Auditory scene analysis in music: A synthetic review

Abstract

Music is the synthesis of a multitude of components: the combination of spectrotemporal structures emerging from different acoustic or electronic instruments, carefully orchestrated to form a connected whole. From these complex textures, our auditory system groups components through a process called musical scene analysis (MSA). In this review, we aim to address several questions about MSA. What are the perceptual principles underpinning musical scene perception? How are these principles being probed with different experimental paradigms? What stimulus and listener factors shape MSA? And what are future perspectives that further drive this field of research? We will find that Gestalt principles from psychology help us organize a musical scene through primitive and schema-based grouping cues. Such principles are being investigated through both minimalist and ecological experimental designs that give rise to several factors affecting MSA. We will present studies that have investigated blend and segregation, salience, and complexity, as stimulus-based aspects, and both peripheral and cognitive factors, which explain inter-individual differences among listeners. We conclude by exploring different perspectives on how music is attuned to MSA and the aesthetic affordances of multi-source music – perspectives that might inform future research in the field.