Cross-cultural studies of musical pitch and time

This review describes cross-cultural studies of pitch including intervals, scales, melody, and expectancy, and perception and production of timing and rhythm. Cross-cultural research represents only a small portion of music cognition research yet is essential to i) test the generality of contemporary theories of music cognition; ii) investigate different kinds of musical thought; and iii) increase understanding of the cultural conditions and contexts in which music is experienced. Converging operations from ethology and ethnography to rigorous experimental investigations are needed to record the diversity and richness of the musics, human responses, and contexts. Complementary trans-disciplinary approaches may also minimize bias from a particular ethnocentric view.