Where music meets space: Children's sensitivity to pitch intervals is related to their mental spatial transformation skills

Relations have been found among various continuous dimensions, including space and musical pitch. To probe the nature and development of space-pitch mappings, we tested 5- to 7-year-olds and adults (N=69), who heard pitch intervals and were asked to choose the corresponding spatial representation. Results showed that children and adults both mapped pitches continuously onto space, although effects were stronger in older than younger children. Additionally, children's spatial and numerical skills were tested, showing a relation between children's spatial and pitch-matching skills, and between their spatial and numerical skills. However, pitch and number were not related, suggesting spatial underpinnings for pitch and number.