Uses extant musical examples as stimuli in order to assess the effect of melodic rhythm as a determinant of relative tempo as perceived by college undergraduates and elementary students. Results indicate that subjects responded to the melodic rhythm as well as the beat when making tempo judgments. (LS)

Presents results of study of perception of beat across range of stimulus speeds. Finds that college music majors and graduate students perceived faster rates of presentation as subdivisions of slower beat tempi. Concludes that nonmusic subjects perceived stimulus tones as beats regardless of rate of presentation. Urges further research using…