Effects of Culture on Musical Pitch Perception

Abstract

The strong association between music and speech has been supported by recent research focusing on musicians' superior abilities in second language learning and neural encoding of foreign speech sounds. However, evidence for a double association—the influence of linguistic background on music pitch processing and disorders—remains elusive. Because languages differ in their usage of elements (e.g., pitch) that are also essential for music, a unique opportunity for examining such language-to-music associations comes from a cross-cultural (linguistic) comparison of congenital amusia, a neurogenetic disorder affecting the music (pitch and rhythm) processing of about 5% of the Western population. In the present study, two populations (Hong Kong and Canada) were compared. One spoke a tone language in which differences in voice pitch correspond to differences in word meaning (in Hong Kong Cantonese, /si/ means ‘teacher’ and ‘to try’ when spoken in a high and mid pitch pattern, respectively). Using the On-line Identification Test of Congenital Amusia, we found Cantonese speakers as a group tend to show enhanced pitch perception ability compared to speakers of Canadian French and English (non-tone languages). This enhanced ability occurs in the absence of differences in rhythmic perception and persists even after relevant factors such as musical background and age were controlled. Following a common definition of amusia (5% of the population), we found Hong Kong pitch amusics also show enhanced pitch abilities relative to their Canadian counterparts. These findings not only provide critical evidence for a double association of music and speech, but also argue for the reconceptualization of communicative disorders within a cultural framework. Along with recent studies documenting cultural differences in visual perception, our auditory evidence challenges the common assumption of universality of basic mental processes and speaks to the domain generality of culture-to-perception influences.

Cross-domain correlation in pitch perception, the influence of native language

“…In other words, the more difficult the musical pitch processing is, the more evident the advantage of tone language listeners possibly is. Our findings argue for a benefit of musical pitch processing as the result of growing up with a tonal native language, which is consistent with previous findings (Alexander et al, 2008;Bidelman et al, 2013;Pfordresher & Brown, 2009;Stevens et al, 2004;Wong et al, 2012;). Sensitivity to the pitch differences exhibited in the lexical tones is a prerequisite for acquiring them.…”

“…Our findings of improved accuracy in musical pitch processing among tone language listeners are consistent with previous studies (Alexander et al, 2008;Bidelman et al, 2013;Pfordresher & Brown, 2009;Stevens et al, 2004;Wong et al, 2012). The enhanced music perception is likely to be the result of growing up with a native tone language.…”

“…Establishing native phonology occurs early in life when the brain is still highly malleable. Learning the contrastive function of pitch in one's native language may bring a "bonus" to other cognitive abilities (Bidelman et al, 2013;Wong et al, 2012), and the benefit brought by learning early in life may well stay until adulthood. Somewhat unexpectedly, we did not observe a better performance on lexical tone tasks among the Chinese listeners.…”

“…With regard to the enhancement in lexical tone perception brought about by music aptitude, it has been found that, compared to non-tone language speakers without music training, non-tone language musicians are better at detecting lexical tonal variations (Alexander, Wong, & Bradlow, 2005;Delogu, Lampis, & Belardinelli, 2006;Marie, Delogu, Lampis, Belardinelli, & Besson, 2011), and learning to pair pitch patterns to word meaning (which is similar to learning lexical tones) (Wong & Perrachione, 2007). Speaking a tone language has also been found to be beneficial for music perception (Alexander, Bradlow, Ashley, & Wong, 2008;Bidelman, Hutka, & Moreno, 2013;Jiang, Hamm, Lim, Kirk, & Yang, 2010;Pfordresher & Brown, 2009;Stevens, Keller, & Tyler, 2004;Tillmann et al, 2011;Wong et al, 2012). In sum, earlier studies on pitch processing in language and music show mixed results, suggesting autonomy as well as interdependencies between the two domains.…”

Impaired musical ability in people with schizophrenia

“…9 Culture and language effects can influence some parts of the MBEA, such as the metre test, and are also reported to alter the sensitivity of pitch perception. 10,11 The association between musical ability and cognitive function has been investigated in patients with neurologic illnesses. In those with Alzheimer disease, musical performance is preserved to a greater degree than other mental activities and is relatively preserved even in the most severe stages of illness.…”