"Evidence for multiple rhythmic skills" dataset

Rhythms, or patterns in time, play a vital role in both speech and music. Proficiency in a number of rhythm skills has been linked to language ability, suggesting that certain rhythmic processes in music and language rely on overlapping resources. However, a lack of understanding about how rhythm skills relate to each other has impeded progress in understanding how language relies on rhythm processing. In particular, it is unknown whether all rhythm skills are linked together, forming a single broad rhythmic competence, or whether there are multiple dissociable rhythm skills. We hypothesized that synchronization and rhythm memory/sequencing form two separate clusters of rhythm skills. This hypothesis was tested with a battery of two synchronization and two rhythm memory tests. Here we show that synchronization to a metronome and the ability to adjust to a changing tempo during synchronization are related skills. The ability to remember rhythms and to drum along to repeating rhythmic sequences are also related. However, we found no relationship between synchronization skills and rhythm memory skills. Thus, synchronization and rhythm memory are dissociable rhythmic aptitudes. This discovery may inform future research disambiguating how distinct rhythm competencies track with specific language functions.