Cognitive Pattern Perception and Musical Performance

Abstract

Rejecting the “omnibus” treatment of musical aptitude, the recognition of one general musical factor, this study examines several aspects of musical performance and relates a musical performance score to five measures of pattern perception. First, the sample is separated into high, medium, and low groups on the basis of music scores; then the perceptual data are analyzed using multivariate and univariate analyses of variance. A statistically significant relationship ( P < .01) between means of ability groups for three of the five perceptual variables was found.