This paper investigates singing interaction by analysis of the factors influencing pitch accuracy of unaccompanied pairs of singers. Eight pairs of singers sang two excerpts either in unison or two-part harmony. The experimental condition varied which singers could hear singing partners. After semi-automatic pitch-tracking and manual checking, this paper calculated the pitch error (PE) and interval error and tested the factors of influence using a one-way analysis of variance and a linear mixed-effects model. The results indicate that: (1) singing with the same vocal part is more accurate than singing with a different vocal part; (2) singing solo has less pPE than singing with a partner; (3) PEs are correlated, as singers adjust pitch to mitigate a partner's error and preserve harmonic intervals at the expense of melodic intervals and absolute pitch; (4) other factors influence the pitch accuracy, including: score pitch, score harmonic interval, score melodic interval, musical background, vocal part, and individual differences.
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February 2019
February 04 2019
Singing together: Pitch accuracy and interaction in unaccompanied unison and duet singing
Jiajie Dai;
Jiajie Dai
a)
Centre for Digital Music, Queen Mary University of London
, London, United Kingdom
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Simon Dixon
Simon Dixon
Centre for Digital Music, Queen Mary University of London
, London, United Kingdom
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a)
Electronic mail: [email protected]
J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 145, 663–675 (2019)
Article history
Received:
June 05 2018
Accepted:
December 31 2018
Citation
Jiajie Dai, Simon Dixon; Singing together: Pitch accuracy and interaction in unaccompanied unison and duet singing. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 1 February 2019; 145 (2): 663–675. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.5087817
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