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Commonality and variation in mental representations of music revealed by a cross-cultural comparison of rhythm priors in 15 countries

Author

Listed:
  • Nori Jacoby

    (Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics
    Columbia University)

  • Rainer Polak

    (University of Oslo, Blindern)

  • Jessica A. Grahn

    (University of Western Ontario)

  • Daniel J. Cameron

    (McMaster University)

  • Kyung Myun Lee

    (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
    Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology)

  • Ricardo Godoy

    (Brandeis University)

  • Eduardo A. Undurraga

    (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
    CIFAR)

  • Tomás Huanca

    (Centro Boliviano de Investigación y Desarrollo Socio Integral)

  • Timon Thalwitzer

    (University of Vienna)

  • Noumouké Doumbia

    (Université Catholique d’Afrique de l’Ouest)

  • Daniel Goldberg

    (University of Connecticut)

  • Elizabeth H. Margulis

    (Princeton University)

  • Patrick C. M. Wong

    (Chinese University of Hong Kong)

  • Luis Jure

    (Universidad de la República)

  • Martín Rocamora

    (School of Engineering, Universidad de la República
    Universitat Pompeu Fabra)

  • Shinya Fujii

    (Keio University)

  • Patrick E. Savage

    (Keio University
    University of Auckland)

  • Jun Ajimi

    (Tokyo University of the Arts)

  • Rei Konno

    (Keio University)

  • Sho Oishi

    (Keio University)

  • Kelly Jakubowski

    (Durham University)

  • Andre Holzapfel

    (KTH Royal Institute of Technology)

  • Esra Mungan

    (Bogazici University)

  • Ece Kaya

    (Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics
    Bogazici University)

  • Preeti Rao

    (Indian Institute of Technology Bombay)

  • Mattur A. Rohit

    (Indian Institute of Technology Bombay)

  • Suvarna Alladi

    (Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences)

  • Bronwyn Tarr

    (University of Oxford
    University of Oxford)

  • Manuel Anglada-Tort

    (Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics
    Goldsmiths, University of London)

  • Peter M. C. Harrison

    (Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics
    University of Cambridge)

  • Malinda J. McPherson

    (Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Harvard University
    Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

  • Sophie Dolan

    (Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Wellesley College)

  • Alex Durango

    (Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Stanford University)

  • Josh H. McDermott

    (University of Cambridge
    Harvard University
    Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Abstract

Music is present in every known society but varies from place to place. What, if anything, is universal to music cognition? We measured a signature of mental representations of rhythm in 39 participant groups in 15 countries, spanning urban societies and Indigenous populations. Listeners reproduced random ‘seed’ rhythms; their reproductions were fed back as the stimulus (as in the game of ‘telephone’), such that their biases (the prior) could be estimated from the distribution of reproductions. Every tested group showed a sparse prior with peaks at integer-ratio rhythms. However, the importance of different integer ratios varied across groups, often reflecting local musical practices. Our results suggest a common feature of music cognition: discrete rhythm ‘categories’ at small-integer ratios. These discrete representations plausibly stabilize musical systems in the face of cultural transmission but interact with culture-specific traditions to yield the diversity that is evident when mental representations are probed across many cultures.

Suggested Citation

  • Nori Jacoby & Rainer Polak & Jessica A. Grahn & Daniel J. Cameron & Kyung Myun Lee & Ricardo Godoy & Eduardo A. Undurraga & Tomás Huanca & Timon Thalwitzer & Noumouké Doumbia & Daniel Goldberg & Eliza, 2024. "Commonality and variation in mental representations of music revealed by a cross-cultural comparison of rhythm priors in 15 countries," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 8(5), pages 846-877, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:nathum:v:8:y:2024:i:5:d:10.1038_s41562-023-01800-9
    DOI: 10.1038/s41562-023-01800-9
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Andrea Ravignani & Tania Delgado & Simon Kirby, 2017. "Musical evolution in the lab exhibits rhythmic universals," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 1(1), pages 1-7, January.
    2. Courtney B. Hilton & Cody J. Moser & Mila Bertolo & Harry Lee-Rubin & Dorsa Amir & Constance M. Bainbridge & Jan Simson & Dean Knox & Luke Glowacki & Elias Alemu & Andrzej Galbarczyk & Grazyna Jasiens, 2022. "Acoustic regularities in infant-directed speech and song across cultures," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 6(11), pages 1545-1556, November.
    3. Malinda J. McPherson & Sophia E. Dolan & Alex Durango & Tomas Ossandon & Joaquín Valdés & Eduardo A. Undurraga & Nori Jacoby & Ricardo A. Godoy & Josh H. McDermott, 2020. "Perceptual fusion of musical notes by native Amazonians suggests universal representations of musical intervals," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 11(1), pages 1-14, December.
    4. Joseph Henrich & Steve J. Heine & Ara Norenzayan, 2010. "The Weirdest People in the World?," RatSWD Working Papers 139, German Data Forum (RatSWD).
    5. Josh H. McDermott & Alan F. Schultz & Eduardo A. Undurraga & Ricardo A. Godoy, 2016. "Indifference to dissonance in native Amazonians reveals cultural variation in music perception," Nature, Nature, vol. 535(7613), pages 547-550, July.
    6. Malinda J. McPherson & Josh H. McDermott, 2018. "Diversity in pitch perception revealed by task dependence," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 2(1), pages 52-66, January.
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