How do “scoops” influence the perception of singing accuracy?

When we listen to a singer, a large amount of time-varying information is available on which evaluations of accuracy may be based. Most analyses of singing accuracy focus on relatively steady portions of sung notes, eliminating “scoops” of pitch that often occur at note beginnings and endings. However, it is likely that these scoops contribute to judgments of accuracy. We report results of three experiments designed to address the relative contribution of these scoops in contrast to a steady central portion of sung notes.
Participants rated the pitch accuracy of 4-tone melodies where the 3rd tone was manipulated with respect to its center region (either correct, 50 cents sharp, or 50 cents flat) as well as the presence of a scoop at the start and/or the end of the tone, varying with respect to direction. We were particularly interested in contrasting scoops that maintained ‘continuity’ between tones (e.g., scooping up for an ascending interval) versus those that highlighted distinctions (the opposite). Further analyses evaluated whether reactions to scoops indicate a tendency to perceive the average pitch across the entire tone, or to treat scoops versus the tone’s center as separate features.
Results suggest that listeners respond to scoops in a way that goes beyond role in forming the average pitch across a tone. Listeners respond differently to scoops at the beginning versus the end, showing more sensitivity to ending scoops. Furthermore, listeners do not necessarily prefer scoops that preserve continuity. Taken together, these results demonstrate that continuous time-varying pitch information is an important indicator of perceived singing accuracy, and should be considered more fully when assessing singing ability.