THE PROCESSING OF COMPLEX, METRICALLY ambiguous rhythmic patterns, of the sort found in much popular music, remains poorly understood. We investigated listeners' abilities to perceive, process and produce complex, syncopated rhythmic patterns. Rhythmic complexity was varied along a continuum, quantified using an objective metric of syncopation suggested by Longuet-Higgins and Lee. Participants (a) tapped in time to the rhythms, (b) reproduced the same patterns given a steady pulse, and (c) recognized these patterns when replayed both immediately and after a 24-hour delay. Participants tended to reset the phase of their internally generated pulse with highly syncopated rhythms, reinterpreting or "re-hearing" the rhythm as less syncopated. High complexity in rhythmic stimuli can thus force a reorganization of their cognitive representation. Less complex rhythms were more robustly encoded than more complex syncopated rhythms in the delayed memory task. Syncopated rhythms provide a useful tool for future explorations of human rhythmic competence.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
September 2007
Research Article|
September 01 2007
Perception and Production of Syncopated Rhythms
W. Tecumseh Fitch,
W. Tecumseh Fitch
University of St Andrews, United Kingdom
Search for other works by this author on:
Andrew J. Rosenfeld
Andrew J. Rosenfeld
Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons
Search for other works by this author on:
Music Perception (2007) 25 (1): 43–58.
Citation
W. Tecumseh Fitch, Andrew J. Rosenfeld; Perception and Production of Syncopated Rhythms. Music Perception 1 September 2007; 25 (1): 43–58. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/mp.2007.25.1.43
Download citation file:
Sign in
Don't already have an account? Register
Client Account
You could not be signed in. Please check your email address / username and password and try again.
Could not validate captcha. Please try again.