The effect of melody and technique on the singing voice accuracy of trained singers

Abstract

A previous study highlighted the effect of vocal technique on the singing voice accuracy of trained singers. The intervals’ precision between the notes of the tune was altered when the singers used Western operatic singing technique. In order better to understand these results, we have recorded two different melodies sung with two different vocal techniques. A large panel of trained singers (n = 50) participated in the study. The analytical method described in the reference paper has been applied. The results confirm the effect of vocal technique on the vocal accuracy of trained singers. In addition, these results provide an answer about the melodic effect and guide future work on the perception process of operatic voices.

Key words::

• Acoustic analyses
• operatic technique
• singing
• sung performance
• vocal accuracy

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the ‘Centre Henri Pousseur’ of Liège and Guillaume Videlier for the technical support of acoustic analyses. We also thank the singers who took part in this experiment and Marion Nowak for her help with the data collection.

Declaration of interest: This research has received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. The authors report no conflicts of interest.