Probe tone paradigm reveals less differentiated tonal hierarchies in rock music
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Date
2021
Authors
Vuvan, Dominique T.
Hughes, Bryn
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of California Press
Abstract
Krumhansl and Kessler’s (1982) pioneering experiments on tonal hierarchies in
Western music have long been considered the gold standard for researchers interested
in the mental representation of musical pitch structure. The current experiment used the
probe tone technique to investigate the tonal hierarchy in classical and rock music. As
predicted, the observed profiles for these two styles were structurally similar, reflecting a
shared underlying Western tonal structure. Most interestingly, however, the rock profile
was significantly less differentiated than the classical profile, reflecting theoretical work
that describes pitch organization in rock music as more permissive and less hierarchical
than in classical music. This line of research contradicts the idea that music from the
common-practice era is representative of all Western musics, and challenges music
cognition researchers to explore style-appropriate stimuli and models of pitch structure
for their experiments.
Description
Author original manuscript (pre-print)
Keywords
Tonal hierarchy , Probe tone , Pitch , Style , Classical music
Citation
Vuvan, D. T., & Hughes, B. (2021). Probe tone paradigm reveals less differentiated tonal hierarchy in rock music. Music perception, 38(5), 425-434. https://doi.org/10.1525/mp.2021.38.5.425