Developmental changes in pitch perception: Distinguishing up from down.
Published: 2007
Language: eng
Number of pages: 20
ISBN-13: 9780494275061
Description: We examined the pitch-discrimination abilities of musically untrained children and adults. Participants in five age groups (5-, 6-, 8-, and 11-year-olds, and adults) identified the direction of displacement (i.e., up or down) of the second tone in a sequence of three tones. The first and third tones were always identical (440 Hz) but the middle tone was shifted upward or downward in pitch by 4, 2, 1, 0.5, 0.3, 0.1, and 0.05 semitones. Pitch-discrimination accuracy improved from 5 to 8 years of age. There were no further improvements after age 8, which implies that some aspects of pitch perception may be mature by this age. Importantly, we were able to use a pitch-discrimination procedure successfully with very young children, even though the experimental task involved relational concepts. Compared to previous efforts, the present study represents a more ecologically valid examination of the development of pitch perception.
Notes: Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-06, page: 3314.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Toronto, 2007.

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