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Absolute and relative pitch processing in tone learning tasks

Absolute and relative pitch processing in tone learning tasks Saffran offers her results as support for ‘the hypothesis that absolute pitch is present in infancy’ (Abstract). Before evaluating her claim, it is reasonable to review some facts about absolute pitch (AP) and about AP possessors. Since the phenomenon was first submitted to scientific scrutiny ( Stumpf, 1883 ), AP has been defined as the ability to identify a specific tone by its musical name (e.g. C) or to produce it (by singing or adjusting a tone generator) without using a reference pitch. The assumption is that individuals with AP have a fixed, or stable, internal template of note names (e.g. C, D, E, F, G, A, B) attached to specific frequencies or pitches ( Ward, 1999 ). When AP possessors wake up in the morning, they can name any isolated tone whose pitch corresponds to a note on the musical scale. Indeed, such unconventional test procedures have been used to preclude adults’ reliance on reference tones ( Petran, 1932 ). More commonly, the test context is configured to minimize the availability of reference tones ( Costall, 1985 ). AP is considered special because of its relative rarity (1 in 10,000: Takeuchi & Hulse, 1993 ). In general, http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Developmental Science Wiley

Absolute and relative pitch processing in tone learning tasks

Developmental Science , Volume 6 (1) – Feb 1, 2003

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References (18)

Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
Copyright © 2003 Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company
ISSN
1363-755X
eISSN
1467-7687
DOI
10.1111/1467-7687.00251_1
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Saffran offers her results as support for ‘the hypothesis that absolute pitch is present in infancy’ (Abstract). Before evaluating her claim, it is reasonable to review some facts about absolute pitch (AP) and about AP possessors. Since the phenomenon was first submitted to scientific scrutiny ( Stumpf, 1883 ), AP has been defined as the ability to identify a specific tone by its musical name (e.g. C) or to produce it (by singing or adjusting a tone generator) without using a reference pitch. The assumption is that individuals with AP have a fixed, or stable, internal template of note names (e.g. C, D, E, F, G, A, B) attached to specific frequencies or pitches ( Ward, 1999 ). When AP possessors wake up in the morning, they can name any isolated tone whose pitch corresponds to a note on the musical scale. Indeed, such unconventional test procedures have been used to preclude adults’ reliance on reference tones ( Petran, 1932 ). More commonly, the test context is configured to minimize the availability of reference tones ( Costall, 1985 ). AP is considered special because of its relative rarity (1 in 10,000: Takeuchi & Hulse, 1993 ). In general,

Journal

Developmental ScienceWiley

Published: Feb 1, 2003

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