Perceived rhythmic regularity is greater for song than speech: examining acoustic correlates of rhythmic regularity in speech and song
Rhythm is a key feature of music and language, but the way rhythm unfolds within each domain differs. Music induces perception of a beat, a regular repeating pulse spaced by roughly equal durations, whereas speech does not have the same isochronous framework. Although rhythmic regularity is a defini...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-05-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1167003/full |
| _version_ | 1797819797734424576 |
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| author | Chu Yi Yu Chu Yi Yu Anne Cabildo Jessica A. Grahn Jessica A. Grahn Christina M. Vanden Bosch der Nederlanden Christina M. Vanden Bosch der Nederlanden Christina M. Vanden Bosch der Nederlanden |
| author_facet | Chu Yi Yu Chu Yi Yu Anne Cabildo Jessica A. Grahn Jessica A. Grahn Christina M. Vanden Bosch der Nederlanden Christina M. Vanden Bosch der Nederlanden Christina M. Vanden Bosch der Nederlanden |
| author_sort | Chu Yi Yu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Rhythm is a key feature of music and language, but the way rhythm unfolds within each domain differs. Music induces perception of a beat, a regular repeating pulse spaced by roughly equal durations, whereas speech does not have the same isochronous framework. Although rhythmic regularity is a defining feature of music and language, it is difficult to derive acoustic indices of the differences in rhythmic regularity between domains. The current study examined whether participants could provide subjective ratings of rhythmic regularity for acoustically matched (syllable-, tempo-, and contour-matched) and acoustically unmatched (varying in tempo, syllable number, semantics, and contour) exemplars of speech and song. We used subjective ratings to index the presence or absence of an underlying beat and correlated ratings with stimulus features to identify acoustic metrics of regularity. Experiment 1 highlighted that ratings based on the term “rhythmic regularity” did not result in consistent definitions of regularity across participants, with opposite ratings for participants who adopted a beat-based definition (song greater than speech), a normal-prosody definition (speech greater than song), or an unclear definition (no difference). Experiment 2 defined rhythmic regularity as how easy it would be to tap or clap to the utterances. Participants rated song as easier to clap or tap to than speech for both acoustically matched and unmatched datasets. Subjective regularity ratings from Experiment 2 illustrated that stimuli with longer syllable durations and with less spectral flux were rated as more rhythmically regular across domains. Our findings demonstrate that rhythmic regularity distinguishes speech from song and several key acoustic features can be used to predict listeners’ perception of rhythmic regularity within and across domains as well. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T09:27:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1b21354f7bc44eeba5217fe94dbb8bdc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T09:27:54Z |
| publishDate | 2023-05-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-1b21354f7bc44eeba5217fe94dbb8bdc2023-05-26T04:33:26ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782023-05-011410.3389/fpsyg.2023.11670031167003Perceived rhythmic regularity is greater for song than speech: examining acoustic correlates of rhythmic regularity in speech and songChu Yi Yu0Chu Yi Yu1Anne Cabildo2Jessica A. Grahn3Jessica A. Grahn4Christina M. Vanden Bosch der Nederlanden5Christina M. Vanden Bosch der Nederlanden6Christina M. Vanden Bosch der Nederlanden7The Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, ON, CanadaDepartment of Psychology, Western University, London, ON, CanadaDepartment of Psychology, University of Toronto, Mississauga, ON, CanadaThe Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, ON, CanadaDepartment of Psychology, Western University, London, ON, CanadaThe Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, ON, CanadaDepartment of Psychology, Western University, London, ON, CanadaDepartment of Psychology, University of Toronto, Mississauga, ON, CanadaRhythm is a key feature of music and language, but the way rhythm unfolds within each domain differs. Music induces perception of a beat, a regular repeating pulse spaced by roughly equal durations, whereas speech does not have the same isochronous framework. Although rhythmic regularity is a defining feature of music and language, it is difficult to derive acoustic indices of the differences in rhythmic regularity between domains. The current study examined whether participants could provide subjective ratings of rhythmic regularity for acoustically matched (syllable-, tempo-, and contour-matched) and acoustically unmatched (varying in tempo, syllable number, semantics, and contour) exemplars of speech and song. We used subjective ratings to index the presence or absence of an underlying beat and correlated ratings with stimulus features to identify acoustic metrics of regularity. Experiment 1 highlighted that ratings based on the term “rhythmic regularity” did not result in consistent definitions of regularity across participants, with opposite ratings for participants who adopted a beat-based definition (song greater than speech), a normal-prosody definition (speech greater than song), or an unclear definition (no difference). Experiment 2 defined rhythmic regularity as how easy it would be to tap or clap to the utterances. Participants rated song as easier to clap or tap to than speech for both acoustically matched and unmatched datasets. Subjective regularity ratings from Experiment 2 illustrated that stimuli with longer syllable durations and with less spectral flux were rated as more rhythmically regular across domains. Our findings demonstrate that rhythmic regularity distinguishes speech from song and several key acoustic features can be used to predict listeners’ perception of rhythmic regularity within and across domains as well.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1167003/fullrhythmic regularitybeatspeechsongmusic information retrievalperiodicity |
| spellingShingle | Chu Yi Yu Chu Yi Yu Anne Cabildo Jessica A. Grahn Jessica A. Grahn Christina M. Vanden Bosch der Nederlanden Christina M. Vanden Bosch der Nederlanden Christina M. Vanden Bosch der Nederlanden Perceived rhythmic regularity is greater for song than speech: examining acoustic correlates of rhythmic regularity in speech and song Frontiers in Psychology rhythmic regularity beat speech song music information retrieval periodicity |
| title | Perceived rhythmic regularity is greater for song than speech: examining acoustic correlates of rhythmic regularity in speech and song |
| title_full | Perceived rhythmic regularity is greater for song than speech: examining acoustic correlates of rhythmic regularity in speech and song |
| title_fullStr | Perceived rhythmic regularity is greater for song than speech: examining acoustic correlates of rhythmic regularity in speech and song |
| title_full_unstemmed | Perceived rhythmic regularity is greater for song than speech: examining acoustic correlates of rhythmic regularity in speech and song |
| title_short | Perceived rhythmic regularity is greater for song than speech: examining acoustic correlates of rhythmic regularity in speech and song |
| title_sort | perceived rhythmic regularity is greater for song than speech examining acoustic correlates of rhythmic regularity in speech and song |
| topic | rhythmic regularity beat speech song music information retrieval periodicity |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1167003/full |
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