The effect of task and pitch structure on pitch-time interactions in music

Abstract

Musical pitch-time relations were explored by investigating the effect of temporal variation on musical pitch processing. In Experiment 1, musicians heard a standard tone, followed by a tonal context, then followed by a comparison tone, and performed one of two tasks. In the cognitive task, listeners were asked to ignore the standard tone and to judge whether the comparison tone was in the key of the context. In the perceptual task, listeners were asked to ignore the context and judge whether the comparison tone was higher or lower in pitch than the earlier standard tone. In both tasks, the comparison tone occurred early, on-time or late with respect to the temporal structure that the context established. Analyses of accuracy in both the cognitive and perceptual tasks failed to reveal any impact of temporal variation on pitch judgments. Experiment 2 used only the perceptual task, and varied the pitch structure by employing either a tonal context or an atonal context of random pitches, and manipulating the temporal placement of the comparison tone. Like Experiment 1, temporal variation had no effect on pitch height judgments for tonal contexts; however this variation influenced accuracy for atonal contexts. Experiment 3 replicated the results of Experiment 2 but also controlled several potentially confounding factors. We argue that tonal contexts bias listeners' attention toward pitch, thus eliminating effects of temporal variation, whereas atonal contexts do not favor pitch and thus foster pitch-time interactions in musical pitch processing.Task and structure 3

Domain-Generality of Timing-Based Serial Order Processes in Short-Term Memory: New Insights from Musical and Verbal Domains

“…In Experiment 1, using a standard probe sequence recognition paradigm, many participants reported using a visual strategy, favoring global matching procedures based on the comparison of contour-based relational shape patterns of the target and probe musical sequences [72] rather than storage of separated item representations and item-serial position associations. Previous experiments in musical cognition showed that the salience of a dimension such as pitch or temporal structure can prioritize the processing of one of them at the expense of the other [76–78]. Providing full melodic context at encoding and recognition, as we did in Experiment 1, could therefore have prioritized the processing of global contour shape information, at the expense of detailed, item-based pitch processing.…”

Slowing Down the Clock: A Review of Experimental Studies Investigating Psychological Time Dilation

“…When they have information about an upcoming event and it lasts longer than expected, they tend Downloaded by [University of Illinois Chicago] at 09:12 21 November 2014 240 The Journal of General Psychology to overestimate its actual duration. In the expectancy/contrast model of Jones and Boltz (1989), they suggest that when one attends to stimuli in an anticipatory fashion, the confirmation or violation of expected ending times exerts a systematic influence on duration judgments (Boltz, 1993).…”

“…In regards to the psychological variables, the following were found to be particularly relevant for inducing perceived time dilation: affective variables, motivation for the outcome, and time related expectancies (Angrilli, Cherubini, Pavese, & Manfredini, 1997;Boltz, 1993;Konig, 2005;Jones, 1988;Meade, 1963;Noulhiane, Mella, Samson, Ragot, & Pouthas, 2007).…”

“…This is a temporal cognition that can stem from previous experiences with that event, or from consensual agreement about how much time will be spent completing a task (Boltz, 1993;Konig, 2005;Thomas & Handley, 2008). Research indicates that when participants have information about an upcoming event and it lasts longer than expected, they tend to overestimate its actual duration (Jones & Boltz, 1989).…”

Pitch contour impairment in congenital amusia: New insights from the Self-paced Audio-visual Contour Task (SACT)

“…Melodic contour refers to the rising and falling pattern of intervals within a melody, and whether adjacent notes are higher or lower than one another [12]. The contour of a melody does not consider the precise size of successive pitch intervals, but represents the direction of pitch changes that occur throughout a sequence [13]. The psychological significance of contour has been underscored by findings that infants are sensitive to pitch contour but not other details of melodies [14], and that adults who hear a novel melody tend to remember its contour but not absolute pitches or precise pitch intervals [15–19].…”