Influences of acculturation and musical sophistication on perception of musical interval patterns

Influences of acculturation and musical sophistication on music perception were examined. Judgments for mistuning were obtained for Ss differing in musical sophistication who listened to a melody that was based on interval patterns from Western and Javanese musical scales. Less musically sophisticated Ss' judgments were better for Western than Javanese patterns. Musicians' thresholds did not differ across Western and Javanese patterns. Differences in judgments across scales are accountable to acculturation through listening exposure and musical sophistication gained through formal experience.