Music Professor Wins National Award for Book on Music and the Mind

Elizabeth Hellmuth Margulis
Russell Cothren

Elizabeth Hellmuth Margulis

The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers honored University of Arkansas music professor, Elizabeth Hellmuth Margulis, for her book, On Repeat: How Music Plays the Mind.

Margulis is director of the University of Arkansas Music Cognition Lab as well as a professor in the Department of Music. In On Repeat, Margulis studied the psychology of repetition in music on the mind, across time, style and cultures.

The book is the first in-depth study of repetitiveness in music. She looks at repetition throughout a composition, the compulsion to repeatedly listen to a particular song and the phenomenon of the earworm, where a song plays on repeat in your brain.

Music, Margulis notes, "is a fundamentally human capcity, present in all known cultures, and important to intellectual, emotional and social experience."

The ASCAP Foundation Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson award is given annually for excellence in books about music. It will be presented during a ceremony Nov. 17 in Manhattan. This is the second national award Margulis has received for On Repeat. Last year she received the Wallace Berry Award, the Society for Music Theory's distinguished book award.

The ASCAP Foundation, founded in 1975, is dedicated to supporting American music creators and encouraging development through music education and talent development programs.

On Repeat was released by Oxford University Press in 2013. Her website links to articles and audio files of interviews about the book and her research.

Contacts

Elizabeth Hellmuth Margulis, professor
Department of Music
479-575-5763, ehm@uark.edu

Amy Schlesing, director of science and research communications
University Relations
479-575-3033, amys@uark.edu

Headlines

Food Scientists Show Rice Malt Has Potential to Play a Bigger Role in Beer

With Arkansas growing about half of the rice in the United States, and shortages of traditional raw materials such as barley, evaluating rice cultivars for use in malted brewing was one goal of U of A researchers.

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Senior Design Projects Reviewed by Alumni

Students condensed their design work into senior design projects and presented them for department alumni and other industry professionals, gaining insights from peers and faculty members.

An Evening With NWA Soldier Songs and Voices: The Healing Power of Music

Members of the Northwest Arkansas chapter of Soldier Songs and Voices will share their experiences and perform music in the Pryor Center atrium at 6 p.m. on Friday, April 5.

University Not Pursuing Full External Management of Custodial and Grounds Services

Following an evaluation process that provided the U of A with the opportunity to learn more about its current operations compared to the market, the university will maintain its current workforce.

NAHJ UARK: Free Churros and Sodas During J-Days Celebration

 The U of A chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists will offer churros and sodas on the north patio of Kimpel Hall from noon to 2 p.m. Thursday. Stop by and support your local journalist.

News Daily