Previous research suggests that individuals with a Vocal Pitch Imitation Deficit (VPID, a.k.a. “poor-pitch singers”) experience less vivid auditory images than accurate imitators (Pfordresher & Halpern, 2013), based on self-report. In the present research we sought to test this proposal directly by having accurate and VPID imitators produce or recognize short melodies based on their original form (untransformed), or after mentally transforming the auditory image of the melody. For the production task, group differences were largest during the untransformed imitation task. Importantly, producing mental transformations of the auditory image degraded performance for all participants, but were relatively more disruptive to accurate than to VPID imitators. These findings suggest that VPID is due partly to poor initial imagery formation, as manifested by production of untransformed melodies. By contrast, producing a transformed mental image may rely on working memory ability, which is more equally matched across participants. This interpretation was further supported by correlations with self-reports of auditory imagery and measures of working memory.
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June 2017
Research Article|
June 01 2017
Pitch Imitation Ability in Mental Transformations of Melodies Available to Purchase
Emma B. Greenspon,
Emma Greenspon, Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, SUNY, Buffalo, NY 14260. E-mail: [email protected]
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Peter Q. Pfordresher,
Peter Q. Pfordresher
University at Buffalo, State University of New York
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Andrea R. Halpern
Andrea R. Halpern
Bucknell University
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Emma Greenspon, Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, SUNY, Buffalo, NY 14260. E-mail: [email protected]
Music Perception (2017) 34 (5): 585–604.
Article history
Received:
December 29 2015
Accepted:
January 25 2017
Citation
Emma B. Greenspon, Peter Q. Pfordresher, Andrea R. Halpern; Pitch Imitation Ability in Mental Transformations of Melodies. Music Perception 1 June 2017; 34 (5): 585–604. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/mp.2017.34.5.585
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