Abstracts Category : Other

From novel to familiar : the learning of pitch intervals and event frequencies in microtonal music systems

by Yvonne Leung

This PhD project aims to investigate the learning of novel music systems during brief exposures (up to 20 minutes). Specifically, it examined the learning of microtonal pitch systems, including the learning of their pitch interval structure and the frequency of occurrence of each pitch member of the systems. Five experiments have been conducted and the findings are separately submitted to peer-reviewed journals for publication. The submitted manuscripts are provided as individual chapters in this thesis. Experiment 1 and 2 are presented in manuscript (MS) 1, 3 is presented in MS 2, while 4 and 5 are presented in MS 3. Experiments in MS 1 explored the influence of structural similarity on the learning of novel tuning systems. Non-musicians were exposed to microtonal tuning systems that are different from the western tonal system (12-tone equal temperament or 12TET) in terms of temperament (equal or unequal) and pitch intervals (based on frequency ratio(s) or frequency difference). It was hypothesized that systems that are structurally similar to 12TET in terms of temperament and pitch interval definitions (such as 11TET) would be learned more rapidly than those that are dissimilar (such as the 81 primes scale). This hypothesis was supported in part by earlier evidence on the influence of prior musical knowledge on the learnng of unfamiliar music (such as Oram & Cuddy (1995) and Rohrmeier & Widdess (2012)). Participants were tested on their memory of the relative pitches of each tuning system as well as their knowledge of which relative pitches correspond to which tuning system (pitch membership). Results indicate better pitch memory for the tuning system with two frequency ratios (Tuning system: WF) while learning of pitch membership was not found after a brief exposure. Given the findings in MS 1, MS 2 targeted the incidental learning of a microtonal scale that follows a pitch interval structure similar to WF in MS 1, which is unequal tempered with two frequency ratios. This MS extends the data-driven interpretation of MS1 in terms of my overall hypothesis. Thus, a new paradigm is developed and learning of the scale is implied by the level of sensitivity to the incongruent pitch intervals. This paradigm utilises a timbre shift detection task where participants are required to detect a timbre shift in one of the pitches of a microtonal melody. The pitch before the shift is manipulated to be either a member of the scale (congruent), just like the rest of the pitches in the melody, or a pitch from a different musical scale (incongruent). The melodies are arranged such that an incongruent pitch is a statistical cue to an upcoming timbre shift, so that when participants hear an incongruent pitch, they would have high expectation of the imminent shift and therefore respond faster when it comes. However, faster reaction times would only be observed if participants have sufficiently learnt the pitch intervals of the microtonal scale and the relationship between the incongruent pitch and the timbre shift. In other words, aAdvisors/Committee Members: Western Sydney University. MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development (Host institution).