THE PERCEPTION OF THE OPPOSITION INVARIANT VARIANT

This paper proposes that the use of repetition and variation is a constant in the musical construct irrespective of era or cultural origin. Taking this premise as a basis, an experimental study is described which investigates the perception - in the course of listening to a piece of music - of a polar opposition which can be termed Variant/Invariant in the light of the subjects' prior knowledge and of the type of musical structure involved.