Auditory Development and Music Cognition Flashcards
What is music cognition?
The study of the abilities and processes required to engage with
musical stimuli
What is pitch
our perception of the frequency of a wave
- how many waves will fit in a space
- The more waves, the higher the frequency
- The higher the frequency, the higher the pitch
- Hertz (Hz) or notes on a scale
What is prosody
melody in speech to convey meaning and emotion
What is melody
A sequence of pitches that has some logical sense
What is Beat
our perception of evenly spaced points in a sequence, sometimes felt as the ‘pulse
ex. tap your foot
What is Rhythm
the full pattern of temporal intervals in a
sequence
What is Timbre
The tonal quality of a sound
* Analogous to flavour or colour
We can describe timbre with
* Adjectives (e.g., brassy, bright, squeaky)
* Instrument names (e.g., saxophone, guitar, flute)
We can even describe timbre non-verbally
Why is the foetus exposed mainely to low-frequency sounds
The fetus develops in an aquatic environment; high-frequency and loud sounds are
attenuated by fluid & tissue
True or false: in the first 20 weeks of pregnancy, the fetus is unresponsive to sound
true. cochlea isn’t developped so soundwaves cannot yet be transduced into electrical signals and therefore do
not reach the auditory cortex for processing
When does cochlear development become mature
By 35 weeks of pregnancy
3 basic auditory abilities
Localization, Identification, Discrimination
When does melody discrimination reach adult levels
10-11 years old
What is Absolute pitch
Ability to sing, name, or identify a pitch without reference to
another pitch
- Very rare: 1 in 10,000 people are born with it
- cannot be developed without ear and memory training AND this training must
begin in childhood
- If a child hasn’t acquired absolute pitch by about 11 years old, it cannot be
acquired fully
Singing abilities peaks by age
12
At around what age can children detect beat misalignment for rhythms that are culturally relevant
5 years old
