Different musical experiences differentially modulate the auditory-motor processing of feedback errors during vocal production

Abstract

The present study investigated the effects of musical experiences on auditory-motor control of pitch feedback errors during vocal production. Thirty-four female musicians who were assigned to a group of professional signers (n = 17) and a group of instrument players (n = 17) and seventeen female non-musicians aged 18–29 years participated in the present study. All participants vocalized a vowel sound /u/ for about 5-6 seconds while hearing their vocal pitch unexpectedly shifted -50 or -200 cents, and their vocal compensations for pitch perturbations were measured and compared. The results showed significantly larger compensatory vocal responses produced by non-musicians when compared to professional singers (p<0.001) and instrument players (p<0.008). Moreover, instrument players produced significantly larger vocal compensations than professional singers (p = 0.026). The observed effects of musical experiences were independent of the size of pitch perturbation. These findings provide the first behavioral evidence for the differential modulation of vocal compensations for pitch perturbations by different musical experiences, which may be related to the difference between singers and players in extensive vocal training.