Effect of Music on Subjective Time Estimation

*Corresponding author e-mail: ericoaf@yahoo.com We found that 20s-time intervals filled by tonal modulating music elicited retrospective time reproductions in inverse function of interkey distances, with a major impact for sudden modulations. We propose the expected development fraction model (EDF- model) explaining that when modulating music is presented, an expectation of time development is induced in accordance to the traversed interkey distance. Such expected virtual time is supposed to be projected by a music semantic memory and is longer than the perceived stimulus duration maintained by an implicit working memory. If a time estimation is requested, such disproportion or fraction is applied to the implicit working memory duration leading to the time underestimation. A second experiment showed shorter retrospective time reproduction for distant reverse modulating music than for close one. A third experiment showed shorter retrospective time reproduction for cycle of third modulation (versus cycle of fifth one) and for counterclockwise modulation (versus clockwise one). These two experiments additionally confirmed the statement of EDF-model and elucidated some issues of the spatialtemporal cognitive processing of music tonality. Publication History Article published online: 16 June 2026 © 2009. Brazilian Sleep Academy. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) Thieme Revinter Publicações Ltda. Rua Rego Freitas, 175, loja 1, República, São Paulo, SP, CEP 01220-010, Brazil