Hemispheric asymmetry in the formation of musical pitch expectations: A monaural listening and probe tone study

Abstract

This study investigated hemispheric asymmetry in the formation of musical pitch expectations by combining the monaural listening and probe tone paradigms. On each trial, adult participants heard a short context melody and a single pitch (i.e. a probe tone). Both the context and the probe tone were played in the left or right ear. The context was an ascending major scale or pitches from the major scale in a random order. Following each context, participants rated one of three probe tones for how well it fit with the context they just heard. Probe tones were one of two pitches from the major scale (the tonic or the supertonic) or an out-of-set pitch. Participants provided the highest ratings for the tonic, followed by the supertonic, followed by the out-of-set pitch. Ratings did not differ for the tonic or out-of-set pitch between the two ears, but participants provided lower ratings for the supertonic in the right ear. For the ascending context only, the difference in ratings between the tonic and supertonic was greater in the right ear. These results suggest that the left hemisphere differentiates the stability of pitches in a set by forming temporal expectations for specific, in-set pitches.