Perceptual (but not acoustic) features predict singing voice preferences.

Why do we prefer some singers to others? We investigated how much singing voice preferences can be traced back to objective features of the stimuli. To do so, we asked participants to rate short excerpts of singing performances in terms of how much they liked them as well as in terms of 10 perceptual attributes (e.g.: pitch accuracy, tempo, breathiness). We modeled liking ratings based on these perceptual ratings, as well as based on acoustic features and low-level features derived from Music Information Retrieval (MIR). Mean liking ratings for each stimulus were highly correlated between Experiments 1 (online, US-based participants) and 2 (in the lab, German participants), suggesting a role for attributes of the stimuli in grounding average preferences. We show that acoustic and MIR features barely explain any variance in liking ratings; in contrast, perceptual features of the voices achieved around 43% of prediction. Inter-rater agreement in liking and perceptual ratings was low, indicating substantial (and unsurprising) individual differences in participants' preferences and perception of the stimuli. Our results indicate that singing voice preferences are not grounded in acoustic attributes of the voices per se, but in how these features are perceptually interpreted by listeners.

Classical singers are also proficient in non-classical singing.

Classical singers train intensively for many years to achieve a high level of vocal control and specific sound characteristics. However, the actual span of singers' activities often includes venues other than opera halls and requires performing in styles outside their strict training (e.g., singing pop songs at weddings). We examine classical singers' ability to adjust their vocal productions to other styles, in relation with their formal training. Twenty-two highly trained female classical singers (aged from 22 to 45 years old; vocal training ranging from 4.5 to 27 years) performed six different melody excerpts a cappella in contrasting ways: as an opera aria, as a pop song and as a lullaby. All melodies were sung both with lyrics and with a /lu/ sound. All productions were acoustically analyzed in terms of seven common acoustic descriptors of voice/singing performances and perceptually evaluated by a total of 50 lay listeners (aged from 21 to 73 years old) who were asked to identify the intended singing style in a forced-choice lab experiment. Acoustic analyses of the 792 performances suggest distinct acoustic profiles, implying that singers were able to produce contrasting sounding performances. Furthermore, the high overall style recognition rate (78.5% Correct Responses, hence CR) confirmed singers' proficiency in performing in operatic style (86% CR) and their versatility when it comes to lullaby (80% CR) and pop performances (69% CR), albeit with occasional confusion between the latter two. Interestingly, different levels of competence among singers appeared, with versatility (as estimated based on correct recognition in pop/lullaby styles) ranging from 62 to 83% depending on the singer. Importantly, this variability was not linked to formal training per se. Our results indicate that classical singers are versatile, and prompt the need for further investigations to clarify the role of singers' broader professional and personal experiences in the development of this valuable ability.

Influence of separate and mixed experimental designs on reaction times to two simple visual stimuli

Testing contexts have been shown to critically influence experimental results in psychophysical studies. One of these contexts that show important modulation of the behavioral effects of different stimulatory conditions is the separate (blocked) or mixed presentation of these stimulatory conditions. The study presents evidence that the apparent discriminabilities of two target stimuli can change according to which of these two testing contexts is used. A cross inside a ring and a vertical line inside a ring were presented as go stimuli in a go/no-go reaction time task. In one experiment, each of these stimuli was presented to a different group of volunteers and in another experiment they were presented to the same group of volunteers, randomly mixed in the blocks of trials. Similar reaction times were obtained for the two stimuli in the first experiment, and different reaction times (faster for the cross) in the second experiment. The latter result indicates that the two stimuli have different discriminabilities from the no-go stimulus; the cross having greater discriminability. This difference is however masked, presumably by the adoption of specific compensatory attentional sets, in a separate testing context.(AU)

Influence of separate and mixed experimental designs on reaction times to two simple visual stimuli

Testing contexts have been shown to critically influence experimental results in psychophysical studies. One of these contexts that show important modulation of the behavioral effects of different stimulatory conditions is the separate (blocked) or mixed presentation of these stimulatory conditions. The study presents evidence that the apparent discriminabilities of two target stimuli can change according to which of these two testing contexts is used. A cross inside a ring and a vertical line inside a ring were presented as go stimuli in a go/no-go reaction time task. In one experiment, each of these stimuli was presented to a different group of volunteers and in another experiment they were presented to the same group of volunteers, randomly mixed in the blocks of trials. Similar reaction times were obtained for the two stimuli in the first experiment, and different reaction times (faster for the cross) in the second experiment. The latter result indicates that the two stimuli have different discriminabilities from the no-go stimulus; the cross having greater discriminability. This difference is however masked, presumably by the adoption of specific compensatory attentional sets, in a separate testing context.