Neurophysiological correlates of musical and prosodic phrasing: shared processing mechanisms and effects of musical expertise

The processing of prosodic phrase boundaries in language is immediately reflected by a specific event-related potential component called the Closure Positive Shift (CPS). A component somewhat reminiscent of the CPS in language has also been reported for musical phrases (i.e., the so-called ‘music CPS’). However, in previous studies the quantification of the music-CPS as well as its morphology and timing differed substantially from the characteristics of the language-CPS. Therefore, the degree of correspondence between cognitive mechanisms of phrasing in music and in language has remained questionable. Here, we probed the shared nature of mechanisms underlying musical and prosodic phrasing by (1) investigating whether the music-CPS is present at phrase boundary positions where the language-CPS has been originally reported (i.e., at the onset of the pause between phrases), and (2) comparing the CPS in music and in language in non-musicians and professional musicians. For the first time, we report a positive shift at the onset of musical phrase boundaries that strongly resembles the language-CPS and argue that the post- boundary ‘music-CPS’ of previous studies may be an entirely distinct ERP component. Moreover, the language-CPS in musicians was found to be less prominent than in non-musicians, suggesting more efficient processing of prosodic phrases in language as a result of higher musical expertise

Music attending to linear constituent structures in tonal music

This article investigates the perception of constituent linear structures of tonal musical pieces, using a divided attention paradigm combined with a click-detection technique. Two experiments were run so as to test whether the boundary of a linear constituent appears as a focal point in the perception of musical structure. In Experiment 1, musicians and non- musicians listened to open foreground prolongations in phrases with clicks located at different points of their constituent structures. Significant differences in response times were found that depended on click position in relation to the boundary; participants were faster in detecting clicks at constituent boundaries, and slower for clicks located before boundaries, with no effect of rhythmic factors. Experiment 2 used the same experimental design to explore perception of open linear foreground prolongations, with the assumption that an effect of branching (left to right, or vice versa) could orient attention differently to the boundary region. Results were similar to those of Experiment 1. Overall, the evidence supports the idea that linear constituency is a significant feature of the perception of tonal musical structure. Dominant events become cognitive reference points to which the focus of attention is allocated, and subordinate, dependent events that are associated to the former, orient expectations of continuation and/or closure.Laboratorio para el Estudio de la Experiencia Musica

Musical phrase boundaries, wrap-up and the closure positive shift

We investigated global integration (wrap-up) processes at the boundaries of musical phrases by comparing the effects of well and non-well formed phrases on event-related potentials time-locked to two boundary points: the onset and the offset of the boundary pause. The Closure Positive Shift, which is elicited at the boundary offset, was not modulated by the quality of phrase structure (well vs. non-well formed). In contrast, the boundary onset potentials showed different patterns for well and non-well formed phrases. Our results contribute to specify the functional meaning of the Closure Positive Shift in music, shed light on the large-scale structural integration of musical input, and raise new hypotheses concerning shared resources between music and language

An ERP study

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is frequently associated with communicative impairment, regardless of intelligence level or mental age. Impairment of prosodic processing in particular is a common feature of ASD. Despite extensive overlap in neural resources involved in prosody and music processing, music perception seems to be spared in this population. The present study is the first to investigate prosodic phrasing in ASD in both language and music, combining event-related brain potential (ERP) and behavioral methods. We tested phrase boundary processing in language and music in neuro-typical adults and high-functioning individuals with ASD. We targeted an ERP response associated with phrase boundary processing in both language and music – i.e., the Closure Positive Shift (CPS). While a language-CPS was observed in the neuro-typical group, for ASD participants a smaller response failed to reach statistical significance. In music, we found a boundary-onset music-CPS for both groups during pauses between musical phrases. Our results support the view of preserved processing of musical cues in ASD individuals, with a corresponding prosodic impairment. This suggests that, despite the existence of a domain-general processing mechanism (the CPS), key differences in the integration of features of language and music may lead to the prosodic impairment in ASD

Silent reading of music and texts; eye movements and integrative reading mechanisms

This study investigates to what extent structural units defined by physical and structural markers elicit different eye movement patterns when reading contrasting stimuli of music and verbal texts. Eye movements were tracked and compared in ten musicians undergoing Bachelor’s degrees as they silently read six texts and six pieces of music for piano: the music was contemporary, in modal style, and the style of the texts was informative and literary. Participants were music students at Universidad de Chile studying for Bachelor’s degrees. Information integration for both local (intrasentence/phrase) and global (intersentence/phrase) levels of processing was assessed through regressive fixations at the first pass and re-reading stages. Memory involvement in musical and verbal processing was investigated using verbal working memory and spatial memory tasks, suggesting a link between spatial memory and the reading of contemporary music. Both local and global integrative controls vary according to the reading stages, with differences between music styles and text types. These differences relate to information intake and integrative reading mechanisms. Despite the fact that musicians used different strategies for processing verbal and musical information, no cross-patterns of individual reading strategies were observed between conditions. Although the underlying processes are different, resource-sharing between the two domains cannot be ruled out

Perception of structure in auditory patterns

The present research utilised five tasks to investigate non-musicians' perception of phrase, rhythm, pitch and beat structure in unaccompanied Gaelic melodies and musical sequences. Perception of phrase structure was examined using: i) a segmentation task in which listeners segmented Gaelic melodies into a series of meaningful units and ii) a novel click localisation task whereby listeners indicated where they perceived a superimposed click in the melody had occurred. Listeners consistently segmented the melodies into units of 2.4 - 5.4 seconds. Clicks which were positioned before and after perceived boundaries (identified by segmentation) were perceptually migrated towards the boundary. These results suggest that listeners perceptually differentiate between phrasal groups in melodies (See Sloboda & Gregory, 1980; Stoffer, 1985, for similar results with musicians). Short term memory for rhythmic structure was examined using rhythm recall of computer generated sequences and Gaelic melodies. Computer generated rhythms with small tonal pitch intervals (1 - 4 semitones) were easier to recall than large atonal intervals (predominantly greater than 4 semitones). Recall of Gaelic melodies, containing repetitive rhythmic units, was better than recall of computer sequences. Pitch reversal of Gaelic melodies did not effect recall. Beat-tapping with three Gaelic melodies revealed that the majority of listeners established the underlying beat 1.5 - 3 seconds (5 - 6 notes) after the start of the melodies. Perception of meaning and content in two note melodic intervals and three Gaelic melodies was examined using an adjective pair two-alternative forced choice task. Responses to musical intervals showed evidence of perceptual similarity based mainly on interval size. Perceived information content in the melodies increased significantly by the fourth note. The results suggest that the amounts of Gaelic melody which are: i) required to establish an underlying beat, ii) remembered after one hearing, and iii) perceptually grouped into a meaningful unit, include the unit of melody which is necessary to establish a basic meaning

Statistical learning and probabilistic prediction in music cognition: mechanisms of stylistic enculturation

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) funding via grant EP/M000702/1

Elucidating musical structure through empirical measurement of performance parameters

The differences between a musical score and an instance of that music in a performance, communicates a performer’s view of the information contained in that score. The main hypothesis in this thesis is that by measuring quantifiable parameters such as tempo, dynamics and motion from live performance, the performer’s interpretation of musical structure can be detected. This will be tested for pieces for which the structure is explicit and obvious, and then used to discover musical structure from looking at patterns of aural and visual performance parameters in performances of more ambiguously structured pieces. This thesis is in two strands. The first part covers the acquisition of multi-modal parameters in piano performance. This will explore current technologies in acquiring MIDI information such as accurate onset timings and key velocities as well as motion tracking systems for measuring general body movements. A new cheap, portable and accurate system for tracking the intricacies of pianists’ finger movement is described as well as methods and tools available for analysis and visualisation of musical data. The second strand of this thesis will explore uses of these capture systems in empirically measuring performance parameters to elucidate musical structure. Two experiments follow which test the hypothesis of detecting musical structure from parameters such as tempo, dynamics and movement, before using these patterns as a basis for discovering structure in performances of the finale of Chopin’s B flat minor sonata. Body movement is discovered as an indicator of phrasing boundaries, which when combined with the measured aural parameters provides interpretations of the performed music. Phrasing boundaries are identified correctly for the control piece (Chopin’s Prelude in A major Op.28, No.7) and consequently for the first test piece (Chopin’s Prelude in B minor Op.28 No.6). The proceeding experiment identifies performers’ style of phrase endings through performances of the control piece and tests them against patterns found in the second test piece (Chopin’s B Flat minor Sonata Finale). Five out of the six performers confirm the musicological hypothesis that bar 5 is not the entry of a new theme but the continuation of the the theme beginning in bar 1