Das Erlernen eines Musikstücks - aber wie? Die Effektivität verschiedener Übemethoden in Wechselwirkung mit der individuellen Wahrnehmungsorganisation

An dem Lernexperiment nahmen 108 Gitarrestudenten verschiedenener bundesrepublikanischen Musikhochschulen teil. Als Lernmaterial wurde ein Musikstück vorgegeben, das die Probanden in zwei aufeinanderfolgenden Lernphasen von je fünf Minuten Dauer auswendig zu lernen hatten. Die motorisch übende Gruppe tat dies durch praktisches Spiel. Die anderen Gruppen übten sowohl praktisch als auch mental, wobei den Probanden vom Versuchsleiter eine kurze motivische Analyse vorgelesen wurde, die die kognitiv Übenden memorierten. Bei letzterer Übemethode wurde demnach kein Instrument benutzt. Die Lernaufgabe war so gewählt, daß sie auf Grund ihrer nicht-tonalen Kompositionsweise und ihres ungitarristischen Charakters für alle Teilnehmer gleich voraussetzunglos war. Nach Ablauf der Lernzeit spielten die Probanden alles gelernte Material auswendig vor, wovon eine Bandaufnahme gemacht wurde. Mittels eines speziell entwickelten Auswertungsrasters erfolgte später eine quantitative Bewertung mit anschließender Datenanalyse. (DIPF/Orig.

In Search of Variables Distinguishing Low and High Achievers in Music Sight Reading Task

The unrehearsed performance of music, called ?sight reading? (SR), is a basic skill for all musicians. Despite the merits of expertise theory, there is no comprehensive model which can classify subjects into high and low performance groups. This study is the first that classifies subjects and is based on an extensive experiment measuring the total SR performance of 52 piano students. Classification methods (cluster analysis, classification tree, linear discriminant analysis) were applied. Results of a linear discriminant analysis revealed a 2-class solution with 4 predictors (predictive error: 15%). --

Singing Ability Assessment: Development and validation of a singing test based on item response theory and a general open-source software environment for singing data

We describe the development of the Singing Ability Assessment (SAA) open-source test environment. The SAA captures and scores different aspects of human singing ability and melodic memory in the context of item response theory. Taking perspectives from both melodic recall and singing accuracy literature, we present results from two online experiments (N = 247; N = 910). On-the-fly audio transcription is produced via a probabilistic algorithm and scored via latent variable approaches. Measures of the ability to sing long notes indicate a three-dimensional principal components analysis solution representing pitch accuracy, pitch volatility and changes in pitch stability (proportion variance explained: 35%; 33%; 32%). For melody singing, a mixed-effects model uses features of melodic structure (e.g., tonality, melody length) to predict overall sung melodic recall performance via a composite score [R2c = .42; R2m = .16]. Additionally, two separate mixed-effects models were constructed to explain performance in singing back melodies in a rhythmic [R2c = .42; R2m = .13] and an arhythmic [R2c = .38; R2m = .11] condition. Results showed that the yielded SAA melodic scores are significantly associated with previously described measures of singing accuracy, the long note singing accuracy measures, demographic variables, and features of participants’ hardware setup. Consequently, we release five R packages which facilitate deploying melodic stimuli online and in laboratory contexts, constructing audio production tests, transcribing audio in the R environment, and deploying the test elements and their supporting models. These are published as open-source, easy to access, and flexible to adapt

Die Unterscheidbarkeit musikalischer Cluster: Eine wahrnehmungspsychologische Studie

Die Einbeziehung des Klangs in die analytische Musikbetrachtung erscheint spätestens im 20. Jahrhunderts eine unausweichliche Herausforderung an die musiktheoretische Forschung. Ausgangspunkt der hier vorgestellten Studie ist der musikalische Cluster. Cluster markieren die Schnittstelle zwischen tonhöhengeleitetem Harmoniebegriff und geräuschhaften Klangmaterial. Mit Henry Cowells Buch New musical resources (1930) existiert zudem eine kompositorische Theorie zur Clustertechnik. Für die wahrnehmungspsychologische Studie wurden zunächst zehn Prototypen von Clustern entwickelt, die teils Cowells Klavierwerken entstammen (z.B. diatonisch, pentatonisch, chromatisch) und teils nach theoretischen Überlegungen konstruiert waren. Mit experimentellen Methoden gingen wir der Frage des Konzept-Perzept-Verhältnisses nach, also ob diese Prototypen auditiv überhaupt unterscheidbar sind, welche Hörexpertise dafür notwendig ist und welche psychoakustischen Eigenschaften die Cluster als Voraussetzung für eine auditive Diskriminierung haben müssen. Das angewandte Paradigma war eine Modifikation des MUSHRA Hörtests (MUlti Stimulus test with Hidden Reference and Anchor, ein Hörtest zur Ermittlung der Audioqualität von datenreduzierenden Algorithmen wie MP3). Die Probanden beurteilten hierbei die Ähnlichkeit der Cluster-Klänge im Vergleich zu einem zuvor festgelegten Referenzklang. Das Ergebnis der Studie zeigte, dass sich die Ähnlichkeitsratings in zwei Gruppen aufteilen lassen: (a) Cluster, deren perzeptuelle Ähnlichkeitseinschätzung von ihrer Clusterdichte abhingen und (b) Cluster, deren Klangstruktur eine perzeptuelle Sättigung aufwiesen, was die Differenzierung erschwerte. Auch die psychoakustischen Untersuchungen der Stimuli korrelierten stark mit den Ergebnissen des Ähnlichkeitsratings. Die Beobachtungen ermöglichen es, die Wirkung von Clustern empirisch fundiert zu beschreiben. Das Ziel der weiteren Forschung wird es sein, den Zusammenhang der Clustertheorie mit anderen Klangformen zu untersuchen.The musical tone cluster is a prototypical sound of avant-garde music in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Tone clusters mark a boundary between pitch-related techniques of composing in earlier epochs to the use of sound-based materials in avant-garde music. The composer Henry Cowell offered the first theoretical reflection on the structure of tone clusters with a focus on tone density, which relies on the number of tones and the ambitus of a cluster (Cowell, 1930). Using experimental methods, we investigated whether participants were able to discriminate between various types of tone clusters (e.g., pentatonic, diatonic or chromatic) and how they evaluated their similarities. We also questioned whether a timbre-based approach using psychoacoustical methods of analysis could be used to explain the perception of avant-garde music sounds. Ten different prototypical tone cluster chords varying in density were presented in two studies. Additionally, the relation between similarity ratings and psychoacoustic features was examined. The design of the study was based on an adaption of the Multi Stimulus with Hidden Reference and Anchor (MUSHRA) paradigm (International Telecommunication Union, 2014). With this method, participants rated the similarity between a firstly chosen reference tone cluster and the other cluster sounds. The tone clusters could be grouped into two classes of sounds based on the similarity ratings of the participants: (a) those clusters with a high grade of perceptual discrimination depending on the cluster density and (b) those clusters of a more aurally saturated structure, making it difficult to separate and evaluate them. The results also showed congruency between theoretical features of the cluster structure, results of the timbre feature analysis, and perceptual evaluation of stimuli. The findings can provide valuable insights into aural training methods for avant-garde music. In future research, there will be a need to identify more variables influencing the aural perception of musical sounds to aid in listening to and understanding avant-garde music

The Headphone and Loudspeaker Test-Part II: A comprehensive method for playback device screening in Internet experiments

HALT (The Headphone and Loudspeaker Test) Part II is a continuation of HALT Part I. The main goals of this study (HALT Part II) were (a) to develop screening tests and strategies to discriminate headphones from loudspeakers, (b) to come up with a methodological approach to combine more than two screening tests, and (c) to estimate data quality and required sample sizes for the application of screening tests. Screening Tests A and B were developed based on psychoacoustic effects. In a first laboratory study (N = 40), the two tests were evaluated with four different playback devices (circumaural and intra-aural headphones; external and laptop loudspeakers). In a final step, the two screening tests A and B and a previously established test C were validated in an Internet-based study (N = 211). Test B showed the best single-test performance (sensitivity = 80.0%, specificity = 83.2%, AUC = .844). Following an epidemiological approach, the headphone prevalence (17.67%) was determined to calculate positive and negative predictive values. For a user-oriented, parameter-based selection of suitable screening tests and the simple application of screening strategies, an online tool was programmed. HALT Part II is assumed to be a reliable procedure for planning and executing screenings to detect headphone and loudspeaker playback. Our methodological approach can be used as a generic technique for optimizing the application of any screening tests in psychological research. HALT Part I and II complement each other to form a comprehensive overall concept to control for playback conditions in Internet experiments

Wrapped into sound: Development of the Immersive Music Experience Inventory (IMEI)

Although virtual reality, video entertainment, and computer games are dependent on the three-dimensional reproduction of sound (including front, rear, and height channels), it remains unclear whether 3D-audio formats actually intensify the emotional listening experience. There is currently no valid inventory for the objective measurement of immersive listening experiences resulting from audio playback formats with increasing degrees of immersion (from mono to stereo, 5.1, and 3D). The development of the Immersive Music Experience Inventory (IMEI) could close this gap. An initial item list (N = 25) was derived from studies in virtual reality and spatial audio, supplemented by researcher-developed items and items extracted from historical descriptions. Psychometric evaluation was conducted by an online study (N = 222 valid cases). The N = 222 Participants (female = 112, mean age = 38.6) were recruited via mailing lists (n = 34) and via a panel provider (n = 188). Based on controlled headphone playback, participants listened to four songs/pieces, each in the three formats of mono, stereo, and binaural 3D audio. The latent construct “immersive listening experience” was determined by probabilistic test theory (item response theory, IRT) and by means of the many-facet Rasch measurement (MFRM). As a result, the specified MFRM model showed good model fit (62.69% of explained variance). The final one-dimensional inventory consists of 10 items and will be made available in English and German

The Headphone and Loudspeaker Test – Part I: Suggestions for controlling characteristics of playback devices in internet experiments

In internet experiments on auditory perception, playback devices may be a confounding variable reducing internal validity. A procedure to remotely test multiple characteristics of playback devices does not currently exist. Thus, the main goals of this study were to (i) develop and (ii) evaluate a comprehensive, efficient, and easy-to-handle test procedure for the reliable control and identification of playback device characteristics in online experiments. Based on a counting task paradigm, the first part of the Headphone and Loudspeaker Test (HALT–Part I) was developed with which researchers can standardize sound level adjustments, detect stereo/mono playback, and assess lower frequency limits. In a laboratory study (N = 40), HALT–Part I was evaluated with four playback devices (circumaural and intra-aural headphones; external and laptop loudspeakers). Beforehand, the acoustical properties of all playback devices had been measured (e.g., sound pressure level, frequency response, total harmonic distortion). The analysis suggested that HALT–Part I has high test–retest reliability (rtt =.90 for level adjustment and rtt =.79 for stereo/mono detection) and is an efficient (3.5 minutes for completion) method to remotely test playback devices and listening conditions (sound level, stereo/mono playback). The procedure can help improve data quality in internet experiments. © 2022, The Author(s)