Absolute Pitch: Effects of Timbre on Note-Naming Ability

Background: Absolute pitch (AP) is the ability to identify or produce isolated musical tones. It is evident primarily among individuals who started music lessons in early childhood. Because AP requires memory for specific pitches as well as learned associations with verbal labels (i.e., note names), it represents a unique opportunity to study interactions in memory between linguistic and nonlinguistic information. One untested hypothesis is that the pitch of voices may be difficult for AP possessors to identify. A musician’s first instrument may also affect performance and extend the sensitive period for acquiring accurate AP. Methods/Principal Findings: A large sample of AP possessors was recruited on-line. Participants were required to identity test tones presented in four different timbres: piano, pure tone, natural (sung) voice, and synthesized voice. Note-naming accuracy was better for non-vocal (piano and pure tones) than for vocal (natural and synthesized voices) test tones. This difference could not be attributed solely to vibrato (pitch variation), which was more pronounced in the natural voice than in the synthesized voice. Although starting music lessons by age 7 was associated with enhanced note-naming accuracy, equivalent abilities were evident among listeners who started music lessons on piano at a later age. Conclusions/Significance: Because the human voice is inextricably linked to language and meaning, it may be processed automatically by voice-specific mechanisms that interfere with note naming among AP possessors. Lessons on piano o

Performance as a function of age when music lessons began and the first instrument learned.

<p>Performance was summed across the four timbres. Early music lessons are those that started by 7 years of age. Error bars are standard errors. The figure illustrates improved performance for those who started music lessons on piano <i>or</i> at an early age, but no additional improvement for those who started music lessons on piano <i>and</i> at an early age.</p

Histograms illustrating performance separately for each of the four timbres.

<p>Although the mode was perfect performance for each timbre (semitone errors counted as correct), the figure illustrates substantial individual differences in performance in each instance.</p