Pitch Perception in Voice Patterns
Milton Metfessel · UNI ScholarWorks (University of Northern Iowa) · 1927
It has been known that even though the voice of a singer is constantly changing in pitch, there is only one fundamental pitch heard in any given perception. By means of a siren certain pitch and intensity patterns of the voice have been duplicated and the approximate position in the pattern of the one pitch heard has been determined. It has been found that when there is a regular rise and fall of pitch at a rate of six times per second and with an extent of one-half of a tone, the pitch heard is the mean. If the voice pattern consists of a synchronous rise and fall of pitch and intensity, there is a slight sharping of the tone from the mean of the pitch pattern. When pitch and intensity are opposite in relationship the effect is the reverse.