Figure 6 Different instrument and octave interval judgments as a function of stimulus duration. TN and CF are musically untrained listeners, NR and KR musically trained listeners.

The results of the separate analyses show a distinct asymmetry in performance mirroring the finding reported in Experiment I. For short durations of 7.5 and 15 ms, listeners incorrectly classify unison intervals as “octave” when the instrument changes. Musically trained listeners are able to remedy the confusion when stimulus durations are increased from 15 to 30 ms. Untrained listeners, however, are unable to use the information from increased stimulus duration. Moreover, when the pitch interval is octave, and the instrument remains constant, all listeners are able to use increased stimulus durations to correctly identify the pitch interval.