- #1
Skhandelwal
- 400
- 3
Technically and philosophically speaking, where do we really draw a line weather a person is singing or talking?
Is there a neurological difference between singing and talking?
- Thread starter Skhandelwal
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SUMMARY
The discussion centers on the neurological differences between singing and talking, highlighting research by Diana Deutsch on auditory perception. It establishes that while both forms of communication utilize pitch, they serve distinct purposes: speech conveys meaning through inflection, while singing emphasizes melody independent of lyrics. The conversation also touches on personal experiences, such as the phenomenon where individuals with speech impediments, like stuttering, can sing fluently, suggesting a neurological divergence in processing these two forms of vocalization.
PREREQUISITES- Understanding of auditory perception principles
- Familiarity with the concept of pitch in music and speech
- Knowledge of neurological functions related to speech and music
- Awareness of musical scales and their variations
- Explore Diana Deutsch's research on auditory illusions
- Investigate the neurological basis of speech and music processing
- Learn about the impact of pitch and inflection on communication
- Study the effects of stuttering on speech versus singing
Neurologists, speech therapists, music educators, and anyone interested in the cognitive differences between singing and speaking.
- #2
yamini
- 22
- 0
a tune will b there in singing but in talking those r just words
- #3
Math Is Hard
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Is there a lack of "melody" in speech? Not completely. As people speak, pitch rises and falls. Diana Deutsch researches auditory perception and illusions, and she has an interesting example of a piece of a sentence, that when looped, seems very much like it is being "sung".
http://philomel.com/phantom_words/description.html#sometimes
You can play the audio clip on the website link. It really does sound like singing (to me, anyway), even more so after a few repetitions.
http://philomel.com/phantom_words/description.html#sometimes
You can play the audio clip on the website link. It really does sound like singing (to me, anyway), even more so after a few repetitions.
- #4
DaveC426913
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Both singing and speech do use pitch but they put it toward different goals.
In speech, the pitch is used to impart structure to the meaning of the content. Try saying a complex phrase with no inflection. This is easily demonstrated if you read out of a book or newspaper to a friend. Without the correct inflection, the sentences (if they're complex enough) may run together and meaning can be completely lost.
In song, the pitch is used more or less independent of the meaning of the words, concentrating instead on the melody. The key here is that it would still sound just as nice if the words weren't there - i.e. hummed.
As an aside, I find myself unique among everyone I know in that, to me, lyrics of a song are irrelevant. I hear the vocals of a song as if they are a musical instrument (albeit a very complex one);
I am almost unable to understand the meaning of a song's words unless I take some time to extract and dispose of the melodic component, hearing the words as speech.
My current theory is that my left and right brains communicate poorly when listening to music. I can listen with either my left (speech) brain, or my right (music) brain - but not both.
In speech, the pitch is used to impart structure to the meaning of the content. Try saying a complex phrase with no inflection. This is easily demonstrated if you read out of a book or newspaper to a friend. Without the correct inflection, the sentences (if they're complex enough) may run together and meaning can be completely lost.
In song, the pitch is used more or less independent of the meaning of the words, concentrating instead on the melody. The key here is that it would still sound just as nice if the words weren't there - i.e. hummed.
As an aside, I find myself unique among everyone I know in that, to me, lyrics of a song are irrelevant. I hear the vocals of a song as if they are a musical instrument (albeit a very complex one);
I am almost unable to understand the meaning of a song's words unless I take some time to extract and dispose of the melodic component, hearing the words as speech.
My current theory is that my left and right brains communicate poorly when listening to music. I can listen with either my left (speech) brain, or my right (music) brain - but not both.
- #5
daveb
- 547
- 2
You could probably also say that singing uses specific sound frequencies, along with tempo, depending on the scale used (many non-Western musical scales have other than half/whole steps), whereas talking does not have specific pitch frequency and/or tempo. However, this creates a grey area. Some people would certainly consider rap and other forms of spoken word recordings (Henry Rollins, etc.) as music.
- #6
ank_gl
- 741
- 0
no line in between, either i talk or i sing, people get irritated
- #7
FulhamFan3
- 134
- 0
From personal experience I can say that there is a big difference between singing and talking and I am not just talking about pitch or rhythm.
I have a moderate stutter and there are times when I speak that I am unable to get any words across. However I have NEVER stuttered while singing. I am not unique either. I remember reading about someone who could sing opera but it was nearly impossible for her to speak to anyone due to her severe stutter. Neurologically speaking there must be a difference between the two.
I have a moderate stutter and there are times when I speak that I am unable to get any words across. However I have NEVER stuttered while singing. I am not unique either. I remember reading about someone who could sing opera but it was nearly impossible for her to speak to anyone due to her severe stutter. Neurologically speaking there must be a difference between the two.