ABSTRACT
This chapter begins by examining the cognitive attributes of the aulos, the twin-piped reed instrument that accompanied drama, and its superexpressive voice-like qualities. It focuses on the music of tragedy, particularly the lament, which was one of its most ubiquitous musical forms. The chapter proposes that it fostered a sense of dissociation, which led to cognitive absorption and increased empathetic feelings. It examines music from a predictive perspective and the cognitive mechanisms of music expectancy in particular before surmising that one of the most powerful effects of tragic music was the creation of a dissociative and absorbing atmosphere within which empathetic feelings could be promoted. In musical terms such sounds might be sudden cries, loud noises, dissonant pitch, changing tempos, shrill note, a sudden shift in meter, or an unfamiliar melody. The chapter also examines the important affective element that we can discern in ancient dramatic music: the development of musical expectancy, its affective attributes, and its relationship to prediction.
