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Purpose: The present study examined whether participants respond to unperturbed parameters while experiencing specific perturbations in auditory feedback. For instance, we aim to determine if speakers adjust voice loudness when only pitch is artificially altered in auditory feedback. This phenomenon is referred to as the “accompanying effect” in the present study. Method: Thirty native Mandarin speakers were asked to sustain the vowel /ɛ/ for 3 s while their auditory feedback underwent single shifts in one of the three distinct ways: pitch shift (±100 cents; coded as PT), loudness shift (±6 dB; coded as LD), or first formant (F1) shift (±100 Hz; coded as FM). Participants were instructed to ignore the perturbations in their auditory feedback. Response types were categorized based on pitch, loudness, and F1 for each individual trial, such as Popp_Lopp_Fopp indicating opposing responses in all three domains. Results: The accompanying effect appeared 93% of the time. Bayesian Poisson regression models indicate that opposing responses in all three domains (Popp_Lopp_Fopp) were the most prevalent response type across the conditions (PT, LD, and FM). The more frequently used response types exhibited opposing responses and significantly larger response curves than the less frequently used response types. Following responses became more prevalent only when the perturbed stimuli were perceived as voices from someone else (external references), particularly in the FM condition. In terms of isotropy, loudness and F1 tended to change in the same direction rather than loudness and pitch. Conclusion: The presence of the accompanying effect suggests that the motor systems responsible for regulating pitch, loudness, and formants are not entirely independent but rather interconnected to some degree. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Pitch variations (tone productions) have been reported as a measure to differentiate Cantonese-speaking children with and without childhood apraxia of speech (CAS). This study aims to examine fundamental frequency (F0) changes within syllables and the effects of syllable structure, lexical status, and syllable positions on F0 in Cantonese-speaking preschool children with and without CAS. Method: Six children with CAS, six children with non-CAS speech sound disorder plus language disorder (S&LD), 22 children with speech sound disorder only (SSD), and 63 children with typical speech-language development (TD) performed the tone sequencing task (TST). Growth curve analysis was employed to analyze and compare the F0 values within syllables with three Cantonese tones (high level, high rising, and low falling). The analysis considered the effects of syllable structure (vowel and consonant–vowel), lexical status (word and nonword), and syllable position (initial, medial, and final) on F0, as well as comparisons within and between groups. Results: Within each group, the effects of syllable structure and position on F0 values were found with different patterns. Between-group comparisons showed that the CAS group had reduced F0 contrasts. The CAS group could be differentiated from the control groups based on interactions of F0 with syllable structure and position, but not lexical status. The dissimilarity of F0 values detected between the CAS and SSD/TD groups was more prominent than that observed between the CAS and S&LD groups. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that Cantonese-speaking children with CAS had difficulty in varying F0 within syllables as compared to those without CAS, suggesting pitch variation difficulty and language-specific impairment profiles in CAS. Future investigations of objective measures for identifying Cantonese speakers with CAS and cross-linguistic investigations using growth curve analysis and the TST are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prosodic aspects of cross-linguistic contact are under-researched, especially past contact that has subsequently ceased. In this paper, we investigate declarative and polar question tunes of contemporary Cretan Greek, a regional variety of Greek whose speakers were in contact with Venetian speakers during the four and half centuries of Venetian rule on the island, from 1204 to 1669. The F0 contours of the Cretan tunes and alignment of peaks and troughs of interest with the nuclear vowel are compared to the corresponding tunes in Venetian dialect and Venetian Italian and to those in Athenian (Standard) Greek, which are used as control. The data (1610 declarative utterances and 698 polar questions) were drawn from natural speech corpora based on pragmatic criteria: broad focus for declaratives, broad focus, and information-seeking interpretation for polar questions. The pitch contour shapes of the tunes are modeled using polynomial basis functions, and the F0 alignment points are determined analytically. The results show the robustness of contact effects almost three and a half centuries after regular contact ceased and indicate that the shapes of the F0 contours of Cretan and Venetian declarative and polar question tunes are similar. In addition, Cretan alignment patterns are similar to Venetian and significantly different from Athenian. Insights are gained from research into how long prosodic characteristics may persist in a recipient language—decades or even centuries after the cessation of contact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the investigation and analysis of speech accommodation effects in data obtained from Spanish learners of German with varying proficiency levels. The production data were recorded during a collaborative map task of the Spanish learners of German among each other and with a native speaker of German. The map task was designed to target words and phrases with specific segmental and suprasegmental characteristics. These characteristics were derived from contrastive analyses of Spanish and German. The main objectives of the paper were to investigate whether segmental and suprasegmental characteristics of the target language German are affected by phonetic accommodation to varying degrees and whether these differences depend on the proficiency level of the speaker or the interlocutor. The statistical analysis, using regression analyses, revealed inconsistent accommodation effects across learners of different proficiency levels as well as different linguistic phenomena. In line with previous findings the results can best be accounted for by an adaptation of a dynamic system approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper calls for a recalibration of how cultural geography engages with music, lyrics, motion, and emotion. Within existing geographical work on music, research on the music itself remains scarce, with reflection on lyrics rarer still. This paper addresses this via a close reading of the work of the Glaswegian group, The Blue Nile. It examines how the trio – and especially their principal songwriter, Paul Buchanan – used lyrics as a means for articulating distinctive conceptions of movement and stillness. The significance of song-words themselves is considered, but so too is their mode of delivery, and their relationship to the enveloping musical settings they are embedded in. The importance of time, space and place in The Blue Nile's work is analysed and the methods by which they are evoked is investigated. The paper moves discussion on from well-covered terrain regarding music as a conduit for expressing youth focussed tropes, such as rebellion and speed, focusing instead on music's facility for voicing ideas of slowness and immobility, particularly in urban settings. In doing so, it demonstrates popular music's value for articulating sensations that are now being encountered with ever greater frequency, including those of stasis, drift, and disconnection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DIFFERENT MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS HAVE DIFFERENT pitch processing demands. However, correlational studies have seldom considered the role of musical instruments in music-to-language transfer. Addressing this research gap could contribute to a nuanced understanding of music-to-language transfer. To this end, we investigated whether pitched musicians had a unique musical advantage in lexical tone perception relative to unpitched musicians and nonmusicians. Specifically, we compared Cantonese pitched musicians, unpitched musicians, and nonmusicians on Thai tone discrimination and sequence recall. In the Thai tone discrimination task, the pitched musicians outperformed the unpitched musicians and the nonmusicians. Moreover, the unpitched musicians and the nonmusicians performed similarly. In the Thai tone sequence recall task, both pitched and unpitched musicians recalled level tone sequences more accurately than the nonmusicians, but the pitched musicians showed the largest musical advantage. However, the three groups recalled contour tone sequences with similar accuracy. Collectively, the pitched musicians had a unique musical advantage in lexical tone discrimination and the largest musical advantage in level tone sequence recall. From a theoretical perspective, this study offers correlational evidence for the Precision element of the OPERA hypothesis. The choice of musical instrumental may matter for musicto- language transfer in lexical tone discrimination and level tone sequence recall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: For humans, music is a powerful tool of emotional communication, conveying affective states and modulating physiological states in ways that can influence well-being. Understanding that emotionality is not an exclusively human trait, as it is also recognized in non-human species, it is natural to assume that the intrinsic power of music to modulate the psychophysiological state may be trans-specific. In this way, music can be a powerful tool for enriching the environment and improving the welfare of captive animals, especially farm animals. As there is very limited information on non-human animals, the aim is to review what is known from a human comparative perspective, arguments that support its use, and the potential to use music in non-human species. The effects of sound stimulation as a sensorial environmental enrichment for captive animals have been studied. When appropriately implemented for farm animals, it can improve welfare, health, and productivity. Furthermore, there are indications that music can induce positive emotions in non-human animals, similar to humans. Emotion is a functional state of the organism involving both physiological processes, mediated by neuroendocrine regulation, and changes in behavior, affecting various aspects, including contextual perception and welfare. As there is very limited information on non-human animals, the objective of this review is to highlight what is known about these processes from human biological and comparative perspectives and stimulate future research on using music to improve animal welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Music making is linked to improved cognition and related neuroanatomical changes in children and adults; however, this has been relatively under-studied in aging. The purpose of this study was to assess neural, cognitive, and physical correlates of music making in aging using a dual-task walking (DTW) paradigm. Study participants (N = 415) were healthy adults aged 65 years or older, including musicians (n = 70) who were identified by current weekly engagement in musical activity. A DTW paradigm consisting of single- and dual-task conditions, as well as portable neuroimaging (functional near-infrared spectroscopy), was administered. Outcome measures included neural activation in the prefrontal cortex assessed across task conditions by recording changes in oxygenated hemoglobin, cognitive performance, and gait velocity. Linear mixed effects models examined the impact of music making on outcome measures in addition to moderating their change between task conditions. Across participants (53.3% women; 76 ± 6.55 years), neural activation increased from single- to dual-task conditions (p < 0.001); however, musicians demonstrated attenuated activation between a single cognitive interference task and dual-task walking (p = 0.014). Musicians also displayed significantly smaller decline in behavioral performance (p < 0.001) from single- to dual-task conditions and faster gait overall (p = 0.014). Given evidence of lower prefrontal cortex activation in the context of similar or improved behavioral performance, results indicate the presence of enhanced neural efficiency in older adult musicians. Furthermore, improved dual-task performance in older adult musicians was observed. Results have important clinical implications for healthy aging, as executive functioning plays an essential role in maintaining functional ability in older adulthood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: According to the interpersonal synergy model of spoken dialogue, interlocutors modify their communicative behaviors to meet the contextual demands of a given conversation. Although a growing body of research supports this postulation for linguistic behaviors (e.g., semantics, syntax), little is understood about how this model applies to speech behaviors (e.g., speech rate, pitch). The purpose of this study is to test the hypothesis that interlocutors adjust their speech behaviors across different conversational tasks with different conversational goals. Method: In this study, 28 participants each engaged in two different types of conversations (i.e., relational and informational) with two partners (i.e., Partner 1 and Partner 2), yielding a total of 112 conversations. We compared six acoustic measures of participant speech behavior across conversational task and partner. Results: Linear mixed-effects models demonstrated significant differences between speech feature measures in informational and relational conversations. Furthermore, these findings were generally robust across conversations with different partners. Conclusions: Results suggest that contextual demands influence speech behaviors. These findings provide empirical support for the interpersonal synergy model and highlight important considerations for assessing speech behaviors in individuals with communication disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents interdisciplinary research exploring the development of inclusive multisensory science books, communicating immunology data for blind, low‐vision and diverse‐needs audiences. The research adopted an inductive theory‐building approach, practice‐based art methods and music and design methods, leveraging the lived experience of a legally blind artist. The research also involved designers and scientists in a cocreation process, producing books that incorporate tactile artworks, Braille‐inspired protein models, image sonification and interaction. Two multisensory book titles, "The Heroes Within You: A Multisensory Exploration of Infection and Immunity" and "My Goodness: A Multisensory Exploration of Nutrition and Immunity", were developed for the Monash Sensory Science 2023 Exhibition Day. The books offer an innovative way to make science and art more accessible and engaging, addressing the limitations of traditional museum methods. Feedback from audiences has been positive, emphasizing the fascination, sensory engagement and ease of understanding. This paper highlights the potential for an interdisciplinary and inclusive approach to science and art, demonstrating the value of multisensory books as tools for science communication. The findings highlight the positive reception of this novel approach and suggest its potential for broader applications, promoting inclusivity and accessibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global ageing of populations calls for effective, ecologically valid methods to support brain health across adult life. Previous evidence suggests that music can promote white matter (WM) microstructure and grey matter (GM) volume while supporting auditory and cognitive functioning and emotional well‐being as well as counteracting age‐related cognitive decline. Adding a social component to music training, choir singing is a popular leisure activity among older adults, but a systematic account of its potential to support healthy brain structure, especially with regard to ageing, is currently missing. The present study used quantitative anisotropy (QA)‐based diffusion MRI connectometry and voxel‐based morphometry to explore the relationship of lifetime choir singing experience and brain structure at the whole‐brain level. Cross‐sectional multiple regression analyses were carried out in a large, balanced sample (N = 95; age range 21–88) of healthy adults with varying levels of choir singing experience across the whole age range and within subgroups defined by age (young, middle‐aged, and older adults). Independent of age, choir singing experience was associated with extensive increases in WM QA in commissural, association, and projection tracts across the brain. Corroborating previous work, these overlapped with language and limbic networks. Enhanced corpus callosum microstructure was associated with choir singing experience across all subgroups. In addition, choir singing experience was selectively associated with enhanced QA in the fornix in older participants. No associations between GM volume and choir singing were found. The present study offers the first systematic account of amateur‐level choir singing on brain structure. While no evidence for counteracting GM atrophy was found, the present evidence of enhanced structural connectivity coheres well with age‐typical structural changes. Corroborating previous behavioural studies, the present results suggest that regular choir singing holds great promise for supporting brain health across the adult life span. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Music training is associated with better beat processing in the auditory modality. However, it is unknown how rhythmic training that emphasizes visual rhythms, such as dance training, might affect beat processing, nor whether training effects in general are modality specific. Here we examined how music and dance training interacted with modality during audiovisual integration and synchronization to auditory and visual isochronous sequences. In two experiments, musicians, dancers, and controls completed an audiovisual integration task and an audiovisual target-distractor synchronization task using dynamic visual stimuli (a bouncing figure). The groups performed similarly on the audiovisual integration tasks (Experiments 1 and 2). However, in the finger-tapping synchronization task (Experiment 1), musicians were more influenced by auditory distractors when synchronizing to visual sequences, while dancers were more influenced by visual distractors when synchronizing to auditory sequences. When participants synchronized with whole-body movements instead of finger-tapping (Experiment 2), all groups were more influenced by the visual distractor than the auditory distractor. Taken together, this study highlights how training is associated with audiovisual processing, and how different types of visual rhythmic stimuli and different movements alter beat perception and production outcome measures. Implications for the modality appropriateness hypothesis are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the introduction of ChatGPT, the public's perception of AI-generated content has begun to reshape. Artificial intelligence has significantly reduced the barrier to entry for non-professionals in creative endeavors, enhancing the efficiency of content creation. Recent advancements have seen significant improvements in the quality of symbolic music generation, which is enabled by the use of modern generative algorithms to extract patterns implicit in a piece of music based on rule constraints or a musical corpus. Nevertheless, existing literature reviews tend to present a conventional and conservative perspective on future development trajectories, with a notable absence of thorough benchmarking of generative models. This paper provides a survey and analysis of recent intelligent music generation techniques, outlining their respective characteristics and discussing existing methods for evaluation. Additionally, the paper compares the different characteristics of music generation techniques in the East and West as well as analysing the field's development prospects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Groove, or the pleasurable urge to move to music, offers unique insight into the relationship between emotion and action. The predictive coding of music model posits that groove is linked to predictions of music formed over time, with stimuli of moderate complexity rated as most pleasurable and likely to engender movement. At the same time, listeners vary in the pleasure they derive from music listening: individuals with musical anhedonia report reduced pleasure during music listening despite no impairments in music perception and no general anhedonia. Little is known about musical anhedonics' subjective experience of groove. Here we examined the relationship between groove and music reward sensitivity. Participants (n = 287) heard drum-breaks that varied in perceived complexity, and rated each for pleasure and wanting to move. Musical anhedonics (n = 13) had significantly lower ratings compared to controls (n = 13) matched on music perception abilities and general anhedonia. However, both groups demonstrated the classic inverted-U relationship between ratings of pleasure & move and stimulus complexity, with ratings peaking for intermediately complex stimuli. Across our entire sample, pleasure ratings were most strongly related with music reward sensitivity for highly complex stimuli (i.e., there was an interaction between music reward sensitivity and stimulus complexity). Finally, the sensorimotor subscale of music reward was uniquely associated with move, but not pleasure, ratings above and beyond the five other dimensions of musical reward. Results highlight the multidimensional nature of reward sensitivity and suggest that pleasure and wanting to move are driven by overlapping but separable mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Music is a universal human attribute. The study of amusia, a neurologic music processing deficit, has increasingly elaborated our view on the neural organization of the musical brain. However, lesions causing amusia occur in multiple brain locations and often also cause aphasia, leaving the distinct neural networks for amusia unclear. Here, we utilized lesion network mapping to identify these networks. A systematic literature search was carried out to identify all published case reports of lesion-induced amusia. The reproducibility and specificity of the identified amusia network were then tested in an independent prospective cohort of 97 stroke patients (46 female and 51 male) with repeated structural brain imaging, specifically assessed for both music perception and language abilities. Lesion locations in the case reports were heterogeneous but connected to common brain regions, including bilateral temporoparietal and insular cortices, precentral gyrus, and cingulum. In the prospective cohort, lesions causing amusia mapped to a common brain network, centering on the right superior temporal cortex and clearly distinct from the network causally associated with aphasia. Lesion-induced longitudinal structural effects in the amusia circuit were confirmed as reduction of both gray and white matter volume, which correlated with the severity of amusia. We demonstrate that despite the heterogeneity of lesion locations disrupting music processing, there is a common brain network that is distinct from the language network. These results provide evidence for the distinct neural substrate of music processing, differentiating music-related functions from language, providing a testable target for noninvasive brain stimulation to treat amusia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Music has a complex structure consisting of auditory elements such as sound, rhythm and melody. The ability to perceive, understand and evaluate music is among the auditory skills. This study aims to investigate the effects of musical interest on temporal pattern recognition, auditory processing, and cognitive skills in young adults with normal hearing. Material and Methods: The study included sixty volunteer young adults with normal hearing between the ages of 18-30 ages. Young adults were divided into two groups, below (n=30) and above (n=30) average, according to their "Music Interest Scale" scores. "Frequency and Duration Pattern Tests" were applied to evaluate the participants' temporal pattern recognition skills. "STROOP Test" was used to evaluate selective attention, disruptive effect and memory skills among cognitive skills. The findings were analyzed statistically with the SPSS program, and the type 1 error level was determined as 0.05. Results: There were significant differences in STROOP subtests in terms of attention skills (p < 0.05). On the other hand, no statistically significant difference was obtained between the groups in terms of frequency and duration pattern recognition skills (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Young adults who were interested in music completed tests of selective attention, interference, and short-term memory in less time and performed better. The current study revealed that musical interest in young adults may provide positive effects on these cognitive skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Music education has a rich historical background. Nevertheless, the introduction of modern teaching methods is relatively delayed. In recent years, there has been a remarkable acceleration in the advancement of music education. A promising tool that has emerged to revolutionize education as a whole is Virtual Reality (VR) technology, which offers immersive and interactive experiences across various disciplines. At the university level, integrating VR technology into music education opens up exciting opportunities to enhance practical teaching methods and provide students with enriched musical experiences. Virtual Reality together with Internet of Things (IoT) demonstrates its capabilities in various tasks, but its widespread availability in online learning remainders a pressing challenge that needs to be addressed. In pre-processing, it removes noise data using Dynamic Context-Sensitive Filtering (DCSF). VR technology creates an unparalleled learning environment, it transporting students to virtual concert halls, recording studios, or historical music venues. Hence the Multiscale deep bidirectional gated recurrent neural Network (MDBGNN) improves the practical teaching of music course concept, like Music theory, harmony, and rhythm can be visualized and experienced in VR. Finally, Dung Beetle Optimization Algorithm (DBOA) is employed to optimize the weight parameters of MDBGNN. The proposed MDBGNN-DBO-UMC-VRT is implemented in Python. The proposed method is analysed with the help of performance metrics, like precision, accuracy, F1-score, Recall (Sensitivity), Specificity, Error rate, Computation time and RoC. The proposed MDBGNN-DBO-UMC-VRT method attains 13.11%, 18.12% and 18.73% high specificity, 11.13%, 11.04% and 19.51% lower computation Time, 15.29%, 15.365% and 14.551% higher ROC and 13.65%, 15.98%, and 17.15% higher Accuracy compared with existing methods, such as Enhancing Vocal Music Teaching through the Fusion of Artificial Intelligence Algorithms and VR Technology (CNN-UMC-VRT), Exploring the Efficacy of VR Technology in Augmenting Music Art Teaching (BPNN-UMC-VRT) and Implementing an Interactive Music-Assisted Teaching System Using VR Technology (DNN-UMC-VRT) respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Aging is a natural process and is often associated with an increased incidence of cognitive impairment. Physical exercise, diet, and leisure activities (music, dance, and art) are some of the lifestyle factors that contribute to healthy aging. The present study aims to explore the differences in cognitive functioning between aging individuals involved in musical activity throughout their lifetime and the ones who were not. Materials and Methods: Fifty-one healthy elderly individuals (50-80 years of age) residing in an urban locality were selected for the study from the Tata Longitudinal Study of Aging cohort. Participants were divided into two groups: Active musicians trained in Carnatic music for more than five years (n = 18) and age-matched non-musicians (n = 33). Addenbrooke cognitive examination-III, Hindi mental status examination, and trail-making test-B (TMT-B) were used to assess cognitive functioning. A Generalized Linear Regression Model was performed including covariates such as gender, age, and years of education. We also looked at the available brain magnetic resonance imaging data of a subset of our study population to inspect the volumetric differences between musicians and non-musicians. Results: Our results showed that musicians had significantly better visuospatial abilities as compared to non-musicians (P = 0.043). Musicians (130.89 ± 45.16 s) also took less time to complete the TMT-B task than non-musicians (148.73 ± 39.65 s), although it was not a statistically significant difference (P =0.150). In addition, brain imaging data suggested that musicians had increased gray matter volumes in the right precuneus, right postcentral gyrus, right medial and superior frontal gyrus, right orbital gyrus, left middle temporal gyrus, left cuneus, left fusiform gyrus, and bilateral cingulate gyrus. Conclusion: Our findings are indicative of music being an important attribute in improving cognitive reserve and predicting cognitive resilience. These findings pave the way to explore the utility of non-pharmacological interventions, such as Music Therapy (especially Carnatic music in the Indian context), as a potential factor for improving cognitive reserve in elderly individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aphantasia is characterised by the inability to create mental images in one's mind. Studies investigating impairments in imagery typically focus on the visual domain. However, it is possible to generate many different forms of imagery including imagined auditory, kinesthetic, tactile, motor, taste and other experiences. Recent studies show that individuals with aphantasia report a lack of imagery in modalities, other than vision, including audition. However, to date, no research has examined whether these reductions in self-reported auditory imagery are associated with decrements in tasks that require auditory imagery. Understanding the extent to which visual and auditory imagery deficits co-occur can help to better characterise the core deficits of aphantasia and provide an alternative perspective on theoretical debates on the extent to which imagery draws on modality-specific or modality-general processes. In the current study, individuals that self-identified as being aphantasic and matched control participants with typical imagery performed two tasks: a musical pitch-based imagery and voice-based categorisation task. The majority of participants with aphantasia self-reported significant deficits in both auditory and visual imagery. However, we did not find a concomitant decrease in performance on tasks which require auditory imagery, either in the full sample or only when considering those participants that reported significant deficits in both domains. These findings are discussed in relation to the mechanisms that might obscure observation of imagery deficits in auditory imagery tasks in people that report reduced auditory imagery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many autistic children show musical interests and good musical skills including pitch and melodic memory. Autistic children may also perceive temporal regularities in music such as the primary beat underlying the rhythmic structure of music given some work showing preserved rhythm processing in the context of basic, nonverbal auditory stimuli. The temporal regularity and prediction of musical beats can potentially serve as an excellent framework for building skills in non-musical areas of growth for autistic children. We examine if autistic children are perceptually sensitive to the primary beat of music by comparing the musical beat perception skills of autistic and neurotypical children. Twenty-three autistic children and 23 neurotypical children aged 6–13 years with no group differences in chronological age and verbal and nonverbal mental ages completed a musical beat perception task where they identified whether beeps superimposed on musical excerpts were on or off the musical beat. Overall task performance was above the theoretical chance threshold of 50% but not the statistical chance threshold of 70% across groups. On-beat (versus off-beat) accuracy was higher for the autistic group but not the neurotypical group. The autistic group was just as accurate at detecting beat alignments (on-beat) but less precise at detecting beat misalignments (off-beat) compared to the neurotypical group. Perceptual sensitivity to beat alignments provides support for spared music processing among autistic children and informs on the accessibility of using musical beats and rhythm for cultivating related skills and behaviours (e.g., language and motor abilities). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Music is omnipresent among human cultures and moves us both physically and emotionally. The perception of emotions in music is influenced by both psychophysical and cultural factors. Chinese traditional instrumental music differs significantly from Western music in cultural origin and music elements. However, previous studies on music emotion perception are based almost exclusively on Western music. Therefore, the construction of a dataset of Chinese traditional instrumental music is important for exploring the perception of music emotions in the context of Chinese culture. The present dataset included 273 10-second naturalistic music excerpts. We provided rating data for each excerpt on ten variables: familiarity, dimensional emotions (valence and arousal), and discrete emotions (anger, gentleness, happiness, peacefulness, sadness, solemnness, and transcendence). The excerpts were rated by a total of 168 participants on a seven-point Likert scale for the ten variables. Three labels for the excerpts were obtained: familiarity, discrete emotion, and cluster. Our dataset demonstrates good reliability, and we believe it could contribute to cross-cultural studies on emotional responses to music. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to explore the application of neural networks in the intelligent protection of digital music copyrights, this paper initially investigates the key aspects of digital music-related supply chain management (SCM). Subsequently, this paper introduces a fuzzy, comprehensive evaluation-based method for authenticating digital music infringement. Furthermore, it employs a convolutional neural network to analyze digital music's source components. Within this context, an attention mechanism and an adaptive gate model are meticulously designed. Moreover, a selective adaptive cascade is implemented to optimize the structure of the multi-resolution coder–decoder. Through fuzzy authentication, it becomes feasible to accurately and reliably track and verify copyright information pertaining to digital music, thus providing an effective protective mechanism for the digital music industry. Experimental results reveal that in comparison with the SHN-4 series models, the network model embedded with the channel space (CS) attention module achieves improvements of up to 0.04 dB in terms of performance metrics for human voice and accompaniment sources. Furthermore, it outperforms these models by up to 0.19 dB in music source separation metrics. The incorporation of the adaptive attention mechanism profoundly enhances the model's performance in audio source separation tasks, benefiting both vocal and accompaniment sources. This improvement is evident in the form of a 0.44 SDR enhancement for vocal sources and a 0.18 SDR enhancement for accompaniment sources. Additionally, the proposed two-stage music separation-gate self-attention model surpasses the two-stage music separation-gate model in metrics associated with human voice and accompaniment sources. This outcome convincingly underscores the enhanced effectiveness achieved by integrating CS, self-attention, and adaptive connection in network performance, as well as the adaptive gate structure for music copyright protection. This approach heightens the model's autonomous selectivity, minimizes outliers, stabilizes waveform characteristics, and significantly contributes to the safeguarding of digital content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploring non-linguistic predictors of phonological awareness, such as musical beat perception, is valuable for children who present with language difficulties and diverse support needs. Studies on the musical abilities of children on the autism spectrum show that they have average or above-average musical production and auditory processing abilities. This study aimed to explore the relationship between musical beat perception and phonological awareness skills of children on the autism spectrum with a wide range of cognitive abilities. A total of 21 autistic children between the ages of 6 to 11 years old (M = 8.9, SD = 1.5) with full scale IQs ranging from 52 to 105 (M = 74, SD = 16) completed a beat perception and a phonological awareness task. Results revealed that phonological awareness and beat perception are positively correlated for children on the autism spectrum. Findings lend support to the potential use of beat and rhythm perception as a screening tool for early literacy skills, specifically for phonological awareness, for children with diverse support needs as an alternative to traditional verbal tasks that tend to underestimate the potential of children on the autism spectrum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the influence of native language on musical working memory by comparing Finnish and Chinese speakers, both musicians and nonmusicians. It mentions the report which contributes to understanding language-to-music transfer effects and highlights cross-cultural differences in music cognition, reinforcing the strong links between music and language evidenced by shared cognitive processes and neural correlates.

With the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI), music generation has gained widespread attention. Long short-term memory (LSTM) has advantages in handling time series data and has achieved success in the field of music generation. This neural network is capable of capturing the long-term dependencies in music, thus generating chord music that is coherent and innovative. Therefore, to develop a creative and artistic music generation model, this study initially establishes a hidden Markov model (HMM) for chord recognition in music. Subsequently, the algorithm, leveraging the multi-style chord music generation (MSCMG) network, is proposed and applied for chord music generation. Furthermore, an evaluation of the chord music generation algorithm is conducted, utilizing LSTM neural networks within the context of AI. The findings indicate that the HMM, devised in this study, attains an impressive 81.8% chord recognition rate for piano compositions. Additionally, the algorithm, based on the MSCMG network, achieves a notable similarity score of 82.1% for generating classical-style music, with corresponding scores of 3.45, 3.42, and 3.44 for folk-style, classical-style, and pop-style music, respectively. This investigation lays the groundwork for the fusion of AI technology and music composition, exploring novel avenues for music generation and providing novel tools and insights for creative and theoretical exploration within the realm of music. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human musicality (the capacity to make and appreciate music) is difficult to explain in evolutionary terms, though many theories attempt to do so. This paper focuses on musicality's potential adaptive precursors, particularly as related to rhythm. It suggests that pace setting for walking and running long distances over extended time periods (endurance locomotion, EL) is a good candidate for an adaptive building block of rhythmic musicality. The argument is as follows: (1) over time, our hominin lineage developed a host of adaptations for efficient EL; (2) the ability to set and maintain a regular pace was a crucial adaptation in the service of EL, providing proximate rewards for successful execution; (3) maintaining a pace in EL occasioned hearing, feeling, and attending to regular rhythmic patterns; (4) these rhythmic patterns, as well as proximate rewards for maintaining them, became disassociated from locomotion and entrained in new proto‐musical contexts. Support for the model and possibilities for generating predictions to test it are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extensive exploration of the correlation between electroencephalogram (EEG) and heart rate variability (HRV) has yielded inconsistent outcomes, largely attributable to variations in the tasks employed in the studies. The direct relationship between EEG and HRV is further complicated by alpha power, which is susceptible to influences such as mental fatigue and sleepiness. This research endeavors to examine the brain-heart interplay typically observed during periods of music listening and rest. In an effort to mitigate the indirect effects of mental states on alpha power, subjective fatigue and sleepiness were measured during rest, while emotional valence and arousal were evaluated during music listening. Partial correlation analyses unveiled positive associations between occipital alpha2 power (10–12 Hz) and nHF, an indicator of parasympathetic activity, under both music and rest conditions. These findings underscore brain-heart interactions that persist even after the effects of other variables have been accounted for. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the perceptual threshold in patterns of tonal timing (alignment) of Falling versus Low tones. The results indicate a remarkable sensitivity among the listeners. In a perception experiment with 30 participants, we tested how native speakers of the West Nilotic language Nuer responded to stimuli in which the timing of the F0 fall that distinguishes Low versus Fall following a High target is manipulated. We measured the threshold for the responses to shift tone perception from 25% to 75%. The results show that listeners only needed an average of 19 ms to differentiate between the melodic shapes and as little as 13 ms for one item. Perceptual sensitivity this fine-grained is not expected based on what is known about the Just Noticeable Difference (JND) from previous studies. Results from non-tonal languages report a sensitivity threshold for tonal timing of at least 50 ms at category boundaries. This difference suggests that whether or not subjects speak a tone language may be a determining factor in their JND. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe the development and validation of a test battery to assess musical ability that taps into a broad range of music perception skills and can be administered in 10 minutes or less. In Study 1, we derived four very brief versions from the Profile of Music Perception Skills (PROMS) and examined their properties in a sample of 280 participants. In Study 2 (N = 109), we administered the version retained from Study 1—termed Micro-PROMS—with the full-length PROMS, finding a short-to-long-form correlation of r =.72. In Study 3 (N = 198), we removed redundant trials and examined test–retest reliability as well as convergent, discriminant, and criterion validity. Results showed adequate internal consistency ( ω ¯ =.73) and test–retest reliability (ICC =.83). Findings supported convergent validity of the Micro-PROMS (r =.59 with the MET, p <.01) as well as discriminant validity with short-term and working memory (r ≲.20). Criterion-related validity was evidenced by significant correlations of the Micro-PROMS with external indicators of musical proficiency ( r ¯ =.37, ps <.01), and with Gold-MSI General Musical Sophistication (r =.51, p<.01). In virtue of its brevity, psychometric qualities, and suitability for online administration, the battery fills a gap in the tools available to objectively assess musical ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study set out to investigate whether individuals with dysphonia, as determined by either self-assessment or clinician-based auditory-perceptual judgment, exhibited differences in perilaryngeal muscle activities using surface electromyography (sEMG) during various phonatory tasks. Additionally, the study aimed to assess the effectiveness of sEMG in identifying dysphonic cases. Method: A total of 77 adults (44 women, 33 men, Mage = 30.4 years) participated in this study, with dysphonic cases identified separately using either a 10-item Voice Handicap Index (VHI-10) or clinician-based auditory-perceptual voice quality (APVQ) evaluation. sEMG activities were measured from the areas of suprahyoid and sternocleidomastoid muscles during prolonged vowel /i/ phonations at different pitch and loudness levels. Normalized root-mean-square value against the maximal voluntary contraction (RMS %MVC) of the sEMG signals was obtained for each phonation and compared between subject groups and across phonatory tasks. Additionally, binary logistic regression analysis was performed to determine how the sEMG measures could predict the VHI-10-based or APVQ-based dysphonic cases. Results: Participants who scored above the criteria on either the VHI-10 (n = 29) or APVQ judgment (n = 17) exhibited significantly higher RMS %MVC in the right suprahyoid muscles compared to the corresponding control groups. Although the RMS %MVC value from the right suprahyoid muscles alone was not a significant predictor of self-evaluated dysphonic cases, a combination of the RMS %MVC values from both the right and left suprahyoid muscles significantly predicted APVQ-based dysphonic cases with a 69.66% fair level. Conclusions: This study found that individuals with dysphonia, as determined by either self-assessment or APVQ judgment, displayed more imbalanced suprahyoid muscle activities in voice production compared to nondysphonic groups. The combination of the sEMG measures from both left and right suprahyoid muscles showed potential as a predictor of dysphonia with a fair level of confidence. Supplemental Material: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.25112804 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the integration of brain–computer interface technology and neural networks in the field of music generation has garnered widespread attention. These studies aimed to extract individual-specific emotional and state information from electroencephalogram (EEG) signals to generate unique musical compositions. While existing research has focused primarily on brain regions associated with emotions, this study extends this research to brain regions related to musical composition. To this end, a novel neural network model incorporating attention mechanisms and steady-state activation mapping (SSAM) was proposed. In this model, the self-attention module enhances task-related information in the current state matrix, while the extended attention module captures the importance of state matrices over different time frames. Additionally, a convolutional neural network layer is used to capture spatial information. Finally, the ECA module integrates the frequency information learned by the model in each of the four frequency bands, mapping these by learning their complementary frequency information into the final attention representation. Evaluations conducted on a dataset specifically constructed for this study revealed that the model surpassed representative models in the emotion recognition field, with recognition rate improvements of 1.47% and 3.83% for two different music states. Analysis of the attention matrix indicates that the left frontal lobe and occipital lobe are the most critical brain regions in distinguishing between 'recall and creation' states, while FP1, FPZ, O1, OZ, and O2 are the electrodes most related to this state. In our study of the correlations and significances between these areas and other electrodes, we found that individuals with musical training exhibit more extensive functional connectivity across multiple brain regions. This discovery not only deepens our understanding of how musical training can enhance the brain's ability to work in coordination but also provides crucial guidance for the advancement of brain–computer music generation technologies, particularly in the selection of key brain areas and electrode configurations. We hope our research can guide the work of EEG-based music generation to create better and more personalized music. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cross-linguistic perception is known to be molded by native and second language (L2) experiences. Yet, the role of prosodic patterns and individual characteristics on how speakers of tonal languages perceive L2 Spanish sentence modalities remains relatively underexplored. This study addresses the gap by analyzing the auditory performance of 75 Mandarin speakers with varying levels of Spanish proficiency. The experiment consisted of four parts: the first three collected sociolinguistic profiles and assessed participants' pragmatic competence and musical abilities. The last part involved an auditory gating task, where participants were asked to identify Spanish broad focus statements and information-seeking yes/no questions with different stress patterns. Results indicated that the shape of intonation contours and the position of the final stressed syllable significantly impact learners' perceptual accuracy, with effects modulated by utterance length and L2 proficiency. Moreover, individual differences in pragmatic and musical competence were found to refine auditory and cognitive processing in Mandarin learners, thereby influencing their ability to discriminate question-statement contrasts. These findings reveal the complex interplay between prosodic and individual variations in L2 speech perception, providing novel insights into how speakers of tonal languages process intonation in a non-native Romance language like Spanish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For many individuals, music has a significant impact on the quality and enjoyability of life. Cochlear implant (CI) users must cope with the constraints that the CI imposes on music perception. Here, we assessed the musical experiences of young CI users and age-matched controls with normal hearing (NH). CI users and NH peers were divided into subgroups according to age: children and adolescents. Participants were tested on their ability to recognize vocal and instrumental music and instruments. A music questionnaire for pediatric populations (MuQPP) was also used. CI users and NH peers identified a similar percentage of vocal music. CI users were significantly worse at recognizing instruments (p < 0.05) and instrumental music (p < 0.05). CI users scored similarly to NH peers on the MuQPP, except for the musical frequency domain, where CI users in the children subgroup scored higher than their NH peers (p = 0.009). For CI users in the children subgroup, the identification of instrumental music was positively correlated with music importance (p = 0.029). Young CI users have significant deficits in some aspects of music perception (instrumental music and instrument identification) but have similar scores to NH peers in terms of interest in music, frequency of music exposure, and importance of music. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While Mismatch Negativity (MMN) and P300 have been found to correlate with the processing of acoustic and phonological information involved in speech perception, there is controversy surrounding how these two components index acoustic and/or phonological processing at pre-attentive and attentive stages. The current study employed both passive and active oddball paradigms to examine neural responses to lexical tones at the two stages in Cantonese speakers, using the paradigm of categorical perception (CP) where the between- and within-category deviants share the same acoustic distance from the standard but differ in the involvement of phonological information. We failed to observe a CP effect in P300, which might indicate that this component doesn't necessarily index phonological processing, while MMN does, as reflected by the finding of a greater MMN amplitude elicited from the between-category than within-category deviant. Nevertheless, phonological processing might be overridden by acoustic processing among participants who were sensitive to pitch. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The average attention span of humans is decreasing. To adapt to the change, researchers investigate visual and auditory techniques that alter the perception of time passing. However, the auditory technique is underexplored in comparison to visual techniques, which are becoming increasingly important as voice assistants, speech interfaces or time-aware computational/robotic systems proliferate. This paper investigated the effect of pitch and interval variables on time perception. Three pitch levels (static, falling, rising) and two interval patterns (static, narrowing) for a total of six auditory stimuli were compared. Principal findings indicated that rising/falling pitch and interval narrowing, as well as their combinations, can be used to shorten the perception of time. This research contributes to a better understanding of end-users' subjective temporal estimation of auditory stimuli, which can be used to further develop audio-based interactive devices/agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic exposure to loud sound leads to noise-induced hearing loss. This is especially common in collegiate-level musicians. Existing methods for estimating exposure typically do not consider genre- or instrument-specific variability in soundscape/spectral characteristics. We measured sound exposure levels (SELs) across instruments, bands, and genres at a university music school. We found (1) considerable variability in SELs across instruments and bands, (2) that Jazz musicians are consistently exposed to the highest sound levels, and (3) that spectral features of music differ between instrument type and genre, and based on room size. These findings highlight the need for tailored guidelines that moderate the implementation of hearing conservation initiatives for collegiate musicians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study examined how speakers adapt to fundamental frequency (fo) errors that affect the use of prosody to convey linguistic meaning, whether fo adaptation in that context relates to adaptation in linguistically neutral sustained vowels, and whether cue trading is reflected in responses in the prosodic cues of fo and amplitude. Method: Twenty-four speakers said vowels and sentences while fo was digitally altered to induce predictable errors. Shifts in fo (±200 cents) were applied to the entire sustained vowel and one word (emphasized or unemphasized) in sentences. Two prosodic cues-o and amplitude-were extracted. The effects of fo shifts, shift direction, and emphasis on fo response magnitude were evaluated with repeated-measures analyses of variance. Relationships between adaptive fo responses in sentences and vowels and between adaptive fo and amplitude responses were evaluated with Spearman correlations. Results: Speakers adapted to fo errors in both linguistically meaningful sentences and linguistically neutral vowels. Adaptive fo responses of unemphasized words were smaller than those of emphasized words when fo was shifted upward. There was no relationship between adaptive fo responses in vowels and emphasized words, but adaptive fo and amplitude responses were strongly, positively correlated. Conclusions: Sensorimotor adaptation occurs in response to fo errors regardless of how disruptive the error is to linguistic meaning. Adaptation to fo errors during sustained vowels may not involve the exact same mechanisms as sensorimotor adaptation as it occurs in meaningful speech. The relationship between adaptive responses in fo and amplitude supports an integrated model of prosody. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A central question in behavioural neuroscience is how different rewards modulate learning. While the role of monetary rewards is well-studied in decision-making research, the influence of abstract rewards like music remains poorly understood. This study investigated the dissociable effects of these two reward types on decision making. Forty participants completed two decision-making tasks, each characterised by probabilistic associations between stimuli and rewards, with probabilities changing over time to reflect environmental volatility. In each task, choices were reinforced either by monetary outcomes (win/lose) or by the endings of musical melodies (consonant/dissonant). We applied the Hierarchical Gaussian Filter, a validated hierarchical Bayesian framework, to model learning under these two conditions. Bayesian statistics provided evidence for similar learning patterns across both reward types, suggesting individuals' similar adaptability. However, within the musical task, individual preferences for consonance over dissonance explained some aspects of learning. Specifically, correlation analyses indicated that participants more tolerant of dissonance behaved more stochastically in their belief-to-response mappings and were less likely to choose the response associated with the current prediction for a consonant ending, driven by higher volatility estimates. By contrast, participants averse to dissonance showed increased tonic volatility, leading to larger updates in reward tendency beliefs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current paper offers a model of time-varying music engagement, defined as changes in curiosity, attention and positive valence, as music unfolds over time. First, we present research (including new data) showing that listeners tend to allocate attention to music in a manner that is guided by both features of the music and listeners' individual differences. Next, we review relevant predictive processing literature before using this body of work to inform our model. In brief, we propose that music engagement, over the course of an extended listening episode, may constitute several cycles of curiosity, attention and positive valence that are interspersed with moments of mind-wandering. Further, we suggest that refocusing on music after an episode of mind-wandering can be due to triggers in the music or, conversely, mental action that occurs when the listener realizes they are mind-wandering. Finally, we argue that factors that modulate both overall levels of music engagement and how it changes over time include music complexity, listener background and the listening context. Our paper highlights how music can be used to provide insights into the temporal dynamics of attention and into how curiosity might emerge in everyday contexts. This article is part of the theme issue 'Art, aesthetics and predictive processing: theoretical and empirical perspectives'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since existing music-driven dance generation methods have abnormal motion when generating dance sequences which leads to unnatural overall dance movements, a music-driven dance generation method based on a spatial-temporal refinement model is proposed to optimize the abnormal frames. Firstly, the cross-modal alignment model is used to learn the correspondence between the two modalities of audio and dance video and based on the learned correspondence, the corresponding dance segments are matched with the input music segments. Secondly, an abnormal frame optimization algorithm is proposed to carry out the optimization of the abnormal frames in the dance sequence. Finally, a temporal refinement model is used to constrain the music beats and dance rhythms in the temporal perspective to further strengthen the consistency between the music and the dance movements. The experimental results show that the proposed method can generate realistic and natural dance video sequences, with the FID index reduced by 1.2 and the diversity index improved by 1.7. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) technology has made remarkable strides in the music industry, profoundly impacting various aspects of our lives. This progress has extended to revolutionizing industries, streamlining processes, and enhancing personalization in music. AI's expanding capabilities have driven computer vision, natural language processing, and machine learning breakthroughs. As music enthusiasts increasingly turn to online platforms, the need for effective recommendation systems has become more pressing. The exponential growth of musical content poses a challenge in discovering music tailored to individual tastes. This paper proposed a personalized music recommendation system powered by deep learning, explicitly utilizing convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to address the challenges posed by expanding music libraries and diverse song resources. In today's era of ever-growing music databases and increasing content diversity, more than traditional retrieval methods are needed to efficiently connect users with their preferred track. Traditional music platforms rely solely on retrieval mechanisms, necessitating manual inputs such as artist names and titles to locate specific songs. However, this approach needs in-depth music data analysis and delivers personalized recommendations generated by various deep learning-based algorithms. This paper bridges this gap by harnessing deep learning algorithms for comprehensive music data analysis and personalized song suggestions. The proposed CNN-based recommendation system explores the domains of deep learning and content-based approaches, empowering users to discover their favorite tunes swiftly. This innovative mechanism leverages CNNs and deep learning algorithms to offer efficient, personalized, and data-driven music recommendations, transforming the user experience with their music collections. In experimental results, the proposed CNN model is compared with various deep learning algorithms, including DNN, RNN, and LSTM, as well as traditional algorithms like SVM, KNN, RF, and DT. Impressively, the CNN model achieved the highest accuracy at 95%, surpassing all other algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present research investigated the effects of short-term musical training on speech recognition in adverse listening conditions in older adults. A total of 30 Kannada-speaking participants with no history of gross otologic, neurologic, or cognitive problems were divided equally into experimental (M = 63 years) and control groups (M = 65 years). Baseline and follow-up assessments for speech in noise (SNR50) and reverberation was carried out for both groups. The participants in the experimental group were subjected to Carnatic classical music training, which lasted for seven days. The Bayesian likelihood estimates revealed no difference in SNR50 and speech recognition scores in reverberation between baseline and followed-up assessment for the control group. Whereas, in the experimental group, the SNR50 reduced, and speech recognition scores improved following musical training, suggesting the positive impact of music training. The improved performance on speech recognition suggests that short-term musical training using Carnatic music can be used as a potential tool to improve speech recognition abilities in adverse listening conditions in older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Musical abilities, both in the pitch and temporal dimension, have been shown to be positively associated with phonological awareness and reading abilities in both children and adults. There is increasing evidence that the relationship between music and language relies primarily on the temporal dimension, including both meter and rhythm. It remains unclear to what extent skill level in these temporal aspects of music may uniquely contribute to the prediction of reading outcomes. A longitudinal design was used to test a group-administered musical sequence transcription task (MSTT). This task was designed to preferentially engage sequence processing skills while controlling for fine-grained pitch discrimination and rhythm in terms of temporal grouping. Forty-five children, native speakers of Portuguese (Mage = 7.4 years), completed the MSTT and a cognitive-linguistic protocol that included visual and auditory working memory tasks, as well as phonological awareness and reading tasks in second grade. Participants then completed reading assessments in third and fifth grades. Longitudinal regression models showed that MSTT and phonological awareness had comparable power to predict reading. The MSTT showed an overall classification accuracy for identifying low-achievement readers in Grades 2, 3, and 5 that was analogous to a comprehensive model including core predictors of reading disability. In addition, MSTT was the variable with the highest loading and the most discriminatory indicator of a phonological factor. These findings carry implications for the role of temporal sequence processing in contributing to the relationship between music and language and the potential use of MSTT as a language-independent, time- and cost-effective tool for the early identification of children at risk of reading disability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the foundational principles of recent developments in evolutionary biology has been the acknowledgement of homeostasis as an organising principle of cellular development from unicellular origins. Fundamentally, this concerns the balance between the inside of a biological entity and its environment. Given that the organ of balance is the ear, and that the evolutionary provenance of the vestibular system can be traced back to fish, music provides a rich foundation for evolutionary biological inquiry. This paper considers a specific dimensional relationship in sonic experience between noise, signal, redundancy and anticipation. Drawing on the physics of Bohm and more recent developments in Rowlands's nilpotent quantum mechanics, I argue that the relationship between these four parameters is not only that they represent aspects of sonic experience, but that they are dimensionally distinct, where noise can be considered to be scalar, a signal (or a note) is a vector (having magnitude and direction), redundancy is bi-vectorial (involving degrees of repetition of signals over time), and anticipation is tri-vectorial (involving reflexive consideration of different orders of redundancy). In outlining the dimensional distinction between these variables, an analysis is presented which considers the relationship between the Shannon entropy of different dimensions in music. This shows that the entropy of noise has a particular bearing on the entropy of the other dimensions. This dimensional relation is also reflected in biological evidence, where Torday has shown there to be a direct correlation between the effect of gravitational "noise" on cellular communication, and by extension the evolution of consciousness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Dynamic pitch, which is defined as the variation in fundamental frequency in speech, is one of the acoustic cues that affect speech recognition in noise. Built on the evidence that a symmetrical manipulation of dynamic pitch led to poorer speech recognition, the present study examined the effect of an asymmetrical manipulation method on speech recognition in noise by younger and older adults. Method: Speech recognition accuracy in noise was measured from younger adults with normal hearing in Experiment 1, and speech reception threshold (in dB SNR) from older adults with normal hearing to mild–moderate hearing loss in Experiment 2. The dynamic pitch contours of the speech stimuli were manipulated using both symmetrical and asymmetrical methods. Results: Younger adults recognized speech better in noise with asymmetrical than symmetrical manipulation, and with weakened than strengthened dynamic pitch. A substantial amount of variability was observed in a group of older listeners. This variability was predominately predicted by the listeners’ age but not hearing thresholds or their ability to perceive dynamic pitch in fluctuating noise. Conclusions: The asymmetrical manipulation of dynamic pitch had a less negative effect than the symmetrical manipulation. This effect also interacted with pitch-change direction. These findings suggest the influence of perceptual naturalness on speech recognition with signal modification. Directions for future research are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Literature on apraxia of speech (AOS) in Chinese speakers is sparse compared to the English literature. This study aims to examine the pitch variation skills of Cantonese adults with AOS poststroke in terms of perceptual tone accuracy, acoustic fundamental frequency (fo) changes, and repetition durations on items with different syllable structures, lexical status, and tone syllables in various positions in a sequencing context. Method: Six Cantonese adults with AOS poststroke (AOS group), six adults without AOS poststroke (nAOS group), and six healthy controls (HC group) performed the tone sequencing task (TST), which was adapted from oral diadochokinetic tasks, with three different tone syllables. Tone accuracy, fo values across 10 time points, and acoustic repetition durations were compared within and between the groups. Results: The AOS group produced significantly lower tone accuracy and different fo changes on the three Cantonese tone syllables compared with the control groups and significantly longer repetition durations than the HC group. The AOS group showed more difficulty with the tone syllables with the consonant– vowel structure, while a priming effect was observed on the T2 (high-rising) syllables with lexical meanings. A unique lowering of fo in the final syllable of the trisyllabic items was observed only in the AOS group. Conclusions: The AOS group showed degraded pitch variation skills. The effects of the three linguistic elements were discussed. Future investigations are called for to adapt the TST in other tonal languages to determine if degraded pitch variation skills are present in other tonal language speakers with AOS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Divergent thinking (DT) is widely considered an essential cognitive dimension of creativity, which involves goal-oriented processes, including working memory (WM), which allows for retrieving and loading of information into the attentional stream and, consequently, enhancing divergence of thinking. Despite the critical role of WM in DT, little work has been done on the mechanism affecting this interplay. The current study addressed the involvement of a formal musical background in the relationship between WM and DT and was conducted with 83 healthy young adults (M = 19.64 years; SD = 0.52 years; 33 females). The participants were requested to indicate if they had a formal background in music in the conservatory (M = 4.78 years; SD = 5.50 years) as well as perform the digit span forward test (DSFT) and the alternative uses task—AUT from the Torrance test of creative thinking (TTCT). The results indicated that years of formal musical background moderated the association between WM and DT. These findings suggest that music enhances the positive effect of high-order cognitive processes, such as WM, on the ability to think divergently. Theoretical and practical implications as well as limitations were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research, it is aimed to determine the music listening habits of the students studying at Bursa Uludag University Music Education Department, to evaluate the effects of listening to music on theoretical and instrument lessons, and to offer suggestions that will improve these habits and make them more conscious and effective. The case study method, which is one of the qualitative research methods, was used in the study. In order to obtain the data, a semi-structured interview form with 20 questions was developed by the researchers. The study group of the research consists of twenty students, ten women and ten men, studying at Bursa Uludağ University Music Teaching Department. The results obtained from the study were analyzed using the descriptive analysis method and 5 themes, 15 sub-themes and 67 codes were reached. As a result of the findings to be obtained from this study, it is aimed to determine whether the music listening habits of music teacher candidates are sufficient and conscious, to offer activities and methods that will gain these habits, and thus to shed light on the training of more cultured and well-equipped music teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]