Control of voice pitch by the deaf: An Experiment Using a Visible Pitch Device

Abstract

A visible pitch device was constructed around certain components of the Grason-Stadler 1200 series modular programming equipment. Using this device, 60 profoundly and very severely deaf children were given a pitch matching task involving the generation of fundamental voice frequencies at 3 different levels. The performance of the children was generally poor, very few of them having the necessary voluntary control of pitch. Performance was in vestigated in relation to other factors. Age appeared to be a significant factor in that older children performed better than younger ones, but no relation emerged between performance on the pitch matching task and sex, hearing loss, habitual pitch or speech intelligibility.

Key Words:

• Vocal pitch
• Speech of the deaf
• Visual feedback
• Sensory aids
• Speech teaching aids