The subjective size of melodic intervals over a two-octave range

Area of Science:

• * Music Perception
• * Psychoacoustics
• * Auditory Neuroscience

Background:

• * Melodic intervals are fundamental to music.
• * Understanding how listeners perceive interval size is crucial for music cognition.
• * Previous research has explored factors influencing interval perception, but nuances remain.

Purpose of the Study:

• * To investigate the influence of pitch register (high vs. low) and direction (ascending vs. descending) on the perceived size of melodic intervals.
• * To compare the perception of melodic intervals between musically trained and untrained individuals.

Main Methods:

• * Participants (trained and untrained) provided magnitude estimates for melodic intervals.
• * Intervals ranged from 50 cents to 2,400 cents.
• * Stimuli varied in pitch register (high/low) and direction (ascending/descending).

Main Results:

• * Intervals in a high pitch register were perceived as larger than those in a low register.
• * Descending intervals were perceived as larger than ascending intervals.
• * Interaction effects showed ascending intervals perceived as larger in high registers, while descending intervals were larger in low registers.
• * Musically trained listeners demonstrated greater interval differentiation for intervals up to an octave.

Conclusions:

• * Pitch register and direction significantly modulate the perceived size of melodic intervals.
• * Musical training enhances the ability to discriminate between melodic intervals.
• * Findings have implications for psychophysical pitch scales and music perception models.