In this experiment you will be listening to spoken syllables and drum sounds from North Indian music.
In this tradition, spoken nonsense syllables are used to label drum sounds. This way, players can communicate drum sequences either by playing them or by speaking the associated syllables.
We want to know if it's possible for people who don't know Indian music to guess which syllable goes with which drum sound.
There are 32 trials. On each trial, you will have the opportunity to hear 4 sounds: two speech syllables and two drum sounds. You will be told:
To hear syllable 1, press "1"
To hear syllable 2, press "2"
To hear drum sound 1, press "3"
To hear drum sound 2, press "4"
You may listen to the sounds as many times as you like. Your task is to decide which syllable seems to match best with each drum sound. If you cannot decide, make a guess.
Once you have come to a decision/guess, you will be able to indicate your choice by pressing a key. The program will then automatically load the next set of sounds, until all 32 trials have been completed.
After you complete the experiment you'll be asked a few questions about the strategies that you used in making your decisions. You will then see your score and have a chance to learn more about this research.
We recommend that you use headphones or good computer speakers for this experiment. If possible, turn off other system sounds (such as "new mail" announcements) for the duration of the experiment. Please keep the volume adjusted low until you play the first sounds, then turn it up to a comfortable listening level.
Note that it will take a little while to load the experiment and the sounds for each trial, if you're on a slow Internet connection. We've tried to make the sound files as small as possible without losing fidelity.
If you are ready to start the experiment, click here.
There will be a brief delay as the experiment loads.
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