Monaural ear differences for melody recall

Abstract

Recall of monaurally presented diatonic melodies by experienced pianists was recorded with a computer-interfaced keyboard. Responses were analyzed by computer in terms of pitch accuracy and in terms of the timing of keystrokes (response latency, keyboard rehearsal time, final recall speed, and temporal segregation). For right-handed pianists (N = 10), left-ear presentation resulted in higher pitch recall accuracy (p < 0.001) and longer response latency (p < 0.005) for the first presentation. Individual ear asymmetries (EAs) for pitch accuracy and response latency were also positively correlated with each other (r = 0.70). EAs for the second presentation were not significant. None of the other performance measures was significantly asymmetric. These results agree with those of Zatorre [Neuropsychologia 17, 607–617 (1979)] for melody recognition, and indicate that perception of novel pitch sequences by musically experienced subjects, under conditions demanding attention to the entire melody, consistently enlists specialized processors in the nonlanguage dominant hemisphere. The positive correlation between EAs for response latency and pitch accuracy, together with subject reports, suggests that covert singing of the melody may be characteristic of the strategy that preferentially enlists right hemisphere processors.