Acquired and congenital disorders of sung performance: A review.

Many believe that the majority of people are unable to carry a tune. Yet, this widespread idea underestimates the singing abilities of the layman. Most occasional singers can sing in tune and in time, provided that they perform at a slow tempo. Here we characterize proficient singing in the general population and identify its neuronal underpinnings by reviewing behavioral and neuroimaging studies. In addition, poor singing resulting from a brain injury or neurogenetic disorder (i.e., tone deafness or congenital amusia) is examined. Different lines of evidence converge in indicating that poor singing is not a monolithic deficit. A variety of poor-singing "phenotypes" are described, with or without concurrent perceptual deficits. In addition, particular attention is paid to the dissociations between specific abilities in poor singers (e.g., production of absolute vs. relative pitch, pitch vs. time accuracy). Such diversity of impairments in poor singers can be traced to different faulty mechanisms within the vocal sensorimotor loop, such as pitch perception and sensorimotor integration

Folk music for children's choirs: the challenges and benefits of cultural diversity

In this article we investigate ‘folk’ music in the choral repertoire of children’s choirs as a way of building bridges between diverse cultures within the context of regional children’s choirs, with specific reference to the University of Pretoria Jacaranda Children’s Choir, which performs under the auspices of the University of Pretoria, as a sample case study. This descriptive qualitative study investigates the challenges and benefits of including folk music in the repertoire of children’s choirs in South Africa, while also taking into account the views of internationally recognised conductors of overseas children’s choirs. We address challenges in preserving the authentic character of folk music in choral performances, issues regarding transcribing African folk music, copyright, and the availability of scores and audio-visual media We also investigate the extent to which folk music is included in programmes of South African children’s choirs and ways in which folk music as choral repertoire can play a role in promoting the transformation process in South Africa.http://tandfonline.com/loi/rmaa20gv201