Pitch vs. Tone

Main Difference

The 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.

Pitch vs. Tone — Is There a Difference?
ADVERTISEMENT

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.

ADVERTISEMENT

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.

ADVERTISEMENT

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 quoits

Tonenoun

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 haystack

Tonenoun

(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 aircraft

Tonenoun

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 voice

Pitchnoun

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 tones

Pitchnoun

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 roof

Tonenoun

(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 meet

Pitchnoun

(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 treason

Pitchnoun

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 wanted

Pitchnoun

(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 long

Pitchverb

To cover or smear with pitch.

Tonenoun

a steady sound without overtones;

they tested his hearing with pure tones of different frequencies

Pitchverb

To darken; to blacken; to obscure.

Tonenoun

the elastic tension of living muscles, arteries, etc. that facilitate response to stimuli;

the doctor tested my tonicity

Pitchverb

(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 welcome

Pitchverb

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 again

Pitchverb

(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 negative

Pitchverb

(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 image

Pitchverb

(transitive) To assemble or erect (a tent).

Pitch the tent over there.

Toneverb

give a healthy elasticity to;

Let's tone our muscles

Pitchverb

(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 vendors

Pitchnoun

promotion by means of an argument and demonstration

Pitchnoun

degree of deviation from a horizontal plane;

the roof had a steep pitch

Pitchnoun

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 exciting

Pitchnoun

the action or manner of throwing something;

his pitch fell short and his hat landed on the floor

Pitchverb

throw or toss with a light motion;

flip me the beachballtoss me newspaper

Pitchverb

move abruptly;

The ship suddenly lurched to the left

Pitchverb

fall or plunge forward;

She pitched over the railing of the balcony

Pitchverb

set to a certain pitch;

He pitched his voice very low

Pitchverb

sell or offer for sale from place to place

Pitchverb

be at an angle;

The terrain sloped down

Pitchverb

heel over;

The tower is tiltingThe ceiling is slanting

Pitchverb

erect and fasten;

pitch a tent

Pitchverb

throw or hurl from the mound to the batter, as in baseball;

The pitcher delivered the ball

Pitchverb

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 audience

Comparison Chart

PitchTone
The main auditory factor of the sound is pitchThe ‘quality’ of sound is the tone
Related Elements
FrequencyPitch, quality, and strength
In the Field of Music
It is the value of a toneThe thickness of the note in music
Perfection in Music
It hasIt does not have
Lexical and Grammatical Meaning
Not used to distinguishUsed 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.

Conclusion

Pitch 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.