The Effect of a Tonic Drone Accompaniment on the Pitch Accuracy of Scales Played by Beginner Violin and Viola Students

The purpose of the study was to determine the effect of drone-based accompaniment on the development of pitch accuracy of C-major and D-major scales on beginning-level violin and viola students. Participants were 50 second-year, beginning-level violinists and violists from three middle schools in a large suburban school district in the Southeast. Six orchestra classes were randomly assigned to one of three groups; pitch matching (n=15), drone (n = 15), and pitch matching plus drone (n = 20). Groups differed only by the audio accompaniment used during testing and treatment. The audio accompaniments were made using synthesized square waves that provided pitch-matching, a tonic drone, or pitch matching with tonic drone accompaniment.;This quantitative study used a quasi-experimental pre/posttest design. Each group practiced the D- and C-major scales with the accompaniment track over seven string class periods as part of their daily warm-up routine. Participants were tested performing the scales under accompanied and unaccompanied treatment conditions.;Performed pitches, excluding open strings, were analyzed for cent deviation from equal temperament. The Intonia software program was the measurement tool. In addition to the cent deviations, directional cent deviation data was converted to absolute values and nonparametric sharp/flat values. Participants' pitch adjustments were also tallied and analyzed. Results indicated no significant improvement in intonation in any of the three groups, and there was an inclination for students to perform flat across the study. It is important to note that pitch adjustments were more frequent, though not significant, in accompanied conditions across all groups in the pretest and significantly greater during accompanied conditions in the posttest.