Skip to main content

A Model for the Perception of Tonal Melodies

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Music and Artificial Intelligence (ICMAI 2002)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNAI,volume 2445))

Included in the following conference series:

Abstract

This paper presents a concise description of OPTM, a computational model for the On-line Processing of Tonal Melodies. It describes the processes a listener executes when transforming a tone sequence into a tonal melody. The model is based on the assumption that a tone sequence is represented in terms of a chord progression underlying the sequence. Chord tones are directly coded in the harmonic frame, while non-chord tones can sometimes be linked to a subsequent chord tone. The model implements three primary mechanisms: key finding, chord recognition, and anchoring. The operation of the model and its associated output are displayed while the tone sequence is entered incrementally. The output consists of the evolving harmonic framework, the assimilation of non-chord tones, the arising expectations, the tones that do not fit, and an overall indication of the ‘goodness’ of the melodic percept.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. Bharucha, J. J.: Music Cognition and Perceptual Facilitation: A connectionist Framework. Music Perception 5 (1987) 1–30

    Google Scholar 

  2. Cuddy, L. L., Cohen, A., Mewhort, D. J.: Perception of structure in short melodic sequences. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance 7 (1981) 869–883

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Krumhansl, C.L.: Cognitive Foundations of Musical Pitch. Oxford University Press, New York (1990)

    Google Scholar 

  4. Lerdahl, F., Jackendoff, R. A Generative Theory of Tonal Music. MIT Press, Cambridge MA (1983)

    Google Scholar 

  5. Longuet-Higgins, H. C., Steedman, M. J.: On interpreting Bach. In B. Meltzer, D. Michie (Eds.) Machine Intelligence. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh (1971)

    Google Scholar 

  6. Povel, D. J.: Internal Representation of Simple Temporal Patterns. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance 7 (1981) 3–18

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Bharucha, J. J.: Anchoring Effects in Music: The Resolution of Dissonance. Cognitive Psychology 16 (1984) 485–518

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Lerdahl, F.: Tonal Pitch Space. Music Perception, 5 (1988) 315–350

    Google Scholar 

  9. Temperley, D.: The Cognition of Basic Musical Structures.. MIT Press, Cambridge MA (2001)

    Google Scholar 

  10. Zuckerkandl, V. Sound and Symbol. Princeton University Press, Princeton (1956)

    Google Scholar 

  11. Povel D. J., Jansen, E.: Perceptual Mechanisms in Music Perception. Music Perception 19 (2001) 169–199

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Povel, D. J., Jansen, E.: Harmonic Factors in the Perception of Tonal Melodies. Music Perception (2002) Fall issue

    Google Scholar 

  13. Sloboda, J. A., Parker, D. H. H.: Immediate Recall of Melodies. In P. Howell, I. Cross, R. West (Eds.) Musical Structure and Cognition. Academic Press, London (1985)

    Google Scholar 

  14. Krumhansl, C. L., Kessler, E. J.: Tracing the Dynamic Changes in Perceived Tonal Organization in a Spatial Representation of Musical Keys. Psychological Review 89 (1982) 334–368

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Piston, W., Devoto, M.: Harmony. Victor Gollancz, London (1989 originally published 1941)

    Google Scholar 

  16. Sutcliffe, T.: Syntactic Structures in Music. http://www.harmony.org.uk/

  17. Steedman, M. J.: A Generative Grammar for Jazz Chord Sequences. Music Perception 2 (1984) 52–77

    Google Scholar 

  18. Pardo, B., Birmingham, W. P.: The Chordal Analysis of Tonal Music. The University of Michigan, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Technical Report CSE-TR-439-01 (2001)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2002 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this paper

Cite this paper

Povel, DJ. (2002). A Model for the Perception of Tonal Melodies. In: Anagnostopoulou, C., Ferrand, M., Smaill, A. (eds) Music and Artificial Intelligence. ICMAI 2002. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 2445. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-45722-4_14

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-45722-4_14

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-44145-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-45722-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics