something like appoggiatura?

[vainika]

Reading about the tear-jerker/goosebump-generating capabilities of British song-writer/singer Adele's Someone Like You, I wondered if appoggiatura is something we can relate to in a Carnatic context

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... TopStories

"....But it's her ballad "Someone Like You" that has risen to near-iconic status recently, due in large part to its uncanny power to elicit tears and chills from listeners. The song is so famously sob-inducing that "Saturday Night Live" recently ran a skit in which a group of co-workers play the tune so they can all have a good cry together.

Adele, the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter performed "Someone Like You" from her latest album "21" at WSJ Cafe

What explains the magic of Adele's song? Though personal experience and culture play into individual reactions, researchers have found that certain features of music are consistently associated with producing strong emotions in listeners. Combined with heartfelt lyrics and a powerhouse voice, these structures can send reward signals to our brains that rival any other pleasure.

Twenty years ago, the British psychologist John Sloboda conducted a simple experiment. He asked music lovers to identify passages of songs that reliably set off a physical reaction, such as tears or goose bumps. Participants identified 20 tear-triggering passages, and when Dr. Sloboda analyzed their properties, a trend emerged: 18 contained a musical device called an "appoggiatura."

An appoggiatura is a type of ornamental note that clashes with the melody just enough to create a dissonant sound. "This generates tension in the listener," said Martin Guhn, a psychologist at the University of British Columbia who co-wrote a 2007 study on the subject. "When the notes return to the anticipated melody, the tension resolves, and it feels good."

Chills often descend on listeners at these moments of resolution. When several appoggiaturas occur next to each other in a melody, it generates a cycle of tension and release. This provokes an even stronger reaction, and that is when the tears start to flow."

More at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... TopStories

[vasanthakokilam]

vainika: There is a thread on this topic: http://www.rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic. ... le#p216829 please share your thoughts there.

[varsha]

Chills often descend on listeners at these moments of resolution.

Thanks . I can now explain away me feelings during abhangs in cm concerts 8)

[rshankar]

Varsha - please do not get abhangists and duelers into this discussion!

[varsha]

But the op talked of tears :$ Anyway I will keep mum

[sureshvv]

Yes.. That is ammagiatora.. Totally different!