May 16, 2024
Keio University
A paper analyzing the global similarities and differences in music and language has been published by a team of eight researchers, led by lead author Yuto Ozaki, a senior researcher at the Keio Research Institute at SFC (Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture), Keio University. The team, which also includes members from the laboratories of Associate Professor Patrick E. Savage and Associate Professor Shinya Fujii of the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies, recorded and collected their own data on music and language from 55 languages around the world. The full research team is composed of 75 co-authors.
The results revealed a nearly universal pattern across cultures where instrumental melodies and songs have a higher, more stable pitch and a slower rhythm than speech. This suggests that music has played a role in promoting social connection throughout human history. These research findings were published on May 15 (local time) in " Science Advances ," an open-access scientific journal from the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
For the full press release, please see below.