The effects of ethnicity, musicianship, and tone language experience on pitch perception

Yi, Zheng; Samuel, Arthur G.

doi:10.1177/1747021818757435

Cited by 24 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…They also help clarify the previously mixed pattern of results concerning the effects of linguistic experience on music processing across different tasks and samples. For example, an advantage for tonal language speakers in melodic pattern processing is consistent with the majority of previous studies (Alexander et al, 2008;Bidelman et al, 2013;Bradley, 2016;Creel et al, 2018;Pfordresher & Brown, 2009;Swaminathan et al, 2021;Wong et al, 2012), though not all (Bidelman et al, 2011a;Giuliano et al, 2011;Stevens et al, 2013;Tong et al, 2018;Zheng & Samuel, 2018). The modest disadvantage we see on fine-grained pitch tasks too is supported by some prior studies (Bent et al, 2006;Bidelman et al, 2011a;Chang et al, 2016;Peretz et al, 2011;Pfordresher & Brown, 2009;Stevens et al, 2013;Tong et al, 2018;Wong et al, 2012;Zheng & Samuel, 2018) but not others (Bidelman et al, 2013;Giuliano et al, 2011;Hutka et al, 2015).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…But other studies fail to replicate these patterns, both for melodic discrimination (Giuliano et al, 2011;Stevens et al, 2013;Tong et al, 2018) and fine-scale pitch discrimination (Bent et al, 2006;Bidelman et al, 2011a;Pfordresher & Brown, 2009;Stevens et al, 2013;Tong et al, 2018). Some studies even find that tonal language speakers have more trouble distinguishing musical pitch contours, suggesting that lexical tone experience could interfere with pitch perception in some contexts (Bent et al, 2006;Chang et al, 2016;Peretz et al, 2011;Zheng & Samuel, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Language experience predicts music processing in ½ million speakers of 54 languages

Liu

Hilton

Bergelson

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Tonal languages differ from other languages in their use of pitch (tones) to distinguish words. Some research suggests that the linguistic pitch expertise of tonal language speakers may generalize to improved discrimination of some aspects of musical pitch: tonal language speakers may therefore have music perception advantages over speakers of other languages. The evidence is mixed, however, as prior studies have studied small numbers of participants in only a few tonal languages and countries, making it challenging to disentangle the effects of linguistic experience from variability in music training experience, cultural differences, and so on. Here, we report an assessment of music perception skill in native speakers of 40 languages, with a preregistered exploratory-confirmatory design, including tonal (e.g., Mandarin, Vietnamese), pitch-accented (e.g., Japanese, Croatian), and non-tonal (e.g., Spanish, Hungarian) languages. Whether or not participants had taken music lessons, native speakers of tonal languages (confirmatory n = 20,102) had an improved ability to discriminate musical melodies. But this improvement came with a trade-off: relative to speakers of pitch-accented (confirmatory n = 9,694) or non-tonal languages (confirmatory n = 242,096), tonal speakers were worse at discriminating fine-scale pitch-tuning and worse at processing the musical beat. These results, which held across 5 tonal languages and were robust to geographic and demographic variation, demonstrate that linguistic experience shapes music perception ability, with implications for relations between music, language, and culture in the human mind.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Language experience predicts music processing in ½ million speakers of 54 languages

Liu

Hilton

Bergelson

et al. 2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Rhythm, emphasis, intonation and using breath correctly, which are what they both have in common, strengthen the expressive power of speech and music and add an artistic dimension. Similar to these results, Zheng and Samuel (2018), in their experimental study, suggested a music-to-language transfer effect of musicians who outperformed non-musicians on both speech and fundamental frequency sounds.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 66%

Speaking as a musical expression tool according to teachers’ views

Bilen

2021

CJES

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The aim of the study is to evaluate the relationship between speaking as a musical expression tool and music in effective communication according to teachers’ opinions. The qualitative research method is used in this study. The data were collected with the ‘opinion form’ that prepared online and consists of three open-ended questions. The research group consisted of 400 teachers, 131 of whom music teachers and 269 of whom other field teachers. The results of the research are that body language is at the forefront of communication tools other than music; musical expressions are mostly used in speech; emotional expression and effective expression are common aspects of music and speech; and music teachers are willing to learn this strategy. Training arrangements for teachers to use body language and speech effectively are in line with these results, and in-service training programs for music teachers to develop a musical expression are among the suggestions. Keywords: Language; speech; music; musical education; musical expression.

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“…This suggested that the music-to-language transfer was specific to tones. In a more recent study, English listeners heard pairs of Mandarin phrases, half of which contained a syllable with a deviant tone (i.e., the f0 level of the syllable was increased by 10%) (Zheng and Samuel, 2018). Compared with the English non-musicians, the English musicians were better able to detect the tonal differences.…”

Section: Music-to-language Transfermentioning

confidence: 98%

Musicianship Influences Language Effect on Musical Pitch Perception

Choi

2021

Front. Psychol.

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Given its practical implications, the effect of musicianship on language learning has been vastly researched. Interestingly, growing evidence also suggests that language experience can facilitate music perception. However, the precise nature of this facilitation is not fully understood. To address this research gap, I investigated the interactive effect of language and musicianship on musical pitch and rhythmic perception. Cantonese and English listeners, each divided into musician and non-musician groups, completed the Musical Ear Test and the Raven’s 2 Progressive Matrices. Essentially, an interactive effect of language and musicianship was found on musical pitch but not rhythmic perception. Consistent with previous studies, Cantonese language experience appeared to facilitate musical pitch perception. However, this facilitatory effect was only present among the non-musicians. Among the musicians, Cantonese language experience did not offer any perceptual advantage. The above findings reflect that musicianship influences the effect of language on musical pitch perception. Together with the previous findings, the new findings offer two theoretical implications for the OPERA hypothesis—bi-directionality and mechanisms through which language experience and musicianship interact in different domains.

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The effects of ethnicity, musicianship, and tone language experience on pitch perception

Cited by 24 publications

References 51 publications

Language experience predicts music processing in ½ million speakers of 54 languages

Language experience predicts music processing in ½ million speakers of 54 languages

Speaking as a musical expression tool according to teachers’ views

Musicianship Influences Language Effect on Musical Pitch Perception

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