The Color of Melody

Cuddy, Lola L.

doi:10.2307/40285303

Cited by 12 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Minor keys are not diatonic and do not possess the property of having their key centers uniquely defined by the vector of interval frequencies (Browne, 1981). However, other approaches accord the minor-key system a status similar to that of the majorkey system (e.g., Krumhansl & Kessler, 1982) and are compatible with the notion that perceived ambiguity may result from several opposing tendencies (see also Cuddy, 1985Cuddy, , 1986.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 79%

Recovery of the tonal hierarchy: Some comparisons across age and levels of musical experience

Cuddy

Badertscher

1987

Perception & Psychophysics

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Two experiments examined the recovery of the tonal hierarchy from three melodic patternsthe major triad, the major scale, and the diminished triad. In the probe-tone technique, for each pattern, each of the 12 tones of the chromatic scale was rated as a completion note for the pattern. Pattern tones and probe tones were synthetic complexes of octave partials, amplitudeweighted according to Shepard (1964). First-through sixth-grade children participated in the first experiment, adults with three levels of musical experience in the second. For all subjects, the probe-tone ratings for the major-triad pattern indicated recovery of the full tonal hierarchy. For the major-scale pattern, children and adults successfully differentiated tonal function within the scale. Adults, however, showed greater sensitivity to key organization than did the children and were less influenced by pitch proximity. The diminished-triad pattern conveyed no musical meaning to the children and was tonally ambiguous for the adults. The importance of the major triad in establishing a sense of key is underscored. As patterns depart from this prototype, recovery of the tonal hierarchy may depend on the degree to which musical knowledge (intuitive and formal) is applied. This paper explores listeners' abstraction of the pitch structures conveyed or implied by melodic patterns in tonal music. It examines the extent to which the tonal hierarchy described by music theory and perceptual experiments may be recovered from different melodic patterns. Adults and first-through sixth-grade children with three levels of musical experience were tested.It is generally agreed that the composition and appreciation of "tonality," although an extraordinarily complex human activity in its fullest expression (Browne, 1981), involves a hierarchically organized system of pitch relationships. Basic features of the system can be found in standard music texts (e.g., Piston, 1962; Ratner, 1962) and their psychological counterparts in recent theoretical treatments (e.g., Bharucha, 1984;Deutsch & Feroe, 1981;Dowling, 1978;Krumhansl, 1983;Shepard, 1982). The system is structured at several interrelated levels. First, descriptions of pitch relationships usually include the notion of determinate pitch sets and the assignment We thank C. L. Krumhansl, Cornell University, for discussions, advice, and encouragement. We also thank the Frontenac County Board of Education and the staff of Lord Strathcona Elementary School, especially R. Galbraith and John Gallienne, for permission to test their students and for kind cooperation throughout the study. Daniel Scheidt and Lise de Kok provided cheerful and invaluable research assistance. The data were previously reported in an honors thesis submitted to the Department of Psychology, Queen's University, by Betsy Badertscher. Research was supported by an operating grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada and an award from the Advisory Research Committee of Queen's University. Requests for reprints should be sent...

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 79%

Recovery of the tonal hierarchy: Some comparisons across age and levels of musical experience

Cuddy

Badertscher

1987

Perception & Psychophysics

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140

113

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“…The diatonic context selected was a melody based on the major triad, C E G E C. The tones of the major triad are effective in establishing diatonic context in probe-tone tasks (Badertscher, 1985;Cuddy, 1985;Krumhansl & Kessler, 1982) as well as in a task in which listeners judge similarities between pairs of tones presented in a tonal context (Krumhansl, 1979, Experiment 1). Moreover, the major triad is considered in music theory to be a prototype of tonal structure (Schenker, 1906(Schenker, /1954.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of the perception of musical relations: Semitone and diatonic structure.

Trehub¹,

Cohen²,

Thorpe³

et al. 1986

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Perfor

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In the present research we examined the development of sensitivity to two musical relations significant in Western tonal music, the semitone and diatonic structure. Infants and preschool children were tested for their detection of a semitone change in any position of a five-note melody. Two standard melodies were used, one composed of diatonic tones only and the other containing a nondiatonic tone. In Experiment 1, children from 4 to 6 years of age were superior in detecting the semitone change in the diatonic context compared with the nondiatonic context. In Experiment 2, infants 9 to 11 months of age detected the semitone change in all positions, but their performance was not influenced by diatonic context. These findings indicate that infants and children can discriminate a semitone in a musical context and that the priority of diatonic structure emerges by 4 to 6 years of age.

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“…Historically, the cognitive underpinnings of the relationship between color and music have been a heady source of investigation and debate for philosophers and psychologists. Plato, Aristotle, and Newton theorized associations between specific musical intervals and specific colors (for a historical overview, see, e.g., McClain, 1978;Cuddy, 1985). The findings of these thinkers dovetail with their metaphysical starting points.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Associations between Color and Music are Mediated by Emotion and Influenced by Tempo

Tsang¹,

Schloss²

2010

PsycEXTRA Dataset

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Historically, there have been a number of attempts to characterize the relationship between perceptions of color and perceptions of music (e.g., McClain, 1978; Cuddy, 1985; Shaw-Miller, 1959; Arnheim, 1986). One line of recent research suggests that associations between color and music are based on the shared emotions that they evoke (Schloss, Lawler, & Palmer, 2008). The current study explored this hypothesis further by examining particular features of music contributing to color-music associations. Corroborating previous research, we found consistent correlations between emotional ratings for musical selections and emotional ratings for colors. Specifically, we show that the same piece can be associated with different colors on the basis of manipulating tempo alone.

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The Color of Melody

Cited by 12 publications

References 31 publications

Recovery of the tonal hierarchy: Some comparisons across age and levels of musical experience

Recovery of the tonal hierarchy: Some comparisons across age and levels of musical experience

Development of the perception of musical relations: Semitone and diatonic structure.

Associations between Color and Music are Mediated by Emotion and Influenced by Tempo

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