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Published online 11 November 2004 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news041108-12
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Music mirrors tone patterns in our speech
Classic English and French composers influenced by their language.
Would Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance or Debussy's Clair de Lune have sounded the same if the composers had been born in different countries? Probably not, according to researchers who have found that the melodies composers write are influenced by the language they speak.
The team's analysis shows that fluctuations in pitch in music written by classic French composers vary much less than in British music.
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