Globally, songs and instrumental melodies are slower and higher and use more stable pitches than speech: A Registered Report

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APE
Publication Type: Journal Article
Authors: Ozaki, Yuto; Tierney, Adam; Pfordresher, Peter Q.; McBride, John M.; Benetos, Emmanouil; Proutskova, Polina; Chiba, Gakuto; Liu, Fang; Jacoby, Nori; Purdy, Suzanne C.; Opondo, Patricia; Fitch, W. Tecumseh; Hegde, Shantala; Rocamora, Martín; Thorne, Rob; Nweke, Florence; Sadaphal, Dhwani P.; Sadaphal, Parimal M.; Hadavi, Shafagh; Fujii, Shinya; Choo, Sangbuem; Naruse, Marin; Ehara, Utae; Sy, Latyr; Parselelo, Mark Lenini; Anglada-Tort, Manuel; Hansen, Niels Chr.; Haiduk, Felix; Færøvik, Ulvhild; Magalhães, Violeta; Krzyżanowski, Wojciech; Shcherbakova, Olena; Hereld, Diana; Barbosa, Brenda Suyanne; Varella, Marco Antonio Correa; van Tongeren, Mark; Dessiatnitchenko, Polina; Zar, Su Zar; El Kahla, Iyadh; Muslu, Olcay; Troy, Jakelin; Lomsadze, Teona; Kurdova, Dilyana; Tsope, Cristiano; Fredriksson, Daniel; Arabadjiev, Aleksandar; Sarbah, Jehoshaphat Philip; Arhine, Adwoa; Meachair, Tadhg Ó; Silva-Zurita, Javier; Soto-Silva, Ignacio; Millalonco, Neddiel Elcie Muñoz; Ambrazevičius, Rytis; Loui, Psyche; Ravignani, Andrea; Jadoul, Yannick; Larrouy-Maestri, Pauline; Bruder, Camila; Teyxokawa, Tutushamum Puri; Kuikuro, Urise; Natsitsabui, Rogerdison; Sagarzazu, Nerea Bello; Raviv, Limor; Zeng, Minyu; Varnosfaderani, Shahaboddin Dabaghi; Gómez-Cañón, Juan Sebastián; Kolff, Kayla; der Nederlanden, Christina Vanden Bosch; Chhatwal, Meyha; David, Ryan Mark; Setiawan, I. Putu Gede; Lekakul, Great; Borsan, Vanessa Nina; Nguqu, Nozuko; Savage, Patrick E.
Year of Publication: 2024
Journal: Science Advances
Volume: 10
Issue: 20
Pagination: eadm9797
Publication Language: eng
Abstract:

Both music and language are found in all known human societies, yet no studies have compared similarities and differences between song, speech, and instrumental music on a global scale. In this Registered Report, we analyzed two global datasets: (i) 300 annotated audio recordings representing matched sets of traditional songs, recited lyrics, conversational speech, and instrumental melodies from our 75 coauthors speaking 55 languages; and (ii) 418 previously published adult-directed song and speech recordings from 209 individuals speaking 16 languages. Of our six preregistered predictions, five were strongly supported: Relative to speech, songs use (i) higher pitch, (ii) slower temporal rate, and (iii) more stable pitches, while both songs and speech used similar (iv) pitch interval size and (v) timbral brightness. Exploratory analyses suggest that features vary along a ?musi-linguistic? continuum when including instrumental melodies and recited lyrics. Our study provides strong empirical evidence of cross-cultural regularities in music and speech. Global collaboration by 75 researchers finds acoustic relationships between speech, song, and instrumental music across cultures.Both music and language are found in all known human societies, yet no studies have compared similarities and differences between song, speech, and instrumental music on a global scale. In this Registered Report, we analyzed two global datasets: (i) 300 annotated audio recordings representing matched sets of traditional songs, recited lyrics, conversational speech, and instrumental melodies from our 75 coauthors speaking 55 languages; and (ii) 418 previously published adult-directed song and speech recordings from 209 individuals speaking 16 languages. Of our six preregistered predictions, five were strongly supported: Relative to speech, songs use (i) higher pitch, (ii) slower temporal rate, and (iii) more stable pitches, while both songs and speech used similar (iv) pitch interval size and (v) timbral brightness. Exploratory analyses suggest that features vary along a ?musi-linguistic? continuum when including instrumental melodies and recited lyrics. Our study provides strong empirical evidence of cross-cultural regularities in music and speech. Global collaboration by 75 researchers finds acoustic relationships between speech, song, and instrumental music across cultures.

Notes:

doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adm9797

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adm9797
Short Title: Science Advances
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