Absolute Pitch: Effects of Timbre on Note-Naming Ability

Patrícia Vanzella,E Glenn Schellenberg,Dorothy Bishop

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0015449

Patrícia Vanzella, E Glenn Schellenberg + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0015449

Copy DOI

Journal: PloS one	Publication Date: Nov 11, 2010
Citations: 90	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Universidade de Brasília, University of Toronto

Abstract

BackgroundAbsolute pitch (AP) is the ability to identify or produce isolated musical tones. It is evident primarily among individuals who started music lessons in early childhood. Because AP requires memory for specific pitches as well as learned associations with verbal labels (i.e., note names), it represents a unique opportunity to study interactions in memory between linguistic and nonlinguistic information. One untested hypothesis is that the pitch of voices may be difficult for AP possessors to identify. A musician's first instrument may also affect performance and extend the sensitive period for acquiring accurate AP.Methods/Principal FindingsA large sample of AP possessors was recruited on-line. Participants were required to identity test tones presented in four different timbres: piano, pure tone, natural (sung) voice, and synthesized voice. Note-naming accuracy was better for non-vocal (piano and pure tones) than for vocal (natural and synthesized voices) test tones. This difference could not be attributed solely to vibrato (pitch variation), which was more pronounced in the natural voice than in the synthesized voice. Although starting music lessons by age 7 was associated with enhanced note-naming accuracy, equivalent abilities were evident among listeners who started music lessons on piano at a later age.Conclusions/SignificanceBecause the human voice is inextricably linked to language and meaning, it may be processed automatically by voice-specific mechanisms that interfere with note naming among AP possessors. Lessons on piano or other fixed-pitch instruments appear to enhance AP abilities and to extend the sensitive period for exposure to music in order to develop accurate AP.

Highlights

Absolute pitch (AP) is the ability to identify or produce a musical tone without reference to an external standard [1,2,3,4]
The present study provided such a comparison, contrasting performance among a large sample of AP possessors for natural sung tones with tones produced by a synthesized voice, piano tones, and pure tones
As in the present study, the authors recruited their participants over the internet. Whereas their focus was on differences between AP possessors and nonpossessors, ours was on variation in note-naming ability among individuals with AP

Summary

Introduction

Absolute pitch (AP) is the ability to identify or produce a musical tone (e.g., middle C or concert A) without reference to an external standard [1,2,3,4]. AP requires memory for specific pitches, as well as links between mental representations of pitch and verbal labels (i.e., note names). It is a rare ability, with an estimated incidence below 0.01% in the general population [3]. Absolute pitch (AP) is the ability to identify or produce isolated musical tones. It is evident primarily among individuals who started music lessons in early childhood. A musician’s first instrument may affect performance and extend the sensitive period for acquiring accurate AP

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion