Studying similarities and differences between speech and song provides an opportunity to examine music's role in human culture. Forty participants divided into groups of musicians and nonmusicians spoke and sang lyrics to two familiar songs. The spectral structures of speech and song were analyzed using a statistical analysis of frequency ratios. Results showed that speech and song have similar spectral structures, with song having more energy present at frequency ratios corresponding to those ratios associated with the 12-tone scale. This difference may be attributed to greater fundamental frequency variability in speech, and was not affected by musical experience.Higher levels of musical experience were associated with decreased energy at frequency ratios not corresponding to the 12-tone scale in both speech and song. Thus, musicians may invoke multisensory (auditory/vocal-motor) mechanisms to fine-tune their vocal production to more closely align their speaking and singing voices according to their vast music listening experience.
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June 2008
Research Article|
June 01 2008
Music Training and Vocal Production of Speech and Song
Elizabeth L. Stegemöller,
Elizabeth L. Stegemöller
Northwestern University
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Catherine M. Warrier,
Catherine M. Warrier
Northwestern University
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Nina Kraus
Nina Kraus
Northwestern University
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Music Perception (2008) 25 (5): 419–428.
Citation
Elizabeth L. Stegemöller, Erika Skoe, Trent Nicol, Catherine M. Warrier, Nina Kraus; Music Training and Vocal Production of Speech and Song. Music Perception 1 June 2008; 25 (5): 419–428. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/mp.2008.25.5.419
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