Effects of polyphonic context, instrumentation, and metrical location on syncopation in music

Maria A G Witek*, Eric F. Clarke, Morten L. Kringelbach, Peter Vuust

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaperJournal articleResearchpeer-review

30 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

INMUSIC, THE RHYTHMS OF DIFFERENT INSTRUMENTS are often syncopated against each other to create tension. Existing perceptual theories of syncopation cannot adequately model such kinds of syncopation since they assume monophony. This study investigates the effects of polyphonic context, instrumentation and metrical location on the salience of syncopations. Musicians and nonmusicians were asked to tap along to rhythmic patterns of a drum kit and rate their stability; in these patterns, syncopations occurred among different numbers of streams, with different instrumentation and at different metrical locations. The results revealed that the stability of syncopations depends on all these factors and music training, in variously interacting ways. It is proposed that listeners' experiences of syncopations are shaped by polyphonic and instrumental configuration, metrical structure, and individual music training, and a number of possiblemechanisms are considered, including the rhythms' acoustic properties, ecological associations, statistical learning, and timbral differentiation.

Original languageEnglish
JournalMusic Perception
Volume32
Issue2
Pages (from-to)201-217
Number of pages17
ISSN0730-7829
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Dec 2014

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