Music and Language

2022 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 153-170
Author(s):  
David Temperley
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Musical Training ◽  
Specific Interaction ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Musical Rhythm ◽  
Music And Language ◽  
Linguistic Stress

This review presents a highly selective survey of connections between music and language. I begin by considering some fundamental differences between music and language and some nonspecific similarities that may arise out of more general characteristics of human cognition and communication. I then discuss an important, specific interaction between music and language: the connection between linguistic stress and musical meter. Next, I consider several possible connections that have been widely studied but remain controversial: cross-cultural correlations between linguistic and musical rhythm, effects of musical training on linguistic abilities, and connections in cognitive processing between music and linguistic syntax. Finally, I discuss some parallels regarding the use of repetition in music and language, which until now has been a little-explored topic.

scholarly journals Perception of Rhythmic Similarity is Asymmetrical, and Is Influenced by Musical Training, Expressive Performance, and Musical Context

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 211-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Cameron ◽  
Keith Potter ◽  
Geraint Wiggins ◽  
Marcus Pearce
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Musical Training ◽  
Rhythm Perception ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Musical Rhythm ◽  
Expressive Performance ◽  
Similarity Ratings ◽  
Internal Coherence ◽  
Musical Context ◽  
Exact Timing

Rhythm is an essential part of the structure, behaviour, and aesthetics of music. However, the cognitive processing that underlies the perception of musical rhythm is not fully understood. In this study, we tested whether rhythm perception is influenced by three factors: musical training, the presence of expressive performance cues in human-performed music, and the broader musical context. We compared musicians and nonmusicians’ similarity ratings for pairs of rhythms taken from Steve Reich’s Clapping Music. The rhythms were heard both in isolation and in musical context and both with and without expressive performance cues. The results revealed that rhythm perception is influenced by the experimental conditions: rhythms heard in musical context were rated as less similar than those heard in isolation; musicians’ ratings were unaffected by expressive performance, but nonmusicians rated expressively performed rhythms as less similar than those with exact timing; and expressively-performed rhythms were rated as less similar compared to rhythms with exact timing when heard in isolation but not when heard in musical context. The results also showed asymmetrical perception: the order in which two rhythms were heard influenced their perceived similarity. Analyses suggest that this asymmetry was driven by the internal coherence of rhythms, as measured by normalized Pairwise Variability Index (nPVI). As predicted, rhythms were perceived as less similar when the first rhythm in a pair had greater coherence (lower nPVI) than the second rhythm, compared to when the rhythms were heard in the opposite order.

scholarly journals Evolving building blocks of rhythm: How human cognition creates music via cultural transmission

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Ravignani ◽  
Bill Thompson ◽  
Thomas Grossi ◽  
Tania Delgado ◽  
Simon Kirby
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Transmission ◽  
Cognitive Biases ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Musical Rhythm ◽  
Frequentist Statistics ◽  
Complementary Techniques ◽  
Random Patterns ◽  
Evolution Of Music

AbstractMusical rhythm, in all its cross-cultural diversity, exhibits several commonalities across world cultures. Traditionally, music research has been split in two fields. Some scientists focused on musicality, namely the human biocognitive predispositions for music, with an emphasis on cross-cultural similarities. Other scholars investigated music, seen as cultural product, focusing on the large variation in world musical cultures. Recent experiments found deep connections between music and musicality, reconciling these opposing views. Here we address the question of how individual cognitive biases affect the process of cultural evolution of music. Data from two experiments is analyzed using two different, complementary techniques. In the experiments, participants hear drumming patterns and imitate them. These patterns are then given to the same or another participant to imitate. The structure of these - initially random - patterns is tracked down to later experimental ‘generations’. Frequentist statistics show how participants’ biases are amplified by cultural transmission, making drumming patterns more structured. Structure is achieved faster than in transmission within, rather than between, participants. A Bayesian model approximates the motif structures participants learned and created. Overall, our data and model show that individual biases for musicality play a central role in shaping cultural transmission of musical rhythm.

scholarly journals Western listeners detect boundary hierarchy in Indian music: a segmentation study

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tudor Popescu ◽  
Richard Widdess ◽  
Martin Rohrmeier
Keyword(s):  
Musical Training ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Formal Structure ◽  
False Alarms ◽  
Substantial Agreement ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Structural Units ◽  
Structural Relationships ◽  
Indian Music ◽  
Time Awareness

AbstractHow are listeners able to follow and enjoy complex pieces of music? Several theoretical frameworks suggest links between the process of listening and the formal structure of music, involving a division of the musical surface into structural units at multiple hierarchical levels. Whether boundaries between structural units are perceivable to listeners unfamiliar with the style, and are identified congruently between naïve listeners and experts, remains unclear. Here, we focused on the case of Indian music, and asked 65 Western listeners (of mixed levels of musical training; most unfamiliar with Indian music) to intuitively segment into phrases a recording of sitar ālāp of two different rāga-modes. Each recording was also segmented by two experts, who identified boundary regions at section and phrase levels. Participant- and region-wise scores were computed on the basis of "clicks" inside or outside boundary regions (hits/false alarms), inserted earlier or later within those regions (high/low "promptness"). We found substantial agreement—expressed as hit rates and click densities—among participants, and between participants' and experts' segmentations. The agreement and promptness scores differed between participants, levels, and recordings. We found no effect of musical training, but detected real-time awareness of grouping completion and boundary hierarchy. The findings may potentially be explained by underlying general bottom-up processes, implicit learning of structural relationships, cross-cultural musical similarities, or universal cognitive capacities.

scholarly journals Speed Considerations Can Be of Little Concern When Outsourcing Thought to External Devices

2018 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick P. Weis ◽  
Eva Wiese
Keyword(s):  
Human Computer Interaction ◽  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Soft Constraint ◽  
External Resources ◽  
Cognitive Offloading ◽  
Internal Processing ◽  
Computer Interaction ◽  
Outside The Box

Most research on human cognition has focused on processes “inside the box”. Recently, researchers questioned this monopoly, promoting the relevance of cognitive processing “outside the box”, for instance, when using a GPS to navigate. For processing that is distributed between internal and external resources to work efficiently, humans need good heuristics that help them decide when to use which resource. A novel human-computer-interaction paradigm was employed to explore whether people follow the “minimal memory” heuristic and offload cognitive processing onto external resources whenever possible or the “soft constraint” heuristic and offload cognitive processing only if it is associated with an overall higher speed than internal processing. Participants, despite lower speed, nearly exclusively cognized outside the box, which contradicts the soft constraint heuristic and mostly supports the minimal memory heuristic. Implications for human-technology interaction as well as alternative heuristics relevant for cognitive offloading are discussed.

scholarly journals Infant cognition includes the potentially human-unique ability to encode embedding

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (11) ◽  
pp. eaar8334 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Winkler ◽  
J. L. Mueller ◽  
A. D. Friederici ◽  
C. Männel
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Comparative Studies ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Infant Cognition ◽  
Brain Potentials ◽  
Auditory Oddball ◽  
Brain Responses ◽  
Nested Relations ◽  
Unique Ability ◽  
Human Specific

Human cognition relies on the ability to encode complex regularities in the input. Regularities above a certain complexity level can involve the feature of embedding, defined by nested relations between sequential elements. While comparative studies suggest the cognitive processing of embedding to be human specific, evidence of its ontogenesis is lacking. To assess infants’ ability to process embedding, we implemented nested relations in tone sequences, minimizing perceptual and memory requirements. We measured 5-month-olds’ brain responses in two auditory oddball paradigms, presenting standard sequences with one or two levels of embedding, interspersed with infrequent deviant sequences violating the established embedding rules. Brain potentials indicate that infants detect embedding violations and thus appear to track nested relations. This shows that the ability to encode embedding may be part of the basic human cognitive makeup, which might serve as scaffolding for the acquisition of complex regularities in language or music.

“Big data” versus “small data” in social sciences

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 98-119
Author(s):  
Wenjie Duan ◽  
Wenlong Mu ◽  
He Bu
Keyword(s):  
Big Data ◽  
Character Strengths ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Small Data ◽  
Sampling Studies ◽  
Cultural Research ◽  
Important Approach ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Emic And Etic

Culture significantly influences human cognition and behavior, which has become a major obstacle in cross-cultural studies. Comparing traditional sampling studies (i.e., small data research) with the novelty of millions of samples studies (i.e., big data research), we suggest that the results of the finely controlled, precisely sampled, and accurately analyzed theory-driven small-data research can be replicated by big data studies. This conclusion has been illustrated by recent studies on structures of character strengths that were conducted in both western and eastern countries. Therefore, big data studies that take into account both emic and etic components will be an important approach to conduct cross-cultural research. It facilitates the construction of theories and measures with cross-cultural consistency. Nevertheless, it should be noted that “small data” and “big data” studies are complementary and should not be treated as substitutes for one another.

Constraint, cognition, and written numeration

2013 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 552-572 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Chrisomalis
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Study ◽  
Mathematical Cognition ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Social Environments ◽  
Writing Systems ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Cross Cultural Study ◽  
Numeral Systems ◽  
Numerical Notation

The world’s diverse written numeral systems are affected by human cognition; in turn, written numeral systems affect mathematical cognition in social environments. The present study investigates the constraints on graphic numerical notation, treating it neither as a byproduct of lexical numeration, nor a mere adjunct to writing, but as a specific written modality with its own cognitive properties. Constraints do not refute the notion of infinite cultural variability; rather, they recognize the infinity of variability within defined limits, thus transcending the universalist/particularist dichotomy. In place of strictly innatist perspectives on mathematical cognition, a model is proposed that invokes domain-specific and notationally-specific constraints to explain patterns in numerical notations. The analysis of exceptions to cross-cultural generalizations makes the study of near-universals highly productive theoretically. The cross-cultural study of patterns in written numbers thus provides a rich complement to the cognitive analysis of writing systems.

scholarly journals The impact of making music on aural perception and language skills: A research synthesis

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Hallam
Keyword(s):  
Intervention Studies ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Musical Training ◽  
School Curriculum ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
Music And Language ◽  
Development Of Language ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

This paper provides a synthesis of research on the relationship between music and language, drawing on evidence from neuroscience, psychology, sociology and education. It sets out why it has become necessary to justify the role of music in the school curriculum and summarizes the different methodologies adopted by researchers in the field. It considers research exploring the way that music and language are processed, including differences and commonalities; addresses the relative importance of genetics versus length of time committed to, and spent, making music; discusses theories of modularity and sensitive periods; sets out the OPERA hypothesis; critically evaluates research comparing musicians with non-musicians; and presents detailed accounts of intervention studies with children and those from deprived backgrounds, taking account of the importance of the nature of the musical training. It concludes that making music has a major impact on the development of language skills.

Causal Cognition and Culture

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Bender ◽  
Sieghard Beller ◽  
Douglas L. Medin
Keyword(s):  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Core Concept ◽  
Research Strategies ◽  
Disciplinary Boundaries ◽  
Potential Factors ◽  
Cognition And Culture ◽  
Causal Cognition ◽  
Blind Spots ◽  
The Way

Causality is a core concept of human cognition, but the extent to which cultural factors constrain, trigger, or shape the way in which humans think about causal relationships has barely been explored. This chapter summarizes empirical findings on the potential for cultural variability in the content of causal cognition, in the way this content is processed, and in the context in which all this occurs. This review reveals cultural variability in causal cognition along each of these dimensions and across physical, biological, and psychological explanations. Specifically, culture helps defining the settings in which causal cognition emerges, the manner in which potential factors are pondered, and the choices for highlighting some causes over others or for expressing them in distinct ways. Future tasks include the need to re-conceptualize ‘culture’ and to overcome blind spots in research strategies such as those linked to disciplinary boundaries and the ‘home-field disadvantages’ in cross-cultural comparisons.

Psychology as a Historical Science

2021 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
pp. 717-749
Author(s):  
Michael Muthukrishna ◽  
Joseph Henrich ◽  
Edward Slingerland
Keyword(s):  
Critical Role ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Cultural Variation ◽  
Historical Science ◽  
Historical Texts ◽  
Subject Pool ◽  
Work Psychology ◽  
And Behavior

Psychology has traditionally seen itself as the science of universal human cognition, but it has only recently begun seriously grappling with cross-cultural variation. Here we argue that the roots of cross-cultural variation often lie in the past. Therefore, to understand not only how but also why psychology varies, we need to grapple with cross-temporal variation. The traces of past human cognition accessible through historical texts and artifacts can serve as a valuable, and almost completely unutilized, source of psychological data. These data from dead minds open up an untapped and highly diverse subject pool. We review examples of research that may be classified as historical psychology, introduce sources of historical data and methods for analyzing them, explain the critical role of theory, and discuss how psychologists can add historical depth and nuance to their work. Psychology needs to become a historical science if it wants to be a genuinely universal science of human cognition and behavior.

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