Re: errors in harmonic chord identification

[robert gjerdingen <r-gjerdingen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Sep 6, 2005, at 8:12 AM, Riana.Walsh wrote:

> Dear list
>
> I am looking for information on the errors listeners make when 
> identifying
> isolated harmonic chords (major / minor / augmented / diminished / 
> dominant
> 7th).

Riana,

	Are you seeking to explain listener's behavior to the types of tests 
given in music classes, or are you seeking to understand the perception 
of harmony?  I ask because chords taken out of context may have little 
meaning, or more to the point, different meanings in different eras and 
styles.  For example, the combination of a major third and a major 
sixth (e.g., C4-E4-A4) was "major" to 16th-century Italians like 
Zarlino, but "minor" to 19th-century Germans.  In many cases, the 
categories of chords are best understood as proxy names for perceived 
roles or functions.  In that regard, the abstract appended below might 
be useful.  The Crowder studies mentioned by Bruno are certainly a 
propo to questions of binary categorizations, but I sense that was not 
your interest.  The experience of music teachers contains numerous 
interesting cases, as when students mistake augmented for diminished, 
seemingly because they lump the two chords into the broader category of 
"odd" chords.  Students who attempt to identify a chord by recognizing 
component intervals often mistake inversions as the opposite mode 
(e.g., 1st inv. major = minor).

Best wishes,
Bob Gjerdingen


Author
Rosner, Burton S;  Narmour, Eugene.
Title
Harmonic closure: Music theory and perception.
Source
Music Perception. Vol 9(4) Sum 1992, 383-411.
Univ of California Press, US
Abstract
Examined the influence of material variables that determine the 
perception of harmonic closure by presenting 19 listeners with pairs of 
selected 2-chord progressions. Ss judged which member of each pair 
seemed more closed. Preferences varied across pairs of cadences and 
generally obeyed transitivity. Quantitative reformulation of 
theoretical harmonic variables permitted correlational analysis of the 
results. Three or 4 variables, including 1 or 2 that reflect learned 
stylistic structures, best explained the findings. Conventional 
harmonic factors of scale step, soprano position, and root position 
demonstrated little explanatory power. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 
2004 APA, all rights reserved)