Teaching discrimination and classification of musical auditory stimuli based on their sound characteristics

• Grant number: 22/16494-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: August 01, 2023
• End date: July 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Psychology
• Principal Investigator: Júlio César Coelho de Rose
• Grantee: Átila Moreira Cedro
• Host Institution: Centro de Educação e Ciências Humanas (CECH). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Musical auditory stimuli - chords, scales, progressions, melodies and musical excerpts - have marked differences between them; however, they have similar properties by which we can classifying them as being of the "major" or "minor" types. Probably, a training with a limited number of musical auditory stimuli of both types (major and minor) can enable the participant to discriminate stimuli that are different from those, but that are of the same type. Our hypothesis is that a training with musical excerpts is enough to the participant also being able to discriminate musical melodies, without additional training for so. Similarly, a training with harmonic progressions is enough to the participant also being able to discriminate chords, without further training for so. In order to test our hypothesis, we will perform two experiments. First, Group 1 - a training with major and minor musical excerpts and tests with major and minor melodies; Group 2 - a training with major and minor melodies and tests with major and minor musical excerpts. Second experiment, Group 1 - a training with major and minor harmonic progressions and tests with major and minor chords; Group 2 - training with major and minor chords, tests with major and minor harmonic progressions. Thus, we will be able to determine which types of musical stimuli can generate the highest performances during the teaching phases. In addition, we will identify which auditory stimulus used during the training phases lead to the highest performances during the intra and inter-stimulus generalization tests. The ability to classify musical auditory stimuli in this way is difficult to acquire and necessary for musicians of all kinds. (AU)