To investigate the influence of spatial information in auditory scene analysis, polyphonic music ͑three parts in different timbres͒ was composed and presented in free field. Each part contained large falling interval jumps in the melody and the task of subjects was to detect these events in one part ͑"target part"͒ while ignoring the other parts. All parts were either presented from the same location ͑0°; overlap condition͒ or from different locations ͑Ϫ28°, 0°, and 28°or Ϫ56°, 0°, and 56°in

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... azimuthal plane͒, with the target part being presented either at 0°or at one of the right-sided locations. Results showed that spatial separation of 28°was sufficient for a significant improvement in target detection ͑i.e., in the detection of large interval jumps͒ compared to the overlap condition, irrespective of the position ͑frontal or right͒ of the target part. A larger spatial separation of the parts resulted in further improvements only if the target part was lateralized. These data support the notion of improvement in the suppression of interfering signals with spatial sound source separation. Additionally, the data show that the position of the relevant sound source influences auditory performance.