Musical intervals and relative pitch: Frequency resolution, not interval resolution, is special

Abstract Pitch intervals are central to most musical systems, which utilize pitch at the expense of other acoustic dimensions. It seemed plausible that pitch might uniquely permit precise perception of the interval separating two sounds, as this could help explain its importance in music. To explore this notion, a simple discrimination task was used to … Read more

Functional anatomy of musical processing in listeners with absolute pitch and relative pitch

The functional anatomy of musical processing in listeners with absolute pitch (AP) and relative pitch (RP) has been a topic of interest in neuroscience research. Absolute pitch refers to the ability to identify or produce musical pitches without the need for a reference tone, while relative pitch refers to the ability to perceive and understand … Read more

Functional anatomy of musical processing in listeners with absolute pitch and relative pitch

Abstract We used both structural and functional brain imaging techniques to investigate the neural basis of absolute pitch (AP), a specialized skill present in some musicians. By using positron emission tomography, we measured cerebral blood flow during the presentation of musical tones to AP possessors and to control musicians without AP. Listening to musical tones … Read more