Mckinsey Report July 2012 Free Essays

Day of reckoning for European retail banking McKinsey report July 2012 The dynamics of the global banking sector have been in flux since the beginning of the 2008. Irate creditors everywhere have called for more stringent regulation to ensure that that the interests of financial institutions are more closely aligned with those of their customers and shareholders. The global, European and national authorities have responded with vigour and the regulatory reform to which all banks, wholesale and retail, will be subject in the coming years will have an important impact on their bottom line. We will write a custom essay sample on Mckinsey Report July 2012 or any similar topic only for you Order Now The single biggest cause of a reduction in retail banks’ ROE will come from the global regulatory mechanism Basel III, which will place greater capital requirements on banks and more emphasis on adequate funding and liquidity. Furthermore, three important European regulatory instruments, the EU Mortgage Directive, the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) and the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), Payment Service Directive, will also considerably diminish ROE. Finally, the implementation of new national regulation will create further downward pressure on ROE, though this will vary considerably from country to country. This report provides estimates on the impact on capital, revenues, costs and profit margins of all the relevant regulations on each product (both asset- and liability-based) in each of the four biggest European markets – France, Germany, Britain and Italy – which combined constitute 66% of the EU27 retail-banking market. ROE is the standard metric used and the report calculates the cumulative effect of all regulation as if it were all put in place immediately, using 2010 as the baseline year. The paper reaches some important conclusions. Firstly, with regard to national and continent-wide retail banking markets, ROE will fall from approximately 10% to 6% when all four markets are taken as a whole. Below is a breakdown of the effect in each of the national markets: Country France Germany Italy UK ROE Pre-Regulation 14% 7% 5% 14% ROE Post-Regulation 10% 4% 3% 7% Delta -29 -47 -40 -48 The impact in the UK is particularly caustic as national regulation is extensive. In terms of the effect of regulation on the different product offerings of retail banks, asset-based products are generally the harder-hit. In the UK and France, mortgages and small-business loans will be the most adversely affected. Similarly in Germany mortgages, personal and small-business loans will be the most negatively influenced. In Italy, the value of every asset-based product will be impaired. The disheartening truth of the matter is that across the board the ROE of asset-based products will fall below 10%, which is currently the estimated cost of equity for retail banks. On the other hand, liability-based products will prove more resilient. Deposits will become more valuable to retail banks as they are an advantaged form of funding and liquidity under new regulation. Geographically speaking, in France and Germany only investment products and debit cards will be negatively affected and in Italy most liability-based products will escape relatively intact. However, once again domestic regulation in Britain will play a role in reducing retail banks’ ROE, to the extent that all liability products in the UK will be adversely affected. An important section of the report discusses global systemically important financial institutions (GSIFIs). Such pecuniary establishments are considered too interconnected and universal to be subject to the new regulation imposed on smaller-scale retail banks. The Financial Stability Board has therefore proposed additional capital requirements for G-SIFIs, which will induce a further reduction of their ROE of anywhere between 0. 4 percentage points and 1. 3 percentage points depending on the institution. In addition, it will be obligatory for all G-SIFIs to prepare a recovery and resolution plan (RRP) that will provide a strategic map for authorities to wind down the bank in the event of dissolution. The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) is also developing new global rules on risk IT for G-SIFIs which are expected to be issued by the end of 2012. Such regulation will mean that these organisations will be subject to exhaustive supervision and many ad hoc requests, thus amplifying costs and absorbing management resources. The general conclusion of this paper is that it is improbable that banks across the board in Europe will return to pre-regulation ROE levels in the short to medium term. The UK will be particularly adversely affected due to its inflexible domestic regulation. Nevertheless, the paper proposes four mitigative measures retail banks can employ in order to cushion the blow of new regulatory forces on their ROE levels. The first is â€Å"Technical Mitigation†, which essentially involves improving efficiency of capital and funding. Secondly, â€Å"Capital – and funding-light operating models† seek to further improve funding efficiency and reduce risk-weighted assets (RWAs) by implementing changes to their product mix and characteristics and ensuring more vigorous pursuit of collateral and better outplacement of risk. Thirdly, and although they will be severely limited in doing so by regulatory authorities, banks can execute â€Å"repricing† in order to compensate the shortfall in ROE. The paper predicts more repricing in fragmented industries, which implies that the scale of repricing will be limited in the UK, a highly concentrated industry. Types of repricing include new fee-based pricing, modular pricing, partial performance remuneration and value-added packages. Finally, and perhaps most dramatically, financial institutions can engage in â€Å"Business-Model Alignment. Such restrategizing would involve two principle shifts. The first centres on a new, rigorous focus on ROE in retail banks, meaning greater investment in management systems and strengthening their resource allocation processes. The second important shift can be denoted as â€Å"Sustainable Retail Banking,† and comprises four key elements: expansion into new revenue sources, creation of advice for which customers w ill pay, reconfiguration and refocusing of the distribution system to render it leaner and simpler and cutting absolute costs by 20 – 30%. By exercising the above levers, retail banks can create a bulwark against the weight of new regulation and cushion the inevitable reduction in their ROE. Anticipatory forward-planning of mitigation measures is central in adapting to the new regulatory environment engulfing retail banking and will help banks that are fully committed to returning to pre-regulation ROE levels to achieve their post-regulatory reform potential. How to cite Mckinsey Report July 2012, Papers

Good Man Is Hard to Find free essay sample

According to Shakespere, All the worlds a stage, And all the men and women merely players. Some people, in their daily lives, do more intentional acting, or decieveing, than others. The terms Friday Muslim or Sunday Christian have been coined to describe people who appear to be devout to their religion when they attend their weekly religious gathering, but otherwise do not display any moral connections to it. These people put more importance on appearing as a good and richous person rather than actually thinkning, speaking, and acting according to the religious documents they claim to follow. Living this sort of life proved to be fatal for the Grandmother in Flannery OConnors A Good Man Is Hard to Find. The Grandmothers religious hypocracy caused her to corrupt the thoughts of her grandchildren, manipulate events onto a negative path, and ultimately cause the death of her and her family. Studies done by the National Child Study indicate that childrens views are larely shaped by caregiver/child interactions throught childhood(Measuring). John Wesley and June Stars mother and father seem to be very passive and quiet with thier views. In comparison, the Grandmother is outspoken, opinionated, and presents herself as a religiously knowledgable, and there for trustworthy, person. The children seem to have picked up on her racist views as their normally argumentitive resopnses are absent when she makes condesending comments about an ovbiously poor Negro child standing in the door of a shack(Oconnor) they pass on their trip. The impression of the grandmothers views into the children is also aparent when, rather than being appalled at her racist story about a suitor bringing her watermelon, this story tickled John Wesleys funny bone and he giggled and giggled(Oconnor). Also, June Star shows signs of the same materialistic shelfishness of the Grandmother when she states that she wouldnt marry a man that just brought her a watermelon on Saturday(Oconnor). The grandmother replies that she wishes she would have married him because he had died only a few years ago, a very wealthy man (Oconnor), as if wealth is the most important factor in deciding whom to marry. Nearly everytime the chirdren speak their comments reak of the condescending, corrupt influence of their grandmother. Had the Grandmother put more emphasis on actually practicing Christian values than just appearing to be a godly person she would not have had the relaxed attitutte towards lying which led her to her death. Fearing her cat ,Pitty Sing , might brush against one of her gas burners and accidentally asphyxiate himself(Oconnor), she sneaks the cat into the car. She knows that her son Bailey has good reason for not wanting the cat to accompany them on the trip and would not allow it, but this does not stop her. The Grandmother later tells a story to the children about a plantation she used to visit when she was younger. She believes he house to be a little way down a dirt road they passed on the highway. She begins to have a burning, almost childish, desire to revisit this landmark and so lies to the children. Knowing it will manipulate the children into helping her persuade their parents to visit the house, she tells them there was a secret:-panel in this house(Oconnor) which all the family silver was hidden in(Oconnor). As expected, the children begin whining untill their father, Bailey, agrees to make a one and only time(Oconnor) exception to the trip itenerary and visit the plantation. The Grandmothers deception leads to Bailey wrecking the car. The cat becomes statled leaps onto his neck, causing him to jerk the wheel in firght and lead the car into a ditch. Due to the Grandmothers lack of morals, the family is left helpless and injured on the side of a near abandoned road. As exzibited in devout priests, nuns, and missionaries, selflessness is highly valued in Christianity. The Grandmother would like for people to think of her as a selfless christian role model, but her actions prove her to be quite the opposite. Before the family sets out on the trip she attempts to manupulate them into going to Tennessee instead of Florida. She actually wants to go visit some old friends in her former home state, but she attempts to scare the family into changing their destionation. Had she not been so selfish, she would not have so clearly noted and remembered that The Misfit is aloose from the Federal Pen and headed toward Florida(Oconnor), and therefor would not have clearly recognized him when he stops to help the family later in the story. The Misfit made the decision to kill the family in order to cover his tracks only after the grandmother verbalized that she identified him. Her selfish attitude kept her from realizing that it was likely not in her families best interest to blurt out this realizatioin. It clearly shows that even in the most dire of situatioins no one elses well being was even close to the forfront of her toughts. The Gandmothers pattern of selfishness is not cohearent with her claimed Christian ties, and unwittingly led her and her family to be massacred. The politition who claims everyone should be green in order to save the planet but continues to travel in a private jet, The religious leader who preaches meantal purity and is found to have a drug habit, or even the parent who tells their child do as I say, not as I do; hypocracy in all forms has its victims. OConnor was known to be a devout Roman Cathloic and likely resented people who, like the Grandmother in this story, were good at pretending to be religious but had no actual commitment. Unfortuantly for the Grandmother her first selfless act came to late.

Woodrow Wilson Essays (2460 words) - Georges Clemenceau,

Woodrow Wilson President Woodrow Wilson regarded himself as the personal representative of the people. "No one but the President," he said, "seems to be expected ... to look out for the general interests of the country"(Internet 1). He developed a program of progressive reform and asserted international leadership in building a new world order. In 1917 he proclaimed American's entrance into World War I a crusade to make the world "safe for democracy." Wilson had seen the difficulties of war. He was born in Virginia in 1856. The son of a Presbyterian minister who during the Civil War was a pastor in Augusta, Georgia, and during Reconstruction a professor in the charred city of Columbia, South Carolina. After graduation from Princeton (then the College of New Jersey) and the University of Virginia Law School, Wilson earned his doctorate at Johns Hopkins University and entered upon an academic career. In 1885 he married Ellen Louise Axson. Wilson advanced rapidly as a conservative young professor of political science and became president of Princeton in 1902. His growing national reputation led some conservative Democrats to consider him Presidential material. First they persuaded him to run for Governor of New Jersey in 1910. In that campaign he asserted his independence of the conservatives and of the machine that had nominated him, endorsing a progressive platform, which he pursued as governor. He was nominated for President at the 1912 Democratic Convention and campaigned on a program called the New Freedom, which stressed individualism and states' rights. In the three-way election he received only 42 percent of the popular vote but an overwhelming electoral vote. Wilson dealt with Congress very effectively in his presidency. On April 2,1917, he asked Congress for a declaration of war on Germany. Massive American effort slowly tipped the balance in favor of the Allies. Wilson went before Congress in January 1918, to pronounce American war aims through a a series of ideas he had known as the Fourteen Points, this would establish a general association of nations indubitably guaranteeing political independence and territorial integrity to great and small states alike. After the Germans signed the Armistice in November 1918, Wilson went to Paris to try to build an enduring peace. He later presented to the Senate the Versailles Treaty, containing the Covenant of the League of Nations. The Versailles Treaty was seven votes shy of being ratifid by the senate. The President, against the warnings of his doctors, had made a national tour to mobilize public sentiment for the treaty. President Wilson had aswell have many interventions in countries such as: New Mexico, Mexico, Haiti, Dominican Republic, and Nicaragua Exhausted, he suffered a stroke and nearly died. Tenderly nursed by his second wife, Edith Bolling Galt, he lived until 1924. The League of Nations was a former international organization that was formed after WORLD WAR I to promote international peace and security. The League of Nations was provided int he use of the Fourteen Points. The basis of the League, the Covenant, was written into the Treaty of Versailles and other peace treaties and provided for an assembly, a council, and a secretariat. A system of colonial mandates was also set up. The U.S., which failed to ratify the Treaty of Versailles, never became a member. Based in Geneva, the League proved useful in settling minor international disputes, but was unable to stop aggression by major powers, Japan's occupation of Manchuria (1931), Italy's conquest of Ethiopia (1935-36), and Germany's seizure of Austria (1938). It collapsed early in World War II and dissolved itself in 1946. The League established the first pattern of permanent international organization and served as a model for its successor, the UNITED NATIONS. The Treaty of Versailles, signed on 1871 at the end of the Franco-Prussian War by Bismarck. France was forced to give up most of Alsace and Lorraine, pay a large indemnity, and accept a German army of occupation. The Versailles Treaty of 1919 is the most famous of the treaties because it was the chief one ending World War I. The Big Four negotiating it were President WIlson, Premier Clemenceau, Prime Minister Llyod George, and Premier Oralndo. The treaty called for the creation of the League of Nations. It forced on Germany the burden of reperations and placed limits on German armed forces. It restored Alsace and Lorraine to France, gave Prussian Poland and most of West Prussia to Poland, made Danzig a free city, put Germany's colonies under the League of Nations, placed the Saar under French administration, called for plebiscites in various territories newly freed from

A Reflection On Paul Hindemith Essays - Harmony, Ballet Composers

A Reflection On Paul Hindemith Essays - Harmony, Ballet Composers A Reflection On Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith was revolutionary and a musical genius. Many people who lived around the same time saw him as nothing more than an untalented noisemaker. Granted, these people didnt have all of the various forms of music that we have today, but untalented would not be a word I would use to describe Paul Hindemith. He helped begin the last great change in classical music from the Romantic Era, which was very tonal and diatonic, to 20th Century Modern Music, which is extremely atonal. Diatonic means within in the key. In other words, everything sounds nice and pretty. There are no weird noises, no funny pitches. Atonal itself is defined as the avoidance of the traditional musical tonality, or in laymans terms, it sounds very weird. Paul Hindemith was born in the German State of Hesse in 1885, and grew up in Germany. After he completed his studies at the Conservatory of Frankfurt-am-Main, he was appointed conductor of the opera orchestra (1915-1923). In 1921, he also helped organize the famous Amar-Hindemith Quartet, in which he played viola. In 1927, he became the composition teacher at the Musikhochschuk in Berlin (Germany). In 1934, Hitler banned his work in Germany because of its extreme modernism. Around the same time, Hindemith was forced to flee the country of his birth after being openly Heppner - 2 opposed to Hitler and the doctrines of Goebbels. (Emory University, website). The doctrines were documents written by Dr. Joseph Goebbels recording the history of the Nazi party (Encyclopedia Britanica Online). In late 1939, he moved to the United States, and became the composition professor at Yale University. He was only there until World War II ended. After the war, he returned to Europe to take the position of the professor of composition at Zurich University. He died from a heart attack in a hospital in Frankfurt in December of 1963. The earliest known works of Hindemith were written in the year 1913. There were four main pieces, which were all written in a composition class taught under Arnold Mendelssohn at the Hoch Conservatory, which is located in Frankfurt, Germany. Theyre all considered student works. That creates a problem for historians, because normally only one copy was written. All of his early music was lost, unpublished, or only bits and pieces. The first masterpiece he wrote that is still very popular today is the Concerto in Eb for Violoncello and Orchestra, Opus 3. Later on when asked about it, Hindemith stated, I like this piece very much, particularly the first movement; the other two do not seem to me to have come off so well. I soon found out that I would have to try something else (The Larousse Encyclopedia of Music). . Through his work, Hindemith, like most composers show whats going on both in his life and in the world. His String Quartet in F Minor, Opus 10, also known as his First String Quartet, written between February and May of 1918 is a prime example of Heppner - 3 this. The end of WWI was nearing, and Germany was staring right into the face of defeat. This is portrayed with movements that are very dark and somber. Like any of the great composers, there are characteristics which make Hindemiths music his. His melodies often incorporated an interval of a fourth, as well as diatonic seconds. These, especially in the Classical and Romantic Eras of Music, were considered unbreakable rules, especially when writing for singers. They were avoided whenever possible, due mainly to the fact that theyre extremely hard to hear and sing. Other unique characteristics of Hindemiths music are the occasional use of Gregorian chants. An example of this is found in what is disputably his best Opera, Mathis der Maler. He frequently used dissonant counterpoint (a second melody which usually counters the main melody) with the use of fugato and imitative writing. A real turning point came in his music in the 1930s, around the time Hitler came to power in Germany. In his early works, he experimented with expressionism, jazz, atonality, parody and satire. From the 1930s on, he was more of a serious composer, and used forms including the canon (which is a round the same

Alienation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Alienation - Essay Example Most significantly, the novel depicts the unexpected entrance of Peter Walsh who was an old friend and former suitor of Clarissa. Their meeting reflects a mixture of happiness and tension as Clarissa wonders why she married Richard Dalloway instead of Peter Walsh who was her suitor. The novel also revolves around the story of Septimus Warren Smith, a shell-shocked World War I veteran who suffered from the war and later committed suicide. The novel presents the topic of alienation in many dimensions. Alienation depicts a sense of emotional isolation between individuals or groups within a given community. Indeed, we can sense a feeling of emotional isolation as Peter Walsh feels desperate over his unfulfilling life. This results from the fact that his friends and former suitors have moved on with their lives. Indeed, Peter Walsh was Clarissa’s suitor but Clarissa chose to marry Richard because of his social class. This shows that Peter Walsh suffers from social alienation. As a result, Peter Walsh cries as he regrets losing Clarissa and desperately asks her if she really loves Richard. More so, Peter Walsh’s social alienation manifests where he fails to establish and maintain any stable romantic relationship (Woolf 42-44). Indeed, despite the social world requiring one to make concrete decisions, Peter alienates himself from the social world by lacking the capacity to decide what he feels. As such, he results to talking to himself, which depicts social isolation. On the other hand, we can identify social alienation from the story of Septimus Warren Smith, a shell-shocked World War I veteran. Indeed, Septimus alienated himself from the physical world by constantly residing in the internal world where he talks with his friend Evans who died in the war. He is emotionally numb and encounters deep madness and crazy hallucinations where he sees and hears unreal things that a normal person cannot witness. This is a deviation from the norms and reflects soc ial alienation. In fact, in the social world, people communicate in the real world and not in the internal world as Septimus does. Furthermore, Septimus' presence in the novel is alienation, as he does not relate with any of the other main characters. Ultimately, Septimus suffers the consequences of alienation as he commits suicides after a light moment of joy with his wife. Indeed, Septimus decided in his internal world that he will not go with the doctors to a mental institution and opts to die (Woolf 36-42). This depicts social alienation as people do not commit suicide in the social world but wait for their natural death. More so, we experience Lucrezia’s emotional alienation, as she miserably misses Italy and is tired of taking her husband to various soulless doctors. This depicts social isolation, as the other characters are seemingly comfortable in this place. More so, the novel depicts Clarissa’s alienation from the social world. Indeed, Clarissa’s urge to pay attention to every guest  alienates her from enjoying her evening party. We can see her wishing that she could get some time to talk to Sally and Peter but she is too busy with the other guests. Indeed, Clarissa sought to enjoy her evening party but the events happening during the party hinders her form such enjoyment. This is despite the fact that other people attending the party derive full enjoyment from the party.

Neutral network and machine learning Research Paper

Neutral network and machine learning - Research Paper Example Problems used to be in form of binary strings of 0s and 1s. Currently, there is usage of other encodings. This evolution normally begins from a group of randomly created phenotypes and this process takes place through generations. During each generation, the fitness of each individual in the population/group is cross examined, multiple phenotypes are chosen from the group as per their fitness and then they are modified and can be randomly mutated to create a new population which is then used in the iteration calculations whose procedure is step-by-step also known as the algorithm. This algorithm is mostly terminated after the production of a maximum number of generations. A fulfilling solution may or may not be accomplished if the algorithm has been terminated when because of a maximum number of generations. The most widely accepted representation of the result is using an array of bits. Any other arrays can be used similarly. What makes the representation that uses genetics convenie nt is the fact that their parts can be aligned conveniently because of their fixed size. This facilitates easy crossover operations. 1.2 Applications and results of Genetic Algorithm 1.2.1Metaheuristic This term is designated from a computational method which optimizes problems through iteration. This iteration tries to improve the solution of a candidate as per a given measure of quality. Few or no assumptions are made about the problem being optimized. As far as candidate solutions are involved it can search very large spaces. However, optimal solutions are not guaranteed to be found by Metaheuristic. Stochastic optimization is mostly implemented in a metaheuristic way. It can also be referred to as: Derivative free Direct search Black box Heuristic optimizer 1.2.2 Computational creativity This is also referred to as artificial, mechanical creativity and sometimes creative computation. It comprises of the bringing together of fields such as cognitive psychology, artificial intelli gence and philosophy. Computational creativity improvises the combinational perspective which allows one to model creativity in form of a search procedure through several possible combinations. These combinations can be as a result of composition of different representations. Cross over representations which capture different inputs can be generated using neural networks and genetic algorithms. 1.2.3 Multiple sequence alignment This refers to a sequence alignment of at least 3 biological sequences namely: Protein Dna Rna Most of the times the sequences are assumed to have an evolutionary relationship through which they are descended from a common ancestor hence share a lineage. As a result, sequence homology can be inferred from the Multiple Sequence Alignment and to look into the sequences’ shared evolutionary origins phylogenetic analysis is carried out. In trying to widely simulate the evolutionary process which gave rise to the broadening of the query set, genetic algorit hms have been used for production of Multiple Sequence Alignment.This is done by breaking several potential MSAs into pieces and rearranging the pieces repeatedly.Gaps are introduced at several positions.During simulation a common objective function is achieved which is the sum-of-pairs function that emerges in the broad programming Multiple sequence alignment. 1.3 GA (genetic algorithm) used with NN (neural networks) 1.3.1 Evolving weights The frequent use of GA with NN is because genetic algorithms

Beatboxing how it works in the brain

Beatboxing how it works in the brain Introduction As I was surfing through the internet, a viral video had caught my attention. At the time, it had roughly one million views and thus sparked my interest, so I watched it. In this video, a fairly large man began to move his lips and multiple sounds came out. He starts out slowly by setting a bass foundation and eventually adds a rhythmic part to the foundation. To the rhythm and foundation, he then adds a melody. Within the first 15 seconds, I recognize that he is indeed playing Bille Jean by Michael Jackson and it caught 100 percent of my attention. This man made me wonder how a human could possibly play 3 different parts of a song and how was he able to accomplish this feat. Now what was he doing in this video exactly? This man was beatboxing. Beatboxing is the art of producing drum beats, rhythm, and musical sounds using ones mouth, lips, tongue, voice, nasal passage and throat.[i] Thus this video had caused me to further examine beatboxing and try to answer the question: how is t his man able to play multiple different parts, when the only source is him? To attempt to even answer this question, this paper will first give a brief history on beatboxing to give the reader a basic understanding on the concept of beatboxing before exploring how this type of music interacts with the brain. The video clip will then be analyzed to form a conclusion based on the analysis. The Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayzoj7YB7IA History of Beatboxing Prehistory of Beatboxing The root of beatboxing is vocal percussion and it has been a part of human history for hundreds of years and can be traced back to Africa. As part of African ritualistic music, vocal percussion patterns such as, hup, hup, hup, hup and Ch Ka Ch Ch were used to help performers become induced into a trance like state, in addition to using clapping and stamping to maintain rhythm. Then during the 17th Century, when African slaves were taken to plantations, African music was blended with European folk and brass band music becoming jazz and blues. These black slaves were generally poor and usually couldnt afford musical instruments and so improvised with their bodies and voices to create music. Claps and clicks became the drums, and low hums because the double bass; the two back bones of blues and jazz music. One would hum, one would clap, stick and hit things as the drums, and one would sing. This would eventually evolve into imitating many sounds, such as the shhchh of a soft snare and the tssa of the hi-hat being played with brushes. Blues groups found a way to make their music with nothing but their voicesImmediately, this form of vocal percussion became a staple of urban culture, that is, culture of the street.[ii] Old Skool: The Beginning of Beatboxing Beatboxing, like graffiti, seems to have begun as an urban art form. It appears with the beginning of hip-hop, which gets its start from DJs spinning records, while MCs are rapping. MCs could also be seen rapping over drum machine (also known as the beat box) beats. Since these drum machines couldnt have been purchased in the ghettos (aka poor urban cities), people began trying to imitate these drum machines with their mouths and thus became human beatboxers. New School: Beatboxing As We Know It Now During the 1990s, a new type of beatboxer appeared that developed new sounds and techniques. A great example of this is a beatboxer from 1999 called Rahzel, who used a method called auditory illusion to make listeners believe that he is indeed singing and beatboxing at the same time. The beatboxing song that Rahzel first revealed this new sound and technique with was If Your Mother Only Knew which was reconfigured from Aaliyahs 1997 song If Your Girl Knew. How Does Beatboxing Work in The Brain? Auditory Continuity Illusion Audio continuity affects whether a frequency component is thought of as being continuous in time or if a frequency component contains gaps. Our brains can perceive a song as being continuous, even if it is not. Auditory continuity works by filling in these missing gaps with a different sound, which our brain then fills in the missing portions of the song, even if they arent there. Our brain is thus producing a perception of a sound that is not truly there because it thinks that the two sounds are taking place at the same time. This is how Rahzel is able to make one believe that he is singing and beatboxing at the same time in the If Your Mother Only Knew song. What listener does really hear is this pattern: B[iff] your Pff[mother] B B[on] B[ly] B[knew] B[knew] B B B Pff B = Classic Kick Pff = Classic Snare although the brain actually interprets this pattern as 2 different streams. A link to this song is: Grouping by Pitch Proximity Tempo Beatboxing also works by increasing pitch separation and tempo. Our brain sets limits on what should be physically possible for instruments such as guitar strings or the human voice box. When the sounds we hear are outside of the brains limits, it thinks of other reasons why these sounds are outside. An example of this is: if we hear frequency changes that are way quicker than would normally be possible, the brain interprets it as coming from separate sources, even it is coming from a single source. This is because it is easier for the brain to believe that with multiple sources, the sound would reach the ear quicker. Thus beatboxing works by making the brain think that there are multiple sources creating the sound, when there is not. Beatboxing Song from Video Analysis In order to collect data from this video to analyze, I converted the video into an mp3 file using http://www.listentoyoutube.com/index.php . Then opened it into the WaveSurfer computer program and had it create both a pitch contour and spectrogram diagrams at different time intervals. This should reveal how the beatboxer in the video is able to create sounds that seem to come from multiple sources. The top box is the pitch contour and the bottom box is a spectrogram. Pitch Contour Spectrogram @ 10 mm/s Pitch Contour Spectrogram @ 50 mm/s Pitch Contour Spectrogram @ 100 mm/s Pitch Contour Spectrogram @ 250 mm/s As one compares the pitch contours, they are able to see that the beat boxer is actually putting into affect grouping by pitch proximity tempo to make the brain believe that there are multiple sources. He is able to change frequencies so fast that our brain is not able to comprehend the sound as coming from one source, as seen in the last diagram where pitch contour spectrogram are in 250 mm/s intervals. Conclusion Beatboxing is a perceived art; it makes us believe in something that isnt true. It is made clear that there is only one source producing all of the sounds, but the tricks of beatboxing tell our brains otherwise. By separating the different frequencies so quickly, our brain is not able to comprehend the sound coming from the same source and so we sense different streams. If there were indeed multiple sources, the spectrogram and pitch contours would have shown multiple frequencies overlapping one another, which clearly is not evident. Grouping by increasing pitch separation and increase tempo (speed in this case) is exactly how the beatboxer in the video is able to make me believe that there are multiple sources creating the sounds. Thus the question: how is this man able to play multiple different parts, when the only source is him, is solved. References [i] Vocal Echo. Humanbeatbox.com. 2009. Humanbeatbox.com, Web. 2 Mar 2010. . [ii] TyTe, , and Defenicial. The Real History of Beatboxing : Part 1. Vocal Echo 2008: n. pag. Web. 2 Mar 2010. . [iii] Al Bregman: Auditory Analysis. Web. 2 Mar 2010. .