Recent research identifies some consistencies and differences in how music is evaluated; these findings may have implications for soundscaping generally. An MIT press release reports that “When listening to music, the human brain appears to be biased toward hearing and producing rhythms composed of simple integer ratios — for example, a series of four beats separated by equal time intervals (forming a 1:1:1 ratio). However, the favored ratios can vary greatly between different societies, according to a large-scale study led by researchers at MIT and the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics and carried out in 15 countries. The study included 39 groups of participants, many of whom came from societies whose traditional music contains distinctive patterns of rhythm not found in Western music. . . . The brain’s bias toward simple integer ratios may have evolved as a natural error-correction system that makes it easier to maintain a consistent body of music, which human societies often use to transmit information.” McDermott is the lead author of this study, published in Nature Human Behaviour.
Anne Trafton. 2024. “Exposure to Different Kinds of Music Influences How the Brain Interprets Rhythm.” Press release, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, https://news.mit.edu/2024/exposure-different-kinds-music-influences-how-brain-interprets-rhythm-0304