Cross-cultural studies of musical pitch and time - Catherine Stevens

 During the last few years, music psychologists have realized the importance of cross-cultural research when investigating the different kinds of musical thoughts. In general terms, cross-cultural research in music studies tries to join methods from different disciplines such as ethology and ethnography to better understand the diversity and richness of music, human responses, context and the cultural conditions in which music is experienced (Stevens, 2004, p. 433)

Cross-cultural research in music cognition is still growing. There is much to be studied to identify unique or universal features in different musical environments. But so far, studies have proved that a common feature of practically all of the world’s musical systems is the use of stable pitch levels in a scale (Stevens, 2004, pp. 433-434).

Over the last 20 years, music cognition has studied the reactions to different sequences of musical tones or melodies. Proposing that a piece of music in a familiar genre creates certain “expectancies”, shaped by rhythmic or metric patterns, tonal, harmonic or melodic structures. These expectancies can be both automatic or even learned through exposure to a specific musical environment. Which means that there is a set of psychological principles that motivate melody formation and it is different across musical styles (Stevens, 2004, p. 435).

The structure and perception of music in a culture is influenced by movement patterns, linguistic metrics and different dynamics such as a culture’s musical aesthetics. Even language plays an interesting role when it comes to music: a culture’s spoken language can influence the structure of its instrumental music (Stevens, 2004, p. 436).

As western culture and music rapidly spreads through all areas of the world, it is important to think about preserving the conditions in which music is experienced. The loss of cultural diversity is concerning and there are still few studies focusing on cognitive processes (Stevens, 2004, p. 437).

Cross-cultural research into music cognition is still growing. There is much to be studied to identify unique or universal features of musical environments. Now more than ever, researchers need to use a range of interdisciplinary methods including ethology and ethnography into the analysis of musical materials (Stevens, 2004, p. 437).

 

Reference: 

Catherine Stevens, Cross-cultural studies of musical pitch and time, Acoustical Science and Technology, 2004, Volume 25, Issue 6, Pages 433-438, November 01, 2004, Online ISSN 1347-5177, https://doi.org/10.1250/ast.25.433

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