Music Cognition Consortium

Welcome to the Northwestern Music Cognition Consortium!

We are a consortium of research groups at Bienen School of Music investigating the fundamental aspects of the musical experience.

Across these research groups, we focus on:

• Musical communication and transmission
• How technology mediates the musical experience
• Music and social bonding
• Modeling the listening experience and the broader musical environment
• How music is organized and structured, as well as the meanings people draw from those structures
• How people acquire their understanding of musical structure, and acquire musical skill

• The NOISE Lab (PI, Daniel Shanahan) focuses on musical communication, the intersection of music and technology, and the social experience of music listening
• The Center for the Study of Education and the Musical Experience (PIs Steve Morrison and Jennifer Blackwell) studies the nature of the musical experience and how education can enhance its development. 
• Ric Ashley’s research group focuses on how music is structured, and how people draw meaning from the structures.