In studies of perceptual and neural processing differences between musicians and nonmusicians, participants are typically dichotomized on the basis of personal report of musical experience. The present study relates self-reported musical experience and objectively measured musical aptitude to a skill that is important in music perception: temporal resolution (or acuity). The Advanced Measures of Music Audiation (AMMA) test was used to objectively assess participant musical aptitude, and adaptive psychophysical measurements were obtained to assess temporal resolution on two tasks: within-channel gap detection and across-channel gap detection. Results suggest that musical aptitude measured with the AMMA and self-reporting of music experiences (duration of music instruction) are both related to temporal resolution ability in musicians. The relationship between musical aptitude and/or duration of music training is important to music educators advocating for the benefits of music programs as well as in behavioral and neurophysiological research.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the nature of the relationship between children’s use of singing voice (vocal register) and singing accuracy. In previous studies recorded examples of kindergartners’ ( n = 37) and first graders’ ( n = 38) singing were assessed with the Singing Voice Development Measure. For this study, these recorded examples were also evaluated for accuracy by two different raters. There was a significant correlation between children’s use of singing voice and singing accuracy, but no significant relationship for either variable with tonal aptitude as measured by Intermediate Measures of Music Audiation. When children’s accuracy was assessed based on their usable register, the influence of register on accuracy was very small suggesting that the relationship between vocal development and accuracy is a function of children’s access to, and control of, a wider singing range. Teachers interested in improving singing accuracy in their students are encouraged to work with them on expanding their usable vocal registers.