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The role of rhythm in perceiving speech in noise: a comparison of percussionists, vocalists and non-musicians

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Abstract

The natural rhythms of speech help a listener follow what is being said, especially in noisy conditions. There is increasing evidence for links between rhythm abilities and language skills; however, the role of rhythm-related expertise in perceiving speech in noise is unknown. The present study assesses musical competence (rhythmic and melodic discrimination), speech-in-noise perception and auditory working memory in young adult percussionists, vocalists and non-musicians. Outcomes reveal that better ability to discriminate rhythms is associated with better sentence-in-noise (but not words-in-noise) perception across all participants. These outcomes suggest that sensitivity to rhythm helps a listener understand unfolding speech patterns in degraded listening conditions, and that observations of a “musician advantage” for speech-in-noise perception may be mediated in part by superior rhythm skills.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Britta Swedenborg, Emily Spitzer and Andrea Azem for assistance with data collection and processing, and Trent Nicol, Kali Woodruff Carr, Travis White-Schwoch and Adam Tierney who provided comments on an earlier version of this manuscript. This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health grant F31DC014891-01 to J.S., the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) and Knowles Hearing Center, Northwestern University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

    Jessica Slater & Nina Kraus

  2. Department of Communication Sciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

    Jessica Slater & Nina Kraus

  3. Institute for Neuroscience, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

    Nina Kraus

  4. Department of Neurobiology and Physiology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

    Nina Kraus

  5. Department of Otolaryngology, Northwestern University, 2240 Campus Drive, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA

    Nina Kraus

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  1. Jessica Slater
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  2. Nina Kraus
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Correspondence to Nina Kraus.

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Handling Editor: Marta Olivetti Belardinelli, Sapienza University of Rome.

Reviewers: Mari Tervaniemi, University of Helsinki; Riccardo Brunetti, European University of Rome.

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Slater, J., Kraus, N. The role of rhythm in perceiving speech in noise: a comparison of percussionists, vocalists and non-musicians. Cogn Process 17, 79–87 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10339-015-0740-7

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