound on acoustics are systematically explained. Finally, it was explained how the size and shape of a hall and the listening position within it influence the impression of sound in a concert hall.

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