The effect of intensity on relative pitch

In two experiments, we examined the effect of intensity and intensity change on judgements of pitch differences or interval size. In Experiment 1, 39 musically untrained participants rated the size of the interval spanned by two pitches within individual gliding tones. Tones were presented at high intensity, low intensity, looming intensity (up-ramp), and fading intensity (down-ramp) and glided between two pitches spanning either 6 or 7 semitones (a tritone or a perfect fifth interval). The pitch shift occurred in either ascending or descending directions. Experiment 2 repeated the conditions of Experiment 1 but the shifts in pitch and intensity occurred across two discrete tones (i.e., a melodic interval). Results indicated that participants were sensitive to the differences in interval size presented: Ratings were significantly higher when two pitches differed by 7 semitones than when they differed by 6 semitones. However, ratings were also dependent on whether the interval was high or low in intensity, whether it increased or decreased in intensity across the two pitches, and whether the interval was ascending or descending in pitch. Such influences illustrate that the perception of pitch relations does not always adhere to a logarithmic function as implied by their musical labels, but that identical intervals are perceived as substantially different in size depending on other attributes of the sound source.     

The effect of intensity on relative pitch

In two experiments, we examined the effect of intensity and intensity change on judgements of pitch differences or interval size. In Experiment 1, 39 musically untrained participants rated the size of the interval spanned by two pitches within individual gliding tones. Tones were presented at high intensity, low intensity, looming intensity (up-ramp), and fading intensity (down-ramp) and glided between two pitches spanning either 6 or 7 semitones (a tritone or a perfect fifth interval). The pitch shift occurred in either ascending or descending directions. Experiment 2 repeated the conditions of Experiment 1 but the shifts in pitch and intensity occurred across two discrete tones (i.e., a melodic interval). Results indicated that participants were sensitive to the differences in interval size presented: Ratings were significantly higher when two pitches differed by 7 semitones than when they differed by 6 semitones. However, ratings were also dependent on whether the interval was high or low in intensity, whether it increased or decreased in intensity across the two pitches, and whether the interval was ascending or descending in pitch. Such influences illustrate that the perception of pitch relations does not always adhere to a logarithmic function as implied by their musical labels, but that identical intervals are perceived as substantially different in size depending on other attributes of the sound source.     

An interval size illusion: the influence of timbre on the perceived size of melodic intervals

In four experiments, we investigated the influence of timbre on perceived interval size. In Experiment 1, musically untrained participants heard two successive tones and rated the pitch distance between them. Tones were separated by six or seven semitones and varied in timbre. Pitch changes were accompanied by a congruent timbre change (e.g., ascending interval involving a shift from a dull to a bright timbre), an incongruent timbre change (e.g., ascending interval involving a shift from a bright to a dull timbre), or no timbre change. Ratings of interval size were strongly influenced by timbre. The six-semitone interval with a congruent timbre change was perceived to be larger than the seven-semitone interval with an incongruent timbre change (interval illusion). Experiment 2 revealed similar effects for musically trained participants. In Experiment 3, participants compared the size of two intervals presented one after the other. Effects of timbre were again observed, including evidence of an interval illusion. Experiment 4 confirmed that timbre manipulations did not distort the perceived pitch of tones. Changes in timbre can expand or contract the perceived size of intervals without distorting individual pitches. We discuss processes underlying interval size perception and their relation to pitch perception mechanisms.     

Absolute memory for musical pitch: Evidence from the production of learned melodies

Evidence for the absolute nature of long-term auditory memory is provided by analyzing the production of familiar melodies. Additionally, a two-component theory of absolute pitch is presented, in which this rare ability is conceived as consisting of a more common ability,pitch memory, and a separate, less common ability,pitch labeling. Forty-six subjects sang two different popular songs, and their productions were compared with the actual pitches used in recordings of those songs. Forty percent of the subjects sang the correct pitch on at least one trial; 12% of the subjects hit the correct pitch on both trials, and 44% came within two semitones of the correct pitch on both trials. The results show a convergence with previous studies on the stability of auditory imagery and latent absolute pitch ability; the results further suggest that individuals might possess representations of pitch that are more stable and accurate than previously recognized.     

The perception of melodies distorted by splitting into several octaves: Effects of increasing proximity and melodic contour

Splitting up the familiar tune “Yankee Doodle” by placing successive notes in different octaves makes it very difficult to recognize. The present experiments generalize this finding to more than one familiar tune and to presentation by actual musical instruments. Tunes differ in the degree to which their recognizability is affected by scrambling into different octaves, but recognition of all 10 tunes investigated was substantially diminished by the distortion. Increasing pitch proximity of temporally adjacent notes by leaving pairs or triples of successive notes intact within the same octave increases recognizability of at least some scrambled tunes. Leaving the melodic contour (the pattern of ups and downs) intact while splitting up the melody increases recognizability for subjects informed of the preservation of contour, though recognition is still worse than for undistorted versions.     

Levels-of-processing effects on "remember" responses in recognition for familiar and unfamiliar tunes

We investigated the effect of level-of-processing manipulations on "remember" and "know" responses in episodic melody recognition (Experiments 1 and 2) and how this effect is modulated by item familiarity (Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, participants performed 2 conceptual and 2 perceptual orienting tasks while listening to familiar melodies: judging the mood, continuing the tune, tracing the pitch contour, and counting long notes. The conceptual mood task led to higher d' rates for "remember" but not "know" responses. In Experiment 2, participants either judged the mood or counted long notes of tunes with high and low familiarity. A level-of-processing effect emerged again in participants' "remember" d' rates regardless of melody familiarity. Results are discussed within the distinctive processing framework.     

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.     

Multi-Encoding for Pitch Information of Tone Sequences

This study was designed to investigate the possibilities that subjects would visualize an auditory contour as a visual contour (visual imagery) to encode pitch information of tone sequences (Experiment 1), and that subjects would be motivated to attempt to engage in covert rehearsal with multi-code (Experiment 2). The findings from these experiments suggest that: (a) Whereas the highly musically trained subjects were able to encode pitches as accurate notes on a staff, the less well musically trained subjects encoded the pitch sequence as a contour. It is quite evident that there is an intermodal analogy between the perception of pitch relationships and that of relationships in visual space. (b) Pitch rehearsal of auditory information along with note names (dual-code) and staff notation accompanied by pitch rehearsal with note names (triple-code) were the most effective strategies for highly trained subjects with pitches of tonal sequences; melodic contour accompanied by pitch rehearsal (dual-code) was used by highly trained subjects with atonal sequences and by less well trained subjects with both types of sequences.     

Good pitch memory is widespread

Abstract - Here we show that good pitch memory is widespread among adults with no musical training. We tested unselected college students on their memory for the pitch level of instrumental soundtracks from familiar television programs. Participants heard 5-s excerpts either at the original pitch level or shifted upward or downward by 1 or 2 semitones. They successfully identified the original pitch levels. Other participants who heard comparable excerpts from unfamiliar recordings could not do so. These findings reveal that ordinary listeners retain fine-grained information about pitch level over extended periods. Adults' reportedly poor memory for pitch is likely to be a by-product of their inability to name isolated pitches.     

A developmental study of latent absolute pitch memory

The ability to recall the absolute pitch level of familiar music (latent absolute pitch memory) is widespread in adults, in contrast to the rare ability to label single pitches without a reference tone (overt absolute pitch memory). The present research investigated the developmental profile of latent absolute pitch (AP) memory and explored individual differences related to this ability. In two experiments, 288 children from 4 to12 years of age performed significantly above chance at recognizing the absolute pitch level of familiar melodies. No age-related improvement or decline, nor effects of musical training, gender, or familiarity with the stimuli were found in regard to latent AP task performance. These findings suggest that latent AP memory is a stable ability that is developed from as early as age 4 and persists into adulthood.     

Redundancy effects in short-term memory

Five experiments are reported whose purpose was to demonstrate that short-term memory is improved by redundancy within the material. In Experiment I “tune” containing two, three, four and five tones of differing frequencies had to be coded into digits 1-5, to indicate the order of the pitches in a tune. Performance on stimuli containing correlated amplitude and duration were compared with the uni-dimensional condition. Experiment II repeated I, but required intensity to be coded. Experiment III required pitch coding under three conditions including that when amplitude and frequency were uncorrelated, and compared the performance of musically trained sunjects with nonmusicians. Experiment IV repeated III, but subjects were informed of the relation between dimensions. Experiment V involved “shadowing” the tunes by whistling simultaneously with the stimulus.

It was concluded (a) that intercorrelation improves, but zero correlation impairs short-term memory; (b) that knowledge of the relation between dimensions improves performance in the correlated condition, but does not prevent impairment under zero correlation; and (c) the performance of musically trained subjects exceeds that of controls and is unaffected by the presence of a correlated or uncorrelated dimension.     

Absolute pitch in infant auditory learning: evidence for developmental reorganization

To what extent do infants represent the absolute pitches of complex auditory stimuli? Two experiments with 8-month-old infants examined the use of absolute and relative pitch cues in a tone-sequence statistical learning task. The results suggest that, given unsegmented stimuli that do not conform to the rules of musical composition, infants are more likely to track patterns of absolute pitches than of relative pitches. A 3rd experiment tested adults with or without musical training on the same statistical learning tasks used in the infant experiments. Unlike the infants, adult listeners relied primarily on relative pitch cues. These results suggest a shift from an initial focus on absolute pitch to the eventual dominance of relative pitch, which, it is argued, is more useful for both music and speech processing.     

Perception of structure in novel music

Two experiments demonstrated the way in which musicians and nonmusicians process realistic music encountered for the first time. A set of tunes whose members were related to each other by a number of specific musical relationships was constructed. In Experiment 1, subjects gave similarity judgments of all pairs of tunes, which were analyzed by the ADDTREE clustering program. Musicians and nonmusicians gave essentially equivalent results: Tunes with different rhythms were rated as being very dissimilar, whereas tunes identical except for being in a major versus a minor mode were rated as being highly similar. In Experiment 2, subjects learned to identify the tunes, and their errors formed a confusion matrix. The matrix was submitted to a clustering analysis. Results from the two experiments corresponded better for the nonmusicians than for the musicians. Musicians presumably exceed nonmusicians in the ability to categorize music in multiple ways, but even nonmusicians extract considerable information from newly heard music.     

Some influences of accent structure on melody recognition

Two experiments were carried out to investigate the roles of joint accent structure and familiarity in delayed recognition of relatively long tonal melodies. Melodic themes of target melodies were defined by correlating contour-related pitch accents with temporal accents (accent coupling) during an initial familiarization phase. Later, subjects gave recognition responses to key-transposed versions of the target melodies as well as to decoys with same and different contour accent patterns. In Experiment 1, all to-be-recognized melodies occurred both in an original rhythm, which preserved accent coupling, and in a new rhythm, which did not. Listeners were best at distinguishing targets from different decoys, especially in the original rhythm. In Experiment 2, the familiarity of target tunes and the rhythmic similarity in recognition were varied. Similar rhythms preserved accent coupling, whereas dissimilar rhythms did not. Listeners were most adept in distinguishing familiar targets from different decoys (Experiment 2A), particularly when they appeared in novel but similar rhythms. However, in similar rhythm conditions, listeners also frequently mistook same decoys for targets. With less familiar targets (Experiment 2B), these effects were attenuated, and performance showed general effects of pitch contour.     

绝对音高感对音乐句法加工能力的影响

绝对音高感是一种敏锐的音高知觉能力。拥有这种能力的人可以在没有标准音(A4)参照下, 对所听到的音高进行命名。本文通过对比绝对音高感被试与不具有绝对音高感被试对音乐句法基本规则的知觉以及对音乐句法结构划分能力的差异, 探讨绝对音高感与音乐句法加工能力之间的关系。结果表明, 绝对音高感被试对音乐句法基本规则的知觉水平高于控制组; 同时, 这种知觉上的优势也延伸到他们对音乐句法结构的划分。这一结果说明, 绝对音高感被试不仅可以对音高进行孤立命名, 而且表现出对调性音乐音高关系加工的优势。     

Perceptual interactions between musical pitch and timbre.

These experiments examined perceptual interactions between musical pitch and timbre. Experiment 1, through the use of the Garner classification tasks, found that pitch and timbre of isolated tones interact. Classification times showed interference from uncorrelated variation in the irrelevant attribute and facilitation from correlated variation; the effects were symmetrical. Experiments 2 and 3 examined how musical pitch and timbre function in longer sequences. In recognition memory tasks, a target tone always appeared in a fixed position in the sequences, and listeners were instructed to attend to either its pitch or its timbre. For successive tones, no interactions between timbre and pitch were found. That is, changing the pitches of context tones did not affect timbre recognition, and vice versa. The tendency to perceive pitch in relation to other context pitches was strong and unaffected by whether timbre was constant or varying. In contrast, the relative perception of timbre was weak and was found only when pitch was constant. These results suggest that timbre is perceived more in absolute than in relative terms. Perceptual implications for creating patterns in music with timbre variations are discussed.     

Task determinants of ear differences in melody processing

In Experiment 1 nonmusicians were presented with dichotic melodies, which differed either on all pitches or by a single note, followed by a set of four binaural melodies. They were asked to recognize among the alternatives only one member of the dichotic pair in the “single-focus” task, and both dichotic melodies in the “double-focus” task. These different attention requirements led to a LEA in the first task which contrasted with the REA observed in the other task when melodies differed by all pitches. A possible confounding (fusion of the common pitches) prevents comparison of the tasks for melodies differing by a single pitch. The role of the extent of melody differences was further investigated in a second experiment by changing melodies on one, two, or three notes. No effect of material was observed on ear asymmetries. Task demands appeared as the most critical determinant of ear differences and are discussed in terms of their particular influence on the adoption of an analytic or holistic processing mode. Male subjects were found to be more responsive than females to analytic processing suggestions.     

Spatial judgments of exocentric extents in an open-field situation: familiar versus unfamiliar size.

Carlson and Tassone (1971) found that an object of familiar size presented in an outdoor setting and viewed at an appreciable distance is judged to be more distant than an unfamiliar object. Three experiments examined whether object familiarity also affects spatial judgments of exocentric extents presented under conditions comparable to those of Carlson and Tassone's experiments. The markers of the extents were either familiar or unfamiliar objects. In Experiment 1, subjects reproduced the perceived extents of depth intervals by adjusting a comparison egocentric extent, and in Experiment 2, subjects also compared the relative depths of two equally long extents. In Experiment 3, the two equally long extents were presented in the subjects' frontoparallel plane, and the subjects reported which of these two extents appeared longer and farther away. The results of these experiments indicate that familiar size does not affect the perceived depths or lengths of exocentric extents viewed under naturalistic conditions.     

Melody recognition at fast and slow tempos: effects of age, experience, and familiarity

Eighty-one listeners defined by three age ranges (18-30, 31-59, and over 60 years) and three levels of musical experience performed an immediate recognition task requiring the detection of alterations in melodies. On each trial, a brief melody was presented, followed 5 sec later by a test stimulus that either was identical to the target or had two pitches changed, for a same-different judgment. Each melody pair was presented at 0.6 note/sec, 3.0 notes/sec, or 6.0 notes/sec. Performance was better with familiar melodies than with unfamiliar melodies. Overall performance declined slightly with age and improved substantially with increasing experience, in agreement with earlier results in an identification task. Tempo affected performance on familiar tunes (moderate was best), but not on unfamiliar tunes. We discuss these results in terms of theories of dynamic attending, cognitive slowing, and working memory in aging.     

Spatial judgments of exocentric extents in an open-field situation: Familiar versus unfamiliar size

Carlson and Tassone (1971) found that an object of familiar size presented in an outdoor setting and viewed at an appreciable distance is judged to be more distant than an unfamiliar object. Three experiments examined whether object familiarity also affects spatial judgments of exocentric extents presented under conditions comparable to those of Carlson and Tassone’s experiments. The markers of the extents were either familiar or unfamiliar objects. In Experiment 1, subjects reproduced the perceived extents of depth intervals by adjusting a comparison egocentric extent, and in Experiment 2, subjects also compared the relative depths of two equally long extents. In Experiment 3, the two equally long extents were presented in the subjects’ frontoparallel plane, and the subjects reported which of these two extents appeared longer and farther away. The results of these experiments indicate that familiar size does not affect the perceived depths or lengths of exocentric extents viewed under naturalistic conditions.