Evidence for multiple rhythmic skills

Adam Tierney, Nina Kraus

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

35 Scopus citations

Abstract

Rhythms, or patterns in time, play a vital role in both speech and music. Proficiency in a number of rhythm skills has been linked to language ability, suggesting that certain rhythmic processes in music and language rely on overlapping resources. However, a lack of understanding about how rhythm skills relate to each other has impeded progress in understanding how language relies on rhythm processing. In particular, it is unknown whether all rhythm skills are linked together, forming a single broad rhythmic competence, or whether there are multiple dissociable rhythm skills. We hypothesized that beat tapping and rhythm memory/sequencing form two separate clusters of rhythm skills. This hypothesis was tested with a battery of two beat tapping and two rhythm memory tests. Here we show that tapping to a metronome and the ability to adjust to a changing tempo while tapping to a metronome are related skills. The ability to remember rhythms and to drum along to repeating rhythmic sequences are also related. However, we found no relationship between beat tapping skills and rhythm memory skills. Thus, beat tapping and rhythm memory are dissociable rhythmic aptitudes. This discovery may inform future research disambiguating how distinct rhythm competencies track with specific language functions.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article numbere0136645
JournalPloS one
Volume10
Issue number9
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 16 2015

Funding

The authors are grateful to Trent Nicol, Jess Slater, and Kali Woodruff Carr for their helpful comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. This research is funded by NSF SMA1015614, NIH DC009399, the Mathers Foundation, the National Association of Music Merchants, and the Knowles Hearing Center, Northwestern University.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General

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