How can people tell things like the time signature, key, and BPM of a song just by listening to it?

Question

How can people tell things like the time signature, key, and BPM of a song just by listening to it?

In: 1

Answer 1

>How can people tell things like the time signature, key, and BPM of a song just by listening to it?

By the same mechanism that allows you to tell that someone is *speaking English* or *reciting a poem* or *chiding another person*.
At some point you **learned** the patterns and vocabulary that allow you to interpret language, meter or social cues.
Music isn’t any different.