Tempo sensitivity in auditory sequences: Evidence for a multiple-look model

Abstract

Differential thresholds for tempi (with interonset intervals ranging from 100 to 1,500 msec) were measured using an adaptive 2IFC paradigm for several types of auditory sequences. In Experiment 1, the number of intervals in an isochronous sequence was varied to compare the sensitivity for single intervals with that for sequences oftwo to six intervals. Mean relative just noticeable differences (JNDs) decreased as the number of intervals increased (single intervals = 6%, two intervals = 4%, four intervals = 3.2%, six intervals = 3%) and were optimal at intermediate tempi for both sequences and single intervals (as low as 1.5% in the range between 300 and 800 msec), In Experiment 2, the sensitivity for different types of irregular sequences was studied. Globally, JNDs for irregular sequences were of an intermediate level between that observed for single intervals and that observed for regular sequences. However, the closer a sequence was to regularity, the lower its relative JND. Experiment 3 demonstrated that musicians were more sensitive than nonmusicians to changes in tempo, and this was true for single intervals and for regular and irregular sequences, demonstrating the role of training on these abilities. The results are discussed in terms of possible underlying mechanisms, in particular those providing a mental representation of the mean and dispersion of successive interval durations.How small a change in duration are we able to detect? The psychoacousticalliterature on time perception suggests that when subjects are asked to compare two intervals (empty or filled by a sound) they are able to say which is longer or shorter when there is a difference of at least 6% to 10% of the standard duration (Abel, 1972;Allen, 1979;Creelman, 1962;Getty, 1975Getty, , 1976Small & Campbell, 1962;Woodrow, 1951). This is true within a range of 200-2,000 msec, and the actual precision depends on many different factors, in particular the method used and the physical characteristics of the events marking the intervals. A similar level of sensitivity is also found when subjects are asked to detect a change in duration of one or two of the intervals contained in regular and rhythmic sequences (Drake, 1990(Drake, , 1992(Drake, , 1993 Drake, Botte, & Gerard, 1989; Drake, Gerard, & Botte, in press;Halpern & Darwin, 1982;Hirsh, Monahan, Grant, & Singh, 1990; van Noorden, 1975). However, when subjects are asked to compare the rate or tempo of two isochronous sequences, the little data available suggests that subjects are much more sensitive to changes, since they are able to detect a change of about 2% (Michon, 1964).How can we explain this greater sensitivity to changes in tempo of sequences than to changes in duration of single intervals? An obvious answer is that in the case of We wish to thank Professors Douglas Creelman, Ken Grant. and Peter Killeen for their helpful reviews and Mari Jones, Jean Lorenceau, and Steve McAdams for their comments on previous versions of this manuscript. Correspondence should be addressed to C. Drak...

Objective and Subjective Psychophysical Measures of Auditory Stream Integration and Segregation

“…This information is not usually available to the experimenter. Importantly, however, the mean thresholds reported in the current article fall within the range of auditory duration-discrimination thresholds measured in previous studies (Chistovitch 1959;Abel 1972;Divenyi and Danner 1977;Hirsh et al 1990;Rammsayer and Lima 1991;Drake and Botte 1993;Fitzgibbons and GordonSalant 1994;Phillips et al 1994;Rammsayer 1994;Fitzgibbons and Gordon-Salant 1995;Wright et al 1997;Roberts et al 2002;Fitzgibbons et al 2007). …”

Tracking time with song and count: Different Weber functions for musicians and nonmusicians

“…It is not clear whether they would continue to show superior performance in the no-segment condition. It is known that musicians have higher tempo sensitivity than do nonmusicians (Drake & Botte, 1993;Sheldon, 1994), but we do not know how the groups compare on estimating very long intervals. Indeed, restraining anyone from beating time while estimating long intervals is somewhat unnatural; for musicians, it is reasonable to assume that such restraint could involve inhibition processes that would severely interfere with their performance.…”

Music and emotion: perceptual determinants, immediacy, and isolation after brain damage

“…By most accounts, tempo evaluation requires a proper interpretation of beat (Dowling and Harwood, 1986;Drake and Botte, 1993). Similarly, mode perception requires encoding of pitch in musical scales (e.g.…”