scholarly journals Absolute Pitch and the Perception of Sequential Musical Intervals

1991 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
André-Pierre Benguerel ◽  
Carol Westdal
Keyword(s):  
Absolute Pitch ◽  
The Other ◽  
Main Experiment ◽  
Musical Note ◽  
Musical Interval ◽  
Relative Pitch

When identifying musical intervals, most musicians appear to use only one strategy: they directly evaluate the musical interval between two notes (relative-pitch strategy). Musicians with absolute pitch (AP) seem to have two strategies available for identifying intervals: they can either use the relative-pitch strategy, or they can first identify the two pitches and then infer the musical interval between them (AP strategy). This study investigates the perception of sequential musical intervals by two groups of musicians, one group with AP and the other without AP. Most subjects in either group were able to name standard sequential musical intervals based on the equal-tempered scale accurately. Most subjects in the AP group were able to name notes of the equal-tempered scale accurately and consistently, whereas subjects without AP were not. Subjects with AP identified, with varying degrees of accuracy and consistency, single notes spaced in 20-cent increments over a 9.4- semitone range, using the standard musical note names. In the main experiment, subjects identified sequential musical intervals ranging in 20- cent steps from 260 to 540 cents, using the standard musical interval names. On the basis of their identification errors, subjects, both with and without AP, appeared to identify the intervals using the RP strategy rather than the AP strategy. It seems that musicians with AP do not use this ability in the identification of sequential musical intervals, relying instead on their sense of relative pitch.

Absolute Judgment of Musical Interval Width

2014 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 186-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Aruffo ◽  
Robert L. Goldstone ◽  
David J. D. Earn
Keyword(s):  
Absolute Pitch ◽  
Pitch Perception ◽  
Absolute Judgment ◽  
Musical Interval ◽  
Relative Pitch ◽  
Musical Concepts ◽  
Interval Width ◽  
Musical Tone ◽  
The Absolute

When a musical tone is sounded, most listeners are unable to identify its pitch by name. Those listeners who can identify pitches are said to have absolute pitch perception (AP). A limited subset of musicians possesses AP, and it has been debated whether musicians’ AP interferes with their ability to perceive tonal relationships between pitches, or relative pitch (RP). The present study tested musicians’ discrimination of relative pitch categories, or intervals, by placing absolute pitch values in conflict with relative pitch categories. AP listeners perceived intervals categorically, and their judgments were not affected by absolute pitch values. These results indicate that AP listeners do not infer interval identities from the absolute values between tones, and that RP categories are salient musical concepts in both RP and AP musicianship.

Aural Key Identification and Its Relationship to Absolute Pitch

1983 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernst Terhardt ◽  
Manfred Seewann
Keyword(s):  
Absolute Pitch ◽  
The Other ◽  
Main Experiment ◽  
Experimental Paradigm ◽  
Perceptual Cues ◽  
Identification Performance ◽  
Trained Subjects ◽  
Pitch Information ◽  
And Control

The ability of musically talented and trained subjects (124 non- absolutepitch- possessors, 11 AP possessors), was tested to determine whether or not brief musical stimuli were in the nominal (i. e., correct) key; no pitch reference was given. As test stimuli, excerpts of J. S. Bach's major preludes of the Well- Tempered Clavier, Vol. 1 (duration 4- 5 sec), were employed. Three categories of test were carried out, i. e., pilot, main, and control experiments. In the pilot and main experiments, test stimuli were generated on a piano, while in the control experiments modified piano sounds and electronic sounds were used. The pilot experiments yielded good replicability of previous findings (Terhardt & Ward, 1982), and showed insensitivity of key- identification performance to the type of experimental paradigm employed. In the main experiment, 78% of the subjects (only 11 being AP possessors) achieved significant identification performance with transpositions of up to 4 semitones. Forty-five percent of subjects were significantly able to tell the nominal key from ± 1-semitone transpositions. The distribution of identification rates (normalized for guessing) extends from 0 to 100% and shows a pronounced minimum at around 75%. This suggests two different modes of key identification, one used by non-AP-possessors, and the other by AP possessors. The control experiments reveal that key- identification performance is not piano-specific. Results of all three test categories indicate that no perceptual cues other than pitch were involved. It is thus concluded that both AP possessors and non-AP-possessors depend on absolute pitch information when identifying musical key; however, they employ different perceptual modes: AP possessors primarily identify individual notes, while non-AP-possessors unconsciously deduce from a series of notes a feeling of key.

scholarly journals Absolute pitch can be learned by some adults

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen C. Van Hedger ◽  
Shannon L.M Heald ◽  
Howard C. Nusbaum
Keyword(s):  
Critical Period ◽  
Training Session ◽  
Absolute Pitch ◽  
Classification Performance ◽  
Childhood Development ◽  
Musical Note ◽  
Perceptual Training ◽  
Relative Pitch ◽  
Improving Accuracy ◽  
Positive Results

AbstractAbsolute pitch (AP), the rare ability to name any musical note without the aid of a reference note, is thought to develop in an early critical period of development. Although recent research has shown that adults can improve AP abilities in a single training session, the best learners still did not achieve note classification performance comparable to performance of a genuine AP possessor. Here, we demonstrate that genuine AP levels of performance can be trained in eight weeks for some adults, with the best learner passing all measures of AP ability after training and retaining this knowledge for at least four months after training. Alternative explanations of these positive results, such as improving accuracy through adopting a slower, relative pitch strategy, are not supported based on joint analyses of response time and accuracy. The post-training AP assessments were extensive, totaling 204 notes taken from eight different timbres and spanning over seven octaves. These results clearly demonstrate that explicit perceptual training in some adults can lead to AP performance that is behaviorally indistinguishable from AP that results from childhood development. Implications for theories of AP acquisition are discussed.

Absolute Pitch and Relative Pitch in Music Students in the East and the West

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ken'ichi Miyazaki ◽  
Andrzej Rakowski ◽  
Sylwia Makomaska ◽  
Cong Jiang ◽  
Minoru Tsuzaki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
East Asian ◽  
Absolute Pitch ◽  
Music Students ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Japanese Students ◽  
Relative Pitch ◽  
Cultural Conditions ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Musical Context

Absolute pitch (AP)—an ability to identify an isolated pitch without musical context—is commonly believed to be a valuable ability for musicians. However, relative pitch (RP)—an ability to perceive pitch relations—is more important in most musical contexts. In this study, music students in East Asian and Western countries (Japan, China, Poland, Germany, and USA) were tested on AP and RP abilities. In the AP test, 60 single tones were presented in a quasirandom order over a five-octave range. In the RP test, ascending musical intervals from 1 to 11 semitones were presented in four different keys. Participants wrote down note names in the AP test and scale-degree names or musical interval names in the RP test. The conservatory-level Japanese students showed the highest AP performance and more than half of them were classified as accurate AP possessors, but only 10% were classified as accurate RP possessors. In contrast, only a small percentage of participants from Poland, Germany, and the USA were identified as accurate AP possessors, whereas many more were accurate RP possessors. Participants from China were typically intermediate on both measures. These noticeable contrasts between AP and RP performance in different countries suggest influences of the underlying socio-cultural conditions, presumably relating to music education. Given the importance of RP in music, the results suggest that more emphasis should be place on RP training, particularly in East Asian countries.

scholarly journals Neural patterns reveal single-trial information on absolute pitch and relative pitch perception

NeuroImage ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 200 ◽  
pp. 132-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Leipold ◽  
Marielle Greber ◽  
Silvano Sele ◽  
Lutz Jäncke
Keyword(s):  
Absolute Pitch ◽  
Pitch Perception ◽  
Single Trial ◽  
Relative Pitch

Absolute pitch learning in adults speaking non-tonal languages

2020 ◽  
Vol 73 (11) ◽  
pp. 1908-1920
Author(s):  
Yetta Kwailing Wong ◽  
Vince SH Ngan ◽  
Leo YT Cheung ◽  
Alan C-N Wong
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Musical Training ◽  
Absolute Pitch ◽  
Tonal Language ◽  
Relative Pitch ◽  
External Reference ◽  
Small Pitch ◽  
Early Childhood Experience ◽  
Language Exposure

Absolute pitch (AP) refers to labelling individual pitches in the absence of external reference. A widely endorsed theory regards AP as a privileged ability enjoyed by selected few with rare genetic makeup and musical training starting in early childhood. However, recent evidence showed that even adults can learn AP, and some can attain a performance level comparable to natural AP possessors. These training studies involved native tonal language speakers, whose acquisition of AP might be facilitated by tonal language exposure during early childhood. In this study, adults speaking non-tonal languages went through AP training that was 20-hr long, computerised and personalised. Performance on average improved, which was accompanied by enhanced working memory for tones, whereas relative pitch judgement and sensitivity to small pitch differences remained unchanged. Notably, two out of 13 learned to label all 12 pitches within an octave, with accuracy and response time comparable to natural AP possessors. Overall, the findings suggest that tonal language exposure is not a prerequisite for AP learning in adulthood. The understanding of the origin of AP would benefit from considering the role of lifelong learning instead of focusing only on early childhood experience.

scholarly journals Functional anatomy of musical processing in listeners with absolute pitch and relative pitch

1998 ◽  
Vol 95 (6) ◽  
pp. 3172-3177 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. Zatorre ◽  
D. W. Perry ◽  
C. A. Beckett ◽  
C. F. Westbury ◽  
A. C. Evans
Keyword(s):  
Functional Anatomy ◽  
Absolute Pitch ◽  
Relative Pitch

scholarly journals Electrophysiological Correlates of Absolute Pitch and Relative Pitch

2004 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 760-769 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kosuke Itoh ◽  
Shugo Suwazono ◽  
Hiroshi Arao ◽  
Ken'ichi Miyazaki ◽  
Tsutomu Nakada
Keyword(s):  
Absolute Pitch ◽  
Relative Pitch
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