The purpose of this study was to investigate aspects of pitch perception of auditors when presented with musical tones whose frequencies were modulated. Research problems were: estimation of the effect of musical training upon pitch perception; estimation of the effect of stimuli of differing tonal qualities and frequency ranges upon perception; and estimation of the effect of solo and ensemble performances upon pitch perception. Subjects for the study were thirty musicians and thirty nonmusicians. Subjects were students at North Texas State University and Paris Junior College who had volunteered for the study. A test containing thirty-six items was developed which required subjects to match a tone created by a sawtooth wave generator to a simultaneously presented musical tone performed with vibrato. Each subject was tested individually, and allowed three attempts to match each test item. After the third playing of each item, a reading was taken of the frequency selected by the subject, Using the split half method, reliability for the test was found to be .86 for nonmusicians and .88 for musicians.
ANOVA evaluation of responses of subjects indicated that there was a significant difference.in the location of pitch among musicians and nonmusicians, with musicians locating the pitch somewhat higher in the frequency spectrum than nonmusicians. Neither group located the pitch of modulated musical tones at the geometric mean of the modulation. Differences located in responses of the groups were consistant with regard to stimuli of varying frequency levels and timbres, and were unaffected by either solo or ensemble performance of the stimulus. Subsidiary findings indicated that among musicians no significant differences in pitch perception may be traced to the major performing instrument of the subject; differences in these subgroups and nonmusicians were consistant with the findings comparing musicians as "a whole and nonmusicians. Suggestions were made concerning application of the findings to musical training and concerning possibilities for further investigation in perception of pitch.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:unt.edu/info:ark/67531/metadc331039 |
| Date | 05 1900 |
| Creators | Brown, Steven Franklin |
| Contributors | Rainbow, Edward L., McGuire, David C., Anderson, Miles E. |
| Publisher | North Texas State University |
| Source Sets | University of North Texas |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | vii, 203 leaves : ill., Text |
| Rights | Public, Brown, Steven Franklin, Copyright, Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. |
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