Musical imagery: Generation of tones and chords.

Abstract

Four experiments are reported that examine subjects' ability to form and use images of tones and chords. In Experiments 1 and 3, subjects heard a cue tone or chord and formed an image of a tone or chord one whole step in pitch above the cue. This image was then compared to a probe tone or chord that was either the same as the image in pitch, different from the image in pitch and harmonically closely related, or different and harmonically distantly related. Image formation times and response times were measured. In Experiment 3 a random-tone mask was used to control for possible contribution of the cue in echoic memory. In both experiments tone images were formed faster than chord images, a result consistent with the idea of structural complexity as a determinant of image formation time. Response times and accuracy rates were found to parallel results found in music perception studies, results consistent with the idea of shared mechanisms in the processing of musical images and percepts. Experiments 2 and 4 were control experiments examining the possible influence of demand characteristics and subjects' knowledge. In experiment 2 subjects predicted the results of "an average person" using imagery, and in Experiment 4 subjects completed the task without receiving imagery instructions. The findings ruled out the possibility that demand characteristics and subjects' knowledge were solely responsible for the results of Experiments 1 and 3 and support the argument for the role of imagery.

Further constraints on the bizarreness effect: Elaboration at encoding Bridget Robinson-Riegler

“…The complexity ofthe sentence may exacerbate this difficulty. In addition, studies in which image formation times for complex items have been compared with those for simple items have shown that to form an image of a complex item takes longer than to form an image of a simple item (Beech & Allport, 1978;Hubbard & Stoeckig, 1988;Kosslyn, Reiser, Farah, & Fliegel, 1983), and Kline and Groninger (1991) have suggested that a bizarreness effect can be obtained with complex sentences when sufficient processing time is given. Simply put, the time allotted for image formation in Experiment 1 might have been insufficient for some subjects to complete the image suggested by these more complex sentences, and/or subjects may not have been able to form adequate images from these sentences spontaneously (especially the bizarre sentences).…”

Effect of skill level on recall of visually presented patterns of musical notes

“…This would indicate a contribution of musical imagery. Research on musical imagery has shown that several musical attributes can be evoked in the absence of any auditory stimulus, in other words, through auditory imagery in short‐term working memory (Baddeley & Logie, 1992; Halpern, 1988; Hubbard & Stoeckig, 1988; Zatorre, Halpern, Perry, Meyer & Evans, 1996). These attributes include timbre, pitch and tempo (Halpern, 1988; Keller, Cowan & Saults, 1995).…”

Acuity of auditory images in pitch and time

“…Hubbard and Stoeckig (1988) asked listeners to form a mental image of a chord or tone that was one scale degree above a chord or tone cue and, upon forming the image, to decide whether a target consisted of the same pitch(es) as their image. As in the studies cited above, the mental image facilitated the decision to respond same to a target that was the same as the image.…”