Music Cognition

Absolutely not absolute pitch perception: but even people without perfect pitch can hear off notes

Most of us can’t tell one musical note from another – but is it because we can’t really hear the difference, or because our knowledge of musical structure is implicit? Recent evidence suggests that we can take advantage of a lifetime of experience with musical categories to identify whether a musical note sounds wrong. Being […]

Continue Reading

Oh! What fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh: The cognitive jingles of earworms

It’s close to Christmas. The smell of gingerbread is in the air. The Salvation Army is ringing their bells at every street corner. The sound of “Jingle Bells” is piped onto the sidewalk by your friendly neighborhood department store. “Jingle bells, jingle bells, Jingle all the way. Oh! what fun it is to ride In […]

Continue Reading