scholarly journals An interval-size illusion: The influence of timbre on the perceived size of melodic intervals

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank A Russo ◽  
William F Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Pitch Perception ◽  
The Other ◽  
Size Perception ◽  
Interval Size ◽  
Pitch Distance

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.

scholarly journals An interval-size illusion: The influence of timbre on the perceived size of melodic intervals

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank A Russo ◽  
William F Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Pitch Perception ◽  
The Other ◽  
Size Perception ◽  
Interval Size ◽  
Pitch Distance

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.

Dynamic Pitch Perception for Complex Tones of Periodic Spectral Patterns

1991 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 291-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshitaka Nakajima ◽  
Hiroyuki Minami ◽  
Takashi Tsumura ◽  
Hiroshi Kunisaki ◽  
Shigeki Ohnishi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Paired Comparison ◽  
Fixed Ratio ◽  
Pitch Perception ◽  
The Other ◽  
Complex Tones ◽  
Logarithmic Frequency ◽  
Human Ear ◽  
Spectral Patterns ◽  
Pitch Movement

Pitch circularity as found in Shepard tones was examined by using complex tones that had various degrees of exactness in their spectral periodicities on the logarithmic frequency dimension. This dimension was divided into periods of 1400 cents by tone components, and each period was subdivided into two parts of a fixed ratio of 700:700, 600:800, 550:850, 500:900, 450:950, 400:1000, or 0:1400. Subjects made paired comparison judgments for pitch. When the subdividing ratio was 0: 1400 or 400:1000, the subjects responded to the spectral periodicity of 1400 cents, and, when the ratio was 700:700 or 600:800, they responded to the periodicity of 700 cents. Some seemingly intermediate cases between these two extremes or some qualitatively different cases were obtained in the other conditions. As we have asserted before, the human ear appears to detect a global pitch movement when some tone components move in the same direction by similar degrees on the logarithmic frequency dimension.

scholarly journals Vowel Content Influences Relative Pitch Perception in Vocal Melodies

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Russo ◽  
Dominique T Vuvan ◽  
William Forde Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Response Times ◽  
Pitch Perception ◽  
Pitch Contour ◽  
Relative Pitch ◽  
Interval Size ◽  
Final Note

Note-to-note changes in brightness are able to influence the perception of interval size. Changes that are congruent with pitch tend to expand interval size, whereas changes that are incongruent tend to contract. In the case of singing, brightness of notes can vary as a function of vowel content. In the present study, we investigated whether note-to-note changes in brightness arising from vowel content influence perception of relative pitch. In Experiment 1, three-note sequences were synthesized so that they varied with regard to the brightness of vowels from note to note. As expected, brightness influenced judgments of interval size. Changes in brightness that were congruent with changes in pitch led to an expansion of perceived interval size. A follow-up experiment confirmed that the results of Experiment 1 were not due to pitch distortions. In Experiment 2, the final note of three-note sequences was removed, and participants were asked to make speeded judgments of the pitch contour. An analysis of response times revealed that brightness of vowels influenced contour judgments. Changes in brightness that were congruent with changes in pitch led to faster response times than did incongruent changes. These findings show that the brightness of vowels yields an extra-pitch influence on the perception of relative pitch in song.

scholarly journals SUVOKIAMO ATKARPOS ILGIO PRIKLAUSOMYBĖ NUO JOS ATVAIZDO VIETOS AKIES TINKLAINĖJE

Psichologija ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
pp. 78-91
Author(s):  
A. Dzekevičiūtė ◽  
A. Daugirdienė ◽  
A. Švegžda ◽  
R. Stanikūnas ◽  
H. Vaitkevičius
Keyword(s):  
Visual Field ◽  
Line Length ◽  
The Other ◽  
Size Perception ◽  
Normal Vision ◽  
Magnification Factor ◽  
Extremum Point ◽  
Cortical Magnification ◽  
Cortical Magnification Factor ◽  
The Given

Tyrimo tikslas yra patikrinti, kaip keičiasi objekto dydžio suvokimas, kintant jo projekcijos padėčiai akies tinklainėje, ir kaip objekto dydžio suvokimas priklauso nuo akies tinklainės receptorių (kūgelių ir lazdelių) tankio. Tiriamieji, žiūrėdami viena akimi ir fiksuodami žvilgsnį, dalijo skirtingų ilgių atkarpas – nustatydavo suvokiamą vidurį. Atkarpos dalių santykio nuo atkarpos ilgio funkcija turėjo lūžio tašką (66,7 proc. tiriamiesiems, kai atkarpos ilgis 7 laipsniai, 23,33 proc. – 13 laipsnių, kiti neturėjo). Rezultatai aiškinami skirtingu kūgelių ir lazdelių tankiu akies tinklainėje ir skirtinga kūgelių ir lazdelių įtaka.Pagrindiniai žodžiai: dydžio suvokimas, žievinis didinimo veiksnys, fotoreceptorių tankis.Perceived Size of a Line Depending on Its Projection Place on the RetinaDzekevičiūtė A., Daugirdienė A., Švegžda A., Stanikūnas R., Vaitkevičius H. SummaryIt is known that objects located in the centre of the visual field are perceived as larger than the objects located in the periphery (Пиаже, 1978). The image of an object differs from its perception object. The perceived size of an object depends on the size of its image in the visual cortex. This stems from the so-called cortical magnification factor. It is assumed that the same quantity of receptors sends information to the same area of the cortex. But photoreceptors are different – rods and the cones. It is not clear whether the different type of receptors make a different influence on the above-mentioned distortion of mapping. Also, the image of the object on the retina is perceived differently, depending on its location on the retina. Our goal was to explore how this subjective expansion changes while moving away from the centre of the retina, because there are no data on this, phenomenon.Method. Thirty normal or corrected to normal vision adults participated in the study. Five different length lines (5, 7, 10, 13, 15 degrees) were represented on the computer’s monitor one line at a time. Participants had monoculary bisected lines into two subjectively equal parts fixating sight on a cross located at the given end of the line.Results. The ratio ρ (length of the line near the cross / length of the other part) was calculated. This ratio as a function of the length of the whole line was not monotonic: when the line was short, ρ decreased, but then it began to increase. Three groups of results were formed considering the ratio of the line length (where the function had the extremum point). The largest group (66.67%) had the extremum point when the line length was 7 deg. The second group (23.33%) had the extremum point when the line length was 13 deg. The last group (10%) had not clear extremum point and was excluded from the calculation. Changes of the ρ value cannot be explained by the perceptual instability of the length of the line (Brown, 1953). There could be a correlation between the value of ρ and the density of all receptors in the retina where the line was projected.Conclusions. Humans make a bias while monocular by bisecting a line: the part near the point of fixation is perceived as bigger than the other part. The function of the line size ratio changes not monotonically – it has an extremum point. Most often, the extremum point is observed when the line size is 7 deg. This point is near the point where the density of rods exceeds that of cones. Other subjects show the extremum point when line size is 13 deg., but the reasons for such a point shift remain unclear. Some subjects have no extremum point.Key words: size perception, cortical magnification factor, density of photoreceptors.

scholarly journals Vowel Content Influences Relative Pitch Perception in Vocal Melodies

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank A. Russo ◽  
Dominique T. Vuvan ◽  
William Forde Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Response Times ◽  
Pitch Perception ◽  
Pitch Contour ◽  
Relative Pitch ◽  
Interval Size ◽  
Final Note

Note-to-note changes in brightness are able to influence the perception of interval size. Changes that are congruent with pitch tend to expand interval size, whereas changes that are incongruent tend to contract. In the case of singing, brightness of notes can vary as a function of vowel content. In the present study, we investigated whether note-to-note changes in brightness arising from vowel content influence perception of relative pitch. In Experiment 1, three-note sequences were synthesized so that they varied with regard to the brightness of vowels from note to note. As expected, brightness influenced judgments of interval size. Changes in brightness that were congruent with changes in pitch led to an expansion of perceived interval size. A follow-up experiment confirmed that the results of Experiment 1 were not due to pitch distortions. In Experiment 2, the final note of three-note sequences was removed, and participants were asked to make speeded judgments of the pitch contour. An analysis of response times revealed that brightness of vowels influenced contour judgments. Changes in brightness that were congruent with changes in pitch led to faster response times than did incongruent changes. These findings show that the brightness of vowels yields an extra-pitch influence on the perception of relative pitch in song.

Relationship Between Auditory Context and Visual Distance Perception: Effect of Musical Expertise in the Ability to Translate Reverberation Cues Into Room-Size Perception

Perception ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (8) ◽  
pp. 873-880
Author(s):  
Pablo E. Etchemendy ◽  
Ignacio Spiousas ◽  
Ramiro Vergara
Keyword(s):  
Distance Perception ◽  
Anechoic Chamber ◽  
The Other ◽  
Size Perception ◽  
Size Information ◽  
Musical Expertise ◽  
Room Size ◽  
Visual Distance

In a recently published work by our group [ Scientific Reports, 7, 7189 (2017)], we performed experiments of visual distance perception in two dark rooms with extremely different reverberation times: one anechoic ( T ∼ 0.12 s) and the other reverberant ( T ∼ 4 s). The perceived distance of the targets was systematically greater in the reverberant room when contrasted to the anechoic chamber. Participants also provided auditorily perceived room-size ratings which were greater for the reverberant room. Our hypothesis was that distance estimates are affected by room size, resulting in farther responses for the room perceived larger. Of much importance to the task was the subjects’ ability to infer room size from reverberation. In this article, we report a postanalysis showing that participants having musical expertise were better able to extract and translate reverberation cues into room-size information than nonmusicians. However, the degree to which musical expertise affects visual distance estimates remains unclear.

Eighth-Grade Violinists’ Instrument Tuning Ability

2015 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael T. Hopkins
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Middle Schools ◽  
Pitch Perception ◽  
The Other ◽  
Eighth Grade ◽  
Perceptual Task ◽  
Perceptual Accuracy ◽  
Computer Based ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Moderate Relationship

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between eighth-grade violinists’ pitch perception and instrument tuning skill. The perceptual task was a researcher-developed computer-based Violin Tuning Perception Test. The instrument tuning task involved tuning two violins, one mistuned flat and the other mistuned sharp. Participants ( N = 46) were enrolled at three middle schools in the midwestern United States. A moderate relationship was found between participants’ perceptual accuracy and instrument tuning accuracy, with pitch perception scores significantly more accurate than instrument tuning scores. Participants tuned the flat instrument more accurately than the sharp instrument. An overall tendency toward flat tuning was evident on both the perception and instrument tuning tests, with responses to items representing the G string, the least accurate on both the perception and the instrument tuning tests. No relationships were found between participants’ rating of their tuning ability and their perceptual or instrument tuning accuracy; however, those who rated themselves as “excellent or good” required significantly less time to complete the instrument tuning test than those who rated themselves as “fair or poor.”

The Several Dimensions of Pitch

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Tenney
Keyword(s):  
Sound Source ◽  
Temporal Processing ◽  
Auditory Perception ◽  
Pitch Perception ◽  
The Other ◽  
Sound Sources ◽  
Neural Information ◽  
Temporal Ordering

James Tenney explains the different mechanisms behind the simultaneous and consecutive relationships between pitches using ideas from evolution and neurocognition. He suggests that there are two different aspects of pitch perception and that one of those aspects can also be thought of as multidimensional. In considering such fundamental questions regarding the nature of auditory perception, Tenney refers to the evolution of hearing and considers two complementary if not contradictory things: distinguish between or among sounds issuing from different sound sources, and recognize when two or more sounds—though different—actually arise from a single sound source. The first mechanism is the basis for what Tenney calls the contour aspect of contour aspect of contour pitch perception. The other aspect of pitch perception has to do with the temporal ordering of the neural information. Tenney concludes by proposing a psychoacoustic explanation for contour formation based on the ear's temporal processing.

Vowel and Tone Identification for Mandarin Congenital Amusics: Effects of Vowel Type and Semantic Content

2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (12) ◽  
pp. 4300-4308
Author(s):  
Mingshuang Li ◽  
Wei Tang ◽  
Chang Liu ◽  
Yun Nan ◽  
Wenjing Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Phonological Processing ◽  
Lexical Processing ◽  
Semantic Content ◽  
Pitch Perception ◽  
The Other ◽  
Lexical Tone ◽  
Vowel Identification ◽  
Vowel Perception ◽  
Musical Pitch ◽  
Different Types

Purpose This study aimed to explore the effects of Mandarin congenital amusia with or without lexical tone deficit (i.e., tone agnosia and pure amusia) on Mandarin vowel and tone identification in different types of vowels (e.g., monophthong, diphthongs, and triphthongs) embedded in consonant–vowel contexts with and without semantic content. Method Thirteen pure amusics (i.e., amusics with normal lexical processing), 5 tone agnosics (i.e., with lexical tone deficit), and 12 controls were screened with Montreal Battery of Evaluation of Amusia and lexical tone tests ( Nan et al., 2010 ; Peretz et al., 2003 ). Vowel-plus-tone identification tasks with the factors of vowel type and syllables with and without semantic content (e.g., real and nonsense words) were examined among the 3 groups, and identification scores were calculated in 3 formats: vowel-plus-tone identification, vowel identification, and tone identification. Results Tone agnosics showed significantly poorer performances on identifications of vowel, tone, and vowel plus tone across monophthongs, diphthongs, and triphthongs in both real and nonsense words compared to pure amusics and controls. Their deficits were similar across the 3 types of vowels, while the deficit on vowel-plus-tone identification was more severe in nonsense words than in real words. On the other hand, pure amusics performed similarly with controls across all these conditions. Conclusions Tone agnosia might affect both musical pitch and phonological processing, resulting in deficits in lexical tone and vowel perception. On the contrary, pure amusics's effect is primarily on musical pitch perception but not on lexical tone or phonemic deficit. Vowel type did not affect speech deficits for tone agnosics, while they relied more on semantic content as a compensation.

Context Dependent Pitch Perception in Consonant and Dissonant Harmonic Intervals

2015 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 460-469 ◽  
Author(s):  
George A. Seror ◽  
W. Trammell Neill
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Pitch Perception ◽  
The Other ◽  
Processing Fluency ◽  
Pitch Discrimination ◽  
Single Probe ◽  
Key Press ◽  
Target Experiment ◽  
Context Dependent

Two experiments examined whether discrimination of component pitches in a harmonic interval is affected by the consonance or dissonance of the interval. A single probe pitch (B or C) was followed by a two note harmonic interval including that pitch (e.g., C then C-F# or C-G) or not including it (e.g., C then B-F# or B-G). On each trial, subjects indicated by key press whether the probe note was repeated in the following interval. The target note in the interval either matched the probe or differed by one semitone (B or C). The other note produced a consonant (e.g., perfect fifth) or dissonant (e.g., tritone) context for the target. Pitch discrimination was faster and more accurate in consonant intervals than dissonant, when the context note was higher than the target (Experiment 1), but there was no effect of consonance when the target was higher (Experiment 2). We conclude that the perception of the lower but not the upper pitch in a two note harmonic interval is affected by the interval’s consonance or dissonance. We discuss the results in terms of the theoretical framework of processing fluency and aesthetics proposed by Winkielman, Schwarz, Fazendeiro, and Reber (2003).

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