Pitch vs. Tone
Main DifferenceThe main difference between Pitch and Tone is that the Pitch is a key auditory factor of the sound, whereas Tone relates to the sound quality.

Difference Between Pitch and Tone
Pitch vs. Tone
Pitch is the degree of how high and low is the sound, whereas the tone refers to the musical sound concerning the pitch, quality, and strength of the sound.
Pitch vs. Tone
Pitch is a key auditory factor of the sound. It is defined as the perceived fundamental frequency of sound. On the other hand, tone refers to the ‘quality’ of sound.
Pitch vs. Tone
When we talk about music, the pitch is the value of a tone in it; on the flip side, the tone is known as the thickness of the note in music.
Pitch vs. Tone
The pitch of the sound depends on its frequency. The sound with high frequency is shrill, and the sound with low frequency is like a cloud thunder. While the tone of a sound is used to determine the quality of sound, it is the reason that we like or dislike the voice of some singers.
Pitch vs. Tone
Pitch can be perfect in music; conversely, the tone cannot.
Pitch vs. Tone
The related element with pitch is frequency; on the contrary, the related elements with tone are pitch, strength, and quality.
Pitch vs. Tone
The lexical or grammatical meaning cannot be distinguished by the pitch; on the other side, the tone that can distinguish the lexical or grammatical meaning.
Pitchnoun
A sticky, gummy substance secreted by trees; sap.
It is hard to get this pitch off my hand.Tonenoun
(music) A specific pitch.
Pitchnoun
A dark, extremely viscous material remaining in still after distilling crude oil and tar.
They put pitch on the mast to protect it.The barrel was sealed with pitch.It was pitch black because there was no moon.Tonenoun
(music) (in the diatonic scale) An interval of a major second.
Pitchnoun
(geology) Pitchstone.
Tonenoun
(music) (in a Gregorian chant) A recitational melody.
Pitchnoun
A throw; a toss; a cast, as of something from the hand.
a good pitch in quoitsTonenoun
The character of a sound, especially the timbre of an instrument or voice.
Pitchnoun
(baseball) The act of pitching a baseball.
The pitch was low and inside.Tonenoun
General character, mood, or trend.
Her rousing speech gave an upbeat tone to the rest of the evening.Pitchnoun
(sports) The field on which cricket, soccer, rugby or field hockey is played. (In cricket, the pitch is in the centre of the field; see cricket pitch.) Not used in America, where "field" is the preferred word.
The teams met on the pitch.Tonenoun
(linguistics) The pitch of a word that distinguishes a difference in meaning, for example in Chinese.
Pitchnoun
An effort to sell or promote something.
He gave me a sales pitch.Tonenoun
(dated) A whining style of speaking; a kind of mournful or artificial strain of voice; an affected speaking with a measured rhythm and a regular rise and fall of the voice.
Children often read with a tone.Pitchnoun
The distance between evenly spaced objects, e.g. the teeth of a saw or gear, the turns of a screw thread, the centres of holes, or letters in a monospace font.
The pitch of pixels on the point scale is 72 pixels per inch.The pitch of this saw is perfect for that type of wood.A helical scan with a pitch of zero is equivalent to constant z-axis scanning.Tonenoun
(literature) The manner in which speech or writing is expressed.
Pitchnoun
The angle at which an object sits.
the pitch of the roof or haystackTonenoun
(obsolete) State of mind; temper; mood.
Pitchnoun
A level or degree, or (by extension), a peak or highest degree.
Tonenoun
The shade or quality of a colour.
Pitchnoun
The rotation angle about the transverse axis.
Tonenoun
The favourable effect of a picture produced by the combination of light and shade, or of colours.
This picture has tone.Pitchnoun
The degree to which a vehicle, especially a ship or aircraft, rotates on such an axis, tilting its bow or nose up or down. Compare with roll, yaw, and heave.
the pitch of an aircraftTonenoun
The definition and firmness of a muscle or organ. see also: tonus
Pitchnoun
(aviation) A measure of the angle of attack of a propeller.
The propeller blades' pitch went to zero as the engine was feathered.Tonenoun
(biology) The state of a living body or of any of its organs or parts in which the functions are healthy and performed with due vigor.
Pitchnoun
The place where a busker performs.
Tonenoun
(biology) Normal tension or responsiveness to stimuli.
Pitchnoun
An area in a market (or similar) allocated to a particular trader.
Toneverb
(transitive) to give a particular tone to
Pitchnoun
An area on a campsite intended for occupation by a single tent, caravan or similar.
Toneverb
(transitive) to change the colour of
Pitchnoun
A point or peak; the extreme point of elevation or depression.
Toneverb
(transitive) to make (something) firmer
Pitchnoun
(climbing) A section of a climb or rock face; specifically, the climbing distance between belays or stances.
Toneverb
(intransitive) to harmonize, especially in colour
Pitchnoun
(caving) A vertical cave passage, only negotiable by using rope or ladders.
The entrance pitch requires 30 metres of rope.Toneverb
(transitive) To utter with an affected tone.
Pitchnoun
A person or animal's height.
Tonepronoun
The one (of two).
Pitchnoun
(cricket) That point of the ground on which the ball pitches or lights when bowled.
Tonenoun
the quality of a person's voice;
he began in a conversational tonehe spoke in a nervous tone of voicePitchnoun
A descent; a fall; a thrusting down.
Tonenoun
(linguistics) a pitch or change in pitch of the voice that serves to distinguish words in tonal languages;
the Beijing dialect uses four tonesPitchnoun
The point where a declivity begins; hence, the declivity itself; a descending slope; the degree or rate of descent or slope; slant.
a steep pitch in the road;the pitch of a roofTonenoun
(music) the distinctive property of a complex sound (a voice or noise or musical sound);
the timbre of her soprano was rich and lovelythe muffled tones of the broken bell summoned them to meetPitchnoun
(mining) The limit of ground set to a miner who receives a share of the ore taken out.
Tonenoun
the general atmosphere of a place or situation and the effect that it has on people;
the feel of the city excited hima clergyman improved the tone of the meetingit had the smell of treasonPitchnoun
The perceived frequency of a sound or note.
The pitch of middle "C" is familiar to many musicians.Tonenoun
a quality of a given color that differs slightly from a primary color;
after several trials he mixed the shade of pink that she wantedPitchnoun
(music) In an a cappella group, the singer responsible for singing a note for the other members to tune themselves by.
Bob, our pitch, let out a clear middle "C" and our conductor gave the signal to start.Tonenoun
a notation representing the pitch and duration of a musical sound;
the singer held the note too longPitchverb
To cover or smear with pitch.
Tonenoun
a steady sound without overtones;
they tested his hearing with pure tones of different frequenciesPitchverb
To darken; to blacken; to obscure.
Tonenoun
the elastic tension of living muscles, arteries, etc. that facilitate response to stimuli;
the doctor tested my tonicityPitchverb
(transitive) To throw.
He pitched the horseshoe.Tonenoun
a musical interval of two semitones
Pitchverb
To throw (the ball) toward a batter at home plate.
Tonenoun
the quality of something (an act or a piece of writing) that reveals the attitudes and presuppositions of the author;
the general tone of articles appearing in the newspapers is that the government should withdrawfrom the tone of her behavior I gathered that I had outstayed my welcomePitchverb
To play baseball in the position of pitcher.
Bob pitches today.Toneverb
utter monotonously and repetitively and rhythmically;
The students chanted the same slogan over and over againPitchverb
(transitive) To throw away; discard.
He pitched the candy wrapper.Toneverb
of one's speech, varying the pitch
Pitchverb
(transitive) To promote, advertise, or attempt to sell.
He pitched the idea for months with no takers.Toneverb
change the color or tone of;
tone a negativePitchverb
(transitive) To deliver in a certain tone or style, or with a certain audience in mind.
At which level should I pitch my presentation?Toneverb
change to a color image;
tone a photographic imagePitchverb
(transitive) To assemble or erect (a tent).
Pitch the tent over there.Toneverb
give a healthy elasticity to;
Let's tone our musclesPitchverb
(intransitive) To fix or place a tent or temporary habitation; to encamp.
Pitchverb
To move so that the front of an aircraft or ship goes alternatively up and down.
Pitchverb
To play a short, high, lofty shot that lands with backspin.
The only way to get on the green from here is to pitch the ball over the bunker.Pitchverb
To bounce on the playing surface.
The ball pitched well short of the batsman.Pitchverb
To settle and build up, without melting.
Pitchverb
To alight; to settle; to come to rest from flight.
Pitchverb
(with on or upon) To fix one's choice.
Pitchverb
(intransitive) To plunge or fall; especially, to fall forward; to decline or slope.
to pitch from a precipiceThe field pitches toward the east.Pitchverb
To set, face, or pave with rubble or undressed stones.
Pitchverb
To set or fix.
Pitchverb
To discard for some gain.
Pitchverb
(intransitive) To produce a note of a given pitch.
Pitchverb
(transitive) To fix or set the tone of.
Pitchnoun
the property of sound that varies with variation in the frequency of vibration
Pitchnoun
(baseball) the throwing of a baseball by a pitcher to a batter
Pitchnoun
a vendor's position (especially on the sidewalk);
he was employed to see that his paper's news pitches were not trespassed upon by rival vendorsPitchnoun
promotion by means of an argument and demonstration
Pitchnoun
degree of deviation from a horizontal plane;
the roof had a steep pitchPitchnoun
any of various dark heavy viscid substances obtained as a residue
Pitchnoun
a high approach shot in golf
Pitchnoun
an all-fours game in which the first card led is a trump
Pitchnoun
abrupt up-and-down motion (as caused by a ship or other conveyance);
the pitching and tossing was quite excitingPitchnoun
the action or manner of throwing something;
his pitch fell short and his hat landed on the floorPitchverb
throw or toss with a light motion;
flip me the beachballtoss me newspaperPitchverb
move abruptly;
The ship suddenly lurched to the leftPitchverb
fall or plunge forward;
She pitched over the railing of the balconyPitchverb
set to a certain pitch;
He pitched his voice very lowPitchverb
sell or offer for sale from place to place
Pitchverb
be at an angle;
The terrain sloped downPitchverb
heel over;
The tower is tiltingThe ceiling is slantingPitchverb
erect and fasten;
pitch a tentPitchverb
throw or hurl from the mound to the batter, as in baseball;
The pitcher delivered the ballPitchverb
hit (a golf ball) in a high arc with a backspin
Pitchverb
lead (a card) and establish the trump suit
Pitchverb
set the level or character of;
She pitched her speech to the teenagers in the audienceComparison Chart
Pitch | Tone |
The main auditory factor of the sound is pitch | The ‘quality’ of sound is the tone |
Related Elements | |
Frequency | Pitch, quality, and strength |
In the Field of Music | |
It is the value of a tone | The thickness of the note in music |
Perfection in Music | |
It has | It does not have |
Lexical and Grammatical Meaning | |
Not used to distinguish | Used to distinguish |
Pitch vs. Tone
Pitch determines the quality of the sound produced; on the other hand, the tone is another feature of sound that determines its quality. Pitch is the degree of how high and low is the sound, while the tone refers to the musical sound concerning the pitch, quality, and strength of the sound.
Pitch is a key auditory factor of the sound. It is defined as the perceived fundamental frequency of sound. On the contrary, tone refers to the ‘quality’ of sound, tone distinguishes the sound and makes it recognizable by its constant ‘pitch.’
When we talk about music, the pitch is the value of a tone in it; on the flip side, the tone is known as the thickness of the note in music. Pitch can be perfect in music, but the tone cannot.
The related element with pitch is frequency; on the flip side of the coin, the related elements with tone are pitch, strength, and quality. The pitch can not distinguish the grammatical or lexical meaning. Tone can distinguish the grammatical or lexical meaning.
What is Pitch?
Pitch is one of the factors to determine the quality of the sound. It is the degree of how high and low the sound is. Pitch is defined as a key auditory factor of the sound. When we talk about music, the pitch is the value of a tone in it. Pitch can be perfect in music, but tone cannot. The related element with pitch is frequency. Pitch is the components of sound that cannot distinguish the lexical or grammatical meaning.
The pitch of the sound depends on its frequency. The sound with high frequency is shrill, and the sound with low frequency is like a cloud thunder. In the music field, the pitch is the value of the note sung. A natural vocal production needs to be established in music before a singer works on his pitch. With the natural vocal in place, the singing can be easy on the pitch. In music, the notes are the symbols of music indicating the location of a pitch.
Pitch is governed by the rate of the production of vibrations. A high pitch is having a high frequency, whereas low pitch has a low frequency. Frequency is defined as the rate at which the vibrations occur. Some people have a high-pitched voice, and some have a low pitched voice. Pitch is also related to human emotions. For example, if a person is angry or excited, he will shout by making a high pitch sound, but if one is sad or tired, he/she will make low pitch sound.
The reason that we feel some sounds pleasant, while unpleasant is the pitch of that sound. The pitch of the tone is its depth/height related to the complete series of tones heard by the ear. This is the reason that two instruments with the same pitch sound differently. The listener evaluation of frequency also represents the pitch of a tone. The higher the pitch, the higher its frequency is, and the same is the case with the lower pitch having a lower frequency.
What is Tone?
Tone refers to the musical sound concerning the pitch, quality, and strength of the sound. It is one of the reasons behind the variations in sound produced from different sources. The tone relates to the sound quality. It distinguishes the sound and makes it recognizable by its constant ‘pitch.’ The tone is known as the thickness of the note in music. The related elements with tone are pitch, strength, and quality. The tone can also distinguish the lexical or grammatical meaning.
The tone is the reason that we like or dislike the voice of some singers. It helps us in differentiating between many voices. The tone is known as the color or the timbre of the pitch. Different words describe the tone of the sound. These words are dark, warm, brilliant, ringing, rich, lush, shrill, strident, etc. The emotions conveyed in the voice also depends upon this tone factor of the voice. The tone reflects our mood, as well.
In musical terms, the tone is the timbre or quality of the note. It is easy for a singer to have perfect pitch, but making a perfect tone is quite difficult — a lot of factors influence tones such as breath support, physical condition, technique, and the like. Tone refers to the quality of sound of any voice or musical instrument or singing.
Tone also directs the semantic, contrasting, phonemic, or lexical contrasts between words that are signaled by the difference in pitch. It helps us in differentiating between many voices. A person’s voice contains many overtones with harmonics. Different sounds have different overtones, and this is the reason that every individual in this world has a different voice.
ConclusionPitch and tone are the two components of the sound. Both are related to each other but are different from each other in their features, functions, and characteristics.