You got rhythm, or more: The multidimensionality of rhythmic abilities
Résumé
Humans have a remarkable capacity for perceiving and producing rhythm. Rhythmic
competence is often viewed as a single concept, with participants who perform more or less
accurately on a single rhythm task. However, research is revealing numerous sub-processes and
competencies involved in rhythm perception and production, which can be selectively impaired
or enhanced. To investigate whether different patterns of performance emerge across tasks and
individuals, we measured performance across a range of rhythm tasks from different test
batteries. Distinct performance patterns could potentially reveal separable rhythmic
competencies that may draw on distinct neural mechanisms. Participants completed nine rhythm
perception and production tasks selected from the Battery for the Assessment of Auditory
Sensorimotor and Timing Abilities (BAASTA), the Beat Alignment Test (BAT), the Beat-Based
Advantage task (BBA) and two tasks from the Burgundy best Musical Aptitude Test (BbMAT).
Principal component analyses revealed clear separation of task performance along three main
dimensions: production, beat-based rhythm perception, and sequence memory-based rhythm
perception. Hierarchical cluster analyses supported these results, revealing clusters of
participants who performed selectively more or less accurately along different dimensions. The
current results support the hypothesis of divergence of rhythmic skills. Based on these results, we
provide guidelines towards a comprehensive testing of rhythm abilities, including at least three
short tasks measuring: (1) rhythm production (e.g., tapping to metronome/music), (2) beat-based
rhythm perception (e.g., BAT), and (3) sequence memory-based rhythm processing (e.g., BBA).
Implications for underlying neural mechanisms, future research, and potential directions for
rehabilitation and training programs will be discussed.
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