All About Polyphonic Perception (& Why TikTok Is Obsessed With It)

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A fun and informed look at auditory processing
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If you’ve been poking around on TikTok lately, you may have come across weird dance videos covering something called polyphonic perception. Supposedly, this is a special ability that allows you to parse different layers of sound at the same time. But is this a real ability? If so, how can you tell if you have it? And why is everyone on TikTok making fun of it? We’ll answer all of these questions and more.

How do you know if you're polyphonic?

Polyphonic perception is the ability to follow multiple layers of sound all at once (and the ability to shift focus from one layer to another). Despite popular belief, it’s something that every person naturally has, although it may be easier for trained musicians to detect the different layers in an especially complex song.

Section 1 of 6:

What is polyphonic perception?

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  1. Imagine a song with three musical layers: drums, a guitar riff, and vocals. Polyphonic perception is the ability to hear all three of these layers at once without losing track of the different melodies or tones. Beyond that, it’s also the ability to reframe the perspective you’re hearing the song from by shifting your focus between the different layers. So, you could focus on the drums, the guitar, or the vocals and hear a unique song, or hear all of them at once without losing track. [1]
    • As an analogy, think about how your vision works. You can focus on something in the foreground to blur out the background, do the reverse, or soften your eyes and take everything in all at once!
    • Officially, the Society for Music Theory defines polyphonic perception as one of the six elements for musical multidimensionality, describing it as “any of the parts, or combination of parts, [that] may be the vantage point from which other phrases gain their music personality. Musical combinations sound different depending on how the mind constructs the conversation among parts.” [2]
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Section 2 of 6:

Is polyphonic perception real?

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  1. Yes, polyphonic perception is a real ability that human beings have. The human brain is a mysterious, wonderful thing. Sound waves travel through the air and cause tiny bones inside of your eardrum to vibrate. That causes tiny hair cells to vibrate, which sends the information to your brain. Incredibly, your brain is capable of parsing which vibrations came from where (and from who!). [3] Crazy, right?
Section 3 of 6:

How do you know if you’re polyphonic?

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  1. If you didn’t have polyphonic perception, you wouldn’t be able to have a conversation at a party where a bunch of people are talking! You wouldn’t be able to hear a dope jazz solo over the sound of the backing drums and bass, or the fun ad libs in the back of a hip hop banger. Polyphonic perception is just something every human being has. [4]
    • The only people who may struggle with polyphonic perception are people who have had cochlear implants for deafness. [5] People who are born and grow up without hearing naturally struggle to identify pitch, which can make it hard to source a sound. As a result, they may have a harder time identifying layers of sound after they get their implants. [6]
  2. 2
    Musicians tend to have better polyphonic perception. While everybody naturally has the ability to parse sounds, musicians and people with a trained ear often have a much easier time parsing different layers of sound. This is the same reason that musicians and singers often have much better pitch or timing than non-musicians. [7]
    • You can train yourself to improve your ear . Even if you don’t play an instrument, learn the natural notes and practice listening for them. As you get better, you’ll find it much easier to shift from one instrument, sound, or melody to another! [8] Learning an instrument will also help.
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Section 4 of 6:

How did the polyphonic perception trend start?

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  1. A TikTok user went viral for claiming this was a unique ability. In July of 2025, TikTok user @ohhlalashay uploaded this video where she claimed her ADHD gave her the “super power” of polyphonic perception. She demonstrated this by moving her hands to the different layers of the song, but TikTok immediately realized this wasn’t unique or interesting. Videos mocking the user became memes, and here we are!
    • It’s not clear if @ohhlalashay was actually being serious or not. A lot of her other videos kind of play up this “cute but not smart” character that she seems to enjoy playing (a la this video where she’s a “composer” by just wagging her fingers), but it’s also possible she’s 100% serious.
    • Just to be absolutely clear, polyphonic perception is something literally everyone has—ADHD or no ADHD.
Section 5 of 6:

Does ADHD make you polyphonic or improve hearing?

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  1. People with ADHD are just like people without ADHD—the condition doesn’t give you special magic powers. In fact, it’s a common complaint of people with ADHD that their condition is romanticized and treated like it makes them special in some way. [9]
    • ADHD is linked to an increase in auditory processing disorder, so if anything, the condition may make hearing more difficult. [10]
    • People with ADHD often struggle with overstimulation when it comes to excessive noise, which may make it harder for people with ADHD to identify different layers of sound in a complex song.
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Section 6 of 6:

Popular Polyphonic Perception Memes

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  1. There are a few different genres of meme that have developed around the “I have polyphonic perception” video. Here are a few of the most notable, interesting, and funny creations:
    • This reply video from @fairybonessucks was a viral reaction.
    • A lot of the memes are riffs on how simple the original video was. It really just shows someone doing normal (basic) dance maneuvers to nod along to a beat, so memes like this one and this one are especially fun.
    • Some of the cultural videos on this are delightful. We especially love this skit about how Mexicans react to songs with a lot of accordion in them.

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      References

      1. ↑ https://mtosmt.org/issues/mto.10.16.4/locke_examples.php?id=44&nonav=true
      2. ↑ https://mtosmt.org/issues/mto.10.16.4/locke_examples.php?id=44&nonav=true
      3. ↑ https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/17054-hearing
      4. ↑ https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnins.2021.635937/full
      5. ↑ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30531636/
      6. ↑ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30531636/
      7. ↑ https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00713/full
      8. ↑ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283464852_Auditory_and_musical_development
      9. ↑ https://www.divergentpod.com/blog/ep-61
      1. ↑ https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/adhd-and-auditory-processing-disorder

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