Musical genres and expectation

An experiment with reception tests and the song Neguinho, recorded by Gal Costa

Abstract

In December 2011, Gal Costa released the studio album, Recanto (Universal Music) in which all the songs were composed by Caetano Veloso, almost all especially for her. The work, mostly electronic, represented an aesthetic surprise in the midst of the singer's repertoire. Among the tracks on Recanto, “Neguinho” was the object of an analytical experience about the formation of meaning in music. Musical reception tests, in addition to post-listening semi-structured interviews, were used to assess associations, whether musical or not, made by thirteen non-musician adult listeners with similar level of education (university), over 40 years old. The listening to the material, tests and interviews were carried out separately and individually. Participants declared that they did not know the song. As expected, most associations referred to electronic music and urban settings. However, 69% of the test participants did not recognize the singer's voice – she, who is considered one of the most important and well-known interpreters in the history of Brazilian popular music – due to the expectations about the musical genre associated with her.