Review of "Perception and production of linguistic and musical rhythm by Korean and English middle school students" by Lydia N. Slobodian
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Date
2008-10
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Empirical Musicology Review
Abstract
Interest in possible cultural influences on basic rhythm perception and production has been
growing, and the paper by Slobodian (2008) fits squarely in this trend, studying rhythm perception and
production in a large number English and Korean native speakers. The findings were interpreted in terms
of cross-cultural similarity, suggesting that preferences, e.g. for binary meter, are broadly shared across
cultures. As is commonly encountered in cross-cultural research, however, there were several difficulties
in offering a clear interpretation of the results, such as the large extent of Western music enculturation of
the Korean participants. This commentary will review Slobodian’s findings, offering an alternative
interpretation of one result, suggesting there may be a cultural difference in meter perception. It will also
review other relevant research and integrate lessons learned from a recent study of rhythm perception in
Korean, American and Japanese listeners. Throughout, it aims to offer suggestions of how to improve the
chances of reaching the ultimate goal of understanding what aspect of culture shapes rhythm perception
and production, and the mechanisms by which they do so.
Description
Keywords
rhythm, meter, language, cross-cultural methodology
Citation
Empirical Musicology Review, v3 n4 (October 2008), 208-214