Implicit Learning and Acquisition of Music

Martin Rohrmeier,a Patrick RebuschatbaCentre for Music & Science, Faculty of Music, University of Cambridge, and

Cluster Languages of Emotion, Freie Universitat BerlinbSchool of Linguistics and English Language, Bangor University

Received 11 January 2011; received in revised form 21 February 2012; accepted 26 April 2012

AbstractImplicit learning is a core process for the acquisition of a complex, rule-based environment from

mere interaction, such as motor action, skill acquisition, or language. A body of evidence suggeststhat implicit knowledge governs music acquisition and perception in nonmusicians and musicians,and that both expert and nonexpert participants acquire complex melodic, harmonic, and other fea-tures from mere exposure. While current findings and computational modeling largely support thelearning of chunks, some results indicate learning of more complex structures. Despite the body ofevidence, more research is required to support the cross-cultural validity of implicit learning and toshow that core and more complex music theoretical features are acquired implicitly.

Keywords: Music; Implicit learning; Statistical learning; Musical acquisition; Incidental learning;Computational modelling; Cognitive modelling; Music cognition

1. Introduction

Music, like language, is a historically evolved, complex, and highly structured form ofhuman interaction and communication, which involves a range of cognitive processes in per-ception, parsing, and production. Basic tasks of music cognition like prediction, melody recalland comparison, style recognition, or even the ability to recognize (stylistic) mistakes in amusical excerpt rely on knowledge of the syntax governing any musical style, be it Westerntonal music from Monteverdi to the Beatles, Middle Eastern maqam, traditional North Indianmusic, Western, Non-Western or early modal music, or Jazz improvisation. Musical errorssuch as sour chords or notes strike us instantly, even if we cannot explain why a givensequence sounds wrong. We are able to recognize pieces of music or the style of a piece in

Correspondence should be sent to Martin Rohrmeier, Centre for Music & Science, Faculty of Music, Univer-sity of Cambridge, UK, and Cluster Languages of Emotion, Freie Universitat Berlin, Germany. E-mail:mrohrmeier@cantab.net

Topics in Cognitive Science 4 (2012) 525553Copyright 2012 Cognitive Science Society, Inc. All rights reserved.ISSN: 1756-8757 print / 1756-8765 onlineDOI: 10.1111/j.1756-8765.2012.01223.x