Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 09:26:16 -0400
From: "G. Robert Arrabito" <Robert.Arrabito@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: effects of musical experience on pitch perception?
Dear list,
I am writing to get some input from the list that may help me
interpret my data. Specifically, I recently ran a study that
investigated the effect of timbre on pitch perception for two groups
of eight participants who had normal hearing: those who had formal
experience playing a musical instrument (musicians), and those who
had no formal experience playing a musical instrument
(nonmusicians). Prior to participation in the experimental session,
each participant was given a detailed demonstration of pitch and
timbre, and then was evaluated in a training session that screened to
ensure that he/she understood these attributes. A score of chance or
better was required to proceed to the experimental session. I note
that 7/15 (46.67% of the musicians failed the training procedure and
22/30 (73.33%) of the nonmusicians failed the training procedure. In
analyzing my data, I found no statistical difference in performance
between musicians and nonmusicians. I am thus wondering whether this
might be due to my training procedure or whether pitch/timbre is an
inherent "skill" regardless of any formal musical experience. (I
acknowledge that studies have reported mixed outcomes on musical
experience.) Any comments or suggestions for recommended reading
that would help me put things into perspective would be greatly
appreciated.
Regards,
Rob
--
Robert Arrabito
Defence R&D Canada - Toronto
1133 Sheppard Avenue West
P.O. Box 2000
Toronto, ON M3M 3B9
Canada