Chunking in Music by Coarticulation

In our own and other research on music-related actions, findings suggest that perceived action and sound are broken down into a series of chunks in people's minds when they perceive or imagine music. Chunks are here understood as holistically conceived and perceived fragments of action and sound, typically with durations in the 0.5 to 5 seconds range. There is also evidence suggesting the occurrence of coarticulation within these chunks, meaning the fusion of small-scale actions and sounds into more superordinate actions and sounds. Various aspects of chunking and coarticulation are discussed in view of their role in the production and perception of music, and it is suggested that coarticulation is an integral element of music and should be more extensively explored in the future.