In-tune versus out-of-tune: On the perception of pitch accuracy

Abstract: Singing is a common activity. However, on the occasion of special events like birthdays, singing contests, or even in daily life one can witness the great variability of performers regarding pitch accuracy. We typically classify performances as in-tune or out-of tune but the criteria as well as the process to make such judgments remains unclear. This talk aims at (1) clarifying the definition of pitch accuracy, i.e., the criteria on which one relies when listening to melodies, (2) presenting current studies designed to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the process judgment during music perception, and (3), discussing similarities and differences with other perceptual domains.

Bio: After graduating in pedagogy, psychology, music and speech therapy, Pauline completed a Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology (section Speech-pathology) at the University of Liège (Belgium) in 2013. At this occasion, she focused on the definition and measurement of pitch accuracy in occasional and operatic singers. In 2014, she joined the Department of Neuroscience of the Max-Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics (Germany). Supervised by David Poeppel, she develops research on the mechanisms underlying melodic/prosodic perception and pursues the collaborations engaged during research stays as a doctoral student or post doc at BRAMS (with Isabelle Peretz), at the Auditory Perception and Action Laboratory (with Peter Pfordresher) and more recently at the Neuropragmatic and Emotion lab (with Marc Pell).