# ethno: cross-cultural comparison of rhythm priors in 15 countries.

<< Music is present in every known society but varies from place to place. What, if anything, is universal to music cognition? (AA) measured a signature of mental representations of rhythm in 39 participant groups in 15 countries, spanning urban societies and Indigenous populations. >>️

Their << results suggest a common feature of music cognition: discrete rhythm ‘categories’ at small-integer ratios. These discrete representations plausibly stabilize musical systems in the face of cultural transmission but interact with culture-specific traditions to yield the diversity that is evident when mental representations are probed across many cultures. >>️

Nori Jacoby, Rainer Polak, et al. Commonality and variation in mental representations of music revealed by a cross-cultural comparison of rhythm priors in 15 countries. Nat Hum Behav.  doi: 10.1038/ s41562-023-01800-9. March 4, 2024. 

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-023-01800-9 

Also: ethno, music, jazz, behav, in https://www.inkgmr.net/kwrds.html 

Keywords: ethno, music, jazz, behavior