Sound production shows robust loudness constancy when visual cues of musical performance are available

Abstract

We examined the degree of loudness constancy using two methods of adjustment. One was “sound production,” by which listeners played a musical instrument as loudly as a model player. The other was “sound level adjustment,” by which listeners adjusted the loudness of the sound produced by a loudspeaker. The target sound was produced by the actual musical instrument performance. Sound pressure levels of the stimuli were approximately 60, 75, and 86 dB(A). The distances between the performer and the participant were 2, 8, and 32 m. In both conditions, participants were asked to produce the level of sound pressure matching the stimulus. Results show that when visual cues of musical performance are available, sound production had more robust loudness constancy than the sound level adjustment method.