Testing Models of Melodic Contour Similarity

Abstract

In two experiments, descriptions of melodic contour structure and predictions of perceived similarity relations between pairs of contours produced by a number of different models are examined. Two of these models, based on the music- theoretic approaches of Friedmann (1985) and Marvin and Laprade (1987), characterize contours in terms of interval content or contour subset information. The remaining two approaches quantify the global shape of the contours, through the presence of cyclical information (assessed via Fourier analysis) and the amount of oscillation (e. g., reversals in direction, pitch deviations) in the contours. Theoretical predictions for contour similarity generated by these models were examined for 20th century, nontonal melodies (Experiment 1) and simplistic, tonal patterns (Experiment 2). These experiments demonstrated that similarity based on Fourier analysis procedures and oscillation measures predicted a derived measure of perceived similarity, with both variables contributing relatively independently; the music- theoretic models were inconsistent in their predictive power. These results suggest that listeners are sensitive to the presence of global shape information in melodic contour, with such information underlying the perception of contour structure and contour similarity.

Perceptual Tests of an Algorithm for Musical Key-Finding.

“…Frankland and Cohen (1996) provide an example of such an application in their use of the algorithm to quantify the effects of tonality in a pitchcomparison task. Similarly, Schmuckler and colleagues have routinely used the key-finding algorithm to assess the tonal content of stimuli in studies on short-term memory (STM) of musical phrases (Chiappe & Schmuckler, 1997), the impact of tonality on derived similarity judgments of musical contour (Schmuckler, 1999(Schmuckler, , 2004, and even tonal influences on listeners' perceptions (Schmuckler, 1989) and pianists' productions (Schmuckler, 1990) of musical expectations.…”

EPS Prize Lecture: Characterizing congenital amusia

“…Extraction of contour. This is a process that operates in conjunction with short-term pitch memory processes, resulting in a representation of contour, which, at the simplest level, may simply specify "up", "down", "same" as a description of the pitch of the incoming tone in relation to its predecessor, though a number of models of contour have been suggested in the literature that operate at a higher level of abstraction (e.g., Huron, 1996;Schmuckler, 1999;Zhu & Kankanhalli, 2003). Neuropsychological work indicates secondary auditory cortex as a neural substrate (Johnsrude, Penhune, & Zatorre, 2000).…”

Expectancy-Violation and Information-Theoretic Models of Melodic Complexity

“…A large number of studies have investigated how musical preferences can be explained in terms of the complexity, originality, or novelty of the melodies (or other artworks) in question (e.g., Burke & Gridley, 1990;North & Hargreaves, 1995, 1999Radocy, 1982;Simonton, 1980Simonton, , 1984Simonton, , 1994Simonton, , 1995. These studies have tended to support Berlyne's claim that there should be what he called an 'inverted-U relationship' between liking and complexity.…”

“…Both types were based on discrete representations of musical events (pitches, intervals, durations and various derivatives of these), although it would be possible to formulate other types of models based on continuous representation such as melodic contour Schmuckler, 1999) or identification of salient melodic events (Frankland & Cohen, 2004), or implied chords (Povel & Jansen, 2002). The simplicity of the current models could also be seen as an advantage, since it is probable that simpler solutions might have more applicability across different applied contexts.…”