Behavioral and Neurophysiological Effects of Singing and Accompaniment on the Perception and Cognition of Song

Abstract

In order to further investigate the effects of singing and accompaniment on the processing of language, a classroom experiment reported earlier was followed by an EEG experiment, using the same materials. 24 participants listened to four songs, each in one of four versions: spoken, sung a cappella, complete (sung with accompaniment), or vocalized (sung a cappella on ‘lala’). During listening, EEG was measured, and after each song, a questionnaire was filled out. Behavioral results suggest that singing supports cued word recall, even after just one exposure, and focus on the lyrics. Furthermore, an accompaniment supports positive affect and appreciation of voice quality, and decreases seriousness. A preliminary EEG data analysis reveals that out-of-key notes elicit a slightly larger ERAN and N400 than in-key notes, a smaller P2 and N5, and a larger P600, followed by a larger late negativity (‘N1400’). However, the larger ERAN and P2 are not visible in all conditions; the larger N400 is only significant in the condition complete, the larger P600 predominantly in the condition vocalized, and the late negativity only in the condition a cappella. These differences lead to the conclusion that the processing of in-key and out-of-key notes interacts with the presence of interpretable lyrics, indicating that music might affect the meaning of words or vice versa. The interaction between the processing of these notes and the presence of an accompaniment is more difficult to interpret.