Acoustics explains why pitch drifts, letting conductors make informed tuning choices

Evidence

This aspect of a cappella singing is one that many choral conductors are unaware of: knowledge of acoustics and psychoacoustics provides the basis for a proper understanding of its underlying causes (Howard, 2015). Conductors and directors should be aware of the effect, and then they can make their own musical judgment in terms of what to do about pitch drift when it arises. — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 1393

Categorization

• XREF: Ties the chapter’s tuning physics back to the reader’s stated goal of applying psychoacoustics to their own listening and musical practice. — connects to: Hearing analyzes pitch through both place and timing mechanisms; Pitch differences caused by shifts are not purely fine-structure based; Mixing noise with its own delayed copy can create a sense of pitch — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 939 (+17 more)

Broader Connections

• Hearing analyzes pitch through both place and timing mechanisms #expands (1.00)
• Pitch differences caused by shifts are not purely fine-structure based #complicates (1.00)
• Mixing noise with its own delayed copy can create a sense of pitch #expands (1.00) — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 939
• Clear musical pitch arises from regularly repeating acoustic waveforms #responds-to (1.00)
• Two competing theories explain how the ear tracks pitch #expands (1.00) — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 830
• Singing just-tuned chords predicts rapid pitch drift flat #expands (1.00) — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 1384
• Dominant pitch models derive pitch from auditory nerve spike timing. #complicates (1.00)
• Temporal and place theories explain pitch by different neural and mechanical mechanisms. #expands (1.00) — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 892
• Uniformly shifting a harmonic complex tone’s components changes pitch non-monotonically with a sawtooth pattern #expands (1.00) — Professor Dr.-Ing. Hugo Fastl, Professor Dr.-Ing. Eberhard, Psychoacoustics- Facts and Models, 720
• Frequency discrimination depends on pitch strength and worsens as pitch strength falls #expands (1.00) — Professor Dr.-Ing. Hugo Fastl, Professor Dr.-Ing. Eberhard, Psychoacoustics- Facts and Models, 1163
• Rippled noise generated by feedback delay produces distinct pitch sensations. #expands (1.00) — Professor Dr.-Ing. Hugo Fastl, Professor Dr.-Ing. Eberhard, Psychoacoustics- Facts and Models, 750
• Amplitude modulation faster than the tone’s own steady pitch is heard as pitch change #expands (1.00) — Professor Dr.-Ing. Hugo Fastl, Professor Dr.-Ing. Eberhard, Psychoacoustics- Facts and Models, 1138
• Pitch shift from uniform frequency change depends on overtone structure #expands (1.00)
• A 34-cent tuning difference changes a chord’s identity and residue pitch #expands (1.00)
• Measured fundamental frequency per cycle drifts with tuning, intonation, and vibrato #expands (1.00) — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 785