Perception of melodic intonation in performances with and without vibrato

Abstract

We compared perception of mistuned intervals in unaccompanied melodies performed by trumpet, violin, and voice, and examined whether there were differences between the three timbres in performances with and without vibrato. Participants were 144 university music students. Listeners heard the three unaccompanied solo performers in two vibrato conditions (with and without vibrato), and three intonation conditions (selected melodic intervals were in tune, sharp 25 cents, or flat 25 cents relative to equal temperament). All three stimuli were perceived as more out of tune when there was no vibrato compared to vibrato. In performances without vibrato, violin was judged as more out of tune than voice and trumpet across all three tuning conditions. Melodies performed with vibrato were judged differently: Violin was judged as least in tune for intervals mistuned in the flat direction, trumpet was heard as least in tune for intervals mistuned sharp, and voice was judged least in tune when intervals were in tune (relative to equal temperament). Differences in perception between timbres may be influenced by characteristics of the vibrato itself such as modulation width, rate, and type.

Effects of Dark and Bright Timbral Instructions on the Production of Pitch and Timbre

“…Some researchers found that listeners' tolerance for tuning deviations differed on the basis of the timbre (i.e., violin, trumpet, or voice) of a stimulus. In those studies, Geringer and colleagues (Geringer, MacLeod, Madsen, et al, 2015;Geringer, MacLeod, & Sasanfar, 2015) speculated that these different standards for pitch performance across instrumental timbres could be related to various acoustical factors of the instruments themselves, top-down cognitive processing factors, and differences in audio presentations (e.g., harmonic/vertical listening vs. melodic/ horizontal listening). Similarly, Ely (1992) indicated that timbre affected participants' judgments of tone pairs even though timbre did not influence their tuning accuracy on a performance task.…”

A Comparison of Stimulus Variability in Lexical Tone and Melody Perception

“…Like language, the building blocks of music (such as intervals, melodies, and cadences) are categorical units which maintain their musical identity across local and global variations, such as different instruments, registers, or keys. Sources of stimulus variability in music include global factors like instrument range and timbre, which can affect pitch judgments (Byo, Schlegel, & Clark, 2011; Geringer, MacLeod, Madsen, & Napoles, 2015; Wapnick & Freeman, 1980). Timbre varies within instruments, as well, depending on the intentions and skill of the performer and performance factors such as the presence of vibrato (Geringer, MacLeod, & Ellis, 2014; Geringer, MacLeod, & Sasanfar, 2015).…”

“…Sources of stimulus variability in music include global factors like instrument range and timbre, which can affect pitch judgments (Byo, Schlegel, & Clark, 2011; Geringer, MacLeod, Madsen, & Napoles, 2015; Wapnick & Freeman, 1980). Timbre varies within instruments, as well, depending on the intentions and skill of the performer and performance factors such as the presence of vibrato (Geringer, MacLeod, & Ellis, 2014; Geringer, MacLeod, & Sasanfar, 2015). Even the emotional state of the performer can affect tempo, dynamics, rhythm, and attack slope (Van Zijl, Toiviainen, Lartillot, & Luck, 2014).…”

Research-to-Resource: The Importance of Aural Learning in the Strings Classroom

“…String players must adjust certain notes depending on the key, to maintain correct intonation; for example, they raise the leading tone higher when it is functioning as a different scale degree. There has also been evidence that listeners are more critical of string intonation than with other instruments (Geringer, MacLeod, Madsen, & Napoles, 2015;Geringer, MacLeod, & Sasanfar, 2015). For these reasons, ear training is important at all stages of string instrument learning.…”