Gap-filled melody refers to perceiving what?

• A. Perceiving implied or missing notes
• B. Completing all notes in a scale
• C. Detecting tempo changes
• D. Recognizing chords progression

Answer: (A)

Gap-filled melody relies on perceiving implied or missing notes within a melodic line. When a melody outlines a tonal center or harmonic context but leaves some tones unplayed, listeners often mentally fill in those gaps, hearing a continuous sense of pitch even though not every note is voiced. This shows how our auditory system uses context and expectations to complete patterns, a kind of predictive processing in music perception. For example, if the surrounding notes strongly point to a scale step, the listener may “hear” that step even if it isn’t actually played. This concept isn’t about tempo changes or rhythm, nor about identifying chord progressions; it’s specifically about the mind filling in notes that are implied by the melody’s framework.