A Simpler Explanation for Vestibular Influence on Beat Perception: No Specialized Unit Needed
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Date
2009-01
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Empirical Musicology Review
Abstract
Some researchers have hypothesized the existence of a specialized brain
unit for beat perception in music which is directly influenced by vestibular stimulation
arising from motion. They also suggest that the unit is involved in the entrainment of
movement to music. However, the data used to support this hypothesis may be explained
by a simpler phenomenon: the audiogravic and audiogyral effect. This effect is not
related to beat perception at all but deals with perceived sound changes under
accelerations. If the perception of a sound changes as a consequence of acceleration of
the vestibular system, and those accelerations are timed to coincide with particular beats
in a stream of unaccented beats, then those beats will actually sound different. The
detection of a given meter in that unaccented stream will therefore arise from this change
in sound processing, with no need for a specialized brain mechanism for beat perception.
There is no direct evidence supporting the existence of an innate brain unit.
Description
Keywords
rhythm, perception, beat induction, entrainment, audiogravic, audiogyral
Citation
Empirical Musicology Review, v4 n1 (January 2009), 19-22