Attention
Pitch Discrimination Task
Also called: frequency discrimination task, pitch discrimination test, frequency difference limen, DLF, pitch direction discrimination, two-tone pitch comparison
Measure how small a difference in pitch people can hear: two tones through headphones, the higher one chosen, at seven fixed steps from 3 to 200 cents.
8-10 minUntimed
Free to start: 10 free participants per account, then $0.99 per participant for academic research, or any yearly plan. Preview any test free after you sign up.
- Papers, 2021 to 2025
- 216
- Evidence grade
- B
- Registered clinical studies
- 8
What it measures
Measures pitch discrimination: how small a difference in pitch a person can hear between two tones. Each trial plays two short tones through headphones, a 1,000 Hz standard and a comparison above or below it by a fixed step of 3 to 200 cents, and participants choose the higher one. The score is the frequency difference limen, the step at which 75 percent of answers are right. Needs headphones and normal hearing; results are research measures, not a hearing test.
Constructs
- Pitch discrimination
- Frequency resolution
- Auditory perception
Research uses
- Auditory perception and music cognition research
- Individual differences in pitch sensitivity, including musical training
- Within-study group comparison
How the paradigm works
The Pitch Discrimination Task measures how small a difference in pitch a person can hear: the frequency difference limen. It differs widely between people and is finer after musical training (Micheyl and colleagues, 2006; Smith and colleagues, 2017). Each trial plays two pure tones of 250 ms, 500 ms apart, through headphones: the 1,000 Hz standard and a comparison above or below it by a fixed step. The participant presses Play, hears both tones, then chooses the higher one, First or Second, with no time limit.
More about the paradigm
The steps are 3, 6, 12, 25, 50, 100 and 200 cents (a cent is a hundredth of a semitone; 12 cents at 1,000 Hz is about 7 Hz). Each is played 20 times (standard; 12 to 32), the comparison above the standard on half the trials and the standard first on half, for 140 trials in a seeded order after 6 practice trials with feedback. The tones follow Smith, Bartholomew, Burnham, Tillmann and Cirulli (2017), and the steps bracket the thresholds they found in 918 adults, a median of 14.5 cents. Nothing a participant answers changes a step: this is the method of constant stimuli (Moore, 1973), with no staircase and no training. The standard stays at 1,000 Hz, because a standard that changes from trial to trial leaves some listeners unable to tell which way a small change went (Mathias, Micheyl and Bailey, 2010). The tones play at the level the participant set as comfortable in a loudness step, after a headphone check (Woods, Siegel, Traer and McDermott, 2017). Desktop, laptop, tablet or phone, with headphones; about 8 to 10 minutes.
The main score is the difference limen: the step at which a two-choice Weibull function, fitted by maximum likelihood to the share right at each step as in the random dot motion task, reaches 75 percent right. Lower means a smaller difference was heard. It is also given in Hz at the 1,000 Hz standard. Accuracy at each step and any lean toward the first or the second tone are reported too. The test needs normal hearing and headphones. It is not a hearing test: scores support research and do not diagnose.
Scores
- Frequency Difference Limencents
- Difference between the two tones, in cents, at which the fitted Weibull function reaches 75 percent right.
- Lower means a smaller difference was heard
- Frequency Difference Limen in HzHz
- The same limen as a difference above the 1,000 Hz standard.
- Lower means a smaller difference was heard
- Psychometric Slopescore
- Slope of the fitted Weibull function.
- Higher means accuracy rose more steeply with the step
- Lapse Rate%
- Fitted share of errors on steps large enough to hear.
- Lower means fewer lapses
- Accuracy%
- Share of usable answers that named the higher tone.
- Higher is better; guessing gives 0.5
- Accuracy by Step%
- Share right at each step, keyed by the step in cents.
- Rises with the step
- First Tone Answers%
- Share of usable answers that named the first tone.
- 0.5 means no lean toward either tone
- Accuracy, Higher Tone First%
- Share right when the higher tone came first.
- Informational
- Accuracy, Higher Tone Second%
- Share right when the higher tone came second.
- Informational
- Median Answer Timems
- Median time from the answer buttons turning on, once the second tone has played, to the answer.
- Informational; the answer has no time limit
- Anticipationscount
- Answers within 100 ms of the answer buttons turning on, which leave the score.
- At least half the answers that fast is invalid
- Completed Trialstrials
- Trials answered in the scored run.
- Fewer than planned is flagged for review
- Planned Trialstrials
- Trials the run set out to play.
- Informational
- Headphone Check Passed0/1
- 1 when the headphone check before the test passed: at least 5 of its 6 answers right.
- 0 is flagged; a failed check that stopped the test leaves no scores
- Sound Output Delayms
- The output delay the device reported for its sound, saved once per session; empty when the browser does not report it.
- Informational; answers are untimed
Use and evidence
216 papers from 2021 to 2025 name this task in their title or abstract, down 13% compared with 2016 to 2020. That ranks it 118 of 395 test families in our census. See the counts for every test.
Show the numbers
| Year | Papers |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 41 |
| 2024 | 43 |
| 2023 | 29 |
| 2022 | 50 |
| 2021 | 53 |
| 2020 | 49 |
| 2019 | 51 |
| 2018 | 50 |
| 2017 | 52 |
| 2016 | 47 |
| 2015 | 51 |
| 2014 | 48 |
| 2013 | 54 |
| 2012 | 45 |
| 2011 | 42 |
| 2010 | 48 |
| 2009 | 41 |
| 2008 | 31 |
| 2007 | 36 |
| 2006 | 42 |
| 2005 | 21 |
| 2004 | 34 |
| 2003 | 24 |
| 2002 | 25 |
| 2001 | 16 |
| 2000 | 16 |
Use grade C
100 to 299 papers from 2021 to 2025.
Evidence grade B
At least 8 test-retest papers, and either 5 registered clinical studies or 150 reliability or validity papers.
- Papers on test-retest reliability
- 13
- Papers on reliability or validity
- 81
- Registered clinical studies using it as an outcome
- 8
How the grades work
Use: A is 1,000 or more papers from 2021 to 2025, B 300 to 999, C 100 to 299, D 30 to 99 and E fewer than 30. Evidence: A means at least 25 papers report its test-retest reliability and at least 25 registered clinical studies use it as an outcome; B, at least 8 test-retest papers, and either 5 registered clinical studies or 150 reliability or validity papers; C, at least 2 test-retest papers, 30 reliability or validity papers or 3 registered clinical studies; D, little published measurement evidence found. The counts measure use. They include every paper that names the task in its title or abstract. Grades describe the published research on this task, not ConductCognition's version of it.
Source: ConductCognition test census 0.14.0, counted 2 November 2026 from OpenAlex and ClinicalTrials.gov.
Task design
The trial sequence as the test runs in ConductCognition.
- Tones
- Two pure tones of 250 ms with 10 ms raised-cosine ramps, 500 ms apart: the 1,000 Hz standard and a comparison above or below it by a fixed step. Both play at the level the participant set as comfortable in the loudness step.
- Steps
- 3, 6, 12, 25, 50, 100 or 200 cents between the two tones. A cent is a hundredth of a semitone; 12 cents at 1,000 Hz is about 7 Hz.
- Answer
- Press Play, hear both tones, then choose First or Second for the higher tone, with no time limit. The answer buttons turn on once the second tone has played.
- Trials
- 20 at each step (standard; 12 to 32): 140 trials in a seeded order, with the comparison above the standard on half the trials at every step and the standard first on half.
- Practice
- 6 trials, 2 each at 200, 100 and 50 cents, with feedback for 1,500 ms.
- Fixed steps
- Every step is set before the session, and no answer changes it: there is no staircase and no training. The standard stays at 1,000 Hz on every trial.
- Headphones
- A loudness step and a six-trial headphone check come first. A failed check ends the test, or, as a setting, lets it run. The test needs normal hearing and headphones; it is not a hearing test.
- Score
- The step at which 75 percent of answers are right, in cents and in Hz, from the random dot motion task's two-choice Weibull, fitted by maximum likelihood to the share right at each step. Answers under 100 ms from the buttons turning on leave the score.
Pitch discrimination studies differ in the tones, the task (two or three tones, which is higher or which differs) and the procedure, and most set the difference with a staircase. This version uses a fixed 1,000 Hz standard, seven fixed steps (the method of constant stimuli) and a which-is-higher answer, so its limen is compared within this version. Scores support research and do not diagnose.
Quality checks
Each session is marked valid, needs review or invalid, with the reason, before you see its scores.
Scored rows: pitch_discrimination_test from the scored run, First or Second for the higher of two tones, after both, with no time limit (chance 50%; the higher tone comes first on half the trials at every step), graded from the button pressed and the saved order of the tones. Below chance invalidates and not above chance is flagged; one answer on 90% of trials invalidates when accuracy is not above chance. Answers under 100 ms from the buttons turning on leave the score, and at least half the answers that fast invalidate. A failed headphone check that stopped the test invalidates; one the study ran past, a run short of its planned trials and no fitted limen are flagged for review.
Why these rules
Accuracy significantly below chance (one-sided exact test, p < .05) cannot come from guessing; it means the response mapping was reversed or the task was not followed (Slick, Sherman and Iverson 1999 treat below-chance forced-choice performance as definite response bias). Chance-level accuracy can be a real result in impaired participants, so it is only flagged. One option on at least 90% of answered trials, when the correct options are balanced and accuracy is not above chance, means the answers did not depend on the items (the task counterpart of long-string responding in surveys; Curran 2016). The answer buttons turn on once the second tone has been heard, so an answer under 100 ms came before the buttons could be seen; only a session where at least half the answers are that fast is invalid. The test needs headphones, so a failed headphone check stops it (Woods, Siegel, Traer and McDermott, 2017).
Running this test
Settings you can change
| Setting | Standard | Allowed |
|---|---|---|
| Trials per step | 20 | 12 to 32 |
| When the headphone check fails | Stop the test | Stop the test, Continue the test |
Yearly plans can change settings within these limits. Free and pay-as-you-go studies use the standard settings.
Need a setting this test does not have?
Devices and languages
- Untimed test: runs on desktops, laptops, tablets and phones. Needs headphones. Participant devices
- Languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Chinese (Simplified) and Japanese.
- Available on: Every plan, including the free plan.
- Recruiting online? See the setup guides for Prolific, Sona Systems, CloudResearch Connect and Qualtrics.
Cite and describe
Participants completed the Pitch Discrimination Task in a web browser (ConductCognition task version 1.0.0, scoring version 1.0.0; Wier, Jesteadt and Green, 1977; Moore, 1973), with the standard settings (trials per step: 20; when the headphone check fails: Stop the test). The main score was frequency difference limen (difference between the two tones, in cents, at which the fitted Weibull function reaches 75 percent right).
ConductCognition versions: task version 1.0.0, scoring version 1.0.0. Every export records the versions each session used, for a methods section.
- Wier, C. C., Jesteadt, W., & Green, D. M. (1977). Frequency discrimination as a function of frequency and sensation level. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 61(1), 178-184. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.381251Frequency discrimination in two intervals, the listener choosing the interval with the higher tone.
- Moore, B. C. J. (1973). Frequency difference limens for short-duration tones. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 54(3), 610-619. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.1913640Fixed differences in two intervals, with the limen read at 75 percent right.
- Smith, L. M., Bartholomew, A. J., Burnham, L. E., Tillmann, B., & Cirulli, E. T. (2017). Factors affecting pitch discrimination performance in a cohort of extensively phenotyped healthy volunteers. Scientific Reports, 7, 16480. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-16526-8Tones of 250 ms, 500 ms apart, around 1,000 Hz, and the spread of thresholds in 918 adults.
- Mathias, S. R., Micheyl, C., & Bailey, P. J. (2010). Stimulus uncertainty and insensitivity to pitch-change direction. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 127(5), 3026-3037. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.3365252Why the standard stays fixed: changing it from trial to trial leaves some listeners unsure which way a small change went.
- Micheyl, C., Delhommeau, K., Perrot, X., & Oxenham, A. J. (2006). Influence of musical and psychoacoustical training on pitch discrimination. Hearing Research, 219(1-2), 36-47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heares.2006.05.004Musical training and hours of practice lower the limen, so practice here is short and at large steps only.
- Woods, K. J. P., Siegel, M. H., Traer, J., & McDermott, J. H. (2017). Headphone screening to facilitate web-based auditory experiments. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 79(7), 2064-2072. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13414-017-1361-2The headphone check before the test.
Source papers
- Smith LM, Bartholomew AJ, Burnham LE, Tillmann B, Cirulli ET (2017). Factors affecting pitch discrimination performance in a cohort of extensively phenotyped healthy volunteers. Scientific Reports, 7:16480.N 918, 18-82
Questions
How long does the Pitch Discrimination Task take?
About 8 to 10 minutes, as listed in the test library.
What device does a participant need?
Untimed test: runs on desktops, laptops, tablets and phones. Needs headphones. The browser must be Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari.
What scores does it produce?
Frequency Difference Limen, Frequency Difference Limen in Hz, Psychometric Slope, Lapse Rate, Accuracy, Accuracy by Step, First Tone Answers, Accuracy, Higher Tone First, Accuracy, Higher Tone Second, Median Answer Time, Anticipations, Completed Trials, Planned Trials, Headphone Check Passed and Sound Output Delay. Each session is also marked valid, needs review or invalid, with the reason.
How widely is the Pitch Discrimination Task used in research?
216 papers from 2021 to 2025 name it in their title or abstract, down 13% compared with 2016 to 2020. That ranks it 118 of 395 test families in the ConductCognition test census (use grade C). Source: ConductCognition test census 0.14.0, counted 2 November 2026 from OpenAlex and ClinicalTrials.gov.
How much reliability evidence does the Pitch Discrimination Task have?
In the published research, 13 papers report its test-retest reliability and 8 registered clinical studies use it as an outcome (evidence grade B in the ConductCognition test census).
Which settings can a researcher change?
Trials per step (12 to 32) and when the headphone check fails (Stop the test, Continue the test). Settings can be changed on yearly plans; free and pay-as-you-go studies use the standard settings.
Which languages can participants use?
Participants can take this test in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Chinese (Simplified) and Japanese. English is on every plan, and the other languages come with yearly plans. Have a native speaker read the machine-translated text before launch.
Is this a clinical test?
No. ConductCognition is for research use only. It runs, scores and exports the test; clinical interpretation is outside the platform.
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