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Core systems of music perception

Year: 2025
Type: review
Abstract: Human musicality is supported by two distinct systems of representation: one for tonal perception, which contextualizes pitch input in reference to a hierarchy of tones; and one for metrical perception, which contextualizes temporal input in reference to a hierarchy of rhythmic groupings. Growing evidence suggests that the two systems are universal, automatic, encapsulated, and relatively early-developing. But like speech perception, and unlike several other perceptual systems, they appear to be uniquely human. The systems of tonal and metrical perception form a foundational structure for musicality that, when combined with the processing of other acoustical information (e.g., timbre or auditory scenes), and applied in conjunction with other cognitive domains, yields a human psychology of music.
DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2025.05.013
Language: English
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4411264037
FWCI: 2
Cites: 147
Cited by: 12
Related to: 10