What makes a rhythm complex? The influence of musical training and accent type on beat perception

Abstract

Perception of a regular beat in music is inferred from different types of accents. For example, increases in loudness cause intensity accents, and the grouping of time intervals in a rhythm creates temporal accents. Accents are expected to occur on the beat: when accents are “missing” on the beat, the beat is more difficult to find. However, it is unclear whether accents occurring off the beat alter beat perception similarly to missing accents on the beat. Moreover, no one has examined whether intensity accents influence beat perception more or less strongly than temporal accents, nor how musical expertise affects sensitivity to each type of accent. In two experiments, we obtained ratings of difficulty in finding the beat in rhythms with either temporal or intensity accents, and which varied in the number of accents on the beat as well as the number of accents off the beat. In both experiments, the occurrence of accents on the beat facilitated beat detection more in musical experts than in musical novices. In addition, the number of accents on the beat affected beat finding more in rhythms with temporal accents than in rhythms with intensity accents. The effect of accents off the beat was much weaker than the effect of accents on the beat and appeared to depend on musical expertise, as well as on the number of accents on the beat: when many accents on the beat are missing, beat perception is quite difficult, and adding accents off the beat may not reduce beat perception further. Overall, the different types of accents were processed qualitatively differently, depending on musical expertise. Therefore, these findings indicate the importance of designing ecologically valid stimuli when testing beat perception in musical novices, who may need different types of accent information than musical experts to be able to find a beat. Furthermore, our findings stress the importance of carefully designing rhythms for social and clinical applications of beat perception, as not all listeners treat all rhythms alike.

A silent disco: Differential effects of beat-based and pattern-based temporal expectations on persistent entrainment of low-frequency neural oscillations

“…Indeed, suppression off the beat has even be proposed to be a better indication of beat-based expectations than facilitation on the beat (Bouwer et al, in press;Breska & Deouell, 2017) Both the effects of beat-based and memory-based expectations were associated with musical training. This is consistent with a large body of research looking at the association between musical training and beat-based perception (Bouwer et al, 2018;Bouwer, Werner, Knetemann, & Honing, 2016;Cameron & Grahn, 2014;Matthews, Thibodeau, Gunther, & Penhune, 2016;Vuust et al, 2005). The finding that memory-based expectations were also associated with training is in line with a previous study showing that percussionists outperformed non-musicians on a tapping task for both rhythms with and without a regular beat (Cameron & Grahn, 2014), and is not surprising given that musical training affects many aspects of auditory perception (Moreno & Bidelman, 2014).…”

“…Some previous studies have failed to show differences between musicians and non-musicians, however (Bouwer, Van Zuijen, & Honing, 2014;Geiser et al, 2009;Grahn & Brett, 2007). As argued previously (Bouwer et al, 2018), these differences may be due to differences in task design. In the current study, the task required explicit ratings of how well probes fitted with the preceding rhythm.…”

The Influence of Rate and Accentuation on Subjective Rhythmization

“…These findings may have been related to the magnitude of change used to create accents (e.g., Ellis & Jones, 2009, used two to five semitones differences, while the current study used only one semitone difference), a limitation that could be addressed in future experiments. On the other hand, there is also some evidence that the effect of different types of accents on beat perception may differ based on participants' musical expertise (Bouwer, Burgoyne, Odijk, Honing, & Grahn, 2018;Poudrier, 2017). In the current study, post hoc observations of grouping preferences based on native language and music training provide further evidence that basic auditory processes supporting pulse perception may be shaped by enculturation (Hannon, Soley, & Ullal, 2012;Iversen, Patel, & Ohgushi, 2008).…”

Beat-based and memory-based temporal expectations in rhythm: similar perceptual effects, different underlying mechanisms

“…Finally, the perception of hierarchical structure in music (meter) may lead to perceived illusory metrical accents (Bouwer, Burgoyne, Odijk, Honing, & Grahn, 2018;Repp, 2010), causing enhanced responses on the beat when compared to off the beat. Indeed, two studies that specifically manipulated beat-based expectations by asking participants to imagine accents on the beat found enhancement of sensory responses (Iversen, Repp, & Patel, 2009;Schaefer, Vlek, & Desain, 2010).…”