The present study investigated the impact of simple pair-association mechanisms for the acquisition of absolute pitch. At intervals of two weeks, participants (N = 20 adult nonmusicians) completed three tone identification tests (pre, post, and follow-up test). Participants of the experimental group (n = 10) underwent a ten-day adaptive training between the first and the second test in which they learned to associate pitches with the corresponding name. The results of the posttest revealed a positive effect of training in the experimental group compared to the control group as indicated by a higher proportion of correct responses as well as a smaller deviation measured in semitones in the tone identification task. The effect of training remained stable over the period without any further training (follow-up test). The results of this training study suggest that simple pair-association mechanisms are a key aspect in the development of absolute pitch.
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June 2015
Research Article|
June 01 2015
The Impact of Simple Pair-Association in the Acquisition of Absolute Pitch: A Training Study with Adult Nonmusicians
Katrin Bittrich,
Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
Katrin Bittrich, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Department of Psychology, 06099 Halle (Saale, Germany). E-mail: katrin.bittrich@psych.uni-halle.de
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Kathrin Schlemmer,
Kathrin Schlemmer
Catholic University Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, Eichstätt, Germany
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Sven Blankenberger
Sven Blankenberger
Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
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Katrin Bittrich, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Department of Psychology, 06099 Halle (Saale, Germany). E-mail: katrin.bittrich@psych.uni-halle.de
Music Perception (2015) 32 (5): 493–506.
Article history
Received:
November 08 2013
Accepted:
September 26 2014
Citation
Katrin Bittrich, Kathrin Schlemmer, Sven Blankenberger; The Impact of Simple Pair-Association in the Acquisition of Absolute Pitch: A Training Study with Adult Nonmusicians. Music Perception 1 June 2015; 32 (5): 493–506. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/mp.2015.32.5.493
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