| This investigation was aimed at testing Sundberg's (1987, 1979) suggestion which stated that untrained singers rely on auditory feedback in the control of voice pitch while trained singers appear to have a “refined sensitivity” to proprioceptive feedback for the control of voice pitch. The present study attempted to “train” untrained singers in a Pitch Matching task and observe the changes in reliance on afferent feedback modalities throughout the course of the learning paradigm.; In this single-subject design investigation, 5 subjects progressed through a course of Pitch Training. Measurements were taken of Voice Reaction Time (VRT) and Accuracy of Performance throughout the course of learning. Changes that occurred following Pitch Training included a significant decrease in VRT with an unexpected, small concomitant decrease in pitch accuracy.; With reference to the relative contributions of the auditory and kinesthetic feedback modalities, interference of these two modalities was implemented at the beginning and end of Pitch Training. No significant difference was observed between auditory and kinesthetic interference for the VRT variable, while auditory feedback remained the significantly dominant mode of afferent control for the Accuracy variable throughout the course of Pitch Training. There was a significant reduction in the overall effect of afferent interference at the end of Pitch training vs. the beginning of Pitch Training for the VRT variable, while a similar tendency was observed for the Accuracy variable as well, indicating reliance on alternative mechanisms for pitch control following training. A new model for the control of voice pitch is therefore proposed which takes into account the present findings as well as the current work by investigators such as Kawato (1999), Miall et al., (1997, 1993), Wolpert et al., (1998, 1995) etc., with regard to internal models and human motor control. |
