Limor Raviv (Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics), a former IIAS fellow and member of the "What Allows Human Language?" research group, has co-authored an important study examining the acoustic characteristics of music and speech across different cultures.

The research, led by Yuto Ozaki (Keio University) and Patrick E. Savage (University of Auckland), explores how songs, instrumental melodies, and spoken language compare in terms of pitch, tempo, and stability. Collaborating with a team of 75 researchers from around the world, the study analyzed 300 annotated audio recordings, covering traditional songs, recited lyrics, conversational speech, and instrumental melodies from speakers of 55 languages. Additionally, the study incorporated 418 previously published recordings of song and speech from 209 individuals across 16 languages.

The findings reveal that globally, songs and instrumental melodies are characterized by higher pitches, slower tempos, and more stable pitches compared to speech. This suggests a universal trend in how music and language are produced and perceived, regardless of cultural background.

For a more detailed look at the study, you can access the preprint here: https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/jr9x7