Influences of structure and agency on the perception of musical change

Research using discontinuous perceptual measures has been inconclusive with respect to the psychological reality of large-scale musical structure for nonmusician listeners. However, unlike such discrete retrospective measures, the continuous real-time perception of change in music can constitute a significant predictor of continuous perceptions of expressed affect. So here we use time series analysis to focus on relationships between music-analytical large-scale segmentation of a range of pieces, and segments in nonmusicians' continuous perception of change in those pieces, judged statistically. The possible influences of musical structure and of agency (such as roles of concerto soloist and orchestral accompaniment) on the continuous perceived change are assessed. The 9 works (each c. 2 min) range from Western (ambient, drum and bass, minimal music, jazz, and works of Mozart and Xenakis), to other cultures (Australian Aboriginal music, Balinese gamelan) and to performance text. Twenty-two listeners heard the pieces with headphones, and represented continuously their perception of change in the music. As hypothesized, the majority of segments in musical agency and structure (73%) are reflected in listeners' perceptions, suggesting in turn that such large-scale musical structure may influence continuously perceived affect. We indicate how these relationships can be further understood. (PsycINFO Database Record