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Probe-Tone Method

The probe-tone method is an experimental paradigm used for studying pitch perception in musical contexts. The paradigm measures listeners' responses to a single pitch (the probe tone) sounded immediately following the presentation of a musical context. Participants in a probe-tone experiment are typically asked to respond by providing a numerical rating of the probe tone, defined by some qualitative description, such as “degree of completeness” or “goodness of fit.” Most probe-tone experiments feature 12 levels of the probe-tone variable, representing all 12 pitches in a chromatic scale.

The distribution of ratings for the 12 probe tones form the profile that many researchers have used as a representation of the presence or absence of a pitch hierarchy in the context used in the experiment. Profiles from several experiments that use the probe-tone method have been shown to correlate with traditional models of tonal hierarchy, and with the statistical frequency of pitch-classes found in tonal music. Researchers have debated whether these data provide evidence that Western listeners possess enculturated knowledge of tonality, or if the effects of the context are a product of echoic, short-term memory.

First Probe-Tone Experiments

In 1979, Carol Krumhansl and Roger Shepard conducted an experiment in which listeners were presented with a musical context—the first seven notes of a C major scale—and assessed the “goodness of fit” of a single note that followed the scale. The results showed that experienced listeners consistently preferred specific pitches (the tonic, followed by the remaining members of the tonic triad, followed by the remaining members of the major scale) in a manner that reflected the traditional models of tonal hierarchy. The summarized preferences, called the “key profile,” were most pronounced in listeners with musical training, although later studies showed that by fifth grade, untrained listeners had acquired all of the relevant distinctions present in the responses from musicians.

Further studies showed that the key profiles from the first experiments did not depend upon the nature of the stimulus used; the profiles were very similar, whether the context was established by playing an ascending major scale, descending major scale, repeated tonic chord, or chord progression. Likewise, when a minor-key context was used, the data reflected a similar profile, but this time showing preference for the pitches most commonly used in a minor key (members of the minor tonic triad, followed by the remaining members of the scale). Like the major-key experiments, these data were therefore said to be representative of the tonal hierarchy.

Comparing Key Profiles

When a key profile is created for any major key, its ratings are similar to any other major key under transposition. For example, the rating for the note C in the C major key profile (the tonic pitch in C major) will be similar to the note A in the A major key profile (the tonic pitch in A major). Likewise, the rating for note G in the C major key profile (the fifth scale degree in C major) will be similar to the note E in the A major key profile (the fifth scale degree in A major). This property also exists for minor key profiles.

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