Steps and leaps in human memory for melodies : the effect of pitch interval magnitude in a melodic contour discrimination task

Melodic contour, the shape of a melody without reference to the individual notes, is important in the cognition of short, unfamiliar melodies. Melodic contour has generally been conceived as specifically the direction of pitch intervals (i.e., up or down). It is argued that the magnitude of the pitch intervals (i.e., step or leap) is also encoded as part of relative pitch memory for melodies. It was hypothesised that participants are sensitive to changes in pitch interval magnitude (PIM) in a discrimination task using transposed melodies. It was also hypothesized that PIM is encoded in relative pitch memory for melodies as part of melodic contour. The results indicate that participants are sensitive to changes in pitch interval magnitude, but does not support the hypothesis that PIM is encoded as part of melodic contour. Instead, the results of the experiment suggest that the effect of on contour discrimination appears to arise from melodic expectations.