Musical challenge

[altivo]

Some research at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, apparently on musical perception or discrimination. Here is the URL:

http://www.delosis.com/listening/measure.html

You are asked to listen to 30 pairs of musical motifs, and after each pair to tell whether they were the same or different. They appear to be seeking subjects for further research, as they ask for contact information (though I doubt they are going to fly people in from around the world or anything of the sort.)

I got all 30 correct, but they aren't that difficult really. My mate has much less formal musical training and still got 28 right. Others among our musical friends reported scores from 26 to 29.

Some may be challenging. I recommend you avoid distractions and background noise to try this.

Comments

[chibiabos.livejournal.com]

Bah ... I got 24. :(

*fires self from ever thinking about getting back into music ...*

[altivo.livejournal.com]

They all seemed pretty obvious to me, but I did it right-brained, musician style. If you try to get analytical about it you're bound to mess up I think.

[farhoug.livejournal.com]

On the first round I got 25, but I was trying to figure out more subtle errors than my memory could handle... I guess most of the differences were pointing themselves out, got 29 on the second try when I didn't try so much. =)

Would be curious to see the results from that, and what types of differences people won't detect so easily. I think I got the last one wrong, there was something fishy in the rhythm, but didn't trust my ear... =)

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I don't think they did anything to the rhythms, just altered the pitches in some. I only did it once, so I'm not sure whether they change the order of the examples or generate random differences, but I suspect not.

My guess is that they are looking for some sort of pattern in the changes that people detect most easily. If so, then they really want subjects who don't get it right every time. Those of us who do get it right may be too perceptive for what they are looking at.

On the other hand, I suppose they might take a group of high scorers and give them a more difficult test...

[farhoug.livejournal.com]

Yep, I'm not sure of it either, it just sounded once or twice that the change was in the note lengths, but can't really say for sure. It sounded though that the test was identical on both times.

I guess that test revolves around the basic concepts of music theory, at least there were plenty of shifted notes around. Then I could say that I just misheard any rhythm changes. =)

They probably have uses for test groups around the score spectrum, hard to say really without knowing what exactly they're researching. But well, it's too far away anyways, curious to know the results though. =)

[chibiabos.livejournal.com]

I heard several rhythm changes, including on the first one.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

But I completely ignored rhythm and focused on the pitches only. I still got all of them right.

[chibiabos.livejournal.com]

Guess I get too hung up on 'exactly the same.'

[shadowtxhorse.livejournal.com]

Wow... got a 25 taking the test in a loud server room with fans running AND I have an artificial tympanic membrane in the right ear as well ... I always assumed I was tone deaf. :)

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Obviously not. I did a good chunk of it while my mate was banging away on his dulcimer about 15 feet from me. I did use earphones, but I can't bear to turn the volume up. They didn't seem terribly difficult, so you'd probably have done even better in a quiet environment.

[hellmutt.livejournal.com]

I finally got round to trying this today. I've had no musical training and am always doubtful of my natural 'ear'. But I got 28. (And had to deal with my crazy body physically twitching whenever it played a bum note. :D )

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I got the twitches on some of the "wrong" notes too. Not always, because some of the differences were acceptable harmonically, but others were definitely sour.

I'm still not sure just what they are after. I may e-mail and ask.