<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>Music has been primarily conceived as a temporal art. However, over the last two centuries or so, researchers across different disciplines including musicology, psychology, and philosophy, have been intrigued by the spatial nature of music and sounds, using spatial concepts to define music. This paper aims to demonstrate that an understanding of music perception from a temporal perspective inherently implies a certain spatial dimension. To do this, first, I briefly examine some key arguments that lead to conceiving sound perception in temporal terms. At the same time, I highlight some of the limitations of a purely temporal account of sound perception which necessitate the incorporation of spatial considerations into the conceptualization of sound perception. Consequently, I move on to consider prominent spatial accounts of musical sounds that have been elaborated by psychologists, musicologists, and music composers. In conclusion, I discuss some of the challenges arising from the analogy between music and space, whether conceived in perceptual or cognitive terms.</p>
</abstract>

Music has been primarily conceived as a temporal art. However, over the last two centuries or so, researchers across different disciplines including musicology, psychology, and philosophy, have been intrigued by the spatial nature of music and sounds, using spatial concepts to define music. This paper aims to demonstrate that an understanding of music perception from a temporal perspective inherently implies a certain spatial dimension. To do this, first, I briefly examine some key arguments that lead to conceiving sound perception in temporal terms. At the same time, I highlight some of the limitations of a purely temporal account of sound perception which necessitate the incorporation of spatial considerations into the conceptualization of sound perception. Consequently, I move on to consider prominent spatial accounts of musical sounds that have been elaborated by psychologists, musicologists, and music composers. In conclusion, I discuss some of the challenges arising from the analogy between music and space, whether conceived in perceptual or cognitive terms.

Temporal and spatial accounts of sound perception. An overview of the main historical sources and theoretical problems

Gestalt Theory

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Music has been primarily conceived as a temporal art. However, over the last two centuries or so, researchers across different disciplines including...

Temporal and spatial accounts of sound perception. An overview of the main historical sources and theoretical problems

Published Online: May 02, 2024

Page range: 183 - 197

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/gth-2023-0020

Keywords
Auditory perception, Phenomenology, Musical space, Spatialization of sound

© 2023 Nicola Di Stefano, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Temporal and spatial accounts of sound perception. An overview of the main historical sources and theoretical problems

Published Online: May 02, 2024

Page range: 183 - 197

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/gth-2023-0020

KeywordsAuditory perception, Phenomenology, Musical space, Spatialization of sound

© 2023 Nicola Di Stefano, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
Auditory perception, Phenomenology, Musical space, Spatialization of sound