I don’t want to call the other senses slackers, but it seems to me that the eyes are doing most of the heavy lifting.
They’re the windows to the soul, we eat with them first, and now, according to a recent study, they’re listening for us too.
The latest findings show that what we see pulls more weight in our judgment of a musical performance than what we hear.
Sounds like an elaborate excuse for tone-deafness to me. Although, there is a silver lining here: I think we can all now agree that the phrase, “Everyone’s a critic,” has been disproved. If they were they’d be a bit more discerning than these results imply.
Personally, I choose to reject this hypothesis. Who’s with me?
Sure, millions upon millions of albums sold by pretty faces singing simplistic melodies and lyrics with mediocre, overly synthesized voices may be working against me on this, but I stand by my faith in humanity.
We are better than the easily bamboozled spectacle-driven sheep this study paints us as. Join me and demand actual talent from your entertainment. It’s moments like this that the “judging a book by its cover” metaphor was made for. Rise above it. Your ears are there for a reason, use them.
I don’t deny that the visual aspects of a performance impact my perception of it, but no amount of lasers, confetti, strobe lights, and costumes can distract from a horrible voice. Right?
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Slate: Musicians’ Moves Matter More Than Their Sound
Nature: Musicians’ appearances matter more than their sound
…bi-daily smile…
Speaking of judgment…
