Music and language share similar sound features and cognitive processes, which may lead to bidirectional transfer effects of training in one domain on the processing in the other domain. We investigated the impact of native language on musical working memory by comparing nontonal language (Finnish) speakers and tonal language (Chinese) speakers. For both language backgrounds, musicians and nonmusicians were recruited. In an experimenter-monitored online paradigm, participants performed a forward-memory task measuring the maintenance of musical sequences, and a backward-memory task measuring the manipulation of musical sequences. We found that maintenance of music sequences was facilitated in Chinese participants compared with Finnish participants, with musicians outperforming nonmusicians. However, performance in the backward-memory task did not differ between Chinese and Finnish participants, independently of music expertise. The presence or absence of tonal structure in the musical sequences did not affect the advantage of Chinese over Finnish participants in either maintenance or manipulation of the musical sequences. Overall, these findings suggest that Mandarin Chinese speakers have facilitated maintenance of musical sounds, compared with Finnish speakers, regardless of musical expertise and the presence of tonal structure. Our study furthers the understanding of language-to-music transfer and provides insights into cross-cultural differences in music cognition.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
April 2024
Research Article|
April 01 2024
Impact of Native Language on Musical Working Memory: A Cross-Cultural Online Study Available to Purchase
Peixin Nie,
University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Peixin Nie, University of Helsinki, Haartmaninkatu 3, room F206, P.O. Box 21, FI-00014, Helsinki, Finland. E-mail: [email protected]
Search for other works by this author on:
Barbara Tillmann,
Barbara Tillmann
Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Lyon, France & Laboratory for Research on Learning and Development, Dijon, France
Search for other works by this author on:
Cuicui Wang,
Cuicui Wang
Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
Search for other works by this author on:
Mari Tervaniemi
Mari Tervaniemi
University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Search for other works by this author on:
Peixin Nie, University of Helsinki, Haartmaninkatu 3, room F206, P.O. Box 21, FI-00014, Helsinki, Finland. E-mail: [email protected]
Music Perception (2024) 41 (4): 262–274.
Article history
Received:
June 07 2023
Accepted:
November 20 2023
Citation
Peixin Nie, Barbara Tillmann, Cuicui Wang, Mari Tervaniemi; Impact of Native Language on Musical Working Memory: A Cross-Cultural Online Study. Music Perception 1 April 2024; 41 (4): 262–274. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/mp.2024.41.4.262
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.