Melbourne Conservatorium of Music - Research Publications

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    How accurate are self-evaluations of singing ability?
    Yeom, D ; Stead, KS ; Tan, YT ; McPherson, GE ; Wilson, SJ (WILEY, 2023-12)
    Research has shown that people inaccurately assess their own abilities on self-report measures, including academic, athletic, and music ability. Evidence suggests this is also true for singing, with individuals either overestimating or underestimating their level of singing competency. In this paper, we present the Melbourne Singing Tool Questionnaire (MST-Q), a brief 16-item measure exploring people's self-perceptions of singing ability and engagement with singing. Using a large sample of Australian twins (n = 996), we identified three latent factors underlying MST-Q items and examined whether these factors were related to an objective phenotypic measure of singing ability. The three factors were identified as Personal Engagement, Social Engagement, and Self-Evaluation. All factors were positively associated with objective singing performance, with the Self-Evaluation factor yielding the strongest correlation (r = 0.66). Both the Self-Evaluation factor and a single self-report item of singing ability shared the same predictive strength. Contrary to expectations, our findings suggest that self-evaluation strongly predicts singing ability, and this self-evaluation is of higher predictive value than self-reported engagement with music and singing.
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    Genetic factors and shared environment contribute equally to objective singing ability
    Yeom, D ; Tan, YT ; Haslam, N ; Mosing, MA ; Yap, VMZ ; Fraser, T ; Hildebrand, MS ; Berkovic, SF ; McPherson, GE ; Peretz, I ; Wilson, SJ (CELL PRESS, 2022-06-17)
    Singing ability is a complex human skill influenced by genetic and environmental factors, the relative contributions of which remain unknown. Currently, genetically informative studies using objective measures of singing ability across a range of tasks are limited. We administered a validated online singing tool to measure performance across three everyday singing tasks in Australian twins (n = 1189) to explore the relative genetic and environmental influences on singing ability. We derived a reproducible phenotypic index for singing ability across five performance measures of pitch and interval accuracy. Using this index we found moderate heritability of singing ability (h 2 = 40.7%) with a striking, similar contribution from shared environmental factors (c 2 = 37.1%). Childhood singing in the family home and being surrounded by music early in life both significantly predicted the phenotypic index. Taken together, these findings show that singing ability is equally influenced by genetic and shared environmental factors.
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    ESTABLISHING THE RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY OF WEB-BASED SINGING RESEARCH
    Tan, YT ; Peretz, I ; McPherson, GE ; Wilson, SJ (UNIV CALIFORNIA PRESS, 2021-04)
    In this study, the robustness of an online tool for objectively assessing singing ability was examined by: (1) determining the internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the tool; (2) comparing the task performance of web-based participants (n = 285) with a group (n = 52) completing the tool in a controlled laboratory setting, and then determining the convergent validity between settings, and (3) comparing participants’ task performance with previous research using similar singing tasks and populations. Results indicated that the online singing tool exhibited high internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = .92), and moderate-to-high test-retest reliabilities (.65–.80) across an average 4.5-year-span. Task performance for web- and laboratory-based participants (n = 82) matched on age, sex, and music training were not significantly different. Moderate-to-large correlations (|r| =.31–.59) were found between self-rated singing ability and the various singing tasks, supporting convergent validity. Finally, task performance of the web-based sample was not significantly different to previously reported findings. Overall the findings support the robustness of the online tool for objectively measuring singing pitch accuracy beyond a controlled laboratory environment and its potential application in large-scale investigations of singing and music ability.
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    The molecular genetic basis of music ability and music-related phenotypes
    Tan, YT ; McPherson, G ; Wilson, SJ ; Hambrick, DZ ; Campitelli, G ; Macnamara, BN (Routledge, 2018)
    In the past decade, researchers have sought to uncover potential genes that underlie various musical traits through molecular genetic approaches once the genetic basis of a musical trait has been established using behavioral genetic methods. Since the 1980s, progress in molecular genetic technology and bioinformatics has brought about the advent of human molecular genetic approaches, especially for elucidating the genetic mechanisms of complex diseases. In contrast, the investigation of the molecular genetic basis of music ability only began to surface in recent years, with Irma Järvelä, a clinical geneticist at the University of Helsinki, Finland, and her collaborators contributing a sizeable and significant research output on this topic. Although this field is still in its infancy, some exciting and converging results are already beginning to emerge.
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    The genetic basis of music ability
    Tan, YT ; McPherson, GE ; Peretz, I ; Berkovic, SF ; Wilson, SJ (FRONTIERS MEDIA SA, 2014-06-27)
    Music is an integral part of the cultural heritage of all known human societies, with the capacity for music perception and production present in most people. Researchers generally agree that both genetic and environmental factors contribute to the broader realization of music ability, with the degree of music aptitude varying, not only from individual to individual, but across various components of music ability within the same individual. While environmental factors influencing music development and expertise have been well investigated in the psychological and music literature, the interrogation of possible genetic influences has not progressed at the same rate. Recent advances in genetic research offer fertile ground for exploring the genetic basis of music ability. This paper begins with a brief overview of behavioral and molecular genetic approaches commonly used in human genetic analyses, and then critically reviews the key findings of genetic investigations of the components of music ability. Some promising and converging findings have emerged, with several loci on chromosome 4 implicated in singing and music perception, and certain loci on chromosome 8q implicated in absolute pitch and music perception. The gene AVPR1A on chromosome 12q has also been implicated in music perception, music memory, and music listening, whereas SLC6A4 on chromosome 17q has been associated with music memory and choir participation. Replication of these results in alternate populations and with larger samples is warranted to confirm the findings. Through increased research efforts, a clearer picture of the genetic mechanisms underpinning music ability will hopefully emerge.