Discrimination of Modulated Music Tempo by Music Majors

Abstract

This study investigated the ability of university music majors to aurally perceive sudden and gradual tempo changes of various magnitudes in several different musical compositions. Differing rates of tempo change, the least change being 1 M.M.14 measures, were incorporated into four musical compositions by a computer. Forty-two music majors were tested individually in a repeated measure design. They listened and decided whether tempo change occurred in each piece. Results indicated that subjects detected tempo changes better when the change was (a) increased rather than decreased for one composition, (b) sudden rather than gradual, (c) greater rather than smaller in magnitude, and (d) one- directional rather than two. Tempo accuracy was not found to relate to the amount of musical training. It was concluded that perception of music tempo could be affected by many factors. Further research using modulated music tempo was recommended.

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