Purpose The purpose of this preliminary study was to identify a vocal task that could be used as a clinical indicator of the vocal aptitude or vocal fitness required for vocally demanding occupations in a manner similar to that of the anaerobic power tests commonly used in exercise science. Performance outcomes for vocal tasks that require rapid acceleration and high force production may be useful as an indirect indicator of muscle fiber complement and bioenergetic fitness of the larynx, an organ that is difficult to study directly. Method Sixteen women (age range: 19–24 years, M age = 22 years) were consented for participation and completed the following performance measures: forced vital capacity, three adapted vocal function tasks, and the horizontal sprint test. Results Using a within-participant correlational analyses, results indicated a positive relationship between the rate of the last second of a laryngeal diadochokinesis task that was produced at a high fundamental frequency/high sound level and anaerobic power. Forced vital capacity was not correlated with any of the vocal function tasks. Conclusions These preliminary results indicate that aspects of the laryngeal diadochokinesis task produced at a high fundamental frequency and high sound level may be useful as an ecologically valid measure of vocal power ability. Quantification of vocal power ability may be useful as a vocal fitness assessment or as an outcome measure for voice rehabilitation and habilitation for patients with vocally demanding jobs.
Purpose To assess data collection variability in the voice range profile (VRP) across clinicians and researchers, a systematic review was conducted to evaluate the extent of variability of specific data collection points that affect the determination of frequency range and sound level and determine next steps in standardization of a VRP protocol. Method A systematic review was conducted using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis checklist. Full-text journal articles were identified through PubMed, Web of Science, Psych Info, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global, Google Scholar, and hand searching of journals. Results A total of 1,134 articles were retrieved from the search; of these, 463 were duplicates. Titles and abstracts of 671 articles were screened, with 202 selected for full-text review. Fifty-four articles were considered eligible for inclusion. The information extracted from these articles revealed the methodology used to derive the VRP was extremely variable across the data points selected. Additionally, there were eight common acoustic measures used for statistical analysis described in included studies that were added as a data point. Conclusions The data collection methods for the VRP varied considerably. Standardization of procedures was recommended for clinicians and researchers.
This study evaluated the role of active musical training on procedural learning during a pitch perception, memory, and matching task. Twenty-one adults with hearing within normal limits were split into music subgroups (musician and non-musicians) based on active participation in musical training. Ninety pitch-matching trials were completed using a paradigm adapted from Ross, Olsen, and Gore (2003) which assesses pitch-matching precision without requiring knowledge of musical nomenclature. Three blocks of 30 pitch-match trials were collected to evaluate the learning effect on each music subgroup. The semitone half step (HS) distance between the target pitch and the comparison pitch match was calculated for each trial. Constant error (CE) and standard deviation (SD) were used to quantify performance across blocks. Overall, significant reduction of pitch match SD was found for both music subgroups across blocks. Musicians demonstrated more precise pitch matches (smaller SD) and demonstrated no significant changes in pitch matching CE across blocks, whereas non-musicians CE was reduced across blocks. The pattern of results indicates learning effects, which we attribute to procedural memory for both groups, based on task parameters, while the music group’s performance across blocks may reflect enhanced selective attention and pitch perception.
This experiment attempted to determine if individuals with extensive musical training’s pitch perception and memory were more resistant to degradation (e.g., time and interference) than that of individuals with limited musical training. It is known that musical training influences cortical sound processing through learning-based processes, but also at the preattentive level within the brainstem. Pitch memory abilities were investigated in 66 participants with no known hearing, attention, or cognitive impairment. Participants were placed into subgroups based on age (young children, older children, and adults) and their self-reported musical training experience. Two experiments measuring auditory perception and memory skills for pitch were collected, the pitch pattern span (PPS; Weaver, DiGiovanni, & Ries, 2015) and a pitch matching retention task based on Ross, Olsen, and Gore’s procedure (2003). We found that individuals with greater musical training exhibited enhanced pitch perception and memory processes and smaller standard deviation across pitch matches. Unexpectedly, based on the paradigm, the young children demonstrated significantly sharper (higher) constant error across pitch matches than the older participants. These and additional findings will be discussed with reference to task parameters which attempted to remove the typically required knowledge of musical nomenclature in pitch matching tasks
Purpose The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether merging the clinical pitch pattern test procedure with psychoacoustic adaptive methods would create a new tool feasible to capture individual differences in pitch temporal processing and patterning capacity of children and adults. Method Sixty-six individuals, young children (ages 10–12 years, n = 22), older children (ages 13–15 years, n = 23), and adults (ages 18–33 years, n = 21), were recruited and assigned to subgroups based on reported duration (years) of instrumental music instruction. Additional background information was collected in order to assess if the pitch temporal processing and patterning span developed, the Pspan, was sensitive to individual differences across participants. Results The evaluation of the Pspan task as a scale indicated good parallel reliability across runs assessed by Cronbach's alpha, and scores were normally distributed. Between-subjects analysis of variance indicated main effects for both age groups and music groups recruited for the study. A multiple regression analysis with the Pspan scores as the dependent variable found that 3 measures of music instruction, age in years, and paternal education were predictive of enhanced temporal processing and patterning capacity for pitch input. Conclusions The outcomes suggest that the Pspan task is a time-efficient data collection tool that is sensitive to the duration of instrumental music instruction, maturation, and paternal education. In addition, results indicate that the task is sensitive to age-related auditory temporal processing and patterning performance changes during adolescence when children are 10–15 years old.
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