Abstract
Subjects with tuning experience were superior to nontuners in a pitch-matching task at all but the lowest of five frequencies tested. Performance was better for adjustment of simple (sine-wave) tones to match simple tones than for adjustment of complex (string-timbre) tones to match simple tones. A comparison of constant errors showed that both tuners and nontuners heard complex tones as sharp relative to simple tones. Additional testing with 2 of the subjects indicated that the first overtone of the complex tone was sufficient to produce this effect. Repetition of the pitch-matching task over 6 days produced some improvement in performance. A second experiment showed that auditory and visual feedback improved tuning accuracy for complex comparison tones about 4.5 cents more than did practice without feedback, but no effect was observed for simple comparison tones. This experiment also indicated that musical experience, rather than tuning experience perse, was responsible for the effects of prior experience, and that tuning was more accurate when the standard was a complex tone and when the standard and comparison tones had the same timbre. The relevance of these data to musical tuning skills and to theories of complex pitch perception is discussed.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bannister, H. (1934). Auditory phenomena and their stimulus correlations. In C. Murchison (Ed.),Handbook of general experimental psychology. Worcester, MA: Clark University Press.
Campbell, R. A., &Small, A. M. (1963). Effect of practice and feedback on frequency discrimination.Journal of the Acoustical Society of America,35, 1511–1514.
Carlsen, J. C. (1981). Auditory perception: Concerns for musical learning.In Documentary report of the Ann Arbor Symposium: Applica Applicattons of psychology to the teaching and learning of music (pp. 2–8). Reston, VA: Music Educators National Conference.
Fletcher, H., &Munson, W. A. (1933). Loudness, its definition, measurement and calculation.Journal of the Acoustical Society of America,5, 82–108.
Goldstein, J. L. (1973). An optimum processor theory for the central formation of the pitch of complex tones.Journal of the Acoustical Society of America,54, 1496–1516.
Greer, R. D. (1970). The effect of timbre on brass-wind intonation. In E. Gordon (Ed.).Erperimental research in the psychology of music (pp. 65–94). Iowa City: University of Iowa Press.
Henning, G. B., &Grosberg, S. L. (1968). Effect of harmonic components on frequency discrimination.Journal of the Acoustical Society of America,44, 1386–1389.
Lichte, W. H. (1941). Attributes of complex tones.Journal of Experimental Psychology,28, 455–465.
Seashore, C. E. (1938).Psychology of music. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Sergeant, D. (1973). Measurement of pitch perception.Journal of Research in Music Education,21, 3–19.
Spiegel, M. F., &Watson, C. S. (1984). Performance on frequency-discrimination tasks by musicians and nonmusicians.Journal of the Acoustical Society of America,76, 1690–1695.
Terhardt, E. (1970). Frequency analysis and periodicity detection in the sensations of roughness and periodicity pitch. In R. Plomp (Ed.),Frequency analysis and periodicity detection in hearing (pp. 278–287). Leiden, The Netherlands: Sijthoff.
Terhardt, E. (1971). Die Tonhohe harmonischer Klange und das Oktavintervall.Acustica,24, 126–136.
Terhardt, E., Stole, G., &Seewann, M. (1982). Algorithm for extraction of pitch and pitch salience from complex tonal signals.Journal of the Acoustical Society of America,71, 679–688.
Ward, W. D. (1970). Musical perception. In J. V. Tobias (Ed.),Foundations of modern auditory theory (Vol. 1, pp. 405–447). New York: Academic Press.
Wier, C. C., Jesteadt, W., &Green, D. M. (1976). A comparison of method-of-adjustment and forced-choice procedures in frequency discrimination.Perception & Psychophysics,19, 75–79.
Wightman, F. L. (1973). The pattern-transformation model of pitch.Journal of the Acoustical Society of America,54, 407–416.
Wyatt, R. F. (1945). Improvability of pitch discrimination.Psychological Monographs,58, 1–58.
Zeitlin, L. R. (1964). Frequency discrimination of pure and complex tones.Journal of the Acoustical Society of America,36, 1027.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This research was supported by Grants A8269 and A8629 from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Platt, J.R., Racine, R.J. Effect of frequency, timbre, experience, and feedback on musical tuning skills. Perception & Psychophysics 38, 543–553 (1985). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03207064
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03207064