Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 26, 2026

Driving Under the Influence: How Music Listening Affects Driving Behaviors
Published on: March 27, 2019
[The influence of musical experiences on discrimination of two-pure-tone simultaneous intervals]
1Department of Educational Psychology, Faculty of Education, Kyoto University.
Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to examine whether experiences of musical instruments influence on discrimination of two-pure-tone simultaneous intervals. Fifteen experienced and 14 inexperienced subjects were asked to compare a standard stimulus with a comparison stimulus whose lower tone was varied from -4 Hz to +4 Hz, and to judge whether they were same or different. One single tone and four two-pure-tone simultaneous intervals, major second, major third, perfect fifth, and major seventh were used as stimuli. The results showed that the experienced subjects were generally more accurate and quicker in the task than the inexperienced subjects. It was suggested that a schema for discrimination of two-pure-tone simultaneous intervals was formed by exercises on musical instruments, and that the inexperienced subjects also had the schema to some extent.
Related Concept Videos
Beats
Perception of Sound Waves
The pitch of a sound depends on the frequency and the pressure amplitude of the source. Two sounds of the same...
Gene-Environment Interactions
Interference: Path Lengths
Two special sources may be considered when they are in phase. This can be easily achieved by feeding the two sources from the same source. An example would be synchronizing the two speakers by feeding them with the same source, such as the sound waves produced by a tuning fork. This setup ensures that the two sources have the same frequency and are...
Perceiving Loudness, Pitch, and Location
Place theory, or place coding, suggests that different pitches are heard because various sound waves activate specific locations along the cochlea's basilar membrane. The brain determines the pitch of a sound by...
Auditory Perception

