Musical perception differences in professional musicians: An fMRI study

This thesis is about the musical perception of right hand dominant professional Turkish folk music and rock music musicians between the ages 26-48. Ten different professional musicians of each type listened to the musical samples of those two different kinds of music by using fMRI and their brain activations were observed. Then, during the participant interviews, the musicians? cultural backgrounds were determined and the interview results and participants? fMRI images were compared. Image analysis was done by SPM2 (Statistical Parametric Mapping)Observing participants? musical tastes, which they stated during the interviews after listening to the samples, on their brain activations and defining these, is not the aim of the study. Yet, the behaviours the musicians developped during the interviews and while listening to music, are explained in this study. While previous studies done by using fMRI on musicians include data that try to put forward the individual?s music oriented talents, this study tries not to make any determinations regarding the professional musicians? musical talents.This study determines the concepts of familiarity and belonging of the proffessional musicians on a music type that they have never performed before. The question ?How Do We Listen To Music??, which is included in one of the chapters of the thesis and which is also determined during the participant interviews, brings along the ?music and medium? relation.In this study, the MR machine being the medium where music is listened to, is a disadvantage in this sense. When this determinant is ignored, the foundings match the literature studies. The concepts of familiarity and belonging have been associated with cultural factors, and a couple of results have been reached between these factors and the musician?s personality.This study observed that the activation is on the left superior temporal gyrus when the proffessional musician listens to the music he has mastered, which is called as ?hearing the music? and is a finding on familiarity, and the activation is on the right superior temporal gyrus when the Professional musician listens to the music he has not mastered, which is called as ? listening to the music? and is a finding determined after an analytic listening.