Showcase of Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavors (SOURCE)

Optimizing Pitch Accuracy with Pre-phonatory Tuning

There are too few standard methods for teaching pitch processing and audiation. Pitch is one of the most important fundamental aspects of singing. Teachers do not incorporate pitch processing and audiation into their lessons since they are unfamiliar with the concept. Students must master pitch before moving on to other physical aspects of singing, such as register, resonance, acoustic changes, articulation, dynamics, and other various stylistic techniques. Students can learn to match pitch by using a concept called pre-phonatory tuning, which is the process of internal audition before phonating. In order to teach the student pitch matching, the teacher must have an understanding of cultivation (listening attentively to musical sounds), sympathetic sensations (the physical feelings felt in the body when phonating), vocal organ adjustment, auditory feedback mechanisms, inherent limitations such as maladaptive behaviors, and disabilities, vowel modification onset, and the tendency of students to mimic their teacher's voice. In the absence of these techniques and knowledge, students who cannot match pitch are discouraged from pursuing a musical career. This study offers a variety of pitch matching techniques voice teachers can incorporate into their lessons for students who are struggling to match pitch.