Rainer Polak

• Marin-Bucio, Diego; Danielsen, Anne; Doumbia, Noumouke & Polak, Rainer (2026). Memory in performance: kinesthetic and procedural dimensions of skill acquisition in dance improvisation. Frontiers in Psychology. 17. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1751590. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Improvisation is central to creative behavior across artistic and everyday domains, yet it is often portrayed as either pure freedom or rule-bound execution. While research in music and dance has shown that improvisation draws on structured kinesthetic vocabularies, less is known about how cultural rhythm and embodied memory interact in real time within and across genres. This study addresses that gap through ethnographic fieldwork in West Africa, where the first author, trained in contemporary dance, engaged in learning and performing Malian djembe dance. Drawing on autoethnography with a phenomenological orientation, alongside participant observation and conversations with Malian drummers and dancers, the analysis examines how kinesthetic and procedural memories inform real-time performance. Findings suggest that improvisation operates through culturally specific ways of sensing and attending to movement: dancers navigate genre-specific repertoire, rhythmic cues, and bodily affordances to evoke and transform embodied material. However, rather than merely reproducing fixed repertorial units , dancers also reconfigure embodied resources such as movement qualities in responsive and inventive ways. Our research supports the view of improvisation as structured play rather than unbound invention and advances the discourse by emphasizing the reconstructive play of embodied recall¡ªhow cultural and personal memories are recomposed in performance. Overall, the study contributes to understanding improvisation as a cognitive and cultural process: not the free invention of form but the creative reorganization of embodied memories within shared perceptual and rhythmic systems.

• Coulon, Emmanuel; Baum, Sacha; Lenc, Tomas; Polak, Rainer & Nozaradan, Sylvie (2025). Neural representation of the musical beat is facilitated but not contingent on the repetition of rhythmic patterns. Scientific Reports. 16(1). doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-30780-1. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Music often entails perception of periodic beats which serve as internal temporal references to coordinate movements to music. Crucially, beat perception arises even in syncopated musical rhythms, which only weakly cue the beat periodicity. However, syncopated rhythms are often looped in music, suggesting that repetition of rhythmic patterns may facilitate beat perception by providing a periodic structure at a supra-second timescale. Here, we tested this hypothesis by recording separately electroencephalographic (EEG) and behavioral responses (finger tapping) while participants listened to different syncopated rhythmic sequences. These sequences either consisted of a repeated pattern (repetition of 4.8 and 9.6-s-long patterns) or were generated without repetition. Despite the degradation of pattern repetition, neural activity showed a periodized representation of the rhythmic input across conditions, at periodicities corresponding to those expressed in behavioral responses. However, this neural activity was further enhanced in the condition with shorter repeated patterns. Thus, pattern repetition was not necessary but strengthened the neural representation of the beat, demonstrating that supra-second periodicities in the rhythmic input further enhance sub-second periodicities in neural activity. These findings highlight the multiscale temporal processing of musical rhythm, and, more generally, complex rhythmic inputs involved in interpersonal interaction and communication.

• Lenoir, C¨¦dric; Lenc, Tomas; Polak, Rainer & Nozaradan, Sylvie (2025). Behavior-Relevant Periodized Neural Representation of Acoustic But Not Tactile Rhythm in Humans. Journal of Neuroscience. ISSN 0270-6474. 45(46), p. 1¨C14. doi: 10.1523/jneurosci.0664-25.2025. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Music makes people move. This human propensity to coordinate movement with musical rhythm requires multiscale temporal integration, allowing fast sensory events composing rhythmic input to be mapped onto slower, behavior-relevant, internal templates such as periodic beats. Relatedly, beat perception has been shown to involve an enhanced representation of the beat periodicities in neural activity. However, the extent to which this ability to move to the beat and the related ¡°periodized¡± neural representation are shared across the senses beyond audition remains unknown. Here, we addressed this question by recording separately the electroencephalographic (EEG) responses and finger tapping to a rhythm conveyed either through acoustic or tactile inputs in healthy volunteers of either sex. The EEG responses to the acoustic rhythm, spanning a low-frequency range (below 15?Hz), showed enhanced representation of the perceived periodic beat, compatible with behavior. In contrast, the EEG responses to the tactile rhythm, spanning a broader frequency range (up to 25?Hz), did not show significant beat-related periodization and yielded less stable tapping. Together, these findings suggest a preferential role of low-frequency neural activity in supporting neural representation of the beat. Most importantly, we show that this neural representation, as well as the ability to move to the beat, is not systematically shared across the senses. More generally, these results, highlighting multimodal differences in beat processing, reveal a process of multiscale temporal integration that allows the auditory system to go beyond mere tracking of onset timing and to support higher-level internal representation and motor entrainment to rhythm.

• Polak, Rainer (2025). From Mali to Ghana: Pulsation Non-Isochrony in West African Percussion Music Genres. Analytical Approaches to African Music. 1(1). doi: https:/africa.iftawm.org/aaam-vol-1-iss-1/https:/africa.iftawm.org/aaam-vol-1-iss-1/. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Most theories of African music emphasize the diversity of musical styles in Africa. Still, many also hold on to the notion of Africa being a uniform area with a high degree of stylistic coherence. This paper questions that latter notion by comparing different genres of West African percussion ensemble music from Mali and Ghana concerning the temporal structure of the fast pulse (metric beat division). On this basis, the paper asks whether it is empirically plausible to represent African music by identifying a singular ideal type of African rhythm. The main result is that uneven beat subdivision timing patterns (pulsation non-isochrony) and the superimposition (nesting) of binary and ternary subdivision layers play a substantial role in genres from Mali (Mande) and northern Ghana (Dagbamba) but not in southern and central Ghana (Ewe, Asante). This finding contradicts the widespread assumption that, in African rhythmic systems, the fast pulse in general is structurally isochronous and either binary or ternary. The paper concludes that African rhythmic systems exhibit a greater diversity than theories of African rhythm have indicated and that Africanist music research should emphasize this diversity more consistently than it has done so far.

• Barbero, Francesca M.; Lenc, Tomas; Jacoby, Nori; Polak, Rainer; Varlet, Manuel & Nozaradan, Sylvie (2025). Revealing rhythm categorization in human brain activity. Science Advances. 11(31). doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adu9838. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Humans across cultures show an outstanding capacity to perceive, learn, and produce musical rhythms. These skills rely on mapping the infinite space of possible rhythmic sensory inputs onto a finite set of internal rhythm categories. What is the nature of the brain processes underlying rhythm categorization? We used electroencephalography to measure brain activity as human participants listened to a continuum of rhythmic sequences characterized by repeating patterns of two interonset intervals. Using frequency and representational similarity analyses, we show that brain activity does not merely track the temporal structure of rhythmic inputs but, instead, produces categorical representation of rhythms. These neural rhythm categories arise automatically, independent of any motor- or timing-related tasks, yet exhibit strong similarity with categorization observed in overt behavior. Together, these results and methodological advances constitute a critical step toward understanding the biological roots and diversity of musical behaviors across cultures.

• Lenc, Tomas; Lenoir, C¨¦dric; Keller, Peter; Polak, Rainer; Mulders, Dounia & Nozaradan, Sylvie (2025). Measuring self-similarity in empirical signals to understand musical beat perception. European Journal of Neuroscience. ISSN 0953-816X. 61(2). doi: 10.1111/ejn.16637. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Experiencing music often entails the perception of a periodic beat. Despite being a widespread phenomenon across cultures, the nature and neural underpinnings of beat perception remain largely unknown. In the last decade, there has been a growing interest in developing methods to probe these processes, particularly to measure the extent to which beat-related information is contained in behavioral and neural responses. Here, we propose a theoretical framework and practical implementation of an analytic approach to capture beat-related periodicity in empirical signals using frequency-tagging. We highlight its sensitivity in measuring the extent to which the periodicity of a perceived beat is represented in a range of continuous time-varying signals with minimal assumptions. We also discuss a limitation of this approach with respect to its specificity when restricted to measuring beat-related periodicity only from the magnitude spectrum of a signal and introduce a novel extension of the approach based on autocorrelation to overcome this issue. We test the new autocorrelation-based method using simulated signals and by re-analyzing previously published data and show how it can be used to process measurements of brain activity as captured with surface EEG in adults and infants in response to rhythmic inputs. Taken together, the theoretical framework and related methodological advances confirm and elaborate the frequency-tagging approach as a promising window into the processes underlying beat perception and, more generally, temporally coordinated behaviors.

• Jacoby, Nori; Polak, Rainer; Grahn, Jessica A.; Cameron, Daniel J.; Lee, Kyung Myun & Godoy, Ricardo [Show all 34 contributors for this article] (2024). Commonality and variation in mental representations of music revealed by a cross-cultural comparison of rhythm priors in 15 countries. Nature Human Behaviour. p. 846¨C877. doi: 10.1038/s41562-023-01800-9. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Music is present in every known society but varies from place to place. What, if anything, is universal to music cognition? We measured a signature of mental representations of rhythm in 39 participant groups in 15 countries, spanning urban societies and Indigenous populations. Listeners reproduced random ¡®seed¡¯ rhythms; their reproductions were fed back as the stimulus (as in the game of ¡®telephone¡¯), such that their biases (the prior) could be estimated from the distribution of reproductions. Every tested group showed a sparse prior with peaks at integer-ratio rhythms. However, the importance of different integer ratios varied across groups, often reflecting local musical practices. Our results suggest a common feature of music cognition: discrete rhythm ¡®categories¡¯ at small-integer ratios. These discrete representations plausibly stabilize musical systems in the face of cultural transmission but interact with culture-specific traditions to yield the diversity that is evident when mental representations are probed across many cultures.

• Jakubowski, Kelly; Polak, Rainer; Rocamora, Mart¨ªn; Jure, Luis & Jacoby, Nori (2022). Aesthetics of musical timing: Culture and expertise affect preferences for isochrony but not synchrony. Cognition. ISSN 0010-0277. 227. doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2022.105205. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Expressive communication in the arts often involves deviations from stylistic norms, which can increase the aesthetic evaluation of an artwork or performance. The detection and appreciation of such expressive deviations may be amplified by cultural familiarity and expertise of the observer. One form of expressive communication in music is playing ¡°out of time,¡± including asynchrony (deviations from synchrony between different instruments) and non-isochrony (deviations from equal spacing between subsequent note onsets or metric units). As previous research has provided somewhat conflicting perspectives on the degree to which deviations from synchrony and isochrony are aesthetically relevant, we aimed to shed new light on this topic by accounting for the effects of listeners' cultural familiarity and expertise. We manipulated (a)synchrony and (non-)isochrony separately in excerpts from three groove-based musical styles (jazz, candombe, and jembe), using timings from real performances. We recruited musician and non-musician participants (N = 176) from three countries (UK, Uruguay, and Mali), selected to vary in their prior experience of hearing and performing these three styles. Participants completed both an aesthetic preference rating task and a perceptual discrimination task for the stimuli. Our results indicate an overall preference toward synchrony in these styles, but culturally contingent, expertise-dependent preferences for deviations from isochrony. This suggests that temporal processing relies on mechanisms that vary in their dependence on low-level and high-level perception, and emphasizes the role of cultural familiarity and expertise in shaping aesthetic preferences.

• Polak, Rainer & Noumouk¨¦, Doumbia (2022). Learning to dance in rural Mali. In Wharton, Anne von Bibra & Urbanavi?ien?, Dalia (Ed.), Dance and Economy, Dance Transmission: Proceedings of the 31st Symposium of the International Council for Traditional Music (ICTM) Study Group on Ethnochoreology. Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre. ISSN 9783496028406. p. 282¨C290. doi: 10.17613/v38jb-wys18. Full text in Research Archive
• Polak, Rainer & London, Justin (2022). Tempo, meter, and form: An analysis of ¡°Dansa¡± from Mali. In Shuster, Lawrence Beaumont; Mukherji, Somangshu & Dinnerstein, Noe (Ed.), Trends in Word Music Analysis. Routledge. ISSN 9780367470548. p. 132¨C159. Full text in Research Archive
• London, Justin; Jacoby, Nori & Polak, Rainer (2022). Theoretical and Practical Aspects of Cross-Cultural Corpus Studies: Two Case Studies from Mali. In Daniel, Shanahan; Ashley, Burgoyne John & Ian, Quinn (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Music and Corpus Studies. Oxford University Press. ISSN 9780190945473. doi: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190945442.001.0001. Full text in Research Archive
• Polak, Rainer (2021). Non-isochronous Metre in Music from Mali. In Doffman, Mark; Payne, Emily & Young, Toby (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Time in Music. Oxford University Press. ISSN 9780190947279. p. 252¨C274. doi: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190947279.013.22. Full text in Research Archive
• Jacoby, Nori; Polak, Rainer & London, Justin (2021). Extreme precision in rhythmic interaction is enabled by role-optimized sensorimotor coupling: analysis and modeling of West-African drum ensemble music. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Biological Sciences. ISSN 0962-8436. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0331. Full text in Research Archive
• Wald-Fuhrmann, Melanie; Pearson, Lara; Roeske, Tina; Gr¨¹ny, Christian & Polak, Rainer (2021). Music as a trait in evolutionary theory: A musicological perspective. Behavioral and Brain Sciences. ISSN 0140-525X. doi: 10.1017/S0140525X20001193. Full text in Research Archive

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• Polak, Rainer (2010). Festmusik als Arbeit, Trommeln als Beruf: Jenbe-Spieler in einer westafrikanischen Gro?stadt. Dietrich Reimer Verlag. ISBN 9783496028406. 370 p. Full text in Research Archive

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• Polak, Rainer (2025). The musical beat is multimodal. Full text in Research Archive
• Polak, Rainer (2025). Music is Multimodal: A Multi-Data Corpus of Music and Dance Derformance. Full text in Research Archive
• Barbero, Francesca; Lenc, Tomas & Polak, Rainer (2025). Rhythm categorization is present in human newborns and further shaped across the lifespan. Full text in Research Archive
• Lenc, Tomas; Barbero, Francesca & Polak, Rainer (2025). Revealing rhythm categorization in human brain activity. Full text in Research Archive
• Gu¨¦rin, S¨¦gol¨¨ne; Coulon, Emmanuel; Lenc, Tomas; Polak, Rainer; Keller, Peter & Nozaradan, Sylvie (2025). Culture-Driven Plasticity and Imprints of Body-Movement Pace on Musical Rhythm Processing. Full text in Research Archive
• Polak, Rainer; Dutta, Sagar; Psaroudakis, Georgios; London, Justin & Jacoby, Nori (2025). The musical beat is multimodal. Full text in Research Archive
• Polak, Rainer; Dutta, Sagar; Psaroudakis, Giorgos; London, Justin & Jacoby, Nori (2025). Music is multimodal: introducing a multi-data corpus of music and dance performance. Full text in Research Archive
• Polak, Rainer (2024). Embedded Audiency: Performing as Audiencing at Music-Dance Circle Events in Mali. Full text in Research Archive
• Polak, Rainer & Jacoby, Nori (2024). Biological Constraints and Cultural Possibilities in Rhythm Perception. Full text in Research Archive
• Polak, Rainer; Lara, Pearson & Samuel, Horlor (2024). Audiency Beyond the Concert Hall: An Interaction-Based, Music-Theoretical Approach. Full text in Research Archive
• Bucio, Diego Antonio Mar¨ªn & Polak, Rainer (2024). Exploring motion capture systems in dance research: a case study of djembe dance from West Africa. Full text in Research Archive
• Polak, Rainer; Holzapfel, Andre & Paschalidou, Stella (2024). Motion capture in the field: three reports of hardships in data collection and processing. Full text in Research Archive
• Polak, Rainer (2023). Djembe Dance-Drumming from Mali and Beyond. Full text in Research Archive
• Harmeling, Tobias & Polak, Rainer (2023). Kann man Rhythmusgef¨¹hl lernen? (Episode in the podcast "Obligato" hosted by the German music magazine "Stereo"). [Internet]. https://obligato.blogs.julephosting.de/5-kann-man-rhythmusge. Full text in Research Archive
• Polak, Rainer (2023). DjembeDance ¨C Multimodal rhythm in music and dance from West Africa. Full text in Research Archive
• Polak, Rainer; Pearson, Lara & Horlor, Sam (2023). Theorizing audiency. Full text in Research Archive
• Polak, Rainer (2023). From Mali to Ghana: An Empirical Critique of the Theory of African Rhythm. Full text in Research Archive
• Polak, Rainer (2023). Metric beat subdivision non-isochrony in African music: A comparative perspective. Full text in Research Archive
• Polak, Rainer (2023). Stephen Blum: Theory for Ethnomusicology (Panel). Full text in Research Archive
• Polak, Rainer (2023). Embedded audiency: Performing as audiencing at music-dance events in Mali. Full text in Research Archive
• Polak, Rainer (2023). Cultural plasticity of cognitive constraints on rhythm perception in listeners from Mali: An interdisciplinary approach. Full text in Research Archive
• Polak, Rainer (2022). Empirical research in rhythm performance and perception. Full text in Research Archive
• Polak, Rainer (2022). Swing-based Meter in Music from Mali. Full text in Research Archive
• Polak, Rainer & London, Justin (2022). Roundtable discussion: Analysis, Cognition and World Music. Full text in Research Archive
• Polak, Rainer (2022). Data graphs as context for music analysis: Examples from research on drum ensemble music from Mali. Full text in Research Archive

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