The influence of subjective factors on the evaluation of singing voice accuracy

A previous study highlighted the objectivity of music experts when rating the vocal accuracy of sung performances (Larrouy-Maestri, Lévêque, Schön, Giovanni, & Morsomme, 2013). However, in an ecological context, numerous factors can influence the judges’ assessment of a music performance. This preliminary study aims to examine the effect of the music level of the performers on the evaluation of singing voice accuracy and to explore subjective factors which could influence the assessment.
The same sung melody, performed by first and second year students of music conservatory (N = 31), was recorded in the context of their solfeggio examination. The jury, constituted of four music experts, was asked to rate the global pitch accuracy of each student. Two criteria (pitch interval deviation and tonal center deviation) were objectively measured and subjective data about the feeling of the students during the performance (e.g. anxiety level, enjoyment of singing) were collected through questionnaires.
The results showed that the criteria used by the jury differed according to the music level of the students. Indeed, while the score of the jury correlated significantly with the vocal accuracy of the second year students, their assessment seemed more subjective concerning the first year students. Interestingly, the score of the jury was significantly correlated with the enjoyment of singing of the first year students and not with the objective measurements (pitch interval deviation and tonal center deviation) anymore.
This preliminary work shows the effect of the music level of the performers on the evaluation of singing voice accuracy. Besides the educational implications of these findings, this study describes a promising method for the investigation of subjective factors, which influence the vocal assessment in an ecological context.