Natalie Miller is a PhD in musicology at Princeton University, where she specializes in the intersection of music theory, music cognition, and media studies. Her research investigates music’s role in guiding attention in multimedia, specifically how music influences on a person’s ability to become immersed in a given experience. Defining psychological immersion as a state of engaged attention related to flow and musical absorption, this research questions the extent to which musical repetition and audiovisual interaction influence a person’s immersion. Her dissertation combines theoretical and behavioral empirical methodologies to shed light on these questions and better understand music’s role in multimedia.
In addition to her research, she actively engages with teaching and mentorship opportunities both within and outside of Princeton University. She has taught Music Appreciation (MUS 101) at Rowan College of South Jersey as a Community College Teaching Fellow. At Princeton, she has precepted for Music Theory through Performance and Composition (MUS 105) and Music and Language (MUS 229/HUM 230/CGS 230/PSY 209). Through a University Administrative Fellowship, she currently serves as Founder and Director of the Music Mentoring Program, connecting music-affiliated Princeton undergraduate students with Musicology and Composition graduate student mentors.
Before coming to Princeton, she completed her undergraduate studies in music theory and linguistics from the University of Texas at Austin, where she completed an honor’s thesis analyzing intonational patterns in speech.
