Dr PerMagnus Lindborg, PI

7 July 2020 – 31 July 2022

Perception of music in soundscape

Our everyday environment is in a state of constant flux. People, machines, animals, and even nature itself, make all kinds of sound. As we move about, the listener perspective changes, creating endless nuances and variations. Despite this fluidity, people are able to recognise places (or types of places) triggered by specific sound elements as well as by ambient characteristics of the acoustic environment. Recognition, identification, and naming of sound sources is made more complex in the presence of simultaneous stimulation in other sensory channels – visuals, spoken communication, physical touch, smell, or other sensory input – but multimodal perception is the normal state of being: 360 ̊ and 24/7. However, conflicting cognitive interpretations are common and due to crossmodal correspondences that may appear at all levels of sensori-neurological information processing. My research project addresses fundamental questions about sound perception in multimodal environments. How does sound affect people’s physiological response, cognitive evaluation, and actions within a complex environment? What modes of listening do people engage in? Which acoustic features are important to the perception and cognition of music in everyday situations?