An Assessment of Pitch-Matching Abilities Among Speech-Language Pathology Graduate Students

Abstract

The pitch-matching abilities of speech-language pathology graduate students were investigated. Subjects ( N =86) attempted to match prerecorded human-voice and pitch-pipe models of the tones C 4 , D 4 , E 4 , G 4 , and B 4 . Mean fundamental frequencies of subject responses were calculated and then converted to semitones. Eighty three percent of the tones were matched within plus or minus one semitone. However, 47% of the subjects were two or more semitones away from the expected tone on two to nine of the ten tones presented. Tones produced in imitation of the human voice were closer to the target than those produced in imitation of the pitch pipe.