The Influence of Tonality on Rhythmic Perception

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of tonality on rhythmic perception. Previous research has found conflicting evidence on the influence of tonality with some studies finding a strong effect of tonality on rhythm, and others not finding an effect. Using pitch and rhythmic discrimination tasks in both tonal and atonal melodic conditions, this study aims to find support for one of these conflicting ideas. We predict that melodies that are tonal and have a regular rhythm will provide the best discrimination results, while melodies that are atonal and have an irregular rhythm will provide the worst discrimination results. Our primary interest is in determining which condition will show better results of the remaining two conditions – tonal melodies with irregular rhythms or atonal melodies with regular rhythms.