The Influence of Training Method on Tone Colour Discrimination

Abstract

This research addresses the question of whether one of two training methods, identification by continuous adjustment (ICA) or identification by successive approximation (ISA), is more effective in training students using a technical ear training program (TETP). No known empirical studies have examined the effectiveness of either training method within frequency spectrum-based student-targeted TETPs. Preliminary work involved the development of appropriate tests of students’ tone colour discrimination ability in isolation, on tasks sufficiently different from those encountered in TETPs. The tests were then deployed in a pilot study within a pre/post-training scenario using two groups of audio engineering students, one of which undertook an ICA and the other an ISA version of a TETP. These preliminary results indicated the suitability of a test that featured pairwise comparisons of synthetic percussive timbres to show differences in performance between the two training groups. This test was subsequently administered repeatedly in a full-scale study at regular intervals throughout a web-based TETP, in addition to before and after training. Results of the full-scale study showed the individual differences scaling (INDSCAL)-derived stimulus spaces for both groups were similar prior to undertaking the TETP. The ISA group’s post-training results were almost identical to their pre-training results, whereas the ICA groups’ post-training results showed minor, but insignificant differences. Although the full-scale study found insignificant differences in performance between training groups, the preliminary results suggest that the deployment of a pre/post-training test is an effective measure of the training method’s influence on students if the test features a task that is significantly different from those trained on in the TETP.