PERCEIVING MUSICAL STABILITY - THE EFFECT OF TONAL STRUCTURE, RHYTHM,AND MUSICAL EXPERTISE

The goal of this study was to investigate several factors that determi ne musical stability in unaccompanied tonal melodies. Following M. R. Jones's (1987) theory of dynamic attending, the author assumed that st rongly accented tones act as stable melodic reference points. Three ma in results were observed: (a) tonal structure, rhythm, and melodic fac tors (i.e., pitch skips or change in melodic contour) all contributed to defining the stability experienced on the melodic tones; (b) a line ar combination of 5 melodic and rhythmic features provided a good fit to the stability ratings; and (c) some of these features contributed d ifferently, depending on the extent of musical expertise of the partic ipants. The results are interpreted within C. L. Krumhansl's (1990) mo del of tonal perception and Jones's theory of dynamic attending.