The goal of the present study was to determine whether exposure to complex meters in one musical culture facilitates the detection of metrical changes in a foreign musical culture. Adults with exclusive exposure to Western music, and adults with exposure to non-Western as well as Western music were tested on their perception of metrical changes in foreign (Turkish) music with simple and complex meters. Those whose exposure was limited to the simple meters of Western music were only able to detect the metrical changes in Turkish music with simple meter. By contrast, adults with exposure to non-Western music with complex meters detected the metrical changes in Turkish music with complex as well as simple meter. The superiority of the bi-musical listeners on complex meters and the equivalence of bi-musical and mono-musical listeners on simple meters suggest that exposure to complex meters rather than bi-musicality was responsible for the performance differences.

The goal of the present study was to determine whether exposure to complex meters in one musical culture facilitates the detection of metrical changes in a foreign musical culture. Adults with exclusive exposure to Western music, and adults with exposure to non-Western as well as Western music were tested on their perception of metrical changes in foreign (Turkish) music with simple and complex meters. Those whose exposure was limited to the simple meters of Western music were only able to detect the metrical changes in Turkish music with simple meter. By contrast, adults with exposure to non-Western music with complex meters detected the metrical changes in Turkish music with complex as well as simple meter. The superiority of the bi-musical listeners on complex meters and the equivalence of bi-musical and mono-musical listeners on simple meters suggest that exposure to complex meters rather than bi-musicality was responsible for the performance differences.