634419

research-article2016
MSX0010.1177/1029864916634419Musicae ScientiaeLoudwin and Bannert

Article

Musicae Scientiae

Facing pitch: Constructing

2017, Vol. 21(1) 26­–40
© The Author(s) 2016
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DOI: 10.1177/1029864916634419
https://doi.org/10.1177/1029864916634419
pitch leads to better estimation of journals.sagepub.com/home/msx

musical intervals

Johannes Loudwin
University of Wuerzburg, Germany

Maria Bannert
Technical University of Munich, Germany

Abstract
Mental-spatial representations are often used for processing quantities and magnitudes such as numbers
or pitch. The present study investigates whether the active creation of associations between space and pitch
magnitude leads to a better estimation of the distances between pitches (musical intervals). Non-musicians
performed an aurally presented comparison task in which musical intervals had to be estimated both
before and after a training phase. Experiment 1 shows that the experimental group participants who were
given the opportunity to establish associations between space and pitch (by means of spatial visualizations
presented during training) improved significantly regarding their skill of estimating musical intervals
compared with a control group without exposure to spatial visualizations during training. Experiment
2 replicated these findings, and a supplementary experimental group showed that the establishment of
these associations is hindered when, additionally to pitch, task-irrelevant information about the point in
time at which a tone is played during a trial, is also presented spatially during training (which does not
decrease performance in training). We found that explicitly creating associations between space and pitch
leads to a better estimation of the size of musical intervals, and we conclude that using analogies between
space and pitch, e.g., in aural training in music education, is an efficient way to train the perception of
pitch distances between musical notes.

Keywords
cognitive representation, ear training, intermodal perception, musical pitch, SMARC, visualization

It is fascinating that many professional musicians hear a tune once and are able to play it
straightaway on their instrument; some are even able to improvise on the newly heard melody
without previous preparation. For non-musicians, this astonishing ability includes (in addition

Corresponding author:
Johannes Loudwin, Institute of Human-Computer-Media, University of Wuerzburg, Oswald-Kuelpe-Weg 82,
97074 Wuerzburg, Germany.
Email: johannes@loudwin.de
Loudwin and Bannert 27

to the perception of other musical parameters, such as the perception of beat and rhythm) the
perception of pitch. How can musicians perceive the distances between the notes of a tune
simply by listening to it? How do they obtain the required information when they want to repro-
duce the pitches of the notes, given that the pitch of the first tone is provided and, as with most
musicians, they do not have perfect pitch? How can this skill of determining the distance
between different pitches and, thus, the ability to reproduce a just-heard melody be learned and
trained correctly?
The present study investigates whether the spatial visualization of pitch presented on a com-
puter screen during a training phase can help improve the perception of distances between
different musical notes that are only presented aurally. We assume that supporting the creation
of a mental-spatial representation of pitch with the abovementioned spatial visualizations
helps participants determine musical intervals more precisely.
When humans process quantities and magnitudes, a spatial component can often be detected
(Brugger, 2008; Walsh, 2003). There is evidence that even magnitudes with no spatial dimen-
sion are still represented spatially in the mind. Brugger even raises the question of “Are there
non-spatial magnitudes?” (2008, p. 271) and postulates that every magnitude is represented
spatially in some manner.
The mental-spatial representations of numbers have been studied in great detail. Humans in
western cultures associate higher numbers on the right-hand side spatially compared with
lower numbers (e.g., a faster reaction occurs on the right side for higher numbers, even when
the magnitude is irrelevant) and vice versa, which is known as the SNARC effect (spatial
numerical association of response codes; Dehaene, Bossini, & Giraux, 1993). This association
between space and numerical magnitude is amodal (Nuerk, Wood, & Willmes, 2005), which
means that the association is independent of the modality in which the number is presented.
Therefore, this association is of an abstract nature. The direction of the spatial-mental repre-
sentation of numerical magnitude is affected by reading habits (Shaki, Fischer, & Petrusic,
2009) and is not limited to the horizontal level. The character of the spatial representation
therefore differs depending on how the association was learned. Educational research shows
that spatial-numerical training can support the numerical development of children (e.g., U.
Fischer, Moeller, Bientzle, Cress, & Nuerk, 2011). However, once the association between space
and numerical magnitude is established, this association is not rigid: after experiencing incon-
gruent mappings that contradict SNARC, the SNARC effect is reduced (M. H. Fischer, Mills, &
Shaki, 2010). A reduction of the SNARC effect can be found even when manipulating the con-
gruency within an experiment after incongruent trials (Pfister, Schroeder, & Kunde, 2013). In
summary, we can conclude that numerical magnitudes are associated with space. We can also
conclude that this association is learned and probably assists numerical processing and that the
character of spatial associations for numerical magnitudes is flexible.
Just like numerical magnitudes, pitches are associated with space. The SMARC effect (spatial
musical association of response codes; Rusconi, Kwan, Giordano, Umiltà, & Butterworth, 2006)
leads to an assumption that a higher pitch has a stronger mental-spatial association with the
right side compared to a lower pitch, and vice versa. This association is also known as the SPARC
effect (spatial pitch association of response codes, Lidji, Kolinsky, Lochy, & Morais, 2007), but
SMARC is the common label. Reactions to a tone with relatively high pitch are faster when
responses on the right side are required compared to responses that are required on the left side,
even when the pitch level is irrelevant to the task. When a reaction to a tone with relatively low
pitch is required, the reactions are faster when responding on the left side compared to reac-
tions on the right side. This effect can be found for professional musicians for whom musical
28 Musicae Scientiae 21(1)

pitch is spatially represented as a “mental piano”. However, the mental-spatial representation is

not limited to the horizontal level, as a vertical spatial association can also be identified: tones
with higher pitches are associated with a higher position in space than tones with lower pitches,
a phenomenon that is suggested by the nomenclature for high and low pitches, which was pre-
sented and tested in a very early stage of research (Pratt, 1930; Stumpf, 1883).
Non-musicians also show associations between space and musical pitch, but these associa-
tions are not as distinct as for professional musicians and can be shown only on the vertical
dimension or when a reference tone is given (Cho, Bae, & Proctor, 2012). Thus, associations
between space and musical pitch are learned because professional musicians show notably
stronger associations compared with non-musicians. There is also evidence that mental-spatial
representations are developed to a greater extent (a compatibility effect with mappings compa-
rable to SMARC does not increase) with growing musical experience (Keller & Koch, 2008).
Additionally, the character of space-pitch mappings is influenced by the way in which associa-
tions were formed. Different mental representations of pitch can be found in languages in
which thick and thin (as translated into English) are used instead of low and high to describe
pitch. Also, by learning new space-pitch metaphors mental representations can change
(Dolscheid, Shayan, Majid, & Casasanto, 2013). However, there are indications that there is a
type of predisposition for vertical spatial-mental representations of pitch. Three- to four-month
old infants are sensitive to the congruency of animations and corresponding sounds, for exam-
ple, higher pitch and smaller visual images, which are placed higher in the visual space (Walker
et al., 2010). The anatomical structure of the human inner ear appears to increase the volume
of high-pitched sounds that originate from a source high in space and low-pitched sounds that
originate from sources low in space (Parise, Knorre, & Ernst, 2014).
To summarize, when dealing with musical pitch, humans establish mental-spatial represen-
tations of pitch. Exactly how these representations appear depends on how they were initially
established. It can be assumed that these representations are very flexible, and there is some
evidence that a predisposition for associations between pitch and space exists. When profes-
sional musicians demonstrate these associations, is it possible to explicitly create associations
between space and pitch for non-musicians and, in so doing, enhance their perception of the
distances of pitch between musical notes (similar to spatial-numerical training for children to
improve their understanding of numbers)?
Another hint for the assumption that spatial representations are helpful or even necessary
when learning to estimate musical intervals may be that people who suffer from amusia (an
inability to process pitch correctly that affects the ability to recognize melodies) also have
impairments in spatial thinking (Douglas & Bilkey, 2007). Therefore, one can speculate that
spatial thinking is necessary for processing pitch. Because the creation of spatial representa-
tions is probably hindered due to very low spatial abilities, perhaps high spatial abilities affect
the creation of spatial representations, as well.
We hypothesize that the creation of explicit associations between pitch and space enables
non-musicians to improve their ability to determine musical interval distances. For this reason,
we expect non-musicians, who use spatial visualizations of pitch on a computer screen during
a training phase (in which every auditory frequency is represented by a round circle in space
that appears when a tone is played), to improve to a greater extent in a task where aurally pre-
sented musical interval distances must be estimated, in comparison to non-musicians who are
not provided with visual information about pitch positions in the training phase. In addition,
we assume that high spatial thinking abilities support this expected improvement in the experi-
mental group.
Loudwin and Bannert 29

Pilot study
A pilot study was conducted to generate and select appropriate items to test the ability to esti-
mate the distance of musical intervals. University students (N = 127; Age: M = 20.54, SD =
1.74; 108 were women; years of formal training on a musical instrument, including singing:
M = 1.64, SD = 3.03) were asked to participate voluntarily. In each group (a maximum of 23
students), the stimuli were presented aurally, and the participants answered simultaneously on
an answer sheet that had been given to them beforehand. In addition to the single-choice ques-
tions for the task, the answer sheet also included questions about demographics and formal
training in music.
For the main task, the participants listened to two musical intervals (the distance between
two notes) that were played on loudspeakers, after which they had to decide whether the second
interval was larger or smaller than the first one. The four tones of the two intervals were played
separately (the total length of an item was 5.5 seconds); the first tone of an item was played at
the very beginning of the item and the second tone after 1.25 seconds for the first interval, and
the third tone after 3.25 seconds and the last tone after 4.5 seconds for the second interval. The
tones were presented as piano sounds, i.e., dynamic compressed recordings from a stage piano
with a fixed velocity. The length of a single note, including decay, was approximately 900 mil-
liseconds. Associations between space and pitch (the SMARC effect) can sometimes only be
found in non-musicians when a reference tone (a tone to which the pitches of other notes can
be related) is given (Cho et al., 2012). For this reason, we decided to use a type of reference tone
in our task as well because the aim of the study is to help non-musicians build associations
between space and pitch. To establish a reference tone, the second tone of the first interval and
the first tone of the second interval had an equal pitch in every item. The seven possible notes
were taken from a whole note scale on a middle C (C4, D4, E4, F♯4, G♯4, A♯4 and C5), which
means that the distances between the notes are always the same. For the items, all possible
interval combinations (except primes and intervals of the same size) were used, regardless of
whether they were ascending or descending. Therefore, it was possible to create 192 different
items when applying these rules. For every group of participants, a third of the items (64 items)
was presented. The lowest Cronbach’s α for a block of 64 items was α = .830. The participants’
performance did not vary over time because the number of correct answers from the first 32
items (M = 22.44, SD = 4.72) was not different to the number of correct answers in the second
set of 32 items (M = 21.81, SD = 4.66; repeated measures ANOVA: F(1, 126) = 3.57, p = .061,
η p2 = .028).
To sum up, we were able to create appropriate items to test the ability to estimate the size of
musical intervals. Because of the surprisingly high internal consistency of the items for non-
musicians, we decided also to use a selection of items from the pilot study for the training phase
in the following experiment (the item selection is described in the task and procedure).

Experiment 1
Method
Participants and experimental design. The participants were university students (N = 47). Six par-
ticipants were excluded because they made no mistakes in the pre-test of the study; thus, there
was no possibility for them to demonstrate better performance in the post-test, which used the
items from the pre-test. Another participant was excluded as an outlier because his spatial abil-
ity score (for more information, see the learner characteristics section) was greater than three
30 Musicae Scientiae 21(1)

standard deviations above the average. Hence, 40 participants (Age: M = 20.95, SD = 2.40; n
= 33 female; 3 left-handed; years of formal training on a musical instrument including singing:
M = 3.03, SD = 3.66) remained for further analysis. The participants were randomly assigned
to one of two groups: an experimental group with visualizations presented during training (n =
20) and a control group without visualizations during training (n = 20). These groups showed
no differences in the amount of formal musical training (control group: M = 2.60, SD = 3.38;
2
experimental group: M = 3.45, SD = 3.97; F(1, 38) = .53, p = .470, η p = .014).

Task and procedure. The ability to estimate the distance of musical intervals was tested before
and after a training phase (pre-test and post-test) with the task described in the pre-study above.
Fifteen items were selected from the 192 possible items from the pilot study, with item difficul-
ties (controlled for guess probability) ranging from pid = .05 to pid = .36. We decided to use items
with item difficulties just above guess probability and selected items with high item-total cor-
relations. The number of items with smaller second intervals (8 items) was nearly the same as
items with a larger second interval (7 items). These items were used for both the pre-test and
post-test (α = .78, always in a random order).
Between the pre-test and post-test, the participants passed through a training phase that
consisted of two blocks. Each block included 15 items that were also selected from the pilot
study. In contrast to the pre-test and post-test in the training phase, the participants were given
feedback after each item, and each item was presented a second time after the feedback was
given. For the first training block, easier items were given (ranging from pid = .41 to pid = .50);
for the second training block, the item difficulty levels were comparable to the items used in the
pre-test and post-test (ranging from pid = -.03 to pid = .38). In the experimental group, the par-
ticipants were provided with spatial visualizations in the two training blocks, and in the control
group, a fixation cross was presented (as in the pre-test and post-test for both groups).
Between each block, the participants were able to take as long a break as they wished. During
the breaks, gentle nature sounds were played for the participants to “neutralize” the auditory
senses.
The experiment was run on PCs with a 22-inch display that used the E-Prime software
(Schneider, Eschman, & Zuccolotto, 2002). The sounds were played via professional closed
headphones (AKG K-44 Perception).

Visualizations during training. In the experimental group spatial visualizations were presented
during the training phase. Every time an item was presented in the training phase, a line from
the lower left to the upper right appeared on the screen (see Figure 1). This line was displayed
throughout the duration of the item. Blue circles appeared on this line whenever a tone was
played and were hidden when the decay of the tone was over. Every possible tone had a specific
place on the line, and the distances between the possible positions of the circles (only whole
notes) were equal. The tones were ordered according to their pitches. The lowest tone (C4) was
represented by a circle on the lower left side of the screen, and the highest tone (C5) was repre-
sented on the upper right side.

Learner characteristics. After the main experiment, the spatial abilities were tested. To measure
spatial abilities, the 20 items (Cronbach’s α = .825) of the Spiegelbilder subscale [mirror images]
of the Wilde-Intelligenztest-2 (WIT-2; Kersting, Althoff, & Jäger, 2008) were used and pre-
sented on a computer screen. In the event that the participants finished all items before the time
limit was reached (3 minutes), the items were presented for a second time until the time limit
was reached.
Loudwin and Bannert 31

Figure 1. Example of the spatial visualization of pitch in Experiment 1. The example shows an item shown
to the experimental group in the training phase. For the control group, a fixed cross was presented during
training.

Data analysis. A mixed-design ANOVA was conducted to test whether the estimation abilities of
the participants increased in general after the training session between the pre-test and post-
test and whether participants from the experimental group who were shown spatial visualiza-
tions during training showed a greater ability increase compared with the control group.
Furthermore, a correlation between spatial abilities and increases from the pre-test to the post-
test was calculated for the experimental group to examine whether spatial abilities have an
influence on learning when using spatial visualizations. Additionally, a correlation between
the participants’ years of formal training in music and the increase from the pre-test to the
post-test was calculated.

Results
When comparing the performance (number of correctly solved items) between the pre-test
and post-test (see Figure 2), the main effect of the within-factor in a mixed-design ANOVA is
2
significant, F(1, 38) = 4.21, p < .05, η p = .10. The participants’ performance in the post-test
was better than that in the pre-test. A significant interaction, F(1, 38) = 4.21, p < .05, η p =
2

.10, indicated that the main effect is due to the improvement of the experimental group from
the pre-test (M = 10.25, SD = 2.69) to the post-test (M = 11.80, SD = 2.07). The control
group showed no improvement (pre-test: M = 10.65, SD = 3.38; post-test: M = 10.65; SD =
3.33). A high correlation for all participants between pre-test and post-test was found, r(38)
= .637, p < .001.
To test whether spatial abilities (M = 14.60, SD = 4.72) have an impact on the amount of
learning experienced by the experimental group participants using spatial visualizations, the
improvement of the participants was calculated by subtracting the test scores of the pre-test
from the test scores of the post-test (M = 1.55, SD = 2.31). No significant correlation was found
for the spatial abilities scores and the improvement scores, r(18) = –.18, p = .455. The amount
of formal musical training and the improvement seen in the experimental group participants
and control group participants did not correlate significantly with the improvement scores,
r(38) = .23, p = .145.
32 Musicae Scientiae 21(1)

Figure 2. Number of correctly solved items in pre- and post-tests in Experiment 1, in which musical
intervals (presented aurally) were to be compared. The pre- and post-tests consisted of the same 15
items presented randomly. The participants of the experimental group (EG) were supported by spatial
visualizations of pitch during a training phase. The participants of the control group (CG) practiced without
spatial visualizations.

Post-hoc, the performance in the training phase was analysed more closely using a mixed-
design ANOVA. The groups were used as a between-factor, and the two blocks of the training
phase were used as a within-factor. The number of correctly answered items in each block was
used as the dependent variable. The main effect (between-factor) showed that the participants
who were shown the spatial visualizations answered more items correctly in the training phase
2
than did the participants in the control group, F(1, 38) = 45.04, p < .001, η p = .54. Considering
the descriptive data, the experimental group made almost no mistakes in the 15 items in both
blocks of the training phase (Block 1: M = 14.80, SD = .41; Block 2: M = 14.90, SD = .31). A
significant main effect showed that the participants performed better in the first block of the
training phase, which consisted of items that were easier to solve, than in the second block of
the training phase, which consisted of items that were comparable in difficulty to the items in
2
the pre-test and post-test, F(1, 38) = 8.43, p < .01, η p = .18. The significant interaction, F(1,
2
38) = 10.92, p < .01, η p = .22, showed that this decrease was due to the performance of the
control group (Block 1: M = 11.60, SD = 2.66; Block 2: M = 10.05, SD = 3.27).

Discussion
We assumed that non-musicians who were presented with spatial visualizations in the training
phase would show a greater improvement in the estimation of the size of musical intervals
compared with non-musicians who practiced without the use of spatial visualizations. A sig-
nificant interaction between the point of measurement (pre-test and post-test) and the type of
treatment (experimental group and control group) confirms our hypothesis. The participants
who practiced with spatial visualizations showed a significant improvement in their ability to
Loudwin and Bannert 33

estimate the distance of pitches of musical notes. When practicing with identical items but
without visualizations, no improvement from the pre-test to the post-test can be seen in the
control group.
The experimental group also shows better performance in the training phase. Nearly all
items were solved correctly when the participants were able to use spatial visualizations. This
fact indicates that the experimental group participants were able to benefit from the visualiza-
tions when answering the items as the items are solved correctly ab initio. Thus, one can assume
that these participants solved the items primarily by looking at the visualizations. However,
they created an association between the visualized pitch and the sound because their perfor-
mance on items in the post-test (that had not been seen as visualizations in the training phase)
was higher than that observed in the control group; thus, the experimental group participants
probably had a more precise mental representation of musical interval distances. The fact that
the participants were still required to estimate musical intervals likely shows that they inte-
grated the sound played during the items, even if they solved the items only by looking at the
visualizations. The participants of the control group performed better in block one of the train-
ing phase than in block two. This is not surprising because the items in block two were more
difficult than the items in block one, as mentioned above.
Participants’ spatial abilities showed no influence on their improvement from the pre-test to
the post-test in the experimental group. Because of the sample size, it is not possible to detect
small relationships between improvement and spatial abilities in our experiment; thus, we can
only conclude that spatial abilities do not have a substantial influence on the formation of asso-
ciations between space and pitch in our experimental setting. Because people who cannot pro-
cess pitch correctly also demonstrate lower spatial abilities (Douglas & Bilkey, 2007), we assume
that a certain level of spatial abilities is needed to create spatial associations and, therefore,
spatial representations. However, as long as a minimum level of spatial ability is present, the
associations can probably be established.
To summarize, Experiment 1 shows that the explicit creation of associations between space
and pitch can improve the ability to determine the distance between the pitches of different
musical notes. Already existing associations between space and pitch are strengthened, and
explicit associations can be formed, with the use of spatial visualization which helps improve
the estimation of the size of musical intervals.
However, these associations are usually not formed via such simple spatial visualizations.
When practicing or performing music, pitches are normally presented as musical notes. Musical
notes contain both pitch and time information in a spatial representation. The vertical dimen-
sion of notes contains information about the musical pitch in a horizontal dimension of time
(the time at which the note of a musical piece is played).
Similar to many quantities and magnitudes, time is represented spatially in the mind, just
like pitch (Ishihara, Keller, Rossetti, & Prinz, 2008). What happens when spatial visualizations
also contain information about the point in time at which a note is played? Is it more difficult to
establish associations between musical pitch and space when space is not exclusively used for
pitch? This question is investigated in the following experiment.

Experiment 2
Experiment 2 investigates whether additional information for a note, about the point in time at
which the note is played during a trial is presented spatially on a horizontal dimension, together
with information about the pitch of the note, which is presented spatially on the vertical dimen-
sion, interferes with the establishment of associations of space and pitch. We hypothesize that
34 Musicae Scientiae 21(1)

participants who practice with spatial visualizations that contain only information about musi-
cal pitch show greater improvement in tasks in which the distances between aurally presented
pitches must be estimated than do participants who practice with visualizations containing
spatial information about musical pitch and the point in time at which a note is presented.

Method
Participants and design. The number of required participants for the second experiment was cal-
culated with parameters from the first experiment (a medium effect size and correlation among
repeated measures of r(39) = .637). Therefore, a total sample size of 33 participants was needed
when planning to calculate an interaction in a mixed-design ANOVA with three groups and
two measurement periods (α = .05 and 1− β = .80).
As in Experiment 1, the participants were university students (N = 36), were naïve to the
purpose of the experiment and had not participated in the previous experiment on pitch. Two
participants had to be excluded because they made no mistakes in the pre-test of the study and
thus would not have been able to demonstrate better performance in the post-test. Hence, 34
participants (Age: M = 22.12, SD = 4.04; 23 were women; 2 left-handed; years of formal train-
ing on a musical instrument including singing: M = 2.79, SD = 3.21) remained for further
analysis. The participants were randomly assigned to three groups (two experimental groups
that used visualizations during training and a control group that did not use visualizations dur-
ing training). These groups showed no differences in the amount of formal musical training
(control group: M = 3.83, SD = 3.66; experimental group with visualization of pitch only: M =
1.91, SD = 2.55; experimental group with visualization of pitch and time: M = 2.55, SD =
2
3.24; F(2, 31) = 1.09, p = .350, η p = .07).

Task and procedure. The task, procedure, all items and measured learner characteristics were
identical to those in Experiment 1. The only difference was the three-group design, with a con-
trol group (CG, n = 12) that was similar to Experiment 1 and two experimental groups with
modified spatial visualizations.

Visualizations during training. In the experimental group that used spatial visualization of pitch
only (EG_P, n = 11), the pitch was spatially visualized with round circles as in the experimental
group in the first experiment (see Figure 3). Instead of a diagonal line, a blank screen was pre-
sented, on which the circles appeared every time a tone was played for the participants. Unlike
in Experiment 1, the positions of the circles were only shown on a vertical dimension in the
middle of the screen. The higher the pitch of the tone was, the higher the corresponding circle
was placed on the screen. The distances between the circles (corresponding to the whole note
scale) were equal, and each tone had a specifically designated place on the screen. Thus, EG_P
was a type of replication of the experimental group from the first experiment. The circles were
shown only on a vertical dimension to allow additional visualization of time in the second
experimental group.
In the experimental group using spatial visualizations of pitch and time (EG_PT, n = 11), the
positions of the circles on the vertical dimension were the same as those in EG_P. Additionally,
the points in time of the four item tones were spatially visualized on a horizontal dimension (see
Figure 3). Thus, the visualization for the first tone of an item was presented on the far left. The
visualization of the second tone was positioned further to the right but was still on the left side
of the screen. The visualizations of the third and fourth tones were shown on the right side of
the screen (the fourth tone to the far right), and the distance of the visualizations between
Loudwin and Bannert 35

Figure 3. Example of the spatial visualization of pitch in Experiment 2. The example shows an item for
the two experimental conditions in the training phase (EG_P with the spatial visualization of pitch and
EG_PT with spatial visualization of pitch and time). For the control group, a fixed cross was presented
during training.

second and third tones (between the intervals) was greater than the distances of the visualiza-
tions between first and second and the third and fourth tones (the two intervals).

Data analysis. As in Experiment 1, a mixed-design ANOVA was conducted to test whether the
participants in general performed better after the training session (an increase from the pre-test
to the post-test). To test whether the experimental groups showed a higher increase in compari-
son to the control group, planned contrasts were calculated based on the increase from the
pre-test to the post-test (both experimental groups against the control group) in the event that
the ANOVA showed a significant interaction. In contrast to Experiment 1, the spatial abilities
were no longer reported because the experimental groups were too small to calculate reasona-
ble correlations. The correlation between the years of formal training in music of all partici-
pants and the improvement of the performance was calculated as in Experiment 1. Because the
post-hoc analyses in Experiment 1 showed more correctly solved items during training in the
experimental group, a mixed-design ANOVA was conducted to test whether the same result
would be found in this experiment.

Results
The descriptive data of performance in pre-test and post-test is visualized in Figure 4. A mixed-
design ANOVA shows that the participants’ scores in the post-test were higher than in the pre-
2
test, F(1, 31) = 18.59, p < .001, η p = .38. Additionally, a significant interaction could be found,
2
F(2, 31) = 3.67, p < .05, η p = .19. Therefore, planned contrasts for the increase from the pre-
test to the post-test (the score of the post-test minus the score of the pre-test) were calculated.
The increase of experimental group EG_P (M = 2.55, SD = 1.63) versus CG (M = 0.33, SD =
2
2.10) is significant, F(1, 21) = 7.82, p < .05, η p = .27, whereas the increase of experimental
36 Musicae Scientiae 21(1)

Figure 4. Number of correctly solved items in pre- and post-tests in Experiment 2, in which musical
intervals (presented aurally) were to be compared. The pre- and post-tests consisted of the same 15 items
presented randomly. The participants of the experimental groups were supported by spatial visualizations
during a training phase. For EG_P, only pitch was visualized during training; for EG_PT, pitch and time, the
latter of which was irrelevant to the task, was presented spatially during training; CG practiced without
spatial visualizations.

group EG_PT (M = 1.45, SD = 2.07) versus CG is not significant, F(1, 21) = 1.66, p = .21, η p
2

= .07. That is, experimental group EG_P, which used spatial visualizations of pitch, showed a
higher increase from the pre-test to the post-test compared with the CG group. Experimental
group EG_PT, which used spatial visualizations of pitch and time, did not show a significantly
higher increase in performance. A high correlation for all participants between pre-test and
post-test was found, r(33) = .640, p < .001.
When calculating the correlations between the years of formal musical training and
improvement for all participants, no significant relationships could be observed, although the
p-value is near the level of significance, r(33) = .34, p = .053.
As in Experiment 1, the participants in both experimental groups were able to solve nearly
all items in the training phase (see Table 1). Again, a significant main effect of the between-
factor showed that the participants had more items correct in the training phase when they
2
were able to use visualizations, F(2, 31) = 30.09, p < .001, η p = .66. The significant within-
factor showed that more items in the first training block were solved correctly, F(1, 31) = 12.41,
2 2
p < .01, η p = .29. The significant interaction, F(2, 31) = 16.01, p < .001, η p = .51, showed
that the significant reduction of correct items from block one to block two was due to the
decrease of correct items in the control condition.

Discussion
As in Experiment 1, participants who use spatial visualizations of pitch during a training phase
(EG_P) show greater improvement in the estimation of the size of musical intervals (when only
the pitch information is presented spatially) than do participants who practiced without spatial
visualizations. Thus, it was possible to replicate the findings of Experiment 1. The size of the
Loudwin and Bannert 37

Table 1. Number of correctly solved items in the training phase in Experiment 2.

Number of Block 1 Block 2

correct items
M SD M SD
CG 12.42 1.93 9.92 2.23
EG_P 14.45 1.21 14.45 .93
EG_PT 14.73 .47 14.91 .30

Note. Each block consisted of 15 items. The participants in the experimental groups were supported by spatial
visualizations. For EG_P, only pitch was visualized; for EG_PT, pitch and time, the latter of which were irrelevant to
the task, was presented spatially; CG practiced without spatial visualizations.

effect in Experiment 2 is higher than that in Experiment 1. It is probably easier to enhance the
associations between pitch and space when only the vertical dimension of space is used, which
is not surprising: using analogies between pitch and the vertical dimension of space is the most
intuitive approach for non-musicians, as described above. When both pitch and time were pre-
sented spatially in the visualizations during the training phase, (EG_PT) participants’ estima-
tion of the size of musical intervals did not improve significantly compared with the control
group, and the effect size was much smaller compared with experimental group EG_P.
Nevertheless, the effect size for EG_PT was still at a medium level, and descriptively speaking, an
improvement could be found. Thus, it can be speculated that the participants in this experimen-
tal group also improved, though not as much as those in the EG_P group.
In both experimental groups, the performance in the training phase was higher (nearly all
items were solved correctly in both groups) than in the control group (the performance for
block one was higher than for block two, as in Experiment 1). The participants in both experi-
mental groups were able to solve nearly all items with the help of the visualizations during
training. Thus, having only pitch presented spatially in the training leads to an improvement in
the estimation of the size of musical intervals; when pitch and time are both visualized spatially
at the same time, no significant improvement can be found. These results must be due to the
fact that associations between space and pitch are created to a greater extent in experimental
group EG_P (the items are solved equally well in both experimental groups in the training
phase). When pitch is not the only information presented spatially, i.e., when unnecessary
information about the point in time at which a note is played is visualized in a spatial dimen-
sion, the associations between space and pitch are not as well-formed, which is likely because
space in such cases does not exclusively represent pitch.
It is probable this finding is only true when establishing associations between space and
pitch. Existing associations between space and different magnitudes (e.g. associations between
space and pitch and associations between space and numerical magnitude) do not conflict
when the parameter of only one association is task-relevant, for example, when pitch is needed
for a task and numbers are presented at the same time but are not task-relevant (M. H. Fischer,
Riello, Giordano, & Rusconi, 2013). Once a spatial-mental representation of pitch is estab-
lished, additional information presented spatially should not disrupt the use of these represen-
tations. It is likely that only using musical notes (pitch and time is presented spatially) in aural
training is not the very best way of establishing associations between space and pitch. Once an
association between space and pitch is established, musical notes are usable because the
simultaneous spatial presentation of pitch and time no longer conflict.
In summary, it can be concluded from Experiment 2 that when using spatial visualiza-
tions to improve the estimation of the size of musical intervals, only pitch should be
38 Musicae Scientiae 21(1)

presented spatially. When an irrelevant parameter is presented spatially at the same time as
pitch, it interferes with the creation of associations between pitch and space. When spatial
visualizations of pitch use only the vertical dimension, the participants probably benefit more
than when a spatial visualization of pitch uses the horizontal and vertical dimension, as in
Experiment 1.

General discussion
In both experiments, the participants who were able to use spatial visualizations of pitch to
solve a task in which musical intervals were estimated and compared during a training phase
showed improved performance during the training phase and an increase in their abilities to
estimate musical intervals when compared to participants who trained without such visualiza-
tions. When pitch is visualized on the vertical dimension only (and not on a diagonal using the
vertical and horizontal dimension), a higher effect size of the improvement of the participants
practicing with these visualizations can be found. The use of spatial visualizations results in a
more precise estimation of distances between the pitches of different tones that are only pre-
sented aurally. When visualizations contain spatially presented information about pitch and
time, the participants do not demonstrate poorer performance during the training phase.
However, they are probably not able to create associations between space and pitch as well as
participants who practiced using visualizations that only contained relevant spatial informa-
tion; therefore, they do not improve their abilities in terms of estimating the size of musical
intervals.
We showed that the estimation of the size of musical intervals can be improved in a very
short time period (only 30 items in approximately 11 minutes) when using space to visualize
pitch and only pitch during practice. The question remains as to how long this improvement
persists. In the presented experiments, the performance was tested directly after the training
phase and was only separated by a short break. Additionally, the task that the participants had
to execute was not very complex, and the items used in the tests and training phase were very
similar. It can be expected that in establishing associations between space and pitch, a better
estimation of distances between the pitches of musical notes can be found in other tasks where
this skill is also needed.
Spatial abilities had no substantial influence on the extent to which participants benefited
from the spatial visualizations in Experiment 1. We assume that a common capability is suffi-
cient for the development of associations between space and pitch. Additionally, musical expe-
rience showed no influence on our results, which is not surprising because all of the participants
were non-musicians (or had some formal training back in their school days) and their musical
experience was very low in general.
As is already common and demonstrated in mathematics (Siegler & Ramani, 2009), we
think that learning to process quantities and magnitudes like numbers or musical pitch with
explicit associations with space is very useful. The more clearly the possibility to associate space
and a magnitude is, the better the processing of the magnitude is supported in the early stages.
When learning an instrument such as the piano, where the link between space and pitch is
obvious, an association between space and pitch should be established automatically. When
non-musicians learn to play musical notes on a piano and are not able to watch their hands
while practicing, their ability to recognize recently learned tones is poorer compared with par-
ticipants who are able to watch their hands while learning to play the notes (Eldridge, Saltzman,
& Lahav, 2010). It is likely that the association between space and pitch is established more
easily when the participants can observe the spatial configuration between space on the piano
Loudwin and Bannert 39

and pitch. When teaching aural training or designing aural training software, this explicit crea-
tion of associations between space and pitch should remembered and implemented.
The presented results show that an association between space and pitch may play an impor-
tant role in the development of musical skills. It is likely that this association is flexible and
adaptive and can be established in different ways and can adopt various appearances. The
SMARC effect is a way of uncovering this association and may result in experiencing the benefit
of a spatial association with pitch (a magnitude) when learning to estimate pitch and to operate
with this magnitude. In our study, we found that when explicitly constructing this association
between space and pitch, the process is fostered and leads to a better estimation of the size of
musical intervals. We conclude that using analogies between space and pitch has great poten-
tial, for example, when conducting aural training in music education. The analogies should be
as simple as possible and should, at best, contain only pitch and space, preferably on the vertical
dimension.

Funding
This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-
profit sectors.

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