Subject: Re: sometimes behave so strangely From: Bruno Repp <repp@xxxxxxxx> Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2006 10:31:01 -0500 List-Archive:<http://lists.mcgill.ca/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=AUDITORY>Hello all: Andrea said just the right thing. I believe the principles being discussed can be summarized as follows: Speech and music have in common the variation of pitch (melody) and durations (rhythm). The more a speech utterance resembles music on these dimensions (stepwise pitch changes, fairly regular rhythm), the more likely it will be perceived "as music" when it is repeated, and vice versa for music perceived "as speech". In fact, the repetition of a speech utterance may simply draw attention to its prosodic features and away from its semantic content. Deliberate attention to prosody (without repetition) may be sufficient to appreciate the "musical" qualities of an utterance. No real change in processing mode is required because processing of prosody is part and parcel of speech perception. To hear music as speech, on the other hand, may require a true change in processing mode because the speech lexicon is being engaged, which is normally inactive when listening to music. Best, Bruno -- Bruno H. Repp Haskins Laboratories 300 George Street New Haven, CT 06511-6624 Tel. (203) 865-6163, ext. 236 Fax (203) 865-8963 http://www.haskins.yale.edu/staff/repp.html NOTE: I am at Rutgers University, Newark, two days each week, usually Tuesday and Friday, and don't read my Haskins e-mail on those days. To reach me at Rutgers, send e-mail to <repp@xxxxxxxx>.