Diana Deutsch is Professor of Psychology at the University of California, San Diego, and conducts  research on perception and memory for sounds, particularly music. She has discovered a number of musical illusions and paradoxes, which include the octave illusion, the scale illusion, the glissando illusion, the tritone paradox, and the cambiata illusion , among others. She also explores ways in which we hold musical information in memory,  and  in which we relate the sounds of music and speech to each other. Much of her current  research  focuses on the question of absolute pitch - why some people  possess it, and why  it is so rare.

Deutsch obtained a First Class Honors B.A. in Psychology, Philosophy and Physiology from Oxford University, and a Ph.D. in Psychology  from the University of California, San Diego. She has over 150 written publications, including  books, book chapters, and articles. She is Editor of the book The Psychology of Music, Academic Press, 1982, 2nd Edition 1999, (see review), and author of the compact  discs Musical Illusions  and Paradoxes (1995) and Phantom Words and Other Curiosities (2003) see review of both CDs.

Deutsch has been elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Acoustical Society of America, the Audio Engineering Society, the Society of Experimental Psychologists, the American Psychological Society, and the American Psychological Association.  She has served as Governor of the Audio Engineering Society, as Chair of the Section on Psychology of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, as President of Division 10 of the American Psychological  Association  (Society for the Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity and the Arts), and as Chair of the Society of Experimental Psychologists. She is Founding Editor of the journal Music Perception,  and  served  as Founding President of the Society for Music Perception and Cognition. In 2004 she was awarded the Rudolf Arnheim Award for Outstanding Achievment in Psychology and the Arts by the American Psychological Association.

For more information, including a list of publications including posted PDF files, visit Diana Deutsch's web page in the UCSD Psychology Department.

Some media descriptions of research by Deutsch and colleagues:

‘Mothers and their children hear a musical illusion in strikingly similar ways’. Diana Deutsch, media release from the Acoustical Society of America, 1996

‘Escher for the Ear’, Philip Yam, Scientific American, March, 1996

'Musical Illusions and Paradoxes', Robyn Williams, The Science Show, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 1997

'You must  be hearing things', Bob McDonald, Quirks and Quarks, Canadian  Broadcasting  Corporation,  1997

‘Do you hear what I hear?’ Steven Hunt, Discovery Channel, Canada, March 1997.

'Tone Language Speakers  Possess Absolute Pitch', Diana Deutsch, Trevor Henthorn, and Mark Dolson,  media release from the Acoustical Society of America, 1999

'Speaking in Tones', Alan Hall, Scientific American, 1999

'UCSD prof makes a hard pitch for perfect pitch', David Graham, San Diego Union Tribune, December 1999

‘Striking the right Note’, Kathryn Brown, The New Scientist, December 1999

'Study links perfect pitch to tonal language’, James Glanz, New York Times (front page), November 5, 1999.

'Auditory Illusion Shaped by First Language', Charles Seife, ScienceNow, American Association for the Advancement of Science, December 2000

'The Biology of Perfect Pitch: Name That Tone', Michael Abrams, Discover,  December 2001

'A paradox of musical pitch', Deborah Smith, Monitor on Psychology, American Psychological Association, 2001

'Potential for Acquiring Absolute Pitch Based on Time and Genetics', Brian Weaver, American Psychological  Society, December 2002

El Sentido de la Música, Television interview with Eduardo Punset - Redes TV, 2003

Ernest Ruiz and Fernando Cabedo Bosquet - Mundo hi-fi, 2004

Can’t get it out of my head’, Carl Zimmer, The Sunday Telegraph Magazine, February 28, 2004

 'Perfect Pitch in Tone Language Speakers Carries Over to Music' Diana Deutsch, Trevor Henthorn, Elizabeth Marvin, and HongShuai Xu,media release from the Acoustical Society of America, November, 2004

'Tone language translates to perfect pitch', Inga Kiderra, Science Daily, November, 2004

'Speaking Tonal Languages Promotes Perfect Pitch' Don Monroe, Scientific American, November, 2004

'Psychologists Pobe Perfect Pitch', Nadja Geipert, ScienceNow, American Association for the Advancement of Science, November, 2004.

'Study: Language Determines Music Skills', Jennifer Viegas, Discovery Channel, November, 2004

'Tonsprachen und absolutes Gehor gehoren zusammen.', Yahoo! Nachrichten, November 2004

'Oreille absolue : avantage aux Chinois', Pour La Science, December, 2004

'Mandarin Chinese speaks volumes in giving the young an ear for music', Ian Sample and Faisal al Yafai, The Guardian, November, 2004

'Wieso haben so vielo Chinesen das absolute Gehör?' Katherina Kramer, NZZ am Sontag, November 2004

'Perfect pitch' National Geographic, March, 2005.

'Absolutt gehør ved hjelp av språk?' Harald Aastorp, Forskning.no, November, 2004

'L'oreille absolue : plus facile pour les Chinois', Isabelle Masingue , Quebec Science, November, 2004

'Absolutes Gehor: Sprache schult das Ohr', Spiegel Online, November 2004

'Chinesen sind die besseren Musiker', Katharina Kramer, Die Welt, December, 2004

'Warum Mandarin das absolute Gehör begünstigt' Eva Hörschgen, Wissenschaft.de, November 2004.

'Pitch perfect' Sadie F. Dingfelder, APA Monitor on Psychology, February, 2005

'Das absolute Gehör ist gewöhnlicher als gedacht' Ulrich Dewald, Wissenschaft.de,  April, 2003

Interview with BBC World Service 'The World Today' November, 2004

Interview with Molly Bentley, BBC World Service 'Science in Action' December, 2004

Entrevista a Ernest Ruiz por Fernando Cabedo Bosquet, Portal MundoHi-Fi,
 December 2004

'L'oreille absolue des asiatiques' Bruno Rougier, Radio France, January, 2005

' Perfect Pitch' Dean Edell, ABC7 KGO-TV/DT,  February 2005

'Perfect pitch' Fran Kelly, ABC Radio National, January, 2005

'Music on the Mind' Scott Fields, APS Observer, April, 2006

‘Your Brain on Music’ David Ranada, Sound & Vision Magazine, May 2006

'Do My Ears Deceive Me' Interview with Chris Maslanka on BBC Radio 3, April 2006

'Prelude to Perfect Pitch' Kate McCartin, Trenton Times, May 2006

'Musical Language' Interview with Jad Abumrad, New York Public Radio, April 2006

'Musical Illusions' Julie J. Rehmeyer, Science News, June 2007

'Psychologists Create Surprising Musical Illusion' Adriana Salerno, Voice of America, August 2007

'Is Perfect Pitch All in the Genes?' Ed Edelson, HealthDay News, August 2007

¿Se encuentra el oído absoluto en los genes?  Ed Edelson trans Dr. Tango, Yahoo Salud, August 2007

‘Redes, Punset y la música…’    November 2007

Speaking in Tones. Ni hao or bonjour: do genes drive preference for language type? - Choi, Charles Q., Scientific American, 297, 2007, 25-26

¿Cómo percibimos la música? Los Lectores Preguntan a Eduardo Punset, 2007

Through to the next round - Marcus Low, Health24, 2007

'A perfect pitch match.' - Excerpted from Oliver Sack’s book: Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain. Columbia Magazine, 2007

'Music special: Five great auditory illusions', New Scientist, February 2008

'Fun auditory illusions, part deux', David Pescovitz, Boing Boing, February 2008

What the bloggers are saying:

 ‘Sometimes behaves so strangely’  Crooked Timber, 2006

‘Music and language’, Cosmic Variance, 2006

‘Top 10 Incredible Sound Illusions’, The List Universe, February 2008

‘Put your headphones on’, MetaFilter, February 2008

 ‘Sometimes behave so strangely’ Auditory Archives,  December 2006 week 2

 

'The illusions range from the beguilingly simple to, as she says, "true weirdness, the twilight zone."' - Peter Monaghan 'In the Twilight Zone of Sound', Notes from Academe, Chronicle of Higher Education, November, 2003

 'These two CDs ... are absolutely mind-boggling. Diana is, in effect, hosting a magical mystery tour of your own brain, and believe me, it's quite a ride.' - Ian Rowland, Mentalist Magician, Entertainer, and Skeptic

What Are Musical Paradox and Illusion? Ben Carson, Review in American Journal of Psychology, 2007

'I could scarcely believe my ears.' - Eugene Pitts, The Audiophile Voice, Vol 10, 1, 2004

'It's like a magic show' - Psychology Today, February, 2004

'Of course being audiophiles, we love to experiment - with nearly everything. And here's just the ticket: a foray into the perception and memory for sound, with extensive examples, albums, and a decidely scientific and professional bent that should enchant you for some time' - Barry Ober, Boston Audio Society, November 2005.

'you'll know just how tenuous the connection is between speech and song'  (listen to entire show online) - Jad Abumrad, WNYC Radio, November, 2003.

'"Musical Illusions and Paradoxes" will let you experience some striking sonic chicanery.' - Shawn Carlson, Scientific American, The Amateur Scientist, December 1996

'One of the weirdest experiences one can have. Don't miss it.' - Skeptics Society

'A fascinating new exploration into how we can be fooled' - Scot Morris, Science Writer, Omni Magazine

'A fascinating compact disc ... Musical Illusions and Paradoxes is both entertaining and disconcerting. I was amazed by my own misperceptions and ... left somewhat disturbed wondering if throughout my life I have been hearing what Verdi and Britten intended' - Patrick Bell, Sound and Video Contractor, March 1996

'Ready for a science experiment on the stereo? Musical Illusions and Paradoxes ... an audio CD created by psychologist Diana Deutsch at the University of California at San Diego, proves that illusions aren't just for the visual realm ... They are great for amazing your friends' - Discover, December 1998

'An amazing collection of auditory illusions very reasonably priced. Well worth buying for school resources, if not home use. Also has a very useful explanatory booklet.' - The National Science and Technology Centre, Canberra, Australia.

'On the musical illusions CD you’ll find the octave illusion and the tritone paradox, both of which are discussed in the textbook. On the Phantom Words CD you’ll find additional clever demonstrations, including phantom words and “music” emerging from repetitive speech.' - Sensation and Perception, by Matlin & Foley

'each demonstration provides the amateur scientist with the materials to conduct research on how the brain processes sound.' - The Society for Amateur Scientists

'A wonderful source of audio examples to explore and experiment with.' - CafeMuse

Customers from 48 countries have purchased the CDs from this website: