Dr Joshua S. Bamford

Organisers are doing the final touches to the #RPPW20 we look forward to welcoming our colleagues to Jyväskylä next week @coe-mmbb.bsky.social @uniofjyvaskyla.bsky.social

We are taking an exploratory approach to develop current
understandings of what activities and behaviours are involved in romantic relationships. If you're interested in participating, please follow this link for more information:
swanseachhs.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

Is it known when humans or our ancestors first started to sing? As songs don't fossilise, this is a difficult task, point out our readers – but this doesn't stop them having a go

When did humans first begin to sing, and why?

I had a crack at answering this question as part of @newscientist.com's LastWord series. www.newscientist.com/lastword/mg2...

#musicscience @coe-mmbb.bsky.social

@octopus-ac.bsky.social is a new model for modular academic publishing. Anyone is welcome to respond to this article by posting either a peer review or a linked hypothesis.

Octopus Free, fast and fair: the global primary research record where researchers publish their work in full detail.

Why do we teach music? While debates about funding for the arts are ongoing, it's worth reflecting on what music does for society. In this short piece, we discuss some of the predominant theories about the role of music education.
doi.org/10.57874/nsy...

#musicscience

On the responsibilities of intellectuals and the rise of bullshit jobs in universities You may never have considered yourself to be one. Why would you? But if you’re reading this, there is more than a likelihood that you are one. If you’re a

Something for all of us in the higher education sector to think about. With every action, we should always be asking: how does this serve the core mission of the university?

academic.oup.com/brain/articl...

Maybe @rppw.bsky.social

I’ve been adding groups to this starter pack for #musicscience labs as I’ve found them.

If there are any that I’ve missed drop them in the comments!

go.bsky.app/Eao5vcf

New online study looking at how people rate a musical rehearsal between two singers. It just takes 5-10 minutes and it'd be great if you could have a listen:
oxfordanthropology.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

Frontiers | Modeling dynamics on the dance floor with directional swarmalators

What do fireflies, fish schools, and dancers have in common? They self-organize—and now, science has a model to explain it! New study by Petri Toiviainen and colleagues uses swarmalators to reveal the hidden physics of the dance floor.

www.frontiersin.org/journals/beh...

Finally, AI can now model how people behave at a silent disco!
#musicscience

University of Oxford wishing Happy Lunar New Year, featuring an illustration of the Radcliffe Camera building against a red and gold background.

瑞蛇呈祥

Wishing everybody celebrating a happy, healthy and prosperous #LunarNewYear! 🐍 🎉

#ChineseNewYear | #YearOfTheSnake

🖋️ Signing a contract with no end date is also a strange new experience for me, and more stability than I ever hoped for in life. I'll always be an academic nomad at heart, though! 🗺️🌏

Sad to say that my time as a postdoc at @uniofjyvaskyla.bsky.social is coming to an end... because next week I'll be starting as a Senior Lecturer! Very excited to be stepping into a new role at this great university out in the middle of the forest, doing #musicscience. 🎶👨‍🎓🌲

Nice to see our work discussed here!

Music sounds better with you? How your listening habits affect your love life Psychologists say that singing, dancing and song preferences play a key role in the viability of romantic relationships

Some of our research from the Centre of Excellence in Music, Mind, Body and Brain in The Guardian today!

www.theguardian.com/science/2025...

We're hiring!
The University, in association with St Catherine's College, proposes to appoint an Associate Professor of Music with effect from 1 October 2025 or as soon as possible thereafter.
my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...

Molecular and morphological assessment of the Liopholis inornata (Rosén, 1905) species group (Reptilia: Squamata: Scincidae), with descriptions of two new species from northern Western Australia...

Nearly 20 years ago, I was on a family holiday/fieldtrip to the north-west coast of Australia, where we found a lizard that nobody could identify. It turned out to be an undescribed species and, finally, after all this time, it has now been described! Meet 𝐿𝑖𝑜𝑝ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑠 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑣𝑎!
doi.org/10.11646/zoo...

The 'circles of friendship', as they're referred to here, is a direct update to Dunbar's Number. doi.org/10.1016/j.ti...

Dunbar's recent research considers precisely the social behaviours (e.g. gossiping, singing, laughing) that enable human groups to scale, depending upon their time efficiency. Different activities may enable different groups sizes, so he now has many "numbers".

RPPW20 Submission portal for RPPW20

The 20th Rhythm Perception and Production Workshop (RPPW 20) will take place at the Department of Music, Art and Culture Studies of the University of Jyväskylä, Finland from the 16th to the 19th of June 2025. The portal for abstract submissions is now open here: www.rppw.org/rppw20

#musicscience

A map showing results from the Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index for countries around the world.

Where people live
8% Full democracy
37% Flawed democracy
18% Hybrid regime
37% Authoritarian regime

According to: Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) Democracy Index. The EIU classifies the US as a flawed democracy.
www.visualcapitalist.com/state-of-dem...

PCI will review a pre-print for free

I plan on adding some of my own research as connected publications that stem from these research questions, but other's may also post items that stem from this. Happy to discuss how to use Octopus with anyone that is interested!

Why I have resigned from the Royal Society The Royal Society is a venerable institution founded in 1660, whose original members included such eminent men as Christopher Wren, Robert H...

For those who missed it: Elon Musk, the Royal Society, and me
deevybee.blogspot.com/2024/11/why-...

@andrearavignani.bsky.social @patrickesavage.bsky.social

Octopus Free, fast and fair: the global primary research record where researchers publish their work in full detail.

I've been playing around on Octopus, a novel platform that publishes modular scientific papers. Here's my first attempt at outlining some of the major research questions in the ethology of music. Welcome to add hypotheses or to collaborate on an updated version! 🐙🎵
doi.org/10.57874/9n3...

Did you look at any of the data on number of friendships that modern humans actually maintain?

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

"An Active-Inference Approach to Second-Person Neuroscience" now officially published in Perspectives on Psychological Science @psychscience.bsky.social

Together with @dimitrisbolis.bsky.social @mjdramstead.bsky.social @leoschilbach.bsky.social @kanske.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1177/1745...

For all the newcomers, here is a starter pack of people to follow on #musicscience, music cognition and related topics.

just comment below if you want to be added!

go.bsky.app/4oZbDpj

#musicskyence