Processing interactions between phonology and melody: Vowels sing but consonants speak

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine if two dimensions of song, the phonological part of lyrics and the melodic part of tunes, are processed in an independent or integrated way. In a series of five experiments, musically untrained participants classified bi-syllabic nonwords sung on two-tone melodic intervals. Their response had to be based on pitch contour, on nonword identity, or on the combination of pitch and nonword. When participants had to ignore irrelevant variations of the non-attended dimension, patterns of interference and facilitation allowed us to specify the processing interactions between dimensions. Results showed that consonants are processed more independently from melodic information than vowels are (Experiments 1-4). This difference between consonants and vowels was neither related to the sonority of the phoneme (Experiment 3), nor to the acoustical correlates between vowel quality and pitch height (Experiment 5). The implication of these results for our understanding of the functional relationships between musical and linguistic systems is discussed in light of the different evolutionary origins and linguistic functions of consonants and vowels.

Similar cerebral networks in language, music and song perception

“…Despite these advantages, song cognition has been the topic of few studies in cognitive psychology and neuroscience until recently (Besson et al, 1998;Bigand et al, 2001;Bonnel et al, 2001;Fedorenko et al, 2009;Kolinsky et al, 2009;Peretz et al, 2004;Poulin-Charronnat et al, 2005). Moreover, as we will see in detail below (in the Introduction of Experiment 2), results of song experiments using behavioral and/or the Event-Related brain Potentials methods have provided mixed evidence regarding the independence or interaction between different aspects of language and music processing.…”

Temporal variability in sung productions of adolescents who stutter

“…Vowel durations are prolonged in comparison to consonantal durations (on a 3:1 ratio in song vs. a 1:1 ratio in speech, Eckardt, 1999). In parallel, tonal targets in vowels (i.e., local maxima and minima of the intonation contour) are longer allowing for the perception of discrete pitch classes that underpin melody recognition (Kolinsky, Lidji, Peretz, Besson, & Morais, 2009;Sundberg, 1987;Zatorre, Belin, & Penhune, 2002). These segmental characteristics foster slower articulation rate and enhance phonation times in singing À factors that are known to foster speech production in speech motor disorders.…”

Seeing a singer helps comprehension of the song’s lyrics

“…The semantic processing of sung lyrics is independent of harmonic processing (Besson, Faïta, Peretz, Bonnel, & Requin, 1998). Phonological processing of vowels, however, is influenced by the processing of the melody of the song (Kolinsky, Lidji, Peretz, Besson, & Morais, 2009). These results are, however, based only on auditory presentations; it remains to be seen to what degree they generalize to the audiovisual processing of singing.…”