Principal Investigator:
Mark J. Tramo
Assistant Professor of Neurology
Massachusetts General Hospital
Harvard University

Co-Investigator:
Laure A. Taglialatela MA Phd
Project Coordinator, CHOICE
Behavioral Sciences and Health Education
Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University

Co-Investigator:
E. Sue Savage-Rumbaugh
Lead Specialist
Great Ape Trust of Iowa

Consultant:
W. Tecumseh Fitch
St. Andrew’s University

Consultant:
Patricia M. Gray
National Musical Arts

MUSIC PERCEPTION, LEARNING, AND PRODUCTION IN APES

OVERVIEW

The broad, long-term objectives of the proposed research are to understand the evolution of integrative auditory functions mediating music cognition in humans. The specific aims investigate: 1) melody discrimination and recognition; 2) perception of melodic similarity in multiplicative transformation; 3) preferences for “consonant” vs “dissonant” music; and 4) rhythm production using drums and drumsticks with and without auditory guidance and social cues. We plan to achieve these aims through an interdisciplinary research effort that brings together investigators with expertise in music psychology, psychoacoustics, neurophysiology, animal cognition, and music theory. The results may bear relevance to previous and ongoing work on music perception, performance, and cognition in infants and children and to the relationship between music and language in humans and in apes.

Performance Sites:
» Great Ape Trust of Iowa, Des Moines, Iowa

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