A sense for rhythm? (Part 2)

This week an informal listening test that might reveal something about your sense for rhythm. If you have a minute to spare, please continue reading and respond to the three questions below. The outcome might surprise you!

First, state whether you consider yourself having a sense for rhythm (N.B. you can be honest, the responses are recorded anonymously):


Then do the following two comparisons. First, listen to the following folksong (Fragment 1):

Fragment 1

Then compare Fragment 1A and 1B to 1, and decide which of the two is rhythmically dissimilar:

Fragment 1A
Fragment 1B

Then listen to Fragment 2:

Fragment 2
And finally, compare Fragment 2A and 2B to 2, and decide which of the two is rhythmically dissimilar?

Fragment 2A
Fragment 2B

These examples are taken from a study by Hannon and Trehub published in Psychological Science.* There is at least one surprising results presented in that study. For now, please do the informal experiment, and I will tell more about the results next week. [see here]

Erin E. Hannon, Sandra E. Trehub (2005) Metrical Categories in Infancy and Adulthood. Psychological Science 16 (1), 48–55. DOI: 10.1111/j.0956-7976.2005.00779.x