Processing of hierarchical syntactic structure in music
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Koelsch-2013-Processing of hierar.pdf
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Author(s)
Rohrmeier, Martin Alois
Koelsch, Stefan
Torrecuso, Renzo
Jentschke, Sebastian
Date Issued
September 2013
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Publisher
National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)
Citation
Koelsch, S., M. Rohrmeier, R. Torrecuso, and S. Jentschke. “Processing of Hierarchical Syntactic Structure in Music.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 110, no. 38 (September 17, 2013): 15443–15448.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Hierarchical structure with nested nonlocal dependencies is a key feature of human language and can be identified theoretically in most pieces of tonal music. However, previous studies have argued against the perception of such structures in music. Here, we show processing of nonlocal dependencies in music. We presented chorales by J. S. Bach and modified versions in which the hierarchical structure was rendered irregular whereas the local structure was kept intact. Brain electric responses differed between regular and irregular hierarchical structures, in both musicians and nonmusicians. This finding indicates that, when listening to music, humans apply cognitive processes that are capable of dealing with long-distance dependencies resulting from hierarchically organized syntactic structures. Our results reveal that a brain mechanism fundamental for syntactic processing is engaged during the perception of music, indicating that processing of hierarchical structure with nested nonlocal dependencies is not just a key component of human language, but a multidomain capacity of human cognition.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Linguistics and Philosophy
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Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1300272110
