Dynamical‐hierarchical networks as perceptual memory representations of music

This paper is concerned with memory representation of music. The central part of the theory comprises the idea that listening is the processing of an information flow through time. The information supply is perceived as a sequence of incoming perceptual data which is immediately chunked, interpreted and connected to the listeners’ knowledge. Listening, conceived that way, is a process of knowledge acquisition and the construction of an associative structure in mind. These structures are called DH‐networks: they combine dynamical and hierarchical aspects of musical listening and incorporate syntactic, semantic and pragmatic aspects of music. Indications are given for the functioning of this network in an information‐processing system. Two important empirical findings are discussed which are compatible with the theory of DH‐networks.