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This review presents a highly selective survey of connections between music and language. I begin by considering some fundamental differences between music and language and some nonspecific similarities that may arise out of more general characteristics of human cognition and communication. I then discuss an important, specific interaction between music and language: the connection between linguistic stress and musical meter. Next, I consider several possible connections that have been widely studied but remain controversial: cross-cultural correlations between linguistic and musical rhythm, effects of musical training on linguistic abilities, and connections in cognitive processing between music and linguistic syntax. Finally, I discuss some parallels regarding the use of repetition in music and language, which until now has been a little-explored topic.

Introduction Scapholunate interosseous ligament injury (SLIL) is the most common cause of wrist instability and a cause of morbidity in a proportion of patients with wrist injuries. Aim To evaluate the accuracy of plain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and MR arthrogram (MRA) in the diagnosis of SLIL injury against the existing gold standard-wrist arthroscopy. Materials and Methods We retrospectively reviewed 108 cases by comparing MRI/MRA reports and their wrist arthroscopy operation notes. Results Overall MRI sensitivity to SLIL injuries was 38.5% (91.0% specificity). When broken down into plain MRI and MRA the results were: plain MRI sensitivity = 19.2% (91.4% specificity) and MRA sensitivity = 57.7% (90.5% specificity). Conclusion Neither MRI nor MRA scanning is sensitive enough compared with the gold standard. Positive predictive value remains too low (62.5 and 88.2%, respectively) to consider bypassing diagnostic arthroscopy and treating surgically. The negative predictive value (60.4 and 63.6%, respectively) is inadequate to confirm exclusion of injury from MRI results alone.

We report the short- to medium-term outcomes for patients with Kienböck’s disease and ulnar positive or neutral wrists treated by capitate shortening osteotomy combined with a 4 + 5 extensor compartmental artery vascularized bone graft placed in the lunate. This is a retrospective study of seven consecutive patients with Lichtman Stage 2 to 3B. Radiological and clinical outcomes were evaluated. Six patients maintained their Lichtman stage, one progressed. Mean time to union of the capitate was 10 weeks. Five of six lunates were completely revascularized on MRI scans, with one partial revascularization. Mean follow-up for functional scores was 40 months (range 15 to 62). Mean pain score improved significantly from 7.4/10 preoperatively to 1.9/10 postoperatively, and patient satisfaction was 9.2/10. Mean postoperative Quick Disabilities of Arm, Shoulder and Hand, Patient Evaluation Measure and Patient-Rated Wrist Evaluation scores were improved. All patients returned to their previous work. We conclude that this procedure has good short- to medium-term outcomes. Level of evidence: IV

The origins of syncopation in 20th-century American popular music have been a source of controversy. I offer a new account of this historical process. I distinguish between second-position syncopation, an accent on the second quarter of a half-note or quarter-note unit, and fourth-position syncopation, an accent on the fourth quarter of such a unit. Unlike second-position syncopation, fourth-position syncopation tends to have an anticipatory character. In an earlier study I presented evidence suggesting British roots for second-position syncopation. in contrast, fourth-position syncopation – the focus of the current study – seems to have had no presence in published 19th-century vocal music, British or American. It first appears in notation in ragtime songs and piano music at the very end of the 19th century; it was also used in recordings by African-American singers before it was widely notated.

While syncopation generally refers to any conflict between surface accents and underlying meter, in rock and other recent popular styles it takes a more specific form in which accented notes occur just before strong beats. Such “anticipatory” syncopations suggest that there is an underlying cognitive representation in which the accented notes and strong beats align. Syllabic stress is crucial to the identification of such syncopations; to facilitate this, we present a corpus of rock melodies annotated with lyrics and syllabic stress values. We propose a new measure of syncopation that incorporates syllabic stress; we also propose a measure of anticipatory syncopation, and show that it reveals a strong presence of this type of syncopation in rock music. We then use these measures to explore other aspects of syncopation in rock, including its occurrence in different parts of the 4/4 measure, its dependence on tempo, its historical evolution, and its aesthetic functions.

Background Hip Resurfacing (HR), although reducing in popularity, is still used in the younger male population. Excellent medium-term results have been published; however, the use of metal on metal has reduced with increased awareness of adverse reactions to metal debris (ARMD). ARMD has been shown to often be clinically “silent” following large Head MoM total hip replacement (THR). The purpose of our study was to report the incidence of ARMD following HR with a minimum follow-up of 13 years. Methods We performed a retrospective study of a consecutive series of patients who underwent HR between January 1, 2000 and August 1, 2005. All patients were entered into our hospital MoM hip replacement surveillance program database. Patients were reviewed yearly for symptoms and blood ion levels. Patients had Magnetic Resonance (MR) imaging to assess for ARMD. Results A total of 102 patients with 123 hip replacements were included in the study. Eight hips in 7 patients were revised: two for fracture, one for avascular necrosis, and five for ARMD. A best-case scenario of 109 (93.2%) resurfacings were surviving at 13 years. With regard to the radiological analysis, 34% were found to have ARMD on MR. Conclusion While the implant survivorship in our series is acceptable, we found a high incidence of ARMD. Surgeons and patients with or considering a HR should be aware of the risk of ARMD developing. This allows an informed choice as to the best implant for their personal requirement and informs of the potential modes of failure and need for long-term screening.

This is an overview of radiological imaging of the hand highlighting the various imaging modalities used in the work-up and diagnosis of a range of orthopaedic and rheumatological disorders. The biomechanics and anatomy of the human hand is extremely complex, and a good understanding is required to diagnose pathology. In this article we explain the anatomy and highlight pathology of the hand from a radiological perspective with respect to plain film, CT, ultrasound and MR imaging. Trauma of the hand is extremely common and radiology plays an important role in the diagnosis of treatable injuries including fractures, dislocations and ligament tears. Plain radiography and CT are excellent at evaluating bony injury (e.g. Rolondo or Bennett's fracture) whereas ultrasound and MR are better at evaluating soft tissue injury (e.g. Stener lesion). The hands are a common location for degenerate and inflammatory arthropathies which all have hallmark radiological features. Radiology also plays an important role in the diagnosis and work-up of bone lesions in the hand including enchondromas, osteoid osteomas and chondrosarcomas.

Background The elbow is the second most commonly dislocated joint. Stability depends on the degree of soft tissue injury, with 2 proposed patterns, one starting laterally and the other medially. The purpose of this study was to describe the injured structures observed in magnetic resonance images (MRIs) in a prospective cohort of simple elbow dislocations. Methods We evaluated 17 consecutive cases of simple elbow dislocations. Two musculoskeletal radiologists assessed the initial x-ray images and MRIs performed for all elbows. Radiologists evaluated the following soft tissue structures: medial collateral ligament complex (MCL), flexor-pronator muscle mass origin, anterior capsule (AC), posterior capsule, lateral collateral ligament complex (LCL), and extensor muscle mass origin. The radiologists were blinded to the study hypothesis. Results The initial radiographs in 16 patients showed the dislocation was posterolateral in 12, posterior in 3, and posteromedial in 1. We observed complete AC tear in 12 patients, MCL in 10, and LCL in 9. The inter-rater reliability for the radiologists was 0.70 (substantial) for MRI. Conclusions In our series after simple elbow dislocation, complete AC tears were most common, followed by MCL and LCL tears. No single mechanism-related soft tissue injury pattern of simple elbow dislocation was observed, and different grades of soft tissue injury exist.

Syntactic dependencies are head/modifier relations between words in a sentence that organize sentences into a syntactic tree structure. The general principle that languages have a preference to group syntactically related words close together can be made precise as a preference for shorter dependencies. We examine evidence for this principle in the development of languages’ grammars as well as in the choices made by individual speakers where syntactic variation is licensed. We survey evidence from corpus studies, computational simulations, and experiments on comprehension; altogether, this evidence makes a compelling case for dependency length minimization as an important factor in language structure and cognition.

Rhythmic variability in the vocal music of four European nations was examined, using the nPVI measure (normalized pairwise variability index). It was predicted that English and German songs would show higher nPVI than French and Italian ones, mirroring the differences between these nations in speech rhythm, and in accord with previous studies of instrumental music. Surprisingly, there was no evidence of this pattern, and some evidence of the opposite pattern: nPVI is higher in French and Italian vocal music than in English and German vocal music. This casts doubt on the theory that the differences in instrumental rhythm between these nations are due to differences in speech rhythm.

The anatomy and biomechanics of the wrist are complex and the joint can be affected by a wide range of pathology. Here, we explain the radiological anatomy of the wrist joint with respect to various imaging modalities. Trauma is a major cause of wrist pain and disability and can involve fractures, ligamentous and other soft tissue injuries. Fractures of the scaphoid can lead to avascular necrosis, non-union and accelerated osteoarthritis. Injuries of the intrinsic ligaments can disrupt the normal biomechanical relationship of the scaphoid and trapezium and cause instability and scapholunate advanced collapse. Carpal dislocations are severe injuries and include lunate dislocation, where the lunate dislocates in a volar direction, or perilunate dislocation, where there is dislocation of the carpus relative to the lunate. Tears of the triangular fibrocartilage can be traumatic or degenerate and best imaged with MR arthrography. Diagnosis of distal radioulnar joint instability can be problematic but there are various methods which can be employed, including the Mino, epicentre and congruency techniques. The wrist joint can be involved in all types of arthropathy, most commonly osteoarthritis which is commonly seen at the base of the thumb. Rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory condition and ultrasound is a very sensitive examination for assessment of active synovitis, tenosynovitis or tendon rupture.

The theory of Uniform Information Density states that communication is optimal when information is presented at a moderate and uniform rate. Three predictions follow for music: (1) low-probability events should be longer in duration than high-probability events; (2) low-probability events should be juxtaposed with high-probability events; (3) an event that is low in probability in one dimension should be high in probability in other dimensions. I present evidence supporting all three of these predictions from three diverse areas of musical practice: Renaissance counterpoint, expressive performance, and common-practice themes.

In a prior study (Temperley & Tan, 2013), participants rated the “happiness” of melodies in different diatonic modes. A strong pattern was found, with happiness decreasing as scale steps were lowered. We wondered: Does this pattern reflect the familiarity of diatonic modes? The current study examines familiarity directly. In the experiments reported here, college students without formal music training heard a series of melodies, each with a three-measure beginning (“context”) in a diatonic mode and a one-measure ending that was either in the context mode or in a mode that differed from the context by one scale degree. Melodies were constructed using four pairs of modes with the same tonic: Lydian/Ionian, Ionian/Mixolydian, Dorian/Aeolian, and Aeolian/Phrygian. Participants rated how well the ending “fit” the context. Two questions were of interest: (1) Do listeners give higher ratings to some modes (as endings) overall? (2) Do listeners give a higher rating to the ending if its mode matches that of the context? The results show a strong main effect of ending, with Ionian (major) and Aeolian (natural minor) as the most familiar (highly rated) modes. This aligns well with corpus data representing the frequency of different modes in popular music. There was also a significant interaction between ending and context, whereby listeners rated an ending higher if its mode matched the context. Our findings suggest that (1) our earlier “happiness” results cannot be attributed to familiarity alone, and (2) listeners without formal knowledge of diatonic modes are able to internalize diatonic modal frameworks.

Background We report on the medium- to long-term results of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) aiming to determine whether rotator cuff repair confers any advantage over arthroscopic sub-acromial decompression (ASAD) alone in the management of medium-sized rotator cuff tears. Methods Ethical approval was sought to follow-up patients previously enrolled in a completed and previously published RCT comparing the outcome of ASAD with mini-open cuff repair for the treatment of rotator cuff tear. Forty-two patients were enrolled in the original study, with a mean of 64 years (range 54 years to 77 years). Results Fifteen of the original 17 patients randomized to ASAD alone and 18 of the original 25 patients randomized to cuff repair were available for follow-up. Each patient underwent American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES), Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) and Constant scoring, and clinical and ultrasound examination. Mean duration of follow-up was 7 years (range 5 years to 11 years). There was no statistically significant difference in terms of ASES, DASH and Constant scores at follow-up between the two groups. Some 33% of patients in the cuff-repair group had a proven re-rupture on ultrasound. This patient subgroup had significantly worse Constant scores compared to patients where the repair remained intact. None of the patients from either group developed cuff-tear arthropathy requiring arthroplasty surgery. Conclusions In this medium- to longer-term study, there is no demonstrable significant benefit of cuff repair over decompression alone for the treatment of medium-sized rotator cuff tears, in terms of ASES, DASH and Constant scores for pain, function and strength modules. The presence of cuff tear does not necessitate surgical repair. This conclusion should drive surgical strategies and shared decision-making between patients and surgeons.

Main clause phenomena (MCPs) are syntactic constructions that occur predominantly or exclusively in main clauses. I propose a processing explanation for MCPs. Sentence processing is easiest at the beginning of the sentence (requiring less search); this follows naturally from widely held assumptions about sentence processing. Because of this, a wider variety of constructions can be allowed at the beginning of the sentence without overwhelming the sentence-processing mechanism. Unlike pragmatic and grammatical accounts of MCPs, the processing account predicts avoidance of MCPs in non-initial main clauses (non-initial coordinate clauses and premodified clauses). A corpus study supports these predictions, but it is somewhat inconclusive. A further corpus study examines another type of syntactic construction, premodifying adjunct phrases ("openers"); the prediction here is that less common types of opener will be especially avoided in non-initial contexts. The prediction is confirmed, supporting the processing view of rare constructions.

This chapter considers some general approaches to the study of timbre and how they might be applied to rock; it also surveys the major rock instruments and the kinds of sounds they can produce. With regard to instrumentation—the choice of instruments and the ways that they are used—the focus is on how this relates to the structural aspects of rock discussed in other chapters. The chapter examines two guitar solos and discusses their contrasting approaches to the issue of melodic-harmonic coordination. With regard to drums, it considers their crucial role in conveying metrical structure and discusses four important rock drummers and their unique styles. Briefer discussions follow of the bass, piano, orchestral instruments, and sequencers; the final section explores the role of the production process in shaping the sound of a song.

Most rock songs fall into one of three formal types: simple verse (with a short, repeating verse-refrain section), AABA (with a verse-refrain and a contrasting bridge), and verse-chorus (with an alternation between verse and chorus, usually with contrasting material after the second chorus). This chapter adopts this framework, though it also emphasizes the strong connections between AABA and verse-chorus forms. Since the 1960s, verse-chorus form has been predominant; together, a verse and chorus form a “verse-chorus unit,” or VCU. An issue of particular interest is the opposition between verses and choruses; the two section types turn out to have a number of distinctive, contrasting features. After surveying other section types, the chapter examines some songs with interesting and unusual formal structures.

Simple duple meter is predominant in rock; the metrical structure is usually clearly conveyed by the alternating “kick-snare” pattern in the drums. An important aspect of rock rhythm is anticipatory syncopation, the placement of accented events (such as stressed syllables) on weak beats just before the strong beat on which they are understood to “belong.” Adjacent syncopations at different levels (e.g., eighth-note and sixteenth-note syncopations) can create cross-rhythms. Harmonic rhythm—the rhythm of changes in harmony—is occasionally used in interesting ways in rock. Hypermeter—meter above the level of the measure—is generally regular, but irregularities are not uncommon; sometimes irregular and shifting meter occurs at lower levels as well.

This chapter zooms out to examine the broader historical and stylistic context of rock. The roots of rock—especially in common-practice music, the blues, and Tin Pan Alley / jazz—have been widely discussed, but this chapter attempts to identify more systematically the features that rock shares with these previous styles, as well as its unique features. A historical survey of rock itself and its various subgenres finds that it underwent major changes in the early 1960s but remained rather stable over the next three decades, and in some respects rather homogenous. The chapter then considers some other genres with which rock has interacted and sometimes fused: folk, Latin pop, jazz, electronic dance music, rap, and country. Finally, it considers the development of rock since 2000, finding some changes in the style but also many continuities.

Following much other research on musical emotion, this chapter assumes a two-dimensional representation, with one dimension representing valence (positive/negative) and the other representing energy/activity. It is argued that the valence dimension in rock is conveyed primarily by the location of a song’s scale (relative to the tonic) on the “line of fifths”; this captures the well-known major/minor contrast but also allows finer distinctions. The energy dimension is conveyed by a variety of musical parameters including loudness, register, tempo, rhythmic density, and timbral brightness. The chapter also posits a third dimension, complexity, which is taken to be represented experientially by tension; increased tension is caused by unexpected events and by an increase in event density. It has been hypothesized that a moderate level of complexity is optimal for aesthetic enjoyment; this may in part account for the appeal of certain rhythmic patterns, a phenomenon known as “groove.”

This chapter tries to show how analysis—in-depth exploration of a song in all of its aspects—can be informed and enriched by the theoretical framework presented in previous chapters, allowing us to appreciate more fully how a song follows or departs from stylistic norms. The chapter presents analyses of six songs: Marvin Gaye, “I Heard It through the Grapevine”; Elton John, “Philadelphia Freedom”; Fleetwood Mac, “Landslide”; U2, “Sunday Bloody Sunday”; Alanis Morissette, “You Oughta Know”; and Destiny’s Child, “Jumpin’ Jumpin’.”

Like melody in general, rock melody is understood to have a hierarchical “grouping structure,” with sub-phrases combining into phrases and then into larger units. A fundamental issue in rock melody is the alignment of melodic groups with meter; while “beginning-accented” groups are the norm, “end-accented” patterns and more irregular patterns also occur. Patterns of repetition—pitch and rhythmic repetition, as well as rhyme—are also important aspects of rock melody. Rock melody sometimes shows independence from the underlying harmony, a phenomenon known as “melodic-harmonic divorce.” Of particular interest is the use of the 3 and flat-3 scale degrees, which are sometimes used in rock melodies in close proximity; related to this is the issue of “blue notes,” notes which fall between the cracks of conventional chromatic-scale categories.

This chapter presents the scope, rationale, and approach of the book. Unlike much previous research on rock, the book is focused on musical rather than sociocultural aspects; it is primarily theoretical (focused on general features of the style) rather than analytical (focused on understanding individual works), though it is argued that developing a stronger theoretical foundation for rock will benefit analysis. Rock is defined broadly, to include a wide range of late twentieth-century Anglo-American popular styles. The chapter addresses some potentially controversial aspects of the book, such as the idea of rock as a musical “language,” the use of concepts from common-practice theory, the use of music notation, and the focus on purely musical aspects of the rock style. The chapter also describes the corpus of harmonic analyses and melodic transcriptions that is used in the book.

Rock is generally assumed to be “tonal,” meaning that every song has a tonal center around which other pitches are organized. A wide variety of scale structures have been proposed for rock; the current chapter takes a corpus-based approach to this issue. It is proposed that rock as a whole uses a global scale containing all twelve scale degrees except for flat-2 and sharp-4—the “supermode.” Individual songs tend to use subsets of this scale; most often these subsets are “compact,” containing a set of adjacent scale degrees on the line of fifths. Further analysis shows that scales in rock songs reflect something like the major/minor distinction of classical music, but with significant differences. The identification of key in rock seems to rely on the distribution of pitch classes, the emphasis of melodic tones, and the metrical placement of harmonies.

Strategies are recurrent structural patterns that combine the musical dimensions explored in previous chapters—key/tonality, harmony, melody, rhythm/meter, phrase structure, timbre, form—for structural or expressive effect. One set of strategies concerns the boundary between the first VCU (verse-chorus unit) and the second; here there often seems to be an effort to balance continuity and closure. Another set of strategies involves the IV chord, which is used in rather specific ways to achieve cadential effects. VCUs often reflect an overall trajectory of tension, either “middle-peaking” or “end-peaking,” through increased rhythmic density, phrasal irregularity, and emphasis of non-tonic harmonies. Other strategies may be used to shape the energetic or tensional trajectory of a song as a whole. Finally, shifts in scale or tonal center can contribute greatly to the expressive impact of a song.

An exploration of the harmonic language of rock is presented, relying heavily on corpus data. Chords in rock are overwhelmingly root-position major and minor triads. The commonly-used triads are those within the “supermode”—a global scale containing all scale degrees except flat-2 and sharp-4. With regard to harmonic progression, rock shows an almost equal frequency of “classical” harmonic motions (descending fifths and thirds, ascending seconds) and “anti-classical” ones (ascending fifths and thirds, descending seconds). “Flat-side” chords (bVII, bIII, bVI) tend to cluster together, as do “sharp-side” chords (ii, vi, iii), suggesting something like the major/minor organization of common-practice music, though it is much more of a continuum in rock. Other topics addressed include common harmonic patterns, linear and common-tone logic, cadences, tonicization, and pedal points.