Abstract
Two experiments were conducted to investigate the "final-tone" extrapolating behavior of two music experts, one of Western classic music and the other of Japanese traditional music, for three-note melodies (tone sequences). The first experiment verified the schemadriven properties of their perception and prediction of melody. The results indicate that the Western-music expert assimilated the stimulus tone sequences to the major and minor "diatonic" tonal system of Western music but that the Japanese-music expert did not. The second experiment investigated the extrapolating behavior of the Western-music expert thoroughly for 469 tone sequences, which included all possible melody structures for three-note sequences within an octave. The response structures of the expert are discussed in terms of the processing rules of her tonal schema. Also discussed are the relationship of this work to the trend of cognitive musical studies and to our previous studies.
