Conservation of Melody With Varied Harmonizations: A Comparison of Adult Listeners From China and the United States

Abstract

This study replicates and extends previous research investigating young adults’ ability to conserve melody under different harmonic contexts by comparing Chinese listeners ( N = 131) with U.S. listeners (Liu, 2018; N = 61). Using identical stimuli and procedures from the original study, participants listened to 34 pairs of melodic examples and identified whether the melody presented was the “same or different.” Results indicated Chinese listeners had a well-developed ability to identify the sameness of a melody when it was presented (a) alone, then with harmony (Task I); (b) with harmony, then with different harmony (Task II); and (c) with harmony, then alone (Task III, a reversed task of Task I). Overall, Chinese participants performed significantly better than U.S. participants. Corroborating prior research, music reversibility was also observed among Chinese listeners, as demonstrated by successful responses in two reversed music tasks (Task I and Task III). The performance differences on Task II between listeners with low versus no level of mastering reversibility regardless of country of origin and between Chinese listeners only with a high and a low level of reversibility further support the concept of music reversibility and its role in musical thinking.