Abstract
While many studies have assessed the efficacy of similarity-based cues for auditory stream segregation, much less is known about whether and how the larger-scale structure of sound sequences support stream formation and the choice of sound organization. Two experiments investigated the effects of musical melody and rhythm on the segregation of two interleaved tone sequences. The two sets of tones fully overlapped in pitch range but differed from each other in interaural time and intensity. Unbeknownst to the listener, separately, each of the interleaved sequences was created from the notes of a different song. In different experimental conditions, the notes and/or their timing could either follow those of the songs or they could be scrambled or, in case of timing, set to be isochronous. Listeners were asked to continuously report whether they heard a single coherent sequence (integrated) or two concurrent streams (segregated). Although temporal overlap between tones from the two streams proved to be the strongest cue for stream segregation, significant effects of tonality and familiarity with the songs were also observed. These results suggest that the regular temporal patterns are utilized as cues in auditory stream segregation and that long-term memory is involved in this process.
DOI
10.1121/1.4865196
Publication Date
2014-03-01
Publication Title
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
Volume
135
Issue
3
Publisher
Acoustical Society of America (ASA)
ISSN
1520-8524
Embargo Period
2024-11-22
First Page
1392
Last Page
1405
Recommended Citation
Szalárdy, O., Bendixen, A., Böhm, T., & et al. (2014) 'The effects of rhythm and melody on auditory stream segregation', The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 135(3), pp. 1392-1405. Acoustical Society of America (ASA): Available at: https://doi.org/10.1121/1.4865196
