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| Research article summary (published 29 Apr 2003): |
Good pitch memory is widespread.
Full Abstract
Here we show that good pitch memory is widespread among adults with no musical training. We tested unselected college students on their memory for the pitch level of instrumental soundtracks from familiar television programs. Participants heard 5-s excerpts either at the original pitch level or shifted upward or downward by 1 or 2 semitones. They successfully identified the original pitch levels. Other participants who heard comparable excerpts from unfamiliar recordings could not do so. These findings reveal that ordinary listeners retain fine-grained information about pitch level over extended periods. Adults' reportedly poor memory for pitch is likely to be a by-product of their inability to name isolated pitches.
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Author information
Author/s: Schellenberg, E Glenn (EG); Trehub, Sandra E (SE);
Affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Toronto at Mississauga, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. g.schellenberg@utoronto.ca
Journal and publication information
Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Journal: Psychological science : a journal of the American Psychological Society / APS (Psychol Sci), published in United States. (Language: eng)
Reference: 2003-May; vol 14 (issue 3) : pp 262-6
Dates: Created 2003/05/13; Completed 2003/08/05; Revised 2006/11/15;
PMID: 12741751, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)
Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.
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