Preference and Interest as Functions of Distributional Redundancy in Rhythmic Sequences

Abstract

This study was generated from a previous analytical study, the results of which provided evidence to suggest that redundancy in rhythmic sequences is a variable between musical styles if not between compositions. The purpose of the present study was to determine if the same factor (i.e., distributional redundancy) would have an influence on preference and interest responses for rhythmic sequences. Subjects were presented with pairs of rhythmic sequences in which all factors except level of distributional redundancy had been randomized or held constant. Subjects were asked to choose the sequence most preferred (Experiment I) or most interesting (Experiment II). The results of the study suggest: (1) the beginning of a curve showing preference to be an inverted U-shaped function of the amount of distributional redundancy in rhythmic sequences; and (2) that interest responses appear to be an increasing monotonic function of distributional redundancy in rhythmic sequences.