Figure 1. Schematic illustration of the rhythmic patterns used in the experiment.

The pattern consisted of eight sounds and was designed to induce a rhythm with a hierarchical metrical structure (see tree-structure at the top; beats are marked with dots). The omissions occurred in positions varying in metrical salience, with the omissions in D1 on the first beat, the omissions in D2 on the second beat and the other omissions in equally weak metrical positions.