Generalizing across tonal context, timbre, and octave in rapid absolute pitch training

Abstract

Absolute pitch (AP) is the rare ability to name any musical note without the use of a reference note. Given that genuine AP representations are based on the identification of isolated notes by their tone chroma, they are considered to be invariant to (1) surrounding tonal context, (2) changes in instrumental timbre, and (3) changes in octave register. However, there is considerable variability in the literature in terms of how AP is trained and tested along these dimensions, making recent claims about AP learning difficult to assess. Here, we examined the effect of tonal context on participant success with a single-note identification training paradigm, including how learning generalized to an untested instrument and octave. We found that participants were able to rapidly learn to distinguish C from other notes, with and without feedback and regardless of the tonal context in which C was presented. Participants were also able to partly generalize this skill to an untrained instrument. However, participants displayed the weakest generalization in recognizing C in a higher octave. The results indicate that participants were likely attending to pitch height in addition to pitch chroma - a conjecture that was supported by analyzing the pattern of response errors. These findings highlight the complex nature of note representation in AP, which requires note identification across contexts, going beyond the simple storage of a note fundamental. The importance of standardizing testing that spans both timbre and octave in assessing AP, as well as further implications on past literature and future work are discussed.

Pitch height and mode have asymmetrical effects on the perception of mixed emotions in seventh chords

“…These findings reflect a strong association between height and perceived mood, namely that higher pitched chords are thought to be happier and less sad, and lower pitched chords are more likely to be perceived as sadder and less happy when compared to bittersweet, respectively. Indeed, a robust body of literature affirms that pitch height is a salient auditory cue that listeners are drawn to when making judgments in fields including music, language, and spatial perception (Bongiovanni et al, 2023;Huron et al, 2006;Krishnan et al, 2017;Rusconi et al, 2006). Taking all of these considerations together, the results of both experiments suggest that, in a direct contextual comparison, people are sensitive to pitch height in ways that have a more pronounced effect on perception than modal manipulations do.…”

“…Before beginning the experiment, participants completed a short auditory calibration. The materials for the auditory calibration were taken from a recent online auditory study (Bongiovanni et al, 2023) A 5-second pink noise sample created in Adobe Audition was played between trials to clear auditory working memory.…”