Naomi Aires

Which grant that you received do you want to talk about?
Summer URG

Please provide a brief summary of your research.
My SURG project investigated how musical timbre impacts the perception and memory of harmonic progressions. Working with Bienen professor Daniel Shanahan, I used the summer grant period to design the experiment, run it, analyze the results, and start a paper based on the findings. For the main experimental task, participants listened to chord progressions played by two contrasting timbres (electric guitar or piano) and then rearranged shapes (corresponding to each chord) to match what they heard. Half the progressions were nominally rock progressions, the other half followed classical music theory conventions. The aim of the experiment was to see if participants would make particular errors when reordering the chords and whether timbre/harmonic congruence would have any correlation with these errors.

What made you initially interested in researching your project in particular?
I’ve always had a big interest in harmony and I think especially after taking the Bienen music theory sequence, I became more curious how our perception of harmony may be impacted by other contextual factors.

What made you interested in pursuing (interdisciplinary) research more broadly?
Being a dual degree student, I’ve balanced coursework the last few years in two very different academic areas—cognitive/behavioral sciences and music. I’ve known for a while that I wanted to find a way to bridge my two interests, and I’m really fortunate that Northwestern is one of very few schools in the country with a music cognition department.

Describe your experiences with research thus far. Was it tricky? What skills do you think you’ve gained?
This summer was my first time ever conducting research and I definitely grew a lot from the experience. I’ve struggled a lot in the past with self-efficacy, and the research process overall helped me gain confidence in my academic abilities. More specifically, I grew more comfortable engaging with academic papers, programming in R, and working with basic stats procedures.

Any tips or advice you have for students similar to you that are interested in pursuing undergraduate research?
Don’t be intimidated and if you’re thinking about reaching out to a professor, just do it! Also try to be honest with yourself and pursue something you’re actually interested in; it will make the whole process more rewarding and enjoyable.

What is something that you could give a 10 min presentation on right off the cuff?
Kilwins Ice Cream Flavors Ranked Worst to Best (and what your favorite flavor says about you)

What was your favorite childhood story (written, spoken, or film)?
Ratatouille (still my favorite :))