In tune or out of tune: are different instruments and voice heard differently?

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Authors
Geringer, John M.
MacLeod, Rebecca B.
Sasanfar, Justine K.
Advisors
Issue Date
2015-04
Type
Article
Keywords
Instruments , Intonation , Perception , Timbre , Voice
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Citation
John M. Geringer, Rebecca B. MacLeod, and Justine K. Sasanfar In Tune or Out of Tune: Are Different Instruments and Voice Heard Differently? Journal of Research in Music Education April 2015 63: 89-101, first published on March 23, 2015
Abstract

We studied music majors' perception of intonation in accompanied solo performances of trumpet, violin, and voice. We were interested in whether listeners would judge pitch deviations of equal magnitude in the three solo performances as equivalent in intonation. Participants were 150 graduate and undergraduate music majors drawn from two large music schools and included 50 students representing each of the following areas of applied music study: voice, wind instruments, and string instruments. Listeners heard solo trumpet, violin, and soprano performances of Ave Maria (Bach/Gounod) accompanied by piano. Pitch performances of the soloists were altered in four sections of the excerpt and deviated in either the sharp or flat direction within a section by 0, 10, 20, and 30 cents relative to the accompaniment. Listeners judged pitch deviations in the flat direction as more out of tune for the trumpet than equivalent alterations of violin and voice, especially for magnitudes of 20 and 30 cents. In sharp direction changes, violin and trumpet were heard similarly and as more out of tune than the vocal soloist. Additionally, differences in pitch judgments were found between listener groups representing different areas of applied study.

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Publisher
SAGE Publications
Journal
Book Title
Series
Journal of Research in Music Education;v.63:no.1
PubMed ID
DOI
ISSN
0022-4294
EISSN