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.
