Feel the music : crossmodal integration in music perception

n addition to auditory information, music perception often involves visual and vibrotactile information, making it an ideal domain through which to study cross-modal integration. Recent research has demonstrated a strong influence of visual information on auditory judgments concerning music. However, we have very little empirical information regarding integration of vibrotactile information in music. In Experiment 1, participants made judgments of interval size for unimodal presentations of melodic intervals in auditory, visual, and vibrotactile conditions. In Experiment 2, participants made judgments of interval size for cross-modal presentations of intervals comprised of stimuli presented in the three unimodal conditions of Experiment 1. In Experiment 3, participants were trained with vibrotactile stimuli to assess if learning benefits audio-vibrotactile integration in music perception. The results are discussed in light of differences in the extent of visual and vibrotactile influence on auditory judgments and the role of learning in cross-modal integration in music.