A computer system to improve violin intonation
Hwa-Soon Meyer, Robert E. Pace · 1993
A computer system was developed as an educational aid that can help violinists of all skill levels improve their intonation. A violinist can improve intonation by developing a better sense of pitch discrimination, and pitch discrimination can be improved when aural perception is reinforced with visual perception. The computer system developed to assist the improvement of violin intonation consists of both hardware and software. There are two essential hardware components. One is a microcomputer, either an Apple Macintosh or an IBM-compatible PC. The other is an instrument called a Analyzer. The Pitch Analyzer is an electronic device that was created exclusively for the present project to detect the fundamental frequencies of tones. The software consists of three independent computer programs. These programs are (1) Tuning the Open Strings, (2) Playing Scales, and (3) Playing Musical Passages. The student may use any one of these three programs without running the other two, or choose all three programs in any order and/or combination. Within each program, the student can select one of two different tuning systems (i.e. either Pythagorean tuning or equal-tempered tuning system), error tolerance level, metronome setting, and practice vs. test session. A practice session runs in real time, with instant display and immediate feedback. For the instant display, vertical bar graphs appear on the screen above the corresponding notes, resembling a series of thermometers. If the pitch of the tone being played is too high, the level of the colored portion rises from the marked halfway point; if the pitch is too low, it falls below the halfway point. This display enables the student to see how far off he or she is from the perfect pitch, and correct it before proceeding to the next note. In the test session, the student plays through a scale or musical passage, without correcting the notes as he or she proceeds. A score is shown upon completion of the scale or passage, thereby monitoring the student's progress and giving him or her incentive to improve.