Pitch interval perception by musically trained listeners

This research investigates the reaction times to identify musical intervals by subjects with some musical training. All intervals within an octave, upward and downward, consisting of all combinations sine tones, complex tones with a fundamental, and complex tones without a fundamental were presented to a group of 18 subjects. Subjects had to decide which signal pairs form a specific musical interval. For some subjects the identification of certain intervals (e.g., a third major upward) was only 20 ms longer than the identification of two tones with identical pitch but the overall reaction time doubled when the same interval was presented downward. Some subjects showed a great dependency on the presence and absence of the fundamental whereas other subjects were not influenced by this parameter. Furthermore, the sort of musical instrument played by the subjects seem to influence the speed of perception of certain intervals. In total, reaction times indicate that the perception of the missing fundamental is idiosyncratic and depends on the musical education of the subjects and is not necessarily a part of normal auditory processing.