Giving voice to jazz singers’ experiences of flow in improvisation

Jazz instrumentalists’ experiences of improvisation have informed psychological research on a range of topics including flow in improvisation, yet there is scant evidence of jazz singers’ improvising experiences. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), this study investigated the experiences of three professional Australian jazz singers who improvise extensively in their performance practice: How do these singers experience improvisation? IPA of semi-structured interviews with the singers resulted in two superordinate themes which both related to the flow state: 1) singers experienced flow when improvisation “went well”; 2) singers experienced flow as meaningful—flow provided singers with both the freedom to express the self and the opportunity to contribute to something beyond the self. These findings reveal a new context for flow experiences. Implications for vocal jazz education and practice are discussed

The Sensitivity of Auditory-Motor Representations to Subtle Changes in Auditory Feedback While Singing

Singing requires accurate control of the fundamental frequency (F0) of the voice. This study examined trained singers’ and untrained singers’ (nonsingers’) sensitivity to subtle manipulations in auditory feedback and the subsequent effect on the mapping between F0 feedback and vocal control. Participants produced the consonant-vowel /ta/ while receiving auditory feedback that was shifted up and down in frequency. Results showed that singers and nonsingers compensated to a similar degree when presented with frequency-altered feedback (FAF); however, singers’ F0 values were consistently closer to the intended pitch target. Moreover, singers initiated their compensatory responses when auditory feedback was shifted up or down 6 cents or more, compared to nonsingers who began compensating when feedback was shifted up 26 cents and down 22 cents. Additionally, examination of the first 50 ms of vocalization indicated that participants commenced subsequent vocal utterances, during FAF, near the F0 value on previous shift trials. Interestingly, nonsingers commenced F0 productions below the pitch target and increased their F0 until they matched the note. Thus, singers and nonsingers rely on an internal model to regulate voice F0, but singers’ models appear to be more sensitive in response to subtle discrepancies in auditory feedback

English folk music on the margin - Cecil Sharp's gypsies

Cecil Sharp is the only English or even British collector who can be compared with such European giants as Bela Bartok and Zoltan Kodaly, compsers and collectors who undertook extnsive fieldwork documenting the folk music of indigenous cultures including many Romani gypsy singers and musicians. Cecil Sharp only occasionally referred to collecting from gypsy singers. This paper identifis and examines Sharp's encouters with the gypsy community revealing singers, recordings and photographs previously unidentified

The impact of cognitive load on operatic singers' timing performance

In the present paper, we report the results of an empirical study on the effects of cognitive load on operatic singing. The main aim of the study was to investigate to what extent a working memory task affected the timing of operatic singers' performance. Thereby, we focused on singers' tendency to speed up, or slow down their performance of musical phrases and pauses. Twelve professional operatic singers were asked to perform an operatic aria three times; once without an additional working memory task, once with a concurrent working memory task (counting shapes on a computer screen), and once with a relatively more difficult working memory task (more shapes to be counted appearing one after another). The results show that, in general, singers speeded up their performance under heightened cognitive load. Interestingly, this effect was more pronounced in pauses-more in particular longer pauses-compared to musical phrases. We discuss the role of sensorimotor control and feedback processes in musical timing to explain these findings

Time Series Analysis Package /TSAP/ for terminal use

User manual in form of interactive, functionally dependent time series programs accessible in any order from remote termina

Jenni Cook Associate Professor, Department of Music - College of Liberal Arts

Professor Cook traveled to Ribeirão-Preto, Brazil, in June of 2012 for a site visit to complete details for a student exchange between the University of São-Paulo in Ribeirão-Preto and UNH. While there, she gave two lectures on Body Mapping, a lecture on Diction for Singers, a Master Class for singers and instrumentalists, and a recital of Brazilian Art Song and Songs by Women Composers. Professor Cook also spent time with her former student Melody Chapin ’10 currently in Brazil on a Fulbright Scholarship to develop an anthology of Brazilian Art Song

A classification of New Zealand’s terrestrial ecosystems

This study produces a comprehensive terrestrial ecosystem classification by subjectively constructing a heirarchy of perceived key environmental drivers. Introduction: The ecosystem concept is at the centre of international agreements, New Zealand legislation, and modern policy and planning systems that aim to sustainably manage natural resources. All definitions of ecosystems include the concept of the physical environment being integrated with its biotic components. Functionally, the concept embodies disturbance cycles, and flows of energy, nutrients and non-living materials, with these processes underpinning the concept of ecosystem health or integrity. Since these processes operate at variable spatio-temporal scales, and species and communities intergrade variably along environmental gradients, there is no single optimal scale at which to apply the ecosystem concept. Rather, the openness and hierarchical nature of ecosystem processes lead to any one classification scale being viewed as nested within coarser and finer scale components. One of the goals of the New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy is to ‘maintain and restore a full range of remaining habitats and ecosystems …’. However, although many environmental agencies and individuals can contribute to this goal, any investment decisions are currently being made in the absence of a comprehensive list of ecosystems or a systematic threat ranking. Therefore, classification of the full range of ecosystem types for New Zealand is overdue.   &nbsp

Boston University Singers, April 22, 1993

This is the concert program of the Boston University Singers performance on Thursday, April 22, 1993 at 8:00 p.m., at the Concert Hall, 855 Commonwealth Avenue. Works performed were "Coronation Anthem-The King Shall Rejoice" by George Frideric Handel, Thou, O Lord and Canticle from "Three Sacred Pieces" by David Conte, Hold On! arranged by J. Hairston, I Want Jesus arranged by J. Hairston, and Ain'-a That Good News! aarranged by William Dawson. Digitization for Boston University Concert Programs was supported by the Boston University Humanities Library Endowed Fund