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Similarity relations in listening to music: How do they come into play?


Irne Delige
Musicae Scientiae 2007 11: 9
DOI: 10.1177/1029864907011001021
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Musicae Scientiae
Discussion Forum 4A, 2007, 9-37

2007 by ESCOM European Society


for the Cognitive Sciences of Music

Similarity relations in listening to music:


How do they come into play?
IRNE DELIGE
University of Lige

ABSTRACT
In this essay, similarity relations in the perception of music are studied on the basis
of two different standpoints. The first is said to be external and studies comparisons
between distinct and autonomous musical entities, i.e. different works or different
interpretations. The second is internal and looks at similarity relations, which the
listener identifies in the same work or part of a work, and in the same
interpretation. This last procedure is developed in different directions. We show the
importance of the similarity factor: (i) in the actual composition process as the
composer seeks unity and coherence in his or her piece; (ii) in folk music; (iii) as an
essential element for the listener who strives to understand the piece as he listens
to it in real time. This last point is of fundamental importance for the study of
cognition in general i.e. the implicit or explicit role of similarity in perception
processes.
Concrete examples of the main theoretical points described here can be identified
in the course of the different phases of the cue extraction model that I developed
recently, i.e. segmentation, categorization, schematization, imprint formation
(Delige, 1989, 1991). The SIMILARITY/DIFFERENCE axis is a central element in
the structure of the model. The empirical approaches used in experimenting with
the different phases of the model are analyzed in this two-fold perspective. From
the very beginning, this was the aim of a series of procedures that aimed at
showing the implicit or explicit aspects of the processes that musician and nonmusician participants use during the experimental listening process. An overall view
of the results obtained confirms that the assumptions were correct.

INTRODUCTION

Whatever the perception mode, the concept of similarity refers initially to a process
that compares two or several things, states, events, etc. This process is required to
assess resemblance; in other words, it must reveal those characteristics by which the
objects that are being compared differ, whatever the degree of difference, or it must
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show that there is pure and simple identity or a state of maximum similarity (Hahn
& Chater, 1998).
In his Vocabulaire de la psychologie (1951), Henri Piron, the editor, defined the
concept of similarity as being the psychological assertion of a resemblance that can
be assessed, either objectively, and is thus a property appertaining to a physical
dimension, or subjectively and is an attribute of pairs of stimuli. This definition
therefore specifies that, over and above the fact of relating the entities concerned,
there is an explicit aspect the objective estimate, in full awareness, of physical
dimensions that can be observed or a subjective aspect, due to the perceived
impression of similarity and thus possibly felt unconsciously. The analysis of this
assumption in the field of musical perception, leads to some fundamental questions
concerning the cognitive organization of the listening process of a work, as we will
see later on in this article. We must, however, add a distinction to clarify whether we
are dealing with relationships that I would call external, i.e. that establish
comparisons between distinct and autonomous entities; or whether we are
considering internal relations, i.e. that deal with similarities within one same work
or a part of a work.
1. EXTERNAL SIMILARITY RELATIONS
Pierre Froidebise and Andr Souris wrote in a joint article (1961, pp. 840-41) that a
music lover or a critic might explain at length that he or she prefers Furtwnglers
interpretation of Beethovens Fifth Symphony rather than Toscaninis. You often hear
comparisons of this kind when people are discussing a performance. It is on the basis
of the same principle that instrumentalists are made to include a set piece in their
program for a competition. This is a piece that all the competitors must play; thus
the differences in their outlook will stand out and will facilitate the comparison
between them.
There are other occasions where a comparison process takes place automatically
while listening to music. This is particularly the case for forms that are based on a
Theme and Variations structure, where a basic statement is repeated a certain number
of times, but always worked out in different ways. The theme recurs, modified by
different compositional procedures such as transposition, new timbres, different
rhythms, harmonies and keys etc.; each variation has its own character. I will just
mention a few well known examples: Bachs Goldberg Variations for keyboard,
Beethovens 33 Variations on a Diabelli Waltz, Schumanns Abegg Variations for piano
and Brahms Variations on a theme by Haydn for orchestra.
One could possibly include under the heading of variations the orchestration
of pieces written for a solo instrument, such as Moussorgskis Pictures of an
Exhibition, orchestrated by Ravel and which is often played in concerts. There are
also orchestral pieces transcribed for a solo instrument, such as the Brahms Variations
mentioned above which the composer then rewrote for two pianos. This was often
done in the nineteenth century. Liszt wrote his Etudes for piano based on Paganinis
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Similarity relations in listening to music: How do they come into play?


IRNE DELIGE

Caprices for solo violin and also used many excerpts from operas such as Bellinis
Norma, Donizettis Lucia di Lamermoor, Halevys La Juive and many others. On the
basis of themes from these works, he created arrangements that allowed him to
display his extraordinary virtuosity.
But can we, in cases such as these, still compare the original piece and its new
version? This is not likely and at any rate, it could only happen if the necessary
conditions for the creation of a cognitive process were organized, that is if the two
versions were played one after the other. This is how Pierre Boulez recently presented
his Notations 1, a series of twelve short pieces for the piano, some of which have
already been orchestrated. The original piano version was played before each
orchestral version so that the listener was able to compare them. This also made it
possible to see how the composer stepped back from the original piece and translated
his ideas into a new sound context.
However, in this kind of comparison, similarity relations operate on entities that
are more or less lengthy. On the contrary, if the aim is to experience and/or assess the
influence of internal similarities (within one work or section of a work), then the
short motifs, which Schoenberg called the germ of the idea (1967, p. 8) will
trigger the mechanism, as we will shortly see.
2. INTERNAL SIMILARITY RELATIONS
At the end of the eighteenth century, the English philosopher Adam Smith wrote in
his essay Of the Nature of that Imitation which takes place in what are called The
Imitative Arts (1795/1982):
Poetry and Eloquence produce their effect always by a connected variety and succession
of different thoughts and ideas: but Music frequently produces its effects by a repetition of
the same idea; and the same sense expressed in the same, or nearly the same, combination
of sounds, though at first perhaps it may make scarce any impression upon us, yet, by being
repeated again and again, it comes at last gradually, and by little and little, to move, to
agitate, and to transport us.

Richard Wagners views are identical in this respect. In her diary (1977, p. 365),
on 25th November 1870, his wife, Cosima, reports a remark from Richard who
said:
Repetition! There is the absolute difference between music and poetry: a theme may be
repeated because it is a person and not a discourse; on the contrary, in poetry, repetition is
absurd, except when it is a refrain or when it has to produce a musical effect.

(1) Concert on October 25th 2004 in Brussels, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Salle Henry Le Buf.
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Heinrich Schenker (quoted in Kivy, 1993, p. 337) says also something similar in
his essay The spirit of musical technique, where he writes: language prefers
exactly the opposite strategy [to music] that is, a continuous flow, without
repetition. Here, the stress is on a practice that has developed progressively in
Western music. Clestin Delige noted on this subject that it is only at the start
of the fiveteenth century that a type of local structure began to appear, repeated in
imitation and which perception could readily identify and remember. In other
words, it is the head motif a first sketch of the statement of the theme (1989,
p. 146 & 2005; Engl. tr. 2000) that will become a musical object with the
Viennese school of the classical period (ibid., p. 147). About a century and a half
later, Arnold Schoenberg insisted strongly, in his books meant for educational
purposes, Models for Beginners in Composition (1942) and later in Fundamentals of
Musical Composition (1967), on variation technique as a way of repeating without
necessarily saying the same thing. He considered that this guarded against
incoherence in musical composition. Webern, like Schoenberg, was a great user of
variations. He stressed the importance of repetition through variation in his lectures,
delivered in Vienna in 1933. Obviously this (the lack of repetition) doesnt work, it
destroys comprehensibility. At least its impossible to write long stretches of music in
that way (1963, p. 55). Lets learn this lesson it is from this idea of saying
something twice, more often, as often as possible, in order to make ones self
understood, that the most artful things developed (ibid., p. 22). Explaining the
importance of the technique of repetition and variation throughout history, he began
by emphasizing the role it played from the very beginning, its roots in folk music.
Webern thus agrees with a finding of ethnomusicologists in the second half of the
twentieth century who stated that the method was universal.
In 1956, Gilbert Rouget had already rejected the idea that was then widespread
according to which so-called primitive music was nothing but repetition and that
therefore its form was crude and even non-existent. He felt that this was a simplistic
analysis, for the use of repetition through variation is often extremely refined in this
music (1956, p. 133). When Constantin Brailoiu analyzed the structure of folk
music in 1973, he said that at the start, it is a brief period that the singer repeats as
often as needed to reach the end of the text. But at each repetition, the folk
interpretation more or less modifies the rhythm, the melody or even the architecture
so that one can speak of variations. The study of these variations is the most
important question in the field of musical folklore (p. 22). Simha Arom points out
that in the music of the Aka Pygmies (1985/1991) repetition and variation is one of
the most fundamental principles of all Central African musics, as indeed of other
musics in Black Africa (1991, p. 17). Giving music its structure through the
repetition/variation system is therefore a basic psychological need of human beings,
whatever their culture. This would be worth studying more thoroughly as it goes far
beyond folk music and is still a fundamental part of learning the profession of
composer. Can we discern possible reasons for this?
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Similarity relations in listening to music: How do they come into play?


IRNE DELIGE

The musicologist Leonard Meyer considers that similarity relations within a


musical work give the listener a feeling of security. This is why the establishment and
the generalization of this composing technique occurred at the same time as the
creation and development of concert halls open to the public in the nineteenth
century, where professionals and music lovers could meet. In a recent book, Meyer
says: The technique of developing variation was not an invention of the midnineteenth century. It has been employed in the Baroque and Classic periods. What
was new in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries was its increased importance as a
compositional constraint (2000, p. 270) The idea of coherence and unity
through similarity relationships prevailed because it was consonant both with the
ideology of Romanticism and with the needs of the novices in the bourgeois
audience the unity created by similarity is a natural one, based upon classlike
identity rather than upon learned constraints (ibid., p. 266). This suggests that
similarity relationships give the listener the feeling that he understands what he is
listening to without having to study the compositional rules on which the music was
based. Furthermore, the music lover gains satisfaction in return for his effort to
participate: In a comparable way, similarities of motive (and also of timbre, texture,
and the like) helped the less sophisticated members of the nineteenth centurys
bourgeois audience to appreciate the music they were paying for (ibid., p. 267). It
seems, therefore, that similarity relations can influence the listener, whether he is an
expert or a beginner, and can create an atmosphere conducive to listening. Here, one
must consider the way in which these relations are perceived; more precisely, whether
the perception process is implicit or explicit. This distinction refers to definitions
given in studies of memory. Implicit entails indirect cognitive strategies, where the
person is not aware of having access to the information contained in the
performance. On the contrary, explicit means intent and directness in the search
for the information to be processed (Gaonach, 1998; Tulving, 2000). Along the
same lines, I will sum up the data and the procedures that I developed in my
empirical work on the different phases of my model of cue abstraction in the
psychological organization in listening to music (Delige, 1987a; 1989; 1991). The
similarity/difference axis is the central point of this model and special attention has
been given to its form of intervention in the cognitive processes.
3. IMPLICIT OR EXPLICIT PERCEPTION OF INTERNAL
SIMILARITY/DIFFERENCE RELATIONS IN A WORK
Different performances were approached in several ways, through processes of
segmentation, categorization and memory. Let me recall briefly that the model is
based on a central hypothesis according to which a person who is listening with
attention will seize cues, that is brief but meaningful and significant structures, which
stand out from the sound background. It is on this basis that the listener draws up a
framework of the piece, thus limiting the mnemonic load of the information he or
she receives. Cues are specific to each work; they are a part of the composers project
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that he introduces so as to help the listener to reconstruct the piece for himself.
Composers, conductors and theoreticians often comment on this idea and its
influence on memory. For instance, Pierre Boulez, in his book on Paul Klee, speaks
of kernels of memory [that] help the listener to progress through unknown territory
thanks to a few signals that are all the stronger that they were first perceived in
isolation. For the difficulty for the listener is precisely to be able to pick out, in
the very instant, these triggers of memory (1989, p. 110). The conductor, Patrick
Davin, says something similar when he emphasizes that auditory references are a
way of training the ear of the listener and constantly triggering memory (1994,
p. 13). These structures recur in a composition; they can be a literal repetition or
different levels of variation. The listener picks them out spontaneously from the
surface of the musical structures, where they stand out because of the force of
iteration and with their help, tries to approach the composers project (Delige,
1989, p. 306). He is not trying consciously to detect the iterations; on the contrary,
he is subjected to their impact given by an accumulation effect. As Peter Kivy says:
Musical repeats perform an obvious and vital function in that they are the
composers way of allowing us, indeed compelling us to linger; to retrace our steps so
that we can fix the fleeting sonic pattern; they allow us to grope so that we can grasp
(1993, p. 352).
We will now try to analyze the processes whereby musical structures are
compared and that are developed on these basic abstractions. The comments quoted
above showing that the implicit strategies are essential during the listening process
and we will consider these first.
3.1 Procedures aiming at the implicit intervention
of similarity/difference relations
Different tasks can reveal performances based on implicit strategies. Foremost among
these are the strategies that aim at investigating (i) group formation in the musical
structure, (ii) the development of a cognitive map or schema of the work, and
(iii) the formation of imprints or prototypical patterns.
3.1.1 In group formation processes
At the end of the nineteenth century, when experimental psychology was born, the
subjective element inherent in group perception had been emphasized by Wundt. He
often mentioned the example of a continuous series of metronome clicks that are all
absolutely identical but that are instinctively perceived in groups of twos or threes.
This means that perception organizes these accents and creates a same/different
relationship that is a part of group formation when no objective change can be
observed.
More recently, Gestalt theorists have spelled out a general definition of this
psychological ability; they showed that group formation is not based on a deliberate,
or thought out, cognitive action. On the contrary, the boundaries of the group
structures stand out spontaneously when a different event seems to be separate from
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Similarity relations in listening to music: How do they come into play?


IRNE DELIGE

the surrounding structures. A series of laws governing perceptual organization that


are well known today, define the origin of this process: proximity, similarity,
common destiny etc. and identify by their name the motif that generates group
formation.
In their seminal book, A generative theory of tonal music, Lerdahl and Jackendoff
devised an application for the perception of rhythm in music based on these laws. At
the time the book was published, I had undertaken an empirical study (Delige,
1987b) to test their hypotheses. They were clearly confirmed by my results and it was
obvious that the perceptual mechanisms that can be observed in listening to music
are the same as those that are used in visual tasks. The group boundaries appear
spontaneously when a contrasting element stands out from the more undifferentiated
environment. One could therefore logically expect similar perceptual behavior on a
higher level, i.e. on the level of group formation of groups, periods or sections of a
work so as to achieve those segmentation processes that are thought to be active
when listening to a whole piece. It then became necessary to define the way in which
this works.
At this juncture, I put forward the idea of cue abstraction (summarized above in
3); the cues stand out and operate on the basis of the Principles of the Same and the
Different and make it possible to organize relations between the perceived structures
(Delige, 1987a; 1989; 1991). According to these principles, there is a process
whereby the structures perceived become related, in other words are grouped, and
this can continue as long as an invariant potential is perceived; the process stops
when a contrasting structure appears. This last structure limits the ongoing grouping
process and at the same time, it selects a new cue structure and defines an identical
process, based on the same principles, as listening continues.
To highlight the implicit nature of the processes at work, the cognitive
mechanisms that I have just described were studied on the basis of two works, each
about 10 minutes long, that are part of the contemporary repertoire: Luciano Berios
Sequenza VI for viola and Pierre Boulezs clat for 15 instruments (Delige, 1989),
and a few years later, with a shorter piece (222), the English horn solo from
Wagners Tristan und Isolde (Delige, 1998). The participants were professional
musicians and non-musicians. They had been instructed to listen to these pieces as
if they were a story, or discourse. Their task was to note the punctuation that they
heard: commas, periods, next paragraphs, etc. by pressing a key on the computer
keyboard. For the tests with the Boulez piece and the Wagner solo, the participants
were asked to grade the punctuation: hitting a key once meant a low level punctuation;
twice meant an average level and three times meant a strong punctuation. This
instruction was deliberately devised to observe the implicit role of similarity relations
between structures while listening to music in real time. Nothing in these
instructions could show the listener the way to such relations; nothing could lead
them to think that the idea of similarity could have an impact on performances. The
data we collected showed clearly that the use of a same type of invariant was the
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decisive factor for group formation. For this procedure, the tasks were repeated twice
during two consecutive experimental runs; these were prepared by playing
beforehand the Berio and Boulez pieces twice and the Wagner solo three times. We
observed that the punctuations i.e. the group boundaries that were identified
the first time were perceived the second time in the same places of the musical text
for all three pieces and for all participants, whether professionals or not, and
whatever the number of times the pieces were heard in the preliminary phase.
Furthermore, in the case of the Wagner solo, two additional aspects were considered:
the level of general and musical education and the prior knowledge of the piece. We
therefore divided each group into two: students and professionals for the musicians,
undergraduates and graduates for the non-musicians. Neither the level of training
nor the prior knowledge of the work had a significant impact on performance. We
therefore felt that we were dealing with psychological mechanisms that were based
on a large share of automatism and that, along with the implicit role that has been
mentioned, they were particularly stable from the point of view of perceptual
behavior. If you look at the results at the same time as the score, the mechanism
becomes very clear. I will show this by taking the example of the results for the third
study on segmentation based on the English horn solo from Wagners Tristan und
Isolde 2.
We noted twenty-one segmentations. These are shown in roman numerals in the
musical text, from I to XXI (see figure 1A). The segmentations in italics are those
that were given the highest rank (I, II, III, VIII, XI, XV, XVIII, XXI). The graph in
figure 1B shows the ranking for all categories of listeners: we added the number of
keys pressed for each segmentation so as to show the relative importance of the
perceived segments 3. Let us then consider the musical progression between the
strong segmentations so as to identify the implicit role of similarity in these
performances. Invariant structures, the cues, stand out and function on the basis of
the principles of the SAME and the DIFFERENT; they trigger the psychological
processes concerned. This is how the segmentations appeared:
I and II were perceived before and after the contrasting sequence that lies between
them;
III at the end of the varied repetition of the initial motif;
VIII after the same melodic formula was used and before the stress on the rhythmic
motif that begins with a triplet;
XI, XV and XVIII when the melodic motifs change.

(2) I did not only choose this example for the need to be brief because the other two pieces are
longer and I couldnt have reproduced the entire scores. It is also because I wanted to show the
results for a piece that is easier to approach. The other two are less readily accessible to non-musicians.
(3) The data for the different groups were made consistent so as to reach the maximum weight of
30 (10 by 3 keys) for any segmentation.
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Similarity relations in listening to music: How do they come into play?


IRNE DELIGE

Figure 1 A.
Wagner: English horn solo from Tristan und Isolde.

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Figure 1 B.
Wagner: English horn solo from Tristan und Isolde.
Mean perceived hierarchy of the segmentations.

3.1.2 Working out a schema of the piece


Based on the approaches to segmentation that have just been discussed, the
procedures known as the mental line were meant to investigate the mental contents
that were memorized during preparatory and experimental listening processes, again
in relation to the principles of the SAME and the DIFFERENT. The aim was to
determine the implicit role of the cues used in the formation of a mental schema of
the work. There are many signals that the composer can give the listener to help him
follow the development of the music If the same object or the same type of object
is heard again, memory records it and one can then understand that, for instance,
one section of the piece is over and that another is beginning (Boulez, 1989,
pp. 107-8). Thus the tools to ensure a correct understanding of the composers
project are there from the very beginning.
The idea of a line as a symbol of the progression of a work in time, within the
structures of memory, underlies the experimental approach that we will be
discussing; it suggests that as these signals appear, they leave a mark on that line. The
concept of a line is of course only a metaphor, but it is often mentioned in
theoretical studies that concern the way time feels as it goes by, when listening to
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Similarity relations in listening to music: How do they come into play?


IRNE DELIGE

music. It is like the trail left by a jet says, for instance, Jonathan Kramer in his book
The time of music (1988, p. 367), suggesting the trace of the mental image created
by the musical events perceived. Xenakis (1971) looks at the duration of the different
sound components and emphasizes that: Time is considered to be a straight line on
which it is a question of marking points corresponding to variations of the
components (p. 10). Therefore, either shortly or immediately after the segmentation
tests, participants were asked to locate certain sequences of a piece within its total
duration; they had not been informed beforehand. Though we used three different
methods for these tests, the implicit role of similarity relations in musical memory
was always the aim underlying the three approaches. As for segmentation, the
instructions did not suggest to the listener that he should pinpoint this kind of
relations. However, the data collected clearly shows its impact.
For the first method, we used Berios piece (Delige, 1989) where six main
sections had been outlined; this was done a few days after the segmentation test. The
participants were asked to place about forty excerpts of different durations (5 to
10) in the right section. For the second, we used Boulezs piece (Delige, 1993).
Fifteen sequences (from 7 to 35) were played to the participants. They were given
a form showing a line divided into fifteen boxes and were asked to place the
sequences on the basis of the schema they had memorized. Finally, the third
procedure used Wagners English horn solo and the participants were asked to
reconstruct the whole melody (Delige, 1998). The musical text had been organized
in seven sequences, played in random order during the test. The sequence subdivisions
followed the main segmentations perceived in the previous test.
The results of the three methods had obvious similarities and showed that the
memorization of the cues is implemented implicitly within the organization of the
mental schema during the listening process, and that they imprint marks that are of
an iconic nature (Clarke & Dibben, 1997). These are immediate and spontaneous
relations of resemblance a flying bat looks like a bird contrary to the reasoning
that forms the basis of abstract classifications, as in biology where the bat would be
placed in the same category as a cat despite the complete lack of iconic similarity.
This leads us to the distinction between a perceptual cue based on appearance and a
conceptual cue which is related to meaning, as used in studies of memory (Tulving,
2000).
The participants who were musicians located the excerpts more accurately.
However, with the third method where the familiarity factor was taken into
account, the number of preliminary hearings definitely improved the results of nonmusicians. All participants tended to react to the well known effects of primacy and
recency when remembering lists of words (Murdock, 1962; Murdock & Walker,
1969; Baddeley & Hitch, 1977). The best performances were found for the segments
at the beginning and the end of the piece.

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3.1.3 Imprint formation


The methodology used to study the concept of imprint in listening to music, is
generally based on those inherited from the methods used in the seventies to study
the formation of prototypes (Rosch, 1975; 1978; Brandsford & Franks, 1971;
Franks & Brandsford, 1971; Posner & Keele, 1968). Their main principles are based
on the premise that when a series of stimuli are variations of each other, cognitive
mechanisms automatically create a pattern that sums up the main elements
considered. This pattern is therefore an abstraction, and not simply the most typical
category member (Hampton, 1998, p. 52).
The usual experimental procedures for these studies are related, in that they
consist in two different phases: the first is the acquisition phase that prepares the
second, the experimental one, called recognition phase. The specificity of the first is
that the stimuli presented to the participants have a sort of family resemblance
with a pre-established prototype. The participants are then asked to memorize the
different items so as to be able to recognize them during the experimental phase.
They do not, however, know that some of the stimuli are not shown, and precisely
that among them the prototype was discarded. During the experimental phase, the
complete set, including the prototype, is presented. Participants are then asked to say
which items were, or were not, found in the acquisition phase, and to grade the level
of certainty of each answer. The underlying hypothesis of this experimental method
is that the prototype and possibly the objects that are very close variations will be
wrongly perceived as having been heard during the acquisition phase. The results
backed up this assumption.
To approach musical perception from this perspective, I decided to use a short
monodic piece, built on two main motifs and divided into two parts: the Allegro assai
of Bachs Sonata for solo violin in C major, BWV 1005 (see annex 1); only the first
part was played entirely during the acquisition phase. No stimuli were presented in
the shape of short sequences but rather the whole first part of the piece. During the
experiment, participants were asked to listen to it carefully twice. It is important to
underline the difference between this and the older procedures from which this one
was derived. Then, during the recognition phase, three sets of stimuli of one or two
measures were prepared. They were different variations of the two main motifs (see
examples in figure 2: 1) and came from the part that had been heard; 2) stimuli taken
from the second part that had not been heard; 3) stimuli having been slightly
modified rhythmically and/or melodically (Delige, 1991; 1997; 2001b). As in
conventional methodology used to study prototypical effects, participants were then
asked to say whether the items from any original group had been heard during the
acquisition phase, by answering YES or NO.
The guiding principle of this research was twofold: first, we expected the cues
abstracted during the acquisition phase to lead implicitly to the formation of a
pattern called imprint, which would sum up the main characteristics of all the
presentations. Second, the idea of introducing modifications of certain items or
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Figure 2.
Examples of the 4 categories of items set up for the imprint experiment.

mistakes as compared to the original text was to test the sensitivity of the
imprint to the memory of the style of the piece. This was expected to appear in the
results: the modified items being rejected as not having been heard during the
acquisition phase. What we tested here was therefore essentially the similarity with
the imprint (or prototype) which in this case might appear to be a sedimentation of the
stereotypes of the musical style to which it belongs (Hampton, 1998, p. 54).
As in the previously mentioned approaches, the instructions avoided drawing
participants attention to the processes to be studied so as to see whether the imprint
that was implicitly formed during the preparatory phase was operational during the
experimental phase. To give an example, figure 3 shows a summary of the results of
a first test of our assumption (Delige, 1991, 1997). As we expected, the participants
were led astray by the items which had not been played, but which they often said
they had heard. This led to a significant decrease in the number of correct answers
for those items. On the contrary, a high proportion of correct responses for the
Heard and Modified items, was observed. The expectations were thus fulfilled: the
imprint that was developed acts as a prototype for its category; it also contains the
gestures that are a part of the composers style. Before we discuss the explicit action
of similarity relations in listening to music, we wish to underline once again that as
regards the psychological aspects described so far, the individual does not have direct
access to the processes that led to the cognitive contents studied. This is true of all
implicit processes (Dienes & Perner, 2002).
3.2 Procedures aiming at the explicit action of similarity/difference relations
Contrary to the case studied above, the approaches we will now consider are aimed
at the opposite aspect, i.e. the processes based on a conscious approach to the task.
Under these conditions and procedures, the data acquired during the preparatory
phase, before the actual test, are available to the listener. He can then assemble and
adjust some of his strategies to accomplish the tasks set to him. Furthermore, the
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Figure 3.
Percentages of correct responses for Heard (1 12), Unheard (13 24) and Modified (25 36)
items (from Delige, 1991, 1997 & 2001).

instructions to the participants explicitly mention the similarity/resemblance axis as


the operative reference for the answers expected of them; this is an important
difference (Dunn & Kirsner, 1989). These procedures are fundamental to the
methods that we are about to discuss and point to the classification of the musical
motifs into thematic categories and to their recognition.
3.2.1 In the categorization processes
The two motifs in the J.S. Bach piece that we have been discussing (see annex 1) were
used in three other tests (Delige, 1996). In the first, participants first heard the
whole piece. Then the two reference motifs (called A and B) were played once. The
participants, musicians and non-musicians, were asked to assess the frequency of the
appearance of each one in the whole piece, on a scale of 1 to 3: 1 was not frequent,
2 was relatively frequent and 3 was very frequent.
The second test aimed at classifying the variations of these two motifs into
families (see figure 4). Before this, they were played eight times to allow participants
to memorize them. Then each one was played again once separately. For the actual
test, all the variations were played three times in random order and participants were
asked to place them in the right family, A or B.
For the third test, participants were required to assess the degree of similarity of
pairs of motifs on a scale of seven degrees from 0 (no similarity) to 6 (total
similarity). These pairs were made of one of the two reference motifs, followed by its
exact repetition (similarity 6) or by a variation based on the family of the other
reference motif (similarity 0), or by one of its own variations (where similarity could
go from 1 to 5).
For these three tests, the musical material presented to the participants was taken
from a solo piece, so that no change in timbre could interfere with their
performance. Thus the memorizing of cues and their impact were the only aspects
concerned by the changes in motivic variations.
The impact turned out to be particularly reliable, though the instructions
regarding the tasks were not equally explicit in all three. In the first, no question was
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Figure 4.
Allegro Assai of the Sonata for violin solo in C major by Bach. Motifs A and B and variations.

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asked during the preliminary hearing. It is after that that the two reference motifs
were played separately, and that explicit similarity relations could be identified on
the basis of the preliminary hearing. Results showed that not only were the
characteristics of the two motifs selected and memorized, but that during the
listening process, they formed a cognitive trace that matched their role and
importance in the piece. Motif A, that occurs less often, was graded 2 by musicians
and 2.16 by non-musicians, while motif B, which occurs more frequently, was
graded 3 and 2.56 respectively by musicians and non-musicians.
In the second and third tests, the instructions were much more explicit as regard
the answers that were expected. Participants had been told that they would be asked:
a) to place the different variations (see figure 4) in the right family and b) to assess
their degree of similarity after having memorized the reference motifs. Results were
similar to the ones for the first test. Therefore it seems that the degree of accuracy of
instructions had no influence. Musicians gave 100 % correct answers as regards
classification. The score of non-musicians was 94.5 %. As for the degree of similarity,
figure 5 shows the average levels found by the musicians and the non-musicians for
the ten variations of motif A and the fourteen of motif B. It is interesting to note that
the assessments of both groups of participants musicians and non-musicians were
not so far apart. Not surprisingly, the variations of motif B were considered to be
more similar than was the case for motif A: the original cues were not changed as
much in the variations of motif B than in the ones of family A. It will suffice to
consider the text of the sequences (see figure 4) to realize that the composer had
modified several variations of motif A much more thoroughly; in particular, there is
the inversion of the rhythmic group (sequence 2) and the modification of the
melodic contour (sequences 3, 4, 8 and 9). This explains that the assessment of the
degree of similarity with the reference motif was strongly affected (see figure 5.)
3.2.2 In motif recognition
For the impact of the cues abstracted while listening, we still needed to study motif
recognition processes in the case where the instructions explicitly mentioned
similarity relations for the requested performances. For this project, we used a
25 minutes excerpt from the second scene of Wagners opera Das Rheingold (Delige,
1991; 1992), which was particularly well adapted to this kind of approach. We know
that Wagner builds strong links between his motifs and symbols, images or characters
that they identify and recall during the whole opera and which are therefore called
Leitmotifs. The cue in the leitmotifs thus acquires a semantic and even emotional
nature; yet at the same time it remains a signal (Peirce, 1974) and is able to trigger
reminiscences every time it is heard, though it may appear more or less often, more
or less far between and often in an unforeseeable way. This differs from the other
approaches we have discussed so far, where cues connected structures that were closer
to each other in time. Furthermore, over and above the variations of motivic
structures, the composer has many more possibilities since in an opera he can vary
instrumental and vocal timbres.
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Figure 5.
Average degrees of similarity recorded for Motifs A and B and variations.

Participants had to memorize ONE single target motif which they were asked to
recognize later on in a long sequence where this target motif was played in different
forms. The experimenter, on the contrary, focuses his investigation on two or more
motifs so as to compare performances with the internal qualities of the cue structures
in the recognition process.
In this study, we compared the results of musicians and non-musicians in
recognizing three different Leitmotifs, Walhall-motif, Vertrags-motif and Riesen-motif
(see figure 6 A). Three different phases were planned:
- 1st phase: an acquisition session during which participants listened as many times as
they wished to the target motif; the number of repetitions was recorded by the
experimenter.
- 2nd phase: a recognition trial with a small excerpt of the opera to make sure that
participants had understood the instructions. After this trial, participants were able
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Figure 6 A.
Wagner: Three leitmotifs from Das Reingold.

to listen again to their target motif if they felt unsure of succeeding in the
experimental task.
- 3rd phase: in the experimental session itself, participants had to recognize their target
motif in whatever varied form in the selected excerpt of the opera by hitting a key of
the computer keyboard while they were listening.
Results showed that the explicit recognition processes were very reliable for all
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participants. The only difference was the number of repetitions of the target motif
for non-musicians. Also, contrary to the musicians, they asked to hear the motif
several times after the preparatory phase so as to feel more secure during the test
phase (see figure 6 B).
Aside from these general comments, we would point out that the speed of
memorizing during the acquisition phase depended greatly on the fact that the cues
present in the leitmotifs were striking in themselves. The number of repetitions
required (see figure 6 B), showed that the Treaty-motif, was more difficult to deal
with, both for musicians and non-musicians. Its descending melodic line reached the
low register with a slow tempo and without there being any prominent event that
was susceptible of striking the attention of the listener.

Figure 6 B.
Mean number of listenings requested by musicians and non-musicians for each motif during the
1st and 2nd phases of the procedure.

4. IMPLICIT OR EXPLICIT PERCEPTION OF EXTERNAL SIMILARITY RELATIONS


So far, our discussion has mainly dealt with internal similarity relations, those
therefore that occur within one same piece. The study was largely based on a series
of empirical results found through the testing of my model of cue abstraction while
listening to music. In this case and with this model, only internal similarity relations
were considered. In concluding, the question arises as to whether one can extend its
scope to external similarity relations, in other words between different works or parts
of works.
To my knowledge, no empirical approach has been used to study this type of
similarity relations. However, a few assumptions can be suggested. When I spoke
above of the perception of internal similarity relations, I stated that in this kind of
situation, the listener does not strive consciously to detect iterations; rather, he or she
implicitly submits to their impact because of accumulation. On the other hand, when
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external similarity relations are perceived, one can consider that the psychological
situation of the listener is very different and is mainly geared to a kind of
premeditated search which is therefore explicit for comparisons while listening.
But as we stated above (see 1), such a premeditated search is only possible if the
listener has been able to hear the reference elements beforehand, as in the case of
pieces built on the theme and variations type of composition, and this is not
necessarily the case. Without a set-up of this kind, cognitive processes of the external
similarity comparisons are impossible except by referring to the memory of past
hearings. One may therefore consider that lacking such references, the psychological
organization of similarity relations, is relatively similar to that described in the case
of internal processes.

CONCLUSION

These findings show that in listening to music, similarity relations in cognitive


processes play by far the most important role; this is accepted and is, from the very
start, a part of the act of composing. Comparisons that we have called external or
internal were analyzed, and we stressed the determining factor in the perceptual
organization of the listener, i.e. similarity. Those who are involved with music, be
they composers, teachers, theoreticians or interpreters, accept that the use of the
similarity axis in a musical work ensures its homogeneity, its unity and its
consistency. However, in the empirical approaches described here, these concepts
were not included in the instructions given to the participants and were not
investigated because it was obviously difficult to achieve a level of definition
unaffected by subjectivity. It is definitely inadequate to ask someone how they
experience the unity, the consistency and the homogeneity of a piece when you are
analyzing the cognitive processes involved in listening. This would also generate
vague answers, influenced by a number of factors such as the level of knowledge of
the subjects, their intelligence and training as well as the intrinsic quality of
those works selected for the experiment. All this would make the analysis and
interpretation of the results highly uncertain and might not yield useful results. That
is why our experimental design did not include a consideration of the unity,
consistency or homogeneity of a piece of music. Rather, we studied that element
which, according to knowledgeable practitioners is basic in achieving such unity, in
other words, that which, in a piece, makes subjects receptive to similarity relations.
Participants response showed that this was true in all the approaches, whatever their
level of musical culture and training. Our procedures intentionally included
instructions that aimed at studying both implicit and explicit modes. It may not be
surprising to see that the impact of similarity relations was greater in those
performances where the instructions were of an explicit nature, as in the categorizing
and recognition approaches. It may be more surprising when the questions were
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aimed at answers based on the influence of similarity relations, as in the perception


of segmentations, of the schema of the work and of imprint formation. But all results
showed the impact of similarity. Thus, the role of similarity in music, in the present
debate within cognitive sciences, is a matter of those models that are strongly
dependant on similarity (Rips, 1989, p. 24): for instance, the Prototype and family
resemblance models (Rosch, 1975; 1978) and the Exemplar models proposed by
Medin and Schaffer (1978) as I suggested in the conclusions of a recent study
(Delige, 2001). My results had emphasized the interaction of both these models in
the organization of the listening process: prototypes are formed though the impact
of unexpected traits that are specific to certain sequences are preserved:
Roschs concepts alone, i.e. prototype theory, might be too narrow a framework to
circumscribe the cognitive processes at work in listening to music. A more plausible outlook
might be that we are perhaps facing a mixed situation also involving theoretical aspects put
forth by Medin and Schaffer in their exemplar model, which preserves and respects the
effect of uncommon traits in perceptual categorization. As far as music perception is
concerned, this seems plausible. Indeed, the results of this study showed true imprint
effects. Yet demonstrating this cognitive reality does not erase the presence and the audible
effect of possible unexpected and surprising variations in the musical discourse: in these
might reside the most important part of our enjoyment in listening to music (ibid., p. 401).

The contrary views voiced by some philosophical schools Goodman (1970),


for example that consider the concept of similarity as being too vague to explain
adequately the cognitive processes involved, do not seem acceptable if you consider
the psychological organization of listening to music. Such a view does not seem able
to define the cognitive processes concerned.

Address for correspondence:


Irne Delige
CRFMW
5 quai Banning
B-4000 LIGE
e-mail: irene.deliege@skynet.be
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Similarity relations in listening to music: How do they come into play?

Annex 1.
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Allegro Assai of the Sonata for violin solo in C major by Bach. Motif A and motif B are underlined.

IRNE DELIGE

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Relaciones de similitud en la escucha musical : Cmo funcionan ?


En este ensayo se estudian las relaciones de similitud en la percepcin musical
partiendo de dos perspectivas diferentes : unas de tipo externo, que establecen
comparaciones entre entidades musicales distintas y autnomas, es decir, entre
obras o ejecuciones diferentes ; y otras de tipo interno, que consideran las
relaciones de similitud que el oyente identifica en la misma obra o seccin de una
obra, en la misma interpretacin. Este ltimo procedimiento se desarrolla en
diferentes direcciones. Se muestra sucesivamente la importancia del factor de
similitud : (i) desde el acto compositivo mismo, cuando el compositor persigue
unidad y coherencia en su obra ; (ii) en las msicas de tradicin oral ; y (iii) como
un elemento fundamental para el oyente que aspira a comprender la obra en el
tiempo real de la escucha. Este ltimo punto es de fundamental importancia para
el estudio de los procesos cognitivos en general, es decir, el papel implcito o
explcito del factor similitud en los procesos perceptivos.
Ejemplos concretos de los puntos tericos principales descritos aqu pueden ser
identificados en el desarrollo de las diferentes etapas del modelo de extraccin de
ndices -procesos de segmentacin, de categorizacin, de esquematizacin, de
formacin de marcas- que he desarrollado recientemente (Delige, 1989, 1991). El
eje SIMILITUD/DIFERENCIA es un elemento central en la estructura del modelo.
Las aproximaciones empricas empleadas en el curso de experimentaciones de las
diferentes fases del modelo han sido analizadas en esta doble perspectiva. Desde el
comienzo del proceso, ste era el objetivo de una serie de procedimientos que se
planteaban poner en evidencia los aspectos implcitos o explcitos de los procesos
que los participantes msicos y no msicos emplean durante los procesos de
escucha. Una visin de conjunto de los resultados obtenidos confirma que las
hiptesis de partida eran correctas.

Relazioni di similarit nellascolto musicale : come entrano in


gioco ?
Nel presente saggio si studiano le relazioni di similarit nella percezione della musica
sulla base di due prospettive differenti. La prima detta esterna, e studia le
comparazioni fra entit musicali distinte e autonome, ossia brani o interpretazioni
differenti. La seconda interna ed esamina le relazioni di similarit che lascoltatore
identifica nello stesso brano o parte di un brano. Questultima procedura si
sviluppa secondo direzioni differenti. Mostriamo limportanza del fattore di
similarit : (i) nelleffettivo processo della composizione, quando lautore ricerca
unit e coerenza nel proprio brano ; (ii) nella musica popolare ; (iii) quale elemento
essenziale per lascoltatore che tenti di comprendere il brano durante lascolto in
tempo reale. Questultimo punto di fondamentale importanza per lo studio della
cognizione in generale : la questione del ruolo implicito o esplicito della similarit
nei processi percettivi.
Esempi concreti dei principali punti teorici qui descritti si possono identificare nel
corso delle diverse fasi del modello di estrazione dei segnali da me recentemente
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sviluppato : segmentazione, categorizzazione, schematizzazione, formazione di


impronte (Delige, 1989, 1991). Lasse SIMILARIT/DIFFERENZA un elemento
centrale nella struttura di tale modello. Gli approcci di tipo empirico usati negli
esperimenti sulle differenti fasi del modello sono stati analizzati in questa duplice
prospettiva, alla quale si mirato fin dallinizio con una serie di procedure che
avevano lo scopo di evidenziare gli aspetti impliciti o espliciti dei processi usati da
partecipanti musicisti e non musicisti durante lascolto sperimentale. Una visione
dinsieme dei risultati ottenuti conferma la fondatezza delle ipotesi.

Relations de similarit dans laudition musicale :


comment interviennent-elles ?
Dans cet essai, les relations de similarit dans la perception musicale, sont
envisages selon deux perspectives : celles, dites de type externe, qui tablissent
des comparaisons entre entits musicales distinctes et autonomes, cest--dire entre
uvres ou exccutions diffrentes ; celles de type interne qui considrent les
relations de similarit au sein de laudition dune mme uvre ou section duvre,
cest--dire au sein dune mme interprtation. Cette dernire perspective est
dveloppe en diffrentes directions. On montre successivement limportance du
facteur similarit (i) ds lacte dcriture, cest--dire dans la recherche dunit et de
cohrence que le compositeur vise introduire au sein mme de son uvre ;
(ii) dans les musiques dorigine populaire ; (iii) comme lment fondamental pour
lauditeur dans sa comprhension de luvre dans le temps rel de lcoute. Ce
dernier point proccupe au premier chef le domaine de la cognition en gnral, la
question du rle implicite ou explicite du facteur similarit dans les processus
perceptifs est ds lors pose.
Les principaux points thoriques dcrits trouvent des exemples pratiques dans les
diffrentes tapes du modle dextraction dindices processus de segmentation,
de catgorisation, de schmatisation, de formation dempreintes que jai
dvelopp rcemment (Delige, 1989, 1991) : laxe SIMILARIT/DIFFRENCE
tant un lment central dans larticulation du modle. Les approches empiriques
menes au cours des exprimentations des diffrentes phases du modle ont t
analyses dans cette double perspective, laquelle a t cible ds le dpart dans un
ensemble de procdures visant prcisment mettre en vidence les aspects
implicite ou explicite des processus lors de lcoute exprimentale chez des
participants musiciens et non-musiciens. Une vue densemble des rsultats
enregistrs confirme le bien-fond des hypothses.

hnlichkeitsbeziehungen beim Musikhren : Wie entstehen sie ?


In diesem Aufsatz werden hnlichkeitsbeziehungen in der musikalischen
Wahrnehmung aus zwei verschiedenen Perspektiven untersucht. Die erste
Perspektive kann als extern bezeichnet werden und vergleicht distinkte und
autonome musikalische Einheiten, d. h. verschiedene Stcke oder verschiedene
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Similarity relations in listening to music: How do they come into play?


IRNE DELIGE

Interpretationen. Die

zweite

Perspektive

ist

intern

und

bercksichtigt

hnlichkeitsbeziehungen, die der Hrer in einem Musikwerk oder einem Teil eines
Musikwerks und in derselben Interpretation identifiziert. Diese letzte Perspektive
wird in verschiedene Richtungen entwickelt. Wir zeigen die Wichtigkeit des
hnlichkeitsfaktors (i) beim Kompositionsprozess, indem der Komponist nach
Einheit und Kohrenz des Stckes sucht, (ii) in der Volksmusik, (iii) als ein
essentielles Element fr den Hrer, der whrend des Hrens in Echtzeit nach einem
Verstndnis des Stckes sucht. Fr Untersuchungen zur Kognition generell ist dieser
letzte Punkt von groer Bedeutung, d.h. fr die implizite oder explizite Rolle von
hnlichkeit in Wahrnehmungsprozessen. Die hier beschriebenen theoretischen
Hauptpunkte knnen mit konkreten Beispielen fr die verschiedenen Phasen des
Hinweisreiz-Extraktions-Modells (Prozesse der Segmentierung, Kategorisierung,
Schematisierung, Eindrucksbildung), das ich krzlich entwickelt habe, belegt
werden (Delige, 1989, 1991). Die Achse hnlichkeit/Unterschied ist ein zentrales
Element in der Struktur des Models. Die empirischen Herangehensweisen, die bei
Experimenten zu den verschiedenen Phasen des Modells Verwendung finden,
werden unter dieser zweifachen Perspektive analysiert. Von Anfang an war dies
das Ziel einer Reihe von Untersuchungen, die impliziten oder expliziten Aspekte
der Hrprozesse in Experimenten mit Musikern oder Nichtmusikern als
Versuchsteilnehmern sichtbar machen sollten. Insgesamt besttigen die erzielten
Ergebnisse die Richtigkeit der Hypothesen.

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