An integrative dual-route model of rhythm perception and production

An integrative dual-route model of rhythm perception and production is proposed here. Furthermore, an empirical study illustrated in the second part of this paper provides evidence of the existence of two different cognitive pathways. The development of the model is based on fundamental psychological principles of perception, action control, and on relevant neurobiological findings in rhythm processing and sensorimotor synchronization. Experiments with a dual-task paradigm were used during synchronization tapping to verify the fundamental assumptions of the model. The aim was to examine whether professional drummers show a change in tapping performance when their attention is drawn to another task. In contrast to other experiments on sensorimotor synchronization with nonmusicians, the results show a considerable effect on the tapping performance of timing experts for the concurrent condition with tempi between 100 and 120 bpm. Overall, these results provide further evidence of the existence of both an automatic and a cognitively-controlled timing procedure, which is also in line with the integrative dual-route model of rhythm perception and production mentioned above.