Short and medium motor responses to auditory pitch shift: Latency measurements of the professional musician’s audio-motor loop for intonation
Dietrich Parlitz, Marc Bangert · The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America · 1999
For the singer’s voice, as well as for many musical instruments, like strings or brass, a precise intonation relies on a quick and adaptive fine-tuning mechanism, i.e., a motor response correcting for deviations of the produced tone due to mechanical properties of the body and instrument as well as due to environmental parameters. The aim of the procedure is either to be in tune with an internal representation of the correct pitch or to be in harmony with accompanying instruments or singers. In an experimental setup with a real-time audio pitch shifter and an infrared-based motion analysis system, this unique ability of musicians can be studied systematically. In a group of (a) expert viola players, (b) expert trombone players, and (c) professional singers, the distribution of pitch-shift-reaction-times (PSRTs) is measured (1) in a solo-player/singer situation and (2) in an ensemble/choir situation. Results are compared to recent studies with nonmusicians [T. A. Burnett et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 103, 3153–3161 (1998)]. Similarities to other orientation reactions like saccadic eye-movements and to the rapid pitch-correcting mechanisms in the echo-locating system of the bat are discussed.