Pattern specificity in the effect of prior Δƒ on auditory stream segregation

During repeating sequences of low (A) and high (B) tones, perception of two separate streams ("streaming") increases with greater frequency separation (Δ?) between the A and B tones; in contrast, a prior context with large Δ? results in less streaming during a subsequent test pattern. The purpose of the present study was to investigate what aspects of the context pattern are necessary for this context effect to occur. Simply changing the B-tone frequency without an alternating A tone present was not sufficient to cause the effect of prior Δ?, but rather a melodic change between A and B tones was necessary. We further investigated the extent to which the context and test patterns needed to have similar rhythms (xxx-xxx-) and melodies (up-down-flat-up-down), and found that a maximal prior-Δ? effect occurred when the rhythmic patterns of the context and test were similar, regardless of the melodic structure. Thus, the effect of prior Δ? on streaming depended on the presence of (1) at least one melodic change in the context, and (2) similar rhythmic patterns in the context and test.     

The influence of melodic context on pitch recognition judgment

Subjects made delayed pitch comparisons between tones that were each preceded by tones of lower pitch. The pitches of these preceding tones were so chosen that in some conditions the melodic intervals formed by the standard (S) and comparison (C) combinations were identical, and in others they differed. A strong effect of melodic relational context was demonstrated. When the S and C combinations formed identical melodic intervals, there was an increased tendency for the S and C tones to be judged as identical. And when the S and C combinations formed different melodic intervals, there was an increased tendency for the S and C tones to be judged as different. These effects occurred both when the S and C tones were identical in pitch and also when these differed, and they occurred despite instructions to attend only to the S and C tones.     

Does rule recursion make melodies easier to reproduce? If not, what does?

Two experiments examined the effects of variations in melodic rule structure and rhythm upon the ability of musically sophisticated listeners to reproduce auditory patterns. These experiments were designed to evaluate different theoretical perspectives on auditory pattern perception and the role of rule structure in perceiving and remembering. Predictions of a coding model, which emphasizes the impact of rule recursion, were contrasted with those of an accent model, which emphasizes the relative timing of melodic and temporal accents. Effects of recursive (hierarchical) and nonrecursive (linear) rule arrangements were studied in contexts where pattern contour differences were controlled for. Rhythm was also varied. Measured pauses were inserted between certain tones to make a rhythm compatible or incompatible with melodic rule phrases. Experiment 1 showed that pattern simplicity was determined not by rule recursive codes, but by the number and timing of contour changes and melodic rule breaks. Experiment 2 examined additional effects of rhythm on listeners' response to rule recursion and melodic phrasing in melodies of equivalent contour. Although modest effects of rule recursion appeared, these effects were again outweighed by large performance differences due to the relative timing of changes in contour and melodic rule structure. Implications of the accent model for dynamic attending are discussed in the context of a new proposal involving temporal phasing of accents.     

Recognition of music in long-term memory: Are melodic and temporal patterns equal partners?

The notion that the melody (i.e., pitch structure) of familiar music is more recognizable than its accompanying rhythm (i.e., temporal structure) was examined with the same set of nameable musical excerpts in three experiments. In Experiment 1, the excerpts were modified so as to keep either their original pitch variations, whereas durations were set to isochrony (melodic condition) or their original temporal pattern while played on a single constant pitch (rhythmic condition). The subjects, who were selected without regard to musical training, were found to name more tunes and to rate their feeling of knowing the musical excerpts far higher in the melodic condition than in the rhythmic condition. These results were replicated in Experiment 2, wherein the melodic and rhythmic patterns of the musical excerpts were interchanged to create chimeric mismatched tunes. The difference in saliency of the melodic pattern and the rhythmic pattern also emerged with a music-title-verification task in Experiment 3, hence discarding response selection as the main source of the discrepancy. The lesser effectiveness of rhythmic structure appears to be related to its lesser encoding distinctiveness relative to melodic structure. In general, rhythm was found to be a poor cue for the musical representations that are stored in long-term memory. Nevertheless, in all three experiments, the most effective cue for music identification involved the proper combination of pitches and durations. Therefore, the optimal code of access to long-term memory for music resides in a combination of rhythm and melody, of which the latter would be the most informative.     

Influence of tonal context and timbral variation on perception of pitch

In this study, spectral timbre's effect on pitch perception is examined in varying contexts. In two experiments, subjects detected pitch deviations of tones differing in brightness in an isolated context in which they compared two tones, in a tone-series context in which they judged whether the last tone of a simple sequence was in or out of tune, and in a melodic context in which they determined whether the last note of familiar melodies was in or out of tune. Timbre influenced pitch judgments in all the conditions, but increasing tonal context allowed the subjects to extract pitch information more accurately. This appears to be due to two factors: (1) The presence of extra tones creates a stronger reference point from which to judge pitch, and (2) the melodies' tonal structure gives more cues that facilitate pitch extraction, even in the face of conflicting spectral information.     

Temporal discrimination of recycled tonal sequences: Pattern matching and naming of order by untrained listeners

Sets of recycled sequences of four successive tones were presented in all six possible orders to untrained listeners. For pitches within the musical range, recognition (as measured by matching of any unknown order with an array of permuted orders of the same tones) could be accomplished as readily for tonal durations and frequency separations outside the limits employed for melodic construction as inside these limits. Identifying or naming of relative pitches of successive tones was considerably more difficult than matching for these tonal sequences, and appeared to follow different rules based upon duration and upon frequency separation. Use of frequencies above the pitch limits for music (4,500 Hz and above) resulted in poor performance both for matching and naming of order. Introduction of short silent intervals between items was without effect for both tasks. Naming of order and pattern recognition appear to reflect different basic processes, in agreement with earlier formulations based on experiments with phonemic sequences of speech and sequences of unrelated sounds (hisses, tones, buzzes). Special characteristics of tonal sequences are discussed, and some speculations concerning music are offered.     

Expectancies generated by melodic intervals: Perceptual judgments of melodic continuity

The present study tested quantified predictors based on the bottom-up principles of Narmour’s (1990) implication-realization model of melodic expectancy against continuity ratings collected for a tone that followed a two-tone melodic beginning. Twenty-four subjects (12 musically trained, 12 untrained) were presented with each of eight melodic intervals—two successive tones which they were asked to consider as the beginning of a melody. On each trial, a melodic interval was followed by a third tone, one of the 25 chromatic notes within the range one octave below to one octave above the second tone of the interval. The subjects were asked to rate how well the third tone continued the melody. A series of regression analyses was performed on the continuation ratings, and a final model to account for the variance in the ratings is proposed. Support was found for three of Narmour’s principles and a modified version of a fourth. Support was also found for predictor variables based on the pitch organization of tonal harmonic music. No significant differences between the levels of musical training were encountered.     

A bidimensional model of pitch in the recognition of melodies

Pitch can be conceptualized as a bidimensional quantity, reflecting both the overall pitch level of a tone (tone height) and its position in the octave (tone chroma). Though such a conceptualization has been well supported for perception of a single tone, it has been argued that the dimension of tone chroma is irrelevant in melodic perception. In the current study, melodies were subjected to structural transformations designed to evaluate the effects of interval magnitude, contour, tone height, and tone chroma. In two transformations, the component tones of a melody were displaced by octave intervals, either preserving or violating the pattern of changes in pitch direction (melodic contour). Replicating previous work, when contour was violated perception of the melody was severely disrupted. In contrast, when contour was preserved the melodies were identified as accurately as the untransformed melodies. In other transformations, a variety of forms of contour information were preserved, while eliminating information for absolute pitch and interval magnitude. The level of performance on all such transformations fell between the levels observed in the other two conditions. These results suggest that the bidimensional model of pitch is applicable to recognition of melodies as well as single tones. Moreover, the results argue that contour, as well as interval magnitude, is providing essential information for melodic perception.     

Musicians' working memory for tones,words, and pseudowords

Studies investigating factors that influence tone recognition generally use recognition tests, whereas the majority of the studies on verbal material use self-generated responses in the form of serial recall tests. In the present study we intended to investigate whether tonal and verbal materials share the same cognitive mechanisms, by presenting an experimental instrument that evaluates short-term and working memories for tones, using self-generated sung responses that may be compared to verbal tests. This paradigm was designed according to the same structure of the forward and backward digit span tests, but using digits, pseudowords, and tones as stimuli. The profile of amateur singers and professional singers in these tests was compared in forward and backward digit, pseudoword, tone, and contour spans. In addition, an absolute pitch experimental group was included, in order to observe the possible use of verbal labels in tone memorization tasks. In general, we observed that musical schooling has a slight positive influence on the recall of tones, as opposed to verbal material, which is not influenced by musical schooling. Furthermore, the ability to reproduce melodic contours (up and down patterns) is generally higher than the ability to reproduce exact tone sequences. However, backward spans were lower than forward spans for all stimuli (digits, pseudowords, tones, contour). Curiously, backward spans were disproportionately lower for tones than for verbal material—that is, the requirement to recall sequences in backward rather than forward order seems to differentially affect tonal stimuli. This difference does not vary according to musical expertise.     

Musicians' working memory for tones, words, and pseudowords

Studies investigating factors that influence tone recognition generally use recognition tests, whereas the majority of the studies on verbal material use self-generated responses in the form of serial recall tests. In the present study we intended to investigate whether tonal and verbal materials share the same cognitive mechanisms, by presenting an experimental instrument that evaluates short-term and working memories for tones, using self-generated sung responses that may be compared to verbal tests. This paradigm was designed according to the same structure of the forward and backward digit span tests, but using digits, pseudowords, and tones as stimuli. The profile of amateur singers and professional singers in these tests was compared in forward and backward digit, pseudoword, tone, and contour spans. In addition, an absolute pitch experimental group was included, in order to observe the possible use of verbal labels in tone memorization tasks. In general, we observed that musical schooling has a slight positive influence on the recall of tones, as opposed to verbal material, which is not influenced by musical schooling. Furthermore, the ability to reproduce melodic contours (up and down patterns) is generally higher than the ability to reproduce exact tone sequences. However, backward spans were lower than forward spans for all stimuli (digits, pseudowords, tones, contour). Curiously, backward spans were disproportionately lower for tones than for verbal material-that is, the requirement to recall sequences in backward rather than forward order seems to differentially affect tonal stimuli. This difference does not vary according to musical expertise.     

The power of representation and interpretation: Doubling statistical reasoning performance with icons and frequentist interpretations of ambiguous numbers

Abstract

Six highly familiar melodies were submitted to three transformations: reduction and two rhythmic group transformations. These three transformations offered the opportunity to compare the role of various means of melody recognition: melodic contour, harmonic structure, local surface cues. If melody recognition relies on melodic contour, an original melody would be easier to recognise after rhythmic group transformation than after reduction; the rhythmic group transformation, but not the reduction, preserves the melodic contour. If melody recognition depends on the harmonic structure, an original melody would be easier to recognise after reduction than after a rhythmic group transformation; the reduction, but not the rhythmic group transformation, respects the underlying harmonic structure. The results of two experiments, one with children and one with adults, showed that recognition was better for rhythmic group transformation but only when local surface cues were preserved, a result that could neither be predicted by the melodic contour hypothesis nor by the harmonic structure hypothesis. The results give support to the cue abstraction hypothesis, which suggests that melody recognition relies on the recognition of certain surface cues abstracted while hearing and which are then memorised. Recognition performances and speed of recognition served as dependent variables.     

Tonal expectations influence pitch perception

In this study, we investigated the influence of tonal relatedness on pitch perception in melodies. Tonal expectations for target tones were manipulated in melodic contexts while controlling sensory expectations, thus allowing us to assess specifically the influence oftonal expectations on pitch perception. Three experimentsprovided converging evidence that tonal relatedness modulates pitch perception in nonmusician listeners. Experiment 1 showed, with a rating task, the influence of the tonal relatedness of a target tone on listeners' judgments of tuning/mistuning. Experiment 2 showed, with a priming task, that pitch processing of in-tune tones was faster for tonally related targets than for less related targets. Experiment 3 showed, with a comparison task, that discrimination performance for small mistunings was better when the to-be-compared tones were tonally related to the melodic context. Findings are discussed in relation to psychoacoustic research on contextual pitch perception and to studies showing facilitation of early processing steps via knowledge- and attention-related processes.     

Some effects of rhythmic context on melody recognition

The effects of rhythmic context on the ability of listeners to recognize slightly altered versions of 10-tone melodies were examined in three experiments. Listeners judged the melodic equivalence of two auditory patterns when their rhythms were either the same or different. Rhythmic variations produced large effects on a bias measure, indicating that listeners judged melodies to be alike if their rhythms were identical. However, neither rhythm nor pattern rate affected discriminability measures in the first study, in which rhythm was treated as a within subjects variable. The other two studies examined rhythmic context as a between subjects variable. In these, significant effects of temporal uncertainty due to the number and type of rhythms involved in a block of trials, as well as their assignment to standard and comparison melodies on a given trial, were apparent on both discriminability and bias measures. Results were interpreted in terms of the effect of temporal context on the rhythmic targeting of attention.     

Effects of uncertainty on melodic information processing

In three experiments, musically trained and untrained adults listened to three repetitions of a 5-note melodic sequence followed by a final melody with either the same tune as those preceding it or differing in one position by one semitone. In Experiment 1, ability to recognize the final sequence was examined as a function of redundancy at the levels of musical structure in a sequence, contour complexity of transpositions in a trial, and trial context in a session. Within a sequence, tones were related as the major or augmented triad; within a trial, the four sequences began on successively higher notes (simple macrocontour) or on randomly selected notes (complex macrocontour); and within a session, trials were either blocked (all major or all augmented) or mixed (major and augmented randomly selected). Performance was superior for major melodies, for systematic transpositions within a trial (simple macrocontours), for blocked trials, and for musically trained listeners. In Experiment 2, we examined further the effect of macrocontour. Performance on simple macrocontours exceeded that on complex, and excluded the possibility that repetition of the 20-note sequences provided the entire benefit of systematic transposition in Experiment 1. The effect of musical structure (major/augmented) was also replicated. In Experiment 3, listeners provided structure ratings of ascending 20-note sequences from Experiment 2. Ratings on same trials were higher than those on corresponding different trials, in contrast to performance scores for augmented same and different trials in previous experiments. The concept of functional uncertainty was proposed to account for recognition difficulties on augmented same trials. The significant effects of redundancy on all the levels examined confirm the utility of the information-processing framework for the study of melodic sequence perception.     

旋律语调疗法及其对失语症的临床应用

失语症是当今人类面临的一个重要的健康问题。旋律语调疗法被认为是治疗失语症的有效手段之一。传统旋律语调疗法强调严格的程序和材料,改编版本则依据患者情况进行调整,二者均能提高失语症者的自发言语产生、言语复述以及命名等能力。研究还表明,旋律语调疗法不仅能提高失语症者相关脑区的激活水平,而且也能通过影响失语症者的相关神经结构改善其言语功能。未来研究需要进一步确定该疗法的干预机制及其对汉语失语症的适用性。     

A further study of melodic channeling

Subjects listened to repetitive presentations of C major scale patterns and simple two-part contrapuntal specimens, both dichotically and in a stereophonic free sound field. All scalar and melodic patterns were presented so that successive tones alternated from ear to ear: when a component of one scale or melody was routed through one speaker or headphone, the concurrent member of the other scale or melodic pattern was routed through the other speaker or headphone, and vice versa. The stimulus parameters of spectral contour and envelope characteristics, duration, melodic pattern, and loudness were varied, and a testing procedure was designed to minimize any bias in responses which might be produced by learning, immediate memory, or vocal Limitations of subjects. Virtually all responses (95.2% to scalar stimuli, 99.1% to melodic stimuli) indicated that the subjects channeled stimuli by pitch range, and not by ear of input. When spectral contours routed through the separate headphones or speakers were noticeably dissimilar, no subject perceived that this timbral inequality switched from ear to ear: all subjects heard an overall change in tone quality which pervaded both scalar or melodic sequences, and which apparently emanated from both headphones or speakers.     

Effects of uncertainty on melodic

In three experiments, musically trained and untrained adults listened to three repetitions of a 5-note melodic sequence followed by a final melody with either the same tune as those preceding it or differing in one position by one semitone. In Experiment 1, ability to recognize the final sequence was examined as a function of redundancy at the levels of musical structurein a sequence, contour complexity of transpositions in a trial, and trial context in a session. Within a sequence, tones were related as the major or augmented triad; within a trial, the four sequences began on successively higher notes (simple macrocontour) or on randomly selected notes (complex macrocontour); and within a session, trials were either blocked (all major or all augmented) or mixed (major and augmented randomly selected). Performance was superior for major melodies, for systematic transpositions within a trial (simple macrocontours), for blocked trials, and for musically trained listeners. In Experiment 2, we examined further the effect of macrocontour. Performance on simple macrocontours exceeded that on complex, and excluded the possibility that repetition of the 20-note sequences provided the entire benefit of systematic transposition in Experiment 1. The effect of musical structure (major/augmented) was also replicated. In Experiment 3, listeners provided structure ratings of ascending 20-note sequences fromExperiment 2. Ratings onsame trials were higher than those on correspondingdifferent trials, in contrast to performance scores for augmentedsame anddifferent trials in previous experiments. The concept of functional uncertainty was proposed to account for recognition difficulties on augmented same trials. The significant effects of redundancy on all the levels examined confirm the utility of the information-processing framework for thestudy of melodic sequence perception.     

Responsiveness of Western adults to pitch-distributional information in melodic sequences

Responsiveness of musically trained and untrained adults to pitch-distributional information in melodic contexts was assessed. In Experiment 1, melodic contexts were pure-tone sequences, generated from either a diatonic or one of four nondiatonic tonesets, in which pitch-distributional information was manipulated by variation of the relative frequency of occurrence of tones from the toneset. Both the assignment of relative frequency of occurrence to tones and the construction of the (fixed) temporal order of tones within the sequences contravened the conventions of western tonal music. A probe-tone technique was employed. Each presentation of a sequence was followed by a probe tone, one of the 12 chromatic notes within the octave. Listeners rated the goodness of musical fit of the probe tone to the sequence. Probe-tone ratings were significantly related to frequency of occurrence of the probe tone in the sequence for both trained and untrained listeners. In addition, probe-tone ratings decreased as the pitch distance between the probe tone and the final tone of the sequence increased. For musically trained listeners, probe-tone ratings for diatonic sequences tended also to reflect the influence of an internalized tonal schema. Experiment 2 demonstrated that the temporal location of tones in the sequences could not alone account for the effect of frequency of occurrence in Experiment 1. Experiment 3 tested musically untrained listeners under the conditions of Experiment 1, with the exception that the temporal order of tones in each sequence was randomized across trials. The effect of frequency of occurrence found in Experiment 1 was replicated and strengthened.     

Cross-octave masking of single tones and musical sequences: The effects of structure on auditory recognition

A series of experiments explored the role of structural information in the auditory recognition process, within the context of a backward recognition masking paradigm. A masking tone presented after a test tone has been found to interfere with the perceptual processing of the test tone, the degree of interference decreasing with increased durations of the silent intertone interval between the test and masking tones. In the current studies, the task was modified to utilize three-tone sequences as the test stimuli. Six test sequences were employed (LMH, LHM, MLH, MHL, HLM, HML), where L, M, and H represent the lowest, middle, and highest frequencies in the melody. The observers identified these six possible sequences when the three tones of the test sequence were interleaved with three presentations of a single masking tone. All three tones of the test sequence were drawn from the same octave, while the masking tones could be drawn from any of three octaves, symmetrical around the octave containing the test tones. Under these conditions, interference occurred primarily from masking tones drawn from the same octave as the test tones. Masking tones drawn from other octaves were found to produce little, if any, interference with perception of the test tones. This effect was found to occur only for the identification of tonal sequences. Substantial masking of single-tone targets occurred with masking tones drawn from octaves other than that containing the targets. The results make apparent the use of structural information during auditory recognition. A theoretical interpretation was advanced which suggests that, while single tones are perceived on the basis of absolute pitch, the presence of auditory structure may allow relational information, such as exact pitch intervals or melodic contour, to facilitate perception of the tonal sequence.     

Harmonic and rhythmic influences on musical expectancy

The effects of harmony and rhythm on expectancy formation were studied in two experiments. In both studies, we generated musical passages consisting of a melodic line accompanied by four harmonic (chord) events. These sequences varied in their harmonic content, the rhythmic periodicity of the three context chords prior to the final chord, and the ending time of the final chord itself. In Experiment 1, listeners provided ratings for how well the final chord in a chord sequence fit their expectations for what was to come next; analyses revealed subtle changes in ratings as a function of both harmonic and rhythmic variation. Experiment 2 extended these results; listeners made a speeded reaction time judgment on whether the final chord of a sequence belonged with its set of context chords. Analysis of the reaction time data suggested that harmonic and rhythmic variation also influenced the speed of musical processing. These results are interpreted with reference to current models of music cognition, and they highlight the need for rhythmical weighting factors within the psychological representation of tonal/pitch information.