Discrimination and Evaluation of Trichords

Abstract

This study explores how listeners evaluate trichords, both traditional and nontraditional. There were two aims: to clarify the role of set-class identity for evaluating and to analyze which factors in chord voicing guide evaluations. In the first of two experiments, participants were asked to pick one chord from a sequence of four. The interest was in how systematically chords representing the same set class were grouped and how well chords representing different set-classes were distinguished; the experiment focused on structural aspects (set class). In a second experiment, participants were asked to describe individual chords with freely chosen adjectives. This experiment focused on perceptual evaluations and whether certain emotional expressions were associated with certain chordal characteristics. In Experiment 1, 52.2% of the participants’ responses were made according to set class. In Experiment 2, a total of 716 words were given in responses, of which 348 were different. In both experiments the degree of consonance and the familiarity of the chords were the most important factors. Some chord grouping, representing the same set class, was also found. In Experiment 1, an additional factor was pitch-class content, and in Experiment 2, chord span.