Singing Across the Lifespan:
AIRS Test Battery of Singing Skills
An exploratory investigation of creativity through improvisation

Erica Ross
Department of Psychology

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
Degree of Bachelor of Arts, Honours
April, 2012

________________________
Dr. Annabel J. Cohen, Supervisor

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Dr. Michael Arfken, Internal Examiner

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Dr. Nyssim Lefford, External Examiner

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Acknowledgement
This academic endeavour has provided many challenges and rewards; I have learned and
experienced a tremendous amount throughout the entire process. I owe gratitude to many people
including my supervisor, Dr. Annabel Cohen. She has provided herself as a role model for an
inspired researcher as well as a faculty advisor. I have much appreciation for her drive and desire
for this project as well as her encouragement to produce a quality product. In conjunction with
Dr. Cohen, I am extending sincere appreciation to my examiners, Dr. Michael Arfken, Professor
of Psychology at UPEI and Dr. Nyssim Lefford, AIRS post-doctoral fellow. Both of these
individuals have been very co-operative and helpful throughout the research process. I am very
thankful for the time and expertise that they have shared with me. I would also like to thank
AIRS post-doctoral fellow, Dr. Bing-Yi Pan. His expertise and friendship mean very much to me
and have made this entire experience much more enjoyable. He is a true model of hard work.
Thank you also to UPEI AIRS team members for their support throughout the duration of this
project. Congratulations must also be extended to my fellow honours students on their
achievements. Their support though the entire process was very kind and appreciated. Last, but
certainly not least, I would like to give thanks for my wonderful family and good friends for their
care, support, encouragement, and friendship throughout this project and my time as a student at
UPEI.

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Abstract
This undergraduate research thesis aimed to investigate the concept of creativity through
the use of the AIRS Test Battery of Singing Skills. The focus was on one component in
particular, that of creating the continuation of a musical phrase, a model of eight notes in length.
Creativity and performance of improvised melodic completions of 39 participants between the
ages of 4 and 87 were examined through correlational analysis and analysis of musical notations
of vocalized responses. Findings indicate that age is negatively correlated with ability, or
willingness to generate an improvised ending to a pre-determined melody. Results also suggest
that musical knowledge and understanding of the model melody play a significant role in the
improvisations generated by participants. It was found that participants who correctly repeated
the model were more likely to have an increased number of notes and contour changes in their
melody and were more likely to end their improvisation on the tonic note. This study shows that
creativity is present across the lifespan, but how it is maintained and expressed may change with
age.

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Table of Contents
Page
Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………….6
Advancing Interdisciplinary Research in Singing ………………………………………..7
Creativity ………………………………………………………………………………....9
What is creativity? ………………………………………………………………..9
Creativity and related terms ……………………………………………………..12
Relation to age …………………………………………………………………..12
Is there an optimal age for creativity? …………………………………………...14
How do we preserve creativity as we age? ……………………………………...14
Creating songs …………………………………………………………………...14
Measuring creativity …………………………………………………………….17
Method …………………………………………………………………………………………..21
Participants ………………………………………………………………………………21
Apparatus ………………………………………………………………………………..23
Testing environment …………………………………………………………………….24
Data transfer to computer ………………………………………………………………..25
Results …………………………………………………………………………………………...26
Micro Musical Analysis tool: sound wave form representations ………………………..26
Quantitative analysis …………………………………………………………………….29
Musical notations for participant’s responses to “Improvise an Ending” …………..…...32
Discussion ……………………………………………………………………………………….41
General description of data ……………………………………………………………...45
Participant’s testing experience …………………………………………………………45
Areas for improvement ………………………………………………………………….46

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Future directions for research …………………………………………………………...48
Conclusions ……………………………………………………………………………………...49
References ……………………………………………………………………………………….51
Appendix A: Poster advertisement, information letters, and consent forms ……………………55
Appendix B: Detailed description of the AIRS Test Battery of Singing Skills …...……………74

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Singing Across the Lifespan:
AIRS Test Battery of Singing Skills
An exploratory investigation of creativity through improvisation

Last summer, as a student research assistant working with the AIRS Test Battery of
Singing Skills, the notion of creativity in participant’s responses to AIRS Test Battery tasks
always seemed intriguing. Singing can most definitely be looked at as a creative activity. The
possibilities of song would seem to be infinite; I was very interested in the variety of responses
that participants could generate so quickly, without much time for thought or rehearsal. This
study aims to follow my curiosity toward vocal creativity and investigate it in an age cross
sectional level.
Creativity is a fascinating and diverse area of study, and therefore there are many ways to
think about it, measure it, and analyse it. This undergraduate thesis, will carve a small niche by
examining one component of the AIRS Test Battery of Singing Skills in greater detail. The
component of interest is one where the participant is asked to improvise an ending to a melody.
There are many ways that this component could be evaluated, but only a small number of these
options will be explored in this study. This component will be examined through the analysis of
participant responses in various ways, including sound wave representations and musical
notations. The objectives of this thesis are to investigate creativity through vocal improvisation
and to see how the two are influenced by various factors including age.

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AIRS: Advancing Interdisciplinary Research in Singing
This undergraduate thesis project is inspired by the energetic research endeavours of
Advancing Interdisciplinary Research in Singing (AIRS). The AIRS project is one that starts
close to home, in fact, right here at the University of Prince Edward Island. Dr. Annabel J. Cohen
has a longstanding background in music cognition and a more recent involvement in singing. Her
combined passion for singing and research gave rise to a large original research project to further
human knowledge about singing.
In 2008 the AIRS project, under the direction of Dr. Cohen, was brought to life as part of
a major collaborative research initiative funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research
Council of Canada. AIRS spans the globe. Researchers from over 15 countries (around the
world have come together to learn about and share knowledge surrounding three major areas in
regard to singing, acquisition, education, and well-being (Cohen, Armstrong, Lannan, & Coady
2009).
AIRS, and its research initiatives, are novel ideas. Little research of this scope on singing
in relation to psychology has not been done up until this time. The potential contributions of
AIRS to fundamental academic knowledge coupled with the applications to the real world,
suggest that this research project is of great value to society. For example, AIRS is involved in
various projects that research such things as the benefits of active participation in singing for
seniors, as well as the effects on amity between children from different cultural backgrounds
based on learning about other cultures through traditional songs.

This specific undergraduate research thesis stems from the first theme of the AIRS project
which is one that focuses on the development of singing. Within that theme, sub-theme 1.3 of the

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AIRS project focuses on the AIRS Test Battery of Singing Skills. The AIRS Test Battery of
Singing Skills was created by Dr. Cohen in conjunction with previous undergraduate honours
students, Jenna Coady and Marsha Lannan (Cohen et al., 2009). This team worked to create a
potentially standardized Test Battery of Singing Skills that would be accessible to the general
population, so as to provide researchers with much useful data enabling the understanding of the
individual and universal factors that influence the development of singing across the lifespan
(Cohen, 2007).

The AIRS Test Battery has a solid foundation in several honours projects (Coady, 2009;
Gallant, 2009; Lannan, 2009; McIver, 2010; Stevenson, 2011) conducted using this testing
instrument. Previous research has shown that culture and musical training play a role in
participant’s success with the Test Battery. For example, Stevenson (2011) and McIver (2010)
found that participants fare better on phonemic and singing memory tasks that are in their native
language. Stevenson also noted that musical training facilitates or improves participants
experience with the Test Battery components. Lannan (2009) found that young children seemed
to show an understanding for the hierarchical phrase structure found in the familiar song melody
and lyrics (Brother John) used in one of the components. Lannan and Coady tested participants
of ages 3, 5, and 7 years as well as University Students, and Gallant tested seniors.
More specific to this thesis, Ruth Reveal (2010) conducted further analysis on Lexi McIver’s
(2010) data and examined how participants completed the “improvise an ending” component of
the Test Battery. She looked at how parts of the antecedent, or reference, melody were
incorporated into their improvisations. It was found that people have preferences for melodic

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completion; she notes that participants frequently created endings related to the reference (i.e.,
melodic structure, key, and length).

The data collected from the current research project has the potential to further extend the
understanding of the acquisition of singing skills by administering the AIRS Test Battery of
Singing Skills in a broad age cross sectional study. This may be able to help researchers uncover
the trajectories of acquisition, retention, or degeneration of musical abilities across the lifespan.
An important note should be made here regarding creativity: the AIRS Test Battery of
Singing Skills is not designed to specifically engage, or evaluate, participants on creativity. It is
not fair for researchers to measures participant’s creativity, solely based on the data obtained
from this Test Battery as the participants are never informed that we are specifically looking for
creativity. Therefore, participants may be inclined to give answers that they foresee the
researcher considering acceptable and status quo, rather than divulging their most creative
thoughts and melodies.
Creativity
What is Creativity?
Creativity is a concept existing in shades of grey. Although creativity is ambiguous, it is
not any more ambiguous than any science that we study (Runco, 2007), and therefore, I will
attempt to highlight various definitions of the concept.
Csikszentmihaly and Nakamura (2006) realize that creativity is a difficult term to define
as each researcher seems to have their own idea of what the concept really means.
Csikszentmihaly and Namakura (2006) take their own approach to defining creativity by
defining it in two ways; big C Creativity, and small c creativity. Big C Creativity is cultural

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creativity. This is the form of creativity that deals with creative ideas and products that are
original and of value to a society. Big C Creativity changes attitudes and values in a culture; it is
what catalyzes cultural revolution. Small c creativity is personal creativity and refers to novel
experiences that are enjoyed solely on a personal level. Small c creativity exists within a person
and it has no direct effect on a population or culture as big C Creativity does. Although there is
no direct effect, one could say that it is small c creativity ideas that are developed into big C
Creativity ideas. The authors note that a population judges new ideas, and decides that they are
creative when they are worthy of attention (Runco, 2007).
Margaret Boden (2004) also elaborates on the distinctions of different types of creativity.
She coins these as “personal creativity” and “historical creativity”. She defines personal
creativity as ideas that are new to the person who thought of them. These ideas are marked by a
sense of surprise and value. For something to be creative to us, we need it to have a purpose or
value. This notion of value in itself further highlights the subjectivity with the term creativity as
values can be diverse between different people. What one person values may not be of relevance
to another. In comparison with Csikzentmihaly and Nakamura, Boden’s p- creativity may be
thought of as small c creativity in a way. Historical creativity is once again a surprising and
valuable idea, but, this idea will be one that no one has come up with before. This idea seems
reminiscent of big C creativity. Boden (1994) notes that all h-creative ideas are p- creative, but
not all p-creative ideas will result in h-creative results. Cohen (2012), further touches on Boden’s
idea of value, as well as novelty. She notes that producing novel responses that are of value to
the creator should be considered creative, at least on a personal level.
Amabile (1983) notes that the earliest attempts to define creativity surround the creative
process. Arthur Koestler suggested a “bisociative process” in which creativity is the combination

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of two unrelated thoughts to produce new insights. Amabile also notes that researchers, Jackson
and Messick (1965) propose “that creative products elicit a distinct set of aesthetic responses
from observers: surprise, satisfaction, stimulation, and savouring (Amabile, 1983, p.19)
John Hopsers (1985), in a paper about artistic creativity, understands creativity as a kind
of activity where you are unsure in the beginning of what the end product will be like. Creating
is an activity that you start without knowing if you will be able to complete it successfully.
Creativity is derived from pre-existing materials, arranged in a way that did not exist before.
Hospers also notes that the novel products associated with creativity grow out of the uniqueness
of the individual that has created them.
It is easy to see from these definitions of creativity provided by the aforementioned
researchers that the idea is one of great breadth and depth. In our human uniqueness it is
possible, that everyone’s definition and understanding of creativity is vastly different. Because of
the individuality and freedom of thought and expression that are in regard to “liking things”
creativity is a most intriguing concept (Amabile, 1983). For this undergraduate research project,
an operational definition of creativity will be the ability and performance to create something
that is novel. The creative output will capture the attention of someone other than its creator.
This definition has been influenced by the previous research mentioned in this introduction,
specifically Csikzentmihalyi & Nakamura (2006). More specifically relating to the current
research project, the focus is on singing- singing a new melody, or rather continuing a melody
after having heard the opening phrase. With this definition of creativity in mind, the researcher to
some degree accepts the ideas of small c creativity and p-creativity. When working with this
definition of creativity we must also keep in mind the task that the participants will be engaging
in (i.e., improvising an ending). Because of the characteristics of the data collected for this

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project, and the ways that this data can be analysed, it also becomes apparent that cognitive
psychology plays an important role in thinking about creativity, i.e. the processes involved in
how the participant reaches a response.
Creativity and Related Terms: With creativity being such an ambiguous term, it seems
fitting to define similar terms and briefly discuss their significance. In an article about birdsong
Lauchlan and Slater (2003) define innovation as a new behaviour pattern that is a deviation from
a pre-existing behaviour. Innovation can also be seen as novelty within a population. A
significant difference between creativity and innovation is the distinction of novelty. Something
can be innovative but not novel, but to be creative something must be entirely novel.
Improvisation: happens according to the whims of the improviser. Improvisation is not always
created from novel parts. Improvisation happens on the spot without apparent prior thought and
planning however it may well depend on a great deal of prior practice, or knowledge, as in the
case of jazz improvisation (Lauchlan & Slater, 2003).
Relation to age: How does creativity change across the lifespan? Is there a prime
creative age? What might cause our creative abilities to change as we age? These are all difficult
questions that researchers are still trying to answer. With every new applicable research study we
are able to better answer questions concerning the lifespan and creativity. Through the analysis
of improvised songs, information may be gathered to further speculate at what age we are most
musically creative, if we are to look at creativity through musical improvisation.
Csikszentmihaly and Nakamura (2006) note that creativity is present across the lifespan,
but is influenced by age. As we near old age, we can be faced with the challenges of physical
aging such as mobility and memory loss. These factors however are not thought to be of huge

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disadvantage when being creative. In conjunction with small physical limitations, creative output
may also decline due to social factors. As a person gains recognition for their contributions in
their creative fields, they are often called to become mentors for the next generation. For
example, an eminent scientific researcher is often called to teach their knowledge to others, sit on
committee boards etc. If the creative mind is occupied with these other duties, it diminishes the
time spent on individual creative activities. On the other hand, with eminence comes increased
resources access to more eminent colleagues, and faster access to the latest work, so it could
work either way (Csikszentmihalyi & Nakamura, 2006).
Howard Gardner (1993) speaks about creativity in relation to human experience. His
thoughts lend support to the idea that creativity may be more prevalent at later points throughout
the lifespan on account of the “life experience” that we gain throughout the course of our lives.
According to the life course perspective, the more opportunities and experiences that we engage
in, the more experience or data we have to draw from as inspiration later on in our lives. He
notes that it takes on average ten years of education and experience before one can master a
particular creative art. Take Picasso as an example, he spent years working as an artist, honing,
defining, and mastering his art. Picasso spent a considerable amount of time as an artist forging
an artistic movement before his work was even recognized as creative.
Simon (2001) notes creativity comes when one is an expert in a domain. This expertise
does not always transfer to other domains, so people are frequently experts in a very small
number of domains. He notes the more experience we have within our domain, or with our
creative activity, the more time we have spent learning about it. This idea can be related to a well
seasoned physician. The more time he has spent diagnosing patients the better he becomes at it,

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the quicker he is able to group symptoms and make a diagnosis. Simon says that to become an
expert in a field or at an activity takes approximately 10 years of practice and experience.
Is there an optimal age for creativity? Csikszentmihaly and Nakamura (2006) as well
as Simonton (2004) have concluded on the basis of their research that the optimal age of
creativity is about 30 years of age, although this may vary within the given domain. They
deliberated over this number and chose it systematically. This number was chosen on various
aspects of analyzing creative personalities. For example, a survey of notably creative people was
done, and their creative products were arranged chronologically. This decade was shown to be
the period in the artist’s life in which the mass of creative output was produced. From the data
collected, the researchers found that about 40% of all creative output happened in that decade of
life, leaving approximately 60 % of all creative output to be created over all the other years of
the individual’s life (not just one specific decade). What makes the 30’s decade so good for
creative output? It seems that creativity is not just about novel ideas, but also about experience.
When we reach 30 years of age, our physical bodies are functioning at a high level, and we are
becoming seasoned to what our world has to offer. In musical composition for example, one
must have a great deal of experience in conjunction with knowledge in order to be able to create
something novel.
How do we preserve creativity as we age? As creativity can most certainly exist across
the lifespan, it is important to remember that one of the most important things to retain with our
age is a spirit of curiosity. Csikszentmihalyi and Nakamura (2006) state that if we don’t, we
become too comfortable with what is familiar. When we are able to live curiously, we will
continue to search for new joy and success. Louis Pasteur once said that to be creative you need
to retain “some luck and a prepared mind” (Csikszentmihaly and Nakamura, 2006, p.248).

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Creative individuals are often more creative for their entire lives than non-creative individuals
are (Simonton et al., 2004). Creativity also can exist as a basic structure that persists over time,
similar to Atchely’s (1989) continuity theory. This fits well for the lifelong creative individual
idea, because we enjoy being creative it will be something that we will make an effort to have
remain as a constant in our lives. Cohen (2012) further discusses that our potential to be creative
remains as we age because of our lower inhibitions, higher motivation, and higher attention
control for the tasks that we engage in.
Creating Songs
An article by Margaret Barrett (2006) discusses how creating songs starts in childhood,
and is a common part of young children’s life experiences and musical engagement. She notes
that these early musical engagements often arise as a result of infant directed speech and the
child’s musical interaction with care-givers. Children’s invented songs are often referred to as
“spontaneous songs” and occur primarily between the ages of 19 months and 7 years.
Spontaneous songs are a pivotal part in the development of children’s creative thoughts (Barrett,
2006). These songs are a keystone in song acquisition later in life (Mang, 2004). Spontaneous
song creation is an ability that every child has- it is not something that is only seen in musically
gifted children. Spontaneous song has various subtypes including plain song, imaginative song,
and pot-pourri songs.
The focus of plain song is more so on melodic content rather than lyrical content.
Children who engage in plain song are likely to be found quietly singing to themselves about
things that they are doing or thoughts that they are having, for example, what they would like for
a snack, or how much they like the socks they have on.

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In imaginative songs the focus is once again on the melody, but this time children are not
less focussed on the lyrics. Imaginative songs often contain nonsense words and parts of other
songs (Barrett, 2006). Even though imaginative songs may contain parts of other known songs,
the created song in general will bear no resemblance to anything known (Mang, 2004).
Pot-pourri songs are combinations of novel songs and pre-existing songs (Barrett, 2006).
The word combinations are often mixed up words and melodies of pre-existing songs (Mang,
2004). It is thought that these songs may arise from babbling and vocal play with peers and caregivers. Young children’s songs start with representations of contour schemes and as the child
ages develop more of a focus on lyrical content in conjunction with melodic content. The child
also works to increase the complexity and organization of their creation. Margaret Boden (2004)
notes a similar concept of creativity where unfamiliar combinations are created from familiar
ideas. She says that this may be done consciously or unconsciously.
Barrett (2006) notes a study in which participants were invited to meet with the
researcher over time (a six week period) to observe spontaneous song creation. Participants were
invited to sing known songs as well as make their own music (a variety of instruments were
available) and songs. The study provides data from participants that can be examined like a case
study. Data from one of the participants showed that the child tended to create songs about
something that they were very interested in. Barrett notes that the participant focussed her songs
on important things in her imagination as a way to allow others to reflect on the things that were
important and relevant to her at the time. Over the sessions Barrett notes that the musical
competence of the child was always growing- each song was a step above the one before it.

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Esther Mang (2005) discusses how the musical creativity of children is often seen
through vocal behaviours. In this experiment Mang follows eight female participants between the
ages of 2 and 4 years. The researchers were interested in analysing children’s vocal compositions
to the resemblance to pre-existing songs, and to see what bearing this had on understanding
children’s early vocal creativity. Results showed that about one third of children’s created songs
were modelled after popular children’s songs. Children were also able to better sing pre-existing
songs in comparison to the songs that they had created on their own. In conclusion when
participants were asked to create a song, the youngest children in the study often performed mismatched out of tune fragments of known songs, while the older children in the study once again
sang known songs, but in comparison to the youngest group, their renditions were for the most
part in tune. It is thought that children may have sung pre-existing songs as they were easier.
When children create their own songs they can encounter a cognitive overload where they have
to focus on creation, and aesthetics, and performance (Mang, 2005).
Apart from the creation of children’s songs, Tamplin (2010) investigates Song Collage
Technique (SCT), a song writing technique that can be used in the rehabilitation sciences. The
article discusses music therapy techniques used with physical rehabilitation patients. Tamplin
notes the song writing process in this context to be “creating, notating and or recording lyrics and
music by the client and therapist within a therapeutic relationship to address social, emotional,
cognitive, and communicative needs of the patient” (p178). SCT involves the combination of
various phrases of pre-existing songs, similar to children’s spontaneous song, into a new
creation. The benefits of this technique can be understood through the patients increased ability
to deal with emotions, thoughts, and realities encountered from their trauma. SCT can be
practiced in an individual or group setting. Tamplin notes that groups that can benefit from SCT

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may include but are not limited to, traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury. She further
expresses the belief that regardless of the type of illness, the song creation process very much
facilitates the coping and healing process.
Measuring Creativity?
Since creativity is not easily defined, it is equally as challenging to measure, and
investigate. It is challenging to measure because the definition of creativity can differ for
everyone. Although difficult, many researchers have attempted to formulate ways to investigate
the phenomena. Inspection of the APA Division 10- Psychology for the Society of Aesthetics,
Creativity and the Arts website contains a plethora of tests surrounding creativity research. Links
from this website provide us with creativity tests. These tests provide measures in which we can
assess data for various components of creativity. This website shows that a very common way to
gauge creativity is through the use of creativity tests which have been designed to measure
various aspects including personality, behaviour and creative product output. Measurement in
this thesis will focus on investigating creativity in music and song. An informative article by
Sam Baltzer (1988) explains and investigates various measures evaluating musical creativity.
Baltzer studied the creativity tests of Wang (1985), Vaughn (1971), Gorder (1976), and Webster
(1977, 1983).
The Measures of Creativity in Sound and Music test by Cecila Wang (1985) is a creative
evaluation of musical movements of preschool and primary school aged children. Wang’s test
played musical excerpts for children and asked them to move about to the music. The participant
responses were scored for musical fluency and imagination. Likert questionnaires were also
distributed to the school teaches of the participants which inquired about the children’s ideas,

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independence, and imagination. This measure did not record video data of the participants. Video
recording of the testing session is one advantage of the AIRS Test Battery. With the video
recording the researchers are provided with the beneficial option of going back to re-examine the
data at a later date after the participant has taken part in the study.
The Musical Creativity Test by Vaughn (1971) provides elementary school aged children
with six open ended music improvisation tasks. The tasks measured were based on musical
fluency (how well all of the musical components fit together), rhythmic security, as well as
musical ideation (the quality and variability within a piece of musical work). The participant
responses were scored by a panel of judges. The inter-rater reliability of this test was found to be
between .67 and .90.
Gorder (1976) created the Measures of Musical Divergent Production test. This test was
administered to high school aged participants and allowed them to answer four improvisation
questions that were scored on musical fluency, flexibility, originality, elaboration and overall
musical quality. The responses of this test were scored by a panel of judges and the inter-rater
reliability was between .30 to 1.0.
Webster (1977, 1983) as noted in Baltzer (1988) created two versions of a creativity test,
the Measure of Creative Thinking in Music- Versions 1 and 2. Version 1 (1977) consisted of a
musical analysis task of improvisation and composition. High school aged participants were
given three weeks to create a song as a take home assignment. The songs were scored by a panel
of judges for musical fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration (like Gorder). The interrater reliability of this test is .80 to .97. Version 2 of the test consists of 10 free
composition/improvisation tasks. The participants for this original study were primary school

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aged children. The participants were tested individually with the researcher. The participants
performed the 10 tasks on a piano and had blocks and bells to assist them in making their
creations. Some examples of the tasks required of the participant were to make the sound of an
ascending escalator and make a robot song. Participant’s score were evaluated by a panel of
judges on musical extensiveness, flexibly and syntax. Webster defines musical extensiveness as
the length of the composition in seconds. Musical flexibility is defined as how freely the
participant can move between musical parameters such as tempo and dynamics (Baltzer, 1985 &
Webster, 1989).
Teresa Amabile (1982) discusses the challenge presented when it comes to measuring
concepts like creativity. To cope with this challenge she created the Consensual Assessment
Technique. The Consensual Assessment Technique can be most simply explained as a set of
criteria or questions about a work of art. These questions are answered by a panel of judges; the
judge’s responses are then evaluated through correlations. If the correlations between the judges
are high, and the judges agree that the product in question is creative, the product is therefore
bestowed the creative title. At this point in time, there is no set of criteria created for musical
products; however there are sets of criteria for poems and pictures. Perhaps these two preexisting sets of criteria could be amalgamated and improved to have the ability to judge musical
products. One hesitation with this approach to measuring creativity is focussing the measurement
on the creative product and not just the judgment put forth by the judges. If this approach was to
be used, one would have to ensure that creativity being evaluated was that of the actual product
itself and not that of the judge’s perceptions. It seems that distinguishing the two would be a
complex process.

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As we can see from these tests, measuring creativity can be somewhat subjective. The
subjectivity that comes from these tests is a result of the individuals that are required to score
them. These tests have shown to be reliable with their relatively high inter-rater reliability scores
for certain measures. These tests also showcase how creative ideas can be evaluated by a group
of people in society.
Although these tests have considerable reliability, they are not measures which can be
easily applied to external data such as that collected from the AIRS Test Battery of Singing
Skills. It may be possible to use these creativity tests as a starting point, and to use some of their
characteristics, to develop new tests or ways of measuring creativity. This is a very interesting
area of study that has much potential to gain further understanding into the phenomena of
creativity. Given that these measures of creativity are not able to be directly applied to this
investigation of melodic improvisation and creativity, creativity will be investigated through
analysis of wave form representations of participant’s responses to the “Improvise an Ending”
component of the AIRS Test Battery as well as through notation of their responses.
Method
Participants
Prior to recruitment and involvement of participants, an ethics proposal was submitted to
the UPEI Ethics Board in the Psychology department, as well as the Research Ethics Board at the
University of Prince Edward Island. When these proposals were granted approval the recruitment
process began. Participants were recruited through the following means: friends and family of
the researchers, community care facilities, UPEI community (poster advertisement, message
boards, student union update), community activity centres, local churches, local radio stations

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(CBC Radio Island Morning), and on the web (social media including Facebook and Twitter, as
well as on the The Buzz: PEI’s Arts and Entertainment website), and after school programs.
Participant information letters and consent forms can be found in Appendix A. If participants
were interested in taking part in the study, they made contact with a member of the research
team, and a mutually convenient time was decided upon for the research to take place. The
researchers and participants were in contact through personal meetings, by telephone, and email.
Researchers strived to obtain a gender balanced sample of participants. Researchers attempted to
limit the age range of the participants to within two years of the desired decade. For example, for
the 30 year old age cohort, participants ideally ranged in age from 28 to 32 years. The mean
participant age was36.7 years of age and there was a standard deviation of 22.66 years. This
large standard deviation was expected as the sample of participants used in this study
encompassed a large portion of the lifespan. Table 1 provides descriptive statistics for
participants in each of the 10 age groups, specifically the number of participants in each age
group, mean age, age range, and standard deviation. The maximum standard deviation was 3.4
years, and all others were less than 2.0 years.
Participant Number of Mean Age
Age
Participants (in years)
Cohort
5
2
4.2
10
2
9.5
15
3
15.0
20
11
21.3
30
3
28.4
40
4
40.1
50
6
50.4
60
3
59.7
70
3
72.1
80
2
86.5
Table 1. Descriptive Participant Statistics.

Range
(in years)

Standard
Deviation

4.1-4.3
8.8-10.1
14.4-15.8
19.3-21.9
27.3-30.1
38.6-41.8
48.3-52.6
58.3-60.5
69.7-76.0
85.7-87.2

0.14
0.91
0.71
0.75
1.5
1.5
3.3
1.2
3.4
1.1

 23
Recruiting a large number of participants that fit within these tight age brackets was
challenging. It was very hard to meet the expectations for each category in the time available, as
the technology of the Test Battery was completed much later than expected. The 5, 10, and 80
year old age groups seeming to be the most difficult to recruit. The easiest group of participants
to recruit was the 20 year old age cohort. It was likely that the 20 year old age cohort was the
easiest to recruit because of their availability on the University’s campus. Had time not been
such a constraining factor, the researchers would have continued to recruit for interest in the
study to achieve the ultimate goal of 200 participants.
Apparatus
The primary apparatus for this research project was the AIRS Test Battery of Singing
Skills. Dr. Bing-Yi Pan, a post-doctoral fellow for the AIRS project, created an automated
version of the AIRS Test Battery. The software for the automated version of the Test Battery
allows the potential for people all over the world to take part in research concerning the Test
Battery. The automated version of the Test Battery can theoretically be used by anyone who has
an internet connection and a functional webcam. The participants testing sessions were also
video and audio recorded with an external microphone and video recorder. More specifically a
Sony EMC Ms908C microphone and a Sony 3 mega pixel network handy cam were employed.
The testing sessions were recorded externally to the automated version of the software to ensure
that researchers would be able to later access participant data. At the time of this thesis some
problems retrieving data from the AIRS test server were incurred (i.e., data that hadn’t been
recorded by the server at all- had to be taken from an external audio-video recording).

 24
Two versions of the automated version of the AIRS Test Battery were used in this
research thesis. There were separate versions created for male and female participants. This was
done to allow participants to have a better opportunity to sing in their natural range. (i.e. not
asking a female to lower her pitch to match the male model). Child participants used the female
version of the software. Participation in the AIRS Test Battery of Singing Skills generally took
between 30 and 40 minutes of each participant’s time. Each participant engaged in the Test
Battery once only.
Testing Environment
Testing of participants took place in various locations. When feasible, the double walled
sound attenuated testing room (8X8 feet) in the CMTC Music Cognition laboratory was used
ensuring high quality (low noise) recordings. When participants were not able to be tested in the
aforementioned sites, researchers commuted to mutually convenient testing locations. These
testing locations included senior care facilities. When testing took place outside of the sound
attenuated rooms, researchers made every effort to test participants in a quiet room, free of
background noise and other distractions.
Procedure
The testing procedure was in large part uniform for all participants. The youngest and
oldest age cohorts of participants who required more help were closely assisted by the researcher
who sat in close proximity to the participant. Researchers assisted participants who were not
comfortable using the computer. When required, the researcher would assist the participant
moving between tasks and typing responses verbalized by the participant.

 25
The testing procedure itself commenced with participants reading and signing the
information and consent forms required for participation in this research project. After the
consent form was signed, and any questions the participant had were answered, the researcher
showed the participant to the testing room. The researcher connected the participant to the Test
Battery website and entered the appropriate invitation code for participation. The participant then
made themselves comfortable and began the AIRS Test Battery of Singing Skills. The researcher
supervised the test and noted the time it took for each participant to complete each task from an
adjoining testing room.
The actual AIRS Test Battery of Singing Skills involved the participant in an 11
component singing interview. This singing interview engaged participants in various vocal and
musical tasks that ranged from recording a brief introduction about how singing plays a part in
their lives to creating a song from a picture prompt, to repeating various melodies presented by
the recordings of the Test Battery. Each component took the participant between 1 and 5 minutes
to complete. The component of interest to this research project was component 8 “Improvise an
Ending”. This component was found during the last half of the AIRS Test Battery of Singing
Skills. During this task participants were played the beginning of a melody. This melody didn’t
have an ending. When the model melody had been presented 2 times, the participant was then
asked to repeat the model melody and continue on to improvise an ending for it.
When the participant had completed the AIRS Test Battery of Singing Skills, and had
clicked the final button to submit their results to the server, they were asked if they had any
further questions and were sincerely thanked for their willingness to participate. A formal
debriefing procedure is a component of the automated AIRS Test Battery of Singing Skills. A
detailed description of the AIRS Test Battery of Singing Skills can be found in Appendix B.

 26
Data transfer to computer:
Data collected from participants was stored both on the AIRS test server as well as on an
external computer. The data stored on the external computer was recorded and stored using the
software Quicktime player. Data for this analysis was taken from the AIRS test server. The
ability to selectively choose specific segments of data to analyse is one benefit of the automated
AIRS Test Battery. Data was downloaded from the AIRS test website and saved as a .flv movie
file. After the improvisation component clips had been downloaded, they were copied and
converted to .wav audio files using the computer program Audacity. Preliminary analysis was
conducted using the pitch analysis program MMA: Musical Micro Analysis tools (Elmer, 2006).
Results
The melodic improvisations were analysed in three ways, firstly through visual
representations of participant’s responses. This was done through a visual analysis of sound
waveform representations. Secondly, a quantitative analysis took place. This analysis included
various correlations among elements of the improvisation component of the Test Battery.
Thirdly, a more qualitative analysis took place where each melody was notated and described in
some detail.
Musical Micro Analysis Tool: sound wave form representations
The first step taken in analysing the data was to convert the video files into .wav files.
This was done by downloading each participant’s response from the AIRS test server and then
importing it into the computer program Audacity. Responses were exported from Audacity and
saved as .wav files. This step was taken so that participant’s responses would be in a suitable
format to later be analysed by the Musical Micro Analysis (MMA) Tool pitch analysis program
(Elmer 2006). With the help of this program, participant’s improvisations were visibly

 27
represented as an up and down pitch contour. This method of analysis was used as a starting
point for later analysis. It was helpful to get a visual representation of participant responses; a
general overview of the data that participant’s had produced. This visual representation acted as
an advertisement of elements that may have been of interest.
Screen shots of participant’s responses were created using the pitch analyser from the
MMA. Different parameters were set for males, females, and children. Females and children
used the same parameter settings as the pitches of their voices are higher. The frequency
parameters for females and children were between 130-520 Hz with an amplitude of 700 units,
while those for males were between 65 and 263 Hz with an amplitude of 700 units. The
differentiation of parameters was necessary to ensure accurate depictions of the sound waves. It
was a trial and error process finding the male parameters as the MMA program was not
originally created to analyse the adult male voice.
The MMA program does not provide a print function, therefore, once the pitch
representations of participant’s improvised responses were created a way of saving the images
was required. This was done by taking a screen shot of the computer and saving it to a program
where it could later be cropped to include only the relevant sound wave. After the screen shots
were completed, they were looked at to examine the contour changes that the participant
produced throughout their time repeating the antecedent melody, and improvising their own
ending. The screen shots were also used to visually examine if participants stopped singing on
the same note that they started with. The .wav files for each participant were also notated by ear
to examine if the participants attempted to repeat the antecedent melody, if they completed this
task correctly, if they attempted to create an improvisation, and the number of notes that
participants sang in their improvisation.

 28

Figure 1 MMA representation of component 8- improvise an ending.

An example of the wave form representations can be found in Figure 1. This figure
reveals many things. The X axis represents time in seconds. The Y axis represents pitch (from
high to low). Pitch is described on a 12 note chromatic well-tempered scale (the names of the
notes rather than the frequencies (Hz) they are composed of). The first two bars (approximately
the first 20 seconds shown in the figure) are the model melody which the participant listens to.
The model melody is played twice, as we can see. From this we are able to see the contour that
the participant is aiming to reproduce. We are also able to visually see which pitches the model is
singing (specifically notes C4, D4, E4, D4, C4, D4, E4; with an up, down, up contour). Starting in
the third quarter of this figure, we are able to see where the participant vocalizes a response. In
this specific example we are able to see that the participant repeats the model melody and quite
accurately reproduces it, both according to pitch and contour. We are also able to see that she
goes on to produce an improvisation that has considerable variation in contour and range.

 29
Quantitative Analysis
A quantitative analysis of the collected data was done using the statistics program PASW
Statistics 18. A two-tailed inter-correlational matrix of Pearson correlations was created
including the data from 30 participants. Pearson correlations were used to test the strength of the
relationships between two variables, and therefore one must be careful not to assume causality. A
two-tailed test, a non-directional hypothesis, was used as the researcher was interested in both
negative and positive correlations that may have been present. Participants who did not
improvise an ending (N=7) were omitted from this analysis. These participants were omitted as
this thesis is primarily concerned with the improvisation created for the ending of the model
melody. They were also omitted to increase the quality of the analysis, for example, one can
expect a smaller vocal range if no improvisation is made, and such a measure of 0 would
misrepresent the average range of the improvisations. The notated responses of the omitted
participants (those who sang only the model and did not continue the melody), as well as those of
the participants who created an ending, can be found in the following section (Case studies of
Participants responses to “Improvise an Ending”). The participants from the 5 year old age
cohort (N=2) were also omitted as the researcher was uncertain if their responses included the
repetition of the model melody and an improvised ending, just the repetition of the model, or
solely the improvised ending.
Variables included in the inter-correlational matrix included age, number of notes in the
improvisation, does the participant end on the tonic note, number of contour changes (including
those in the model melody), correct repetition of the model, and vocal range. These variables
were chosen because of the fact that they were objective, and observable.

 30
The participants included in this analysis can be described as having a mean age of 35.22
years, with a standard deviation of 20.95 years. Once again, this large standard deviation is not
surprising as the participant sample included such a large age range (8.8-87.2 years). The mean
number of notes produced was 7.1 (SD= 4.7). Participant’s averaged 5.8 contour changes
(including repeating the model) with a mean vocal range of 7 semitones. Sixty six percent of
participants were able to correctly repeat the model melody and continue on to create an
improvised ending. Seventy six percent of participants ended their melodies on the tonic note.
Noteworthy Pearson correlations were observed for the following relationships between the
following variables:
The number of contour changes in participant’s responses (whole melody and
improvisation) was positively correlated (r = .832, p. <0.001) with the number of notes in the
improvised melody. This means that the number of contour changes that the participant produced
increased with the number of notes that were sung. At first glance this may seem redundant, but
many of the created melodies contained small ranges of pitches, very close to that of the model.
However, singing more notes obviously allows greater potential for deviation from the model
notes, and therefore the participant has more opportunity or option for contour change.
Being able to correctly repeat the model melody was positively correlated with the
number of notes in the model (r = .384, p< .03). This finding would seem to support the ideas of
musical knowledge, as well as musical confidence. Being able to correctly repeat the model
shows a competency and understanding that a participant has regarding the musical structure and
rules governing the model melody. With this finding, one could potentially assume that musical
knowledge perhaps gives one a greater confidence in their abilities for composition and

 31
improvisation. A foundational knowledge allows one to push those boundaries to create
something new.
Participants being able to correctly repeat the model also shows a positive correlation
with ending the improvisation on the tonic note (r = .613, p < 0.001). Once again, this finding
may indicate that participants with a higher degree or better comprehension of musical structure
and grammar possess greater ability to integrate their knowledge into their compositions. The
idea of ending a melody on the tonic note is consistent with the Western style of music, and
therefore this finding may also suggest that participants are familiar with this style. Being
familiar with this popular style of music and its properties, means that it is something with which
participants find familiar. It would be common for participants to hear much music of this style
and for them to find it aesthetically pleasing.
The ability to correctly repeat the model melody also had a positive correlation with the
number of contour changes found in participants entire melody (r = .392, p < .032). Once again
this finding suggests that participants who have a higher degree of knowledge for the model
melody are more comfortable when it comes to creating a more complex improvisation.
Because this is essentially an age cross sectional study, a Pearson correlation related to
age was conducted using data from all 39 participants. Together their mean age was 36.7 years
(SD = 22.66 years). The two variables compared in the correlation were those of age and actually
making an improvised ending for the melody. A negative correlation (r = -0.327, p < .02) was
found for these variables. This finding indicates that as participants become older they are less
likely to engage in the improvisation component of this task. This leads one to wonder if their
ability to perform this task declines with age, or if it is just something that we become less

 32
familiar and comfortable with doing; that is, older participants simply might just be more shy.
Spontaneous music making is something that we see most frequently in young children, lending
support to the idea that it is common practice for children to engage in similar tasks on a regular
basis. Conversely, we see from Gardner (1993) for example, that creativity may increase with
age and experience.
From these correlations we see that performance for improvising an ending to a melody
seems to be related to the participant’s ability to correctly repeat the model melody. This notion
of being able to repeat a model melody may very well connect to the notion of creativity through
the idea of experience and knowledge as precursors to the ability to create. However, the
eagerness to engage in melodic improvisation may be attributed to age, more so than gained life
experience and knowledge.
Musical Notations for participant’s responses to component 8- “Improvise an Ending”
Participant’s responses to this component of the Test Battery were notated by ear with the
help of several researchers working with the researcher and author of this paper. The researchers
involved in producing these notations were research supervisor, Dr. Annabel J. Cohen, as well as
two high school musicians (a percussionist and a pianist). The researchers listened several times
to the improvisations which were recorded as .wav files. Researchers then notated the melodies
with the help of a piano. Researchers only made one notation, but did so together and discussed
their notation choices as they went along to ensure agreement.
When notating melodies, researchers noted that participants did not always perform on the
pitches of the chromatic scale (which is limited to 12 notes). When participants vocalized a note
that did not fall on an exact pitch, they were given the benefit of the doubt toward the model

 33
melody. For example, if a participant sang a note between a C and a C#, it was notated as a C.
Therefore the notations of the melodies may be referred to as extractions of what that participant
actually vocalized. The final notations were then notated on the computer using the software
program “Crescendo Music Notation Software”. This program is available on the internet for
free. All notations were saved and integrated in to this results section. Another way of notating
the responses to potentially achieve a higher degree of accuracy of notation would be to use a
pitch analysis software program such as PRAAT. Using the PRAAT program would allow the
researcher to extract the exact frequencies of the vocalized pitches. Had time not been such a
constraining factor, the researcher may have taken advantage of this approach.
Notating participant’s responses to the “Improvise an Ending” component of the Test Battery
has further uncovered the richness that this data has to offer. It also has the ability to show
creativity. The responses generated were all done so for a reason; to solve a problem. These
responses were crafted to solve the issue of making an ending for this melody. It is remarkable
how diverse the responses for this component were. The variety in responses allows us to see
how each individual tackles this problem, and how each of them (most of them) have brought a
creative idea to life. It is interesting to wonder whether or not participants felt motivated or
constricted in creating a response based on the stipulation that they repeat the model melody
first. May (1975) notes that from our experience with limits (i.e. having to repeat the model
melody, and maybe even make the improvisation match the model), we are able to achieve
greater things. Having to work with limits pushes us to find creative ways to move forward and
accomplish the task at hand. On the contrary, we may question if participants who did not
generate an improvised response felt inhibited, or limited, by the constraints imposed by the

 34
model melody. Perhaps they felt that to be truly creative, they would have had to create both the
beginning and the ending of the melody themselves.
It is astounding how many different melodies were created from the same root. The
antecedent or model melody can be described in various ways:


Structure- the melody is composed of 8 notes, and 3 pitches (doh, re, and mi). It spans
two bars of 4/4 time. The melody can be explained as follows:

Quarter
note
Doh



Eight
note
Re

Eighth
note
Re

Quarter
note
Mi

Quarter
note
Re

Quarter
note
Doh

Quarter
note
Re

Half
note
Mi

Tonality- the melody has a tonic note. A tonic note is a reference note for a scale; you
could say it is like a component of musical grammar. The tonic note for the scale of this
melody (C major) is doh, and it occurs in the melody twice. Boltz (1989) found that
people tend to judge melodies are more complete when they end on a tonic note.
Melodies ending on a tonic note are very common in Western-European music.



Contour- this melody has a simple contour (up, down, up pattern) to follow. It can be
described as ascending (+1), stable (0), ascending (+1), descending (-1), descending (-1),
ascending (+1), ascending (+1). Or more simply, as a melody that ascends, descends, and
ascends once again. If we were to look at the melody this way, it is comprised of 3
contour changes.

 35


Motifs- various musical motifs can be found in this melody, for example there is
repetition (one pair of repeating eighth notes), as well as different rhythms including
quarter notes, and eighth notes.

It is interesting to note how these various elements, or rules, can be used by participants to
solve the question of how to improvise a melody. It was striking to see how many of the
participants used one or a combination of these rules when creating their improvised endings. A
participant being able to incorporate any number of these factors shows an understanding, to
some degree, of musical structure. Because of the unique range of responses given by
participants, their responses have been notated and described in some detail, somewhat like a
small case study. The notes in these case studies are somewhat speculative. Each participant
response was notated by ear by more than one researcher. It was found by Ruth Reveal (2010)
that notation done by ear was a reliable method of capturing these responses.
Participant’s Notated Improvisations:
These notations help to show how rich and diverse the data collected from participants really
was. What maybe most interesting about this data set is how every melody is different. Each
melody is unique and to some degree a novelty. It is interesting how those improvisations who
follow musical structure and those who don’t are equally interesting and enjoyable. These
notations provide a sample of visual representation of how our creativity or improvisation
attempts change as we age.
Musical notations are found in table form below. The table they are found in includes the
following factors: a 6 digit participant number. The first two letters indicate either male (MA) or
female (FE), the third and fourth numbers indicate the age cohort, and the fifth and sixth

 36
numbers indicate the number of the participant in the age group. For example MA0501, would
mean a male participant in the five year old age cohort, and he would be the first participant in
that group. The table also includes participant age (in years), the ability to correctly repeat the
model melody (MM), the number of notes found in the improvisation (NN), the vocal range
(VR) in semitones, if the participant ended their improvisation on the tonic note (ET), as well as
the number of contour changes found in both their repetition of the model melody and their
improvisation (CC). The musical notations (MN) are also shown.

Participant

Age

MM

NN

VR

ET

CC

MA0501

4.1

?

13

7

No

3

MA0502

4.3

?

9

8

Yes

4

FE1001

8.8

Yes

8

4

Yes

8

FE1002

10.1

Yes

8

7

Yes

4

FE1501

15.8

Yes

8

4

Yes

8

MN

 37
FE1502

14.9

No

8

8

No

6

F31503

14.4

Yes

6

4

Yes

6

MA2001

21.8

No

2

12

No

2

MA2002

21.8

No

5

8

No

4

MA2003

21.9

Yes

6

7

Yes

4

MA2004

21.4

Yes

5

6

Yes

6

MA2005

20.8

No

2

7

Yes

4

 38
MA2006

21.6

No

8

7

Yes

6

MA2007

21.2

Yes

0

4

No

3

FE2008

21.6

Yes

22

11

No

11

FE2009

21.4

Yes

12

12

Yes

7

FE2010

21.8

Yes

8

5

Yes

6

FE2011

19.3

Yes

6

4

Yes

6

MA3001

30.1

No

7

7

Yes

6

 39
MA3002

27.3

No

3

9

No

5

FE3003

28.0

Yes

2

4

Yes

4

MA4001

38.6

Yes

18

9

Yes

11

MA4002

41.4

No

0

4

Yes

2

MA4003

41.8

No

2

5

No

4

FE4004

41.4

No

0

4

No

3

MA5001

55.5

Yes

8

9

Yes

4

 40
MA5002

48.3

Yes

0

4

No

3

FE5003

48.8

Yes

2

4

Yes

4

FE5004

51.4

Yes

10

5

Yes

7

FE5005

51.0

Yes

5

7

Yes

6

FE5006

52.6

Yes

0

4

No

3

FE6001

58.3

Yes

5

7

Yes

4

FE6002

60.5

No

3

9

No

4

FE6003

60.4

Yes

14

4

Yes

12

MA7001

69.7

No

7

8

Yes

5

 41
FE7002

69.7

Yes

11

7

Yes

8

FE7003

76.0

Yes

0

4

No

3

FE8001

87.2

Yes

7

4

Yes

4

FE8002

85.7

Yes

0

4

No

3

Discussion
The purpose of this thesis was to execute an age cross sectional study which would allow
researchers to learn more about what makes a creative melody. This was done through analysing
participant’s improvised responses to creating an ending for a pre-existing melody. An
abundance of rich data was collected through the use of the Test Battery, much of which will add
to the growing body of knowledge that AIRS is contributing toward the phenomena of singing.
This contribution of knowledge was another reason for conducting this research thesis. The
production of this research thesis has produced data that has not been seen before. This data, and
the ways in which it has been analysed has reiterated many points from previous research
discussed in the introduction of this paper.

 42
General Description of Data
The research findings uncovered in this thesis both support and contradict the theoretical
information outlined in the introduction of this paper. To relate the results of this data with the
research question, we see that the findings suggest that age plays a role in the ability, or
willingness, to improvise an ending to a melody.
Melodic notations of data collected for this study indicated that there is a tremendous
variety of answers and responses to solving the problem of improvising an ending. No two
participant responses to this task were identical, showcasing the limitless possibilities of music
and song. Various participants noted how they enjoyed taking part in the “improvise an ending”
component, and how they were pleased with their performance. It inspired them to sing all day,
one participant later expressed. The pleasure derived from taking part in this research, as well as
pride in their responses relates back to Csikzentmihalyi & Nakamura’s (2006) concept of little c
creativity. Participant’s found their work to have meaning and value, and really liked it. Even
participants who repeated the Brother John song were proud of what they had fused together.
As noted in the introduction of this paper, spontaneous song and melody composition is
common place in the lives of children. They encounter similar experiences to the “improvise an
ending component” on a daily basis. It was interesting to see how the ideas of Csikzentmihalyi
& Nakamura (2006) crossed paths with Barrett’s (2006) article on types of children’s
spontaneous songs. It is fulfilling to see previous research collide in the present research thesis.
Through these collisions and fusions, our present knowledge is moved forward. For example,
with the two aforementioned examples of Csikzentmihalyi & Nakamura, and Barrett, we can see
that our potential for spontaneous song does not cease completely with age. I think this finding

 43
can be used to move present research forward, potentially in examining how these forms of
spontaneous child song exist through the lifespan.
Other improvisation data results however, show that our ability to create endings related
to our ability to understand the characteristics of the model melody that we are presented with.
This suggests that being able to partake in this task may also require some degree of musical
knowledge and competency for the model melody. This idea can be linked to the notion that to
be creative we must gain an understanding in the domain that we are creating in. This idea of
knowledge coincides with Gardner’s (1993) life-course perspective ideas and how to measure the
creative process and produce creative output; we must have a sufficient knowledge of the field
that we are working in.
Even though musical knowledge and comprehension of the model melody produced
many valuable results, it was sometimes the melodies that did not encompass these rules, or
guidelines, that attracted the most interest. This novelty or peculiarity of the improvised response
may be considered as having qualities related to Big C creativity (Csikzentmihalyi & Nakamura,
2006). The characteristics of these improvisations are ones that have not been seen every day.
Perhaps the characteristics of these melodic improvisations will catch on and we will have a new
style of music!
Quantitative correlational analysis of the data showed that there are relationships between
correct repetition of the model melody and increased numbers of notes, contour changes,
melodies that end on the tonic note. Increased number of notes in participant’s improvisations
also suggested that participants would have more contour changes in their melodies. Finally, a
negative correlation was found regarding age and ability to generate an improvised ending to the

 44
model melody. Once again, the ideas of knowledge and experience as precursors to creativity
(Gardner, 1993) are brought to the forefront as we integrate the current research findings with
previous research.
Research by Csikzentmihalyi & Nakamura (2006) and Simonton (2004) suggested that
the optimal age for creative output was approximately 30 years of age. The findings of this
research project do not seem to support this idea. The improvised melodies that seemed to
generate the most interest and excitement were found more so in the younger age groups. That
being said, this research project had a very small sample population and looked specifically at
musical creativity, and not necessarily creativity in general.
Working together, these findings may be incorporated to say that we have the ability to
be creative across the lifespan. In our younger years we are more eager, or less inhibited to take a
chance and sing a song. We are more comfortable with being whimsical and coming up with
something new. As we age, we may become more timid of tasks that we used to perform with
ease in our younger days, but our increased cognitive capacities coupled with life experience and
the knowledge gained from this experience provide a foundational knowledge pool. From this
pool of knowledge we are able to piece together existing ideas, and even create new things from
this knowledge. This showcases how we are able to work within boundaries, and eventually
move outside them to new areas where we may be able to come up with creative solutions and
notions that can be appreciated not only by ourselves, but by a greater portion of society.
This research has potentially provided a starting point to look specifically at creativity
through the concept of melodic completion through improvisation. The quantitative analysis of
components found in the improvisation as well as the qualitative analysis of interesting points

 45
about each improvisation provide a research method not seen in past creativity assessments. It
has created a method of assessment of song, where there was not one before. This research
project has pulled together ideas from pre-existing measures in the hope of better understanding
creativity and how it exists in song. This research and its future aspirations are a starting point
for another researcher to pick up and move even farther forward with understanding creativity
and song.
Participants Testing Experience
Based on my own experience of chatting with participants about their involvement in the
AIRS Test Battery of Singing Skills, they generally seemed to find it an enjoyable experience.
They seemed comfortable and not very anxious while they were in the testing room. Perhaps
participants felt comfortable and less anxious because of the use of the automated version of the
Test Battery- they were able to sing alone and didn’t have to worry about “performing” for the
researcher. For the most part, participants were comfortable with using the computer to
participate in the AIRS Test Battery. Those who were not as comfortable seemed to be
comfortable having the researcher sit in on the interview with them to assist them with the
various computer tasks required to participate.
The automated version of the AIRS Test Battery seemed to be too long to hold the
attention of the youngest participants. The eldest participants also indicated that the test took a
long time to participate in. As a suggestion for future researchers, it may be beneficial to these
age groups to create a more concise, and simplified version of the AIRS Test Battery.

 46
Areas for improvement
The AIRS Test Battery of Singing Skills across the lifespan incurred various challenges
and setbacks throughout this honours research thesis. It was difficult to find such a large number
of participants within the limited age bands desired. Researchers were always weighing the
question of whether to increase the age bands and increase the number of participants or have
more acute age cohorts with a smaller number of participants. It was also a challenge to recruit
non-musical, or non-singer participants. Many participants that took part in this research were
comfortable with singing for an audience. Most of these people were comfortable with
performing for an audience because they had done so before; many participants had made music
and song an active part of their lives. It has been noted by participants, and members of the
research team that participants are more comfortable with the automated version of the AIRS
Test Battery of Singing Skills because they feel less nervous as they are not performing for a
direct audience (i.e., the research interviewer) as had been protocol in previous versions of the
AIRS Test Battery of Singing Skills.
Time constraints were a large factor in the execution of this project. Delays and
unforeseen circumstances with the creation of the software meant that there was a limited
amount of time in which participants could be tested to ensure adequate time for the researcher to
observe and analyse the collected data. At first glance, it would seem that the cost circumstances
that arose with the creation of this novel AIRS test software will not outweigh the tremendous
benefits gained. This software has amazing potential to engage researchers and participants
across the world. Its possibilities are great, and provide a foundation for larger scale research
projects surrounding AIRS. If time constraints were not such a factor for this thesis, a larger
number of participants would have been beneficial. With a larger sample population, the data

 47
analysis conducted would have had greater strength. It is hard to generalize findings about
creativity across the lifespan if there are only 2 people in your sample group. Gathering a larger
sample of participants may also be facilitated by doing a stronger job advertising that the AIRS
Test Battery of Singing Skills is not just designed for singers, but for everyone. Some potential
participants declined participation in the study because they felt that their singing abilities were
not good enough.
Another area for improvement would be to make the AIRS test software, and the AIRS
Test Battery more accessible to participants, or making it easier for researchers to travel to
participants and test off-site. It was a labour filled process to conduct testing off-site with ease.
There was much equipment to transport, and uncertainties if the testing would go according to
plan, and that the software would be functional. Given that the AIRS test software is accessible
from any computer with a functional webcam, microphone, and internet connection, there would
be some advantage in participant’s being able to take part in the study from the comfort of their
own computers. This could further decrease performance anxiety, and also allow for more people
to participate. It was challenging at times to find a mutually convenient time for participants to
be part of the AIRS Test Battery of Singing Skills.
Within the actual Test Battery itself, it would be beneficial to add an additional question
of musical or vocal training. A question was asked about the role that music plays in their lives,
and some participants noted how they engage with music, but failed to describe any training that
may have lead them to that point. This measure of musical training was never directly observed,
and it would have provided further insight into participant’s familiarity and comfort with musical
tasks and engagement. As previously mentioned, it may also be beneficial to create a more
concise version of the Test Battery to cater to the populations on each end of the lifespan. More

 48
research may need to be done here to better understand what components should be included,
and how components may be re-worked to be of the most benefit to participants.
Future Directions for Research
The AIRS Test Battery of Singing Skills: Singing Across the Lifespan offers tremendous
potential for further research. Throughout the course of this research endeavour many new ways
to look at the data, and has provided potential inspiration for many future research studies. It is
my aspiration that a future honours student will be intrigued by the creative opportunities that the
Test Battery presents, and will therefore choose to focus on another one of the previously
mentioned components (i.e. create a song from a picture prompt, create a story from a picture
prompt, or once again melodic improvisation). These elements provide such potential for further
investigation. If another student were to take advantage of one of these opportunities, they would
not only be furthering the plethora of AIRS knowledge, but would also be further investigating
creativity. These combined factors showcase the importance of interdisciplinary research. I think
that the results that would arise from these potential projects would be very worthwhile and very
interesting. It was also be very interesting to do creative case studies on each participant and see
how their responses to each component were related, if related at all. This idea comes from the
similarities found with Alyssa M. between her rendition of her favourite song, and her
improvised melody. It would seem that there are some very interesting discoveries to be made
there.
It would also be interesting to create a way of measuring the creativity of responses to
Test Battery tasks. This could perhaps be modelled after Amabile’s (1983) Consensual
Assessment technique, where a panel of judges could evaluate the creativity observed in

 49
responses based on a predetermined set of characteristics that are designed to better understand
creativity. Perhaps this test would allow us to work backwards and further define the term
“Creative” and what people actually feel its meaning encompasses. To investigate creativity on a
more personal level, as in p-creativity, or small c creativity, participants could be contacted for a
second interview with the researcher to assess their own creativity. For example, ask the
participant a selection of questions pertaining to creativity where the answers would come from
the participant’s observation of their own data. Perhaps from asking the participant what they
thought was creative about their responses we would once again be able to extract factors that
lead us to better understand creativity and its properties.
Where ever future research may take this investigation of creativity and singing, I believe
it will produce valuable results that will add not only to further understanding about how we
engage in music and singing across the lifespan, but also how we think about and understand
creativity. Perhaps someday this research will have helped define a concept of which I believe
we are all capable of. We have the capacity to be creative, and being creative through furthering
this research is an excellent opportunity to flourish on a small c creativity, and produce impact
on a big C level.
Conclusion
This undergraduate research thesis has accomplished many things including conducting
an age cross sectional with participants between the ages of 4 and 87 years of age. It is an
accomplishment that has not been seen frequently, if at all, in the field of music cognition. It has
allowed researchers access to rich and valuable data to better understand the nature of our
engagement with song in our lives. This data has the opportunity to be used by future researchers
to engage their own curiosity in a quest to uncover new knowledge and push the boundaries of

 50
current knowledge. This curiosity in itself may be one of the fundamental characteristics of being
creative. The findings from this research project indicate that creativity; however it may be
defined and understood, is present across the lifespan. How our creativity is fostered, accessed,
or maintained across the lifespan may change, but as long as we have the desire or the
willingness to try and create, we will be successful. Willingness is also an important idea to
mention for this thesis. This thesis brought the joy of singing to many. Many participants were
not regular singers, and this project encouraged them that they all have the ability to sing.
Through this, we have made singing more accessible to the general population. Once again, and
perhaps most importantly, this research thesis has showcased the fact that creativity, at least
musical creativity, is present across the lifespan.

 51
References
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Atchley, R. (1989). A Continuity Theory of Normal Aging. The Gerontologist, 29(2), 183-189.
Baltzer, S. (1988). A validation study of a measure of musical creativity. Journal of Research in
Music Education, 36(4), 232-249.
Barrett, M. (2006). Inventing songs, inventing worlds: the ‘genesis’ of creative thought and
activity in young children’s lives. International Journal of Early Years Education, 14(3),
201-220.
Boden, M.A. (2004). Creativity in a Nutshell. In M.A. Boden (Ed.), The Creative Mind: Myths
and Mechanisms. London: Routledge.
Boden, M.A. (1994). What is Creativity? In M.A. Boden (Ed.), Dimensions of Creativity.
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Boltz, M. (1989). Perceiving the end: effects of tonal relationships on melodic completion.
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Coady, J. (2009). A Developmental Longitudinal Study of Singing Using a New Test Battery.
(Unpublished Undergraduate honours thesis). University of Prince Edward Island.
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.
Cohen, A.J. (2012). Creativity in Singing: Universality. In D. Hargreaves, D. Miell, & R.
MacDonald (Eds.), Musical Imaginations: Multidisciplinary perspectives on creativity,
performance, and perception. New York: Oxford.

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Cohen, A., Armstrong, V., Lannan, M., & Coady, J. (2009). A protocol for cross-cultural
research on the acquisition of singing. Annals Of The New York Academy Of Sciences,
1169, 112-115.
Cosenza, G. (2006). Play me a picture: paint me a song: Integrating music learning with visual
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Csikzentmihalyi, M., & Nakamura, J. (2006). Creativity through the lifespan from an
evolutionary systems perspective. In C. Hoare (Ed.), Handbook of Adult Development
and Learning (Ch. 11). Oxford University Press.
Dacey, J., & Lennon, K. (1998). Understanding creativity. San Francisco: Josey-Bass Publishers.
Elmer, F.J. (2006). Musical Micro Analysis Tools: pitch analyser. [Software]. Available from
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Gallant, E. (2009). Singing in elderly persons: Those who are Healthy and Those with
Alzheimer’s Disease. (Unpublished Undergraduate thesis). University of Prince Edward
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Gardner, H. (1993). Creating minds: An anatomy of creativity through the lives of Freud,
Einstein, Picasso, Stravisnky, Eliot, Graham, & Ghandi. New York: Basic Books.
Gardner, H. (1982). Art, mind, and brain: A Cognitive Approach to Creativity. New York: Basic
Books.
Goleman, D., Kauffman, P., & Ray, M. (1992). The Creative Spirit. New York: Penguin.

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Gorder, E. (2007). Advance Measures of Music Audiation. Retrieved from
http://www.jeffwball.com/artifacts/psych/AMMA%20test%2007.pdf
Griffiths, F. (2010). Supporting Children’s Creativity through Music, Dance, and Art. New
York: Routledge.
Hopsers, J. (1985). Artistic creativity. The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 43(3), 243255.
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Study of Children and Young Adults. (Unpublished Undergraduate thesis). University of
Prince Edward Island. Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.
Mang, E. (2004). The referent of children’s early songs. Music Education Research, 7(1), 3-20.
May, R. (1975). The Courage to Create. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.
McIver, L. (2011). Effects of Cultural Background Performance on the AIRS Short Battery of
Tests on Singing. (Unpublished Undergraduate honours thesis). University of Prince
Edward Island. Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.
Patterson, K. (2010). Children making their own music. In F. Griffiths (Ed.), Supporting
Children’s Creativity through Music, Dance, and Art. New York: Routledge.

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Reveal, R. (2010). Improvised Melodic Completion in Chinese and Canadian Students.
(Unpublished manuscript). University of Prince Edward Island. Charlottetown, Prince
Edward Island.
Runco, M.A. (2007). Creativity Theories and Themes: Research, Development, and Practice.
Amsterdam: Elsevier Academic Press.
Simon, H.A. (2001) Creativity in the arts and sciences. The Keynon Review, 23(2, Cultures of
Creativity: The Centennial Celebration of Nobel Prizes), 203-220.
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49(Suppl 14).
Stevenson, L. (2011). Effects of Cultural Background and Music Training on Performance on the
AIRS short Battery of Tests on Singing and Language. (Unpublished Undergraduate
thesis). University of Prince Edward Island. Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.
Tamplin, J. (2006). Song Collage Technique: A New Approach to Songwriting. Nordic Journal
of Music Therapy, 15(2), 177-190.
Vaughn, M.M. (1971). Music as model and metaphor in the cultivation and measurement of
creative behaviour in children. (Doctoral Dissertation, University of Georgia, Athens).
Dissertation Abstracts International. 32(10), 5833A.
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Webster, P.R. (1989). Creative thinking in Music: The Assessment question. Presented at
Suncoast Music Education Forum.

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Appendix A:
Poster Advertisement, Information Letters, and Consent Forms

 56

Singing Across the Lifespan!
How does singing develop and change across time?
Our names are Erica Ross and Michael LeBlanc and we are honours students in the Psychology program at
UPEI. We are doing a research study in conjunction with Dr. Annabel J. Cohen and AIRS (Advancing
Interdisciplinary Research in Singing). We are interested in learning how singing abilities develop and
change across the lifespan.

Singing promotes many aspects of well-being… all of which are positive aspects of living!

We are looking for male and female participants between the ages of 5 and
85!
Our study consists of a short singing interview that would take approximately 30 minutes of your time. The
study will take place at the CMTC laboratory in the Robertson Library at UPEI (or a mutually suitable
location).
Participants of this study will be rewarded with the satisfaction of helping us advance knowledge about the
important area of human development. Participants will also be entered into a prize draw!
If you would like further information about this project, or have questions or concerns, fell free to contact
Dr. Annabel Cohen (Honours Supervisor & AIRS Project Director) at 628-4325, or acohen@upei.ca
This research project has bee approved by the Psychology Ethics Committee, as well as by the UPEI
Research Ethics Board. You may contact Lynn MacDonald at the UPEI Research Board at (902) 620-5104,
lynmacdonald@upei.ca, if you have any concerns with the ethical conduct of this study.
Thank you for your interest in our research!
Sincerely, Erica Ross, Michael Leblanc, & Dr. Annabel Cohen.
If you are interested in participating in this important study, please contact us by phone or email
Email: emross@upei.ca, mleblanc@upei.ca, acohen@upei.ca
Telephone: (902)566-6023

 57

Permission Letter to Daycare
Dear (insert name of teacher here)
Hi, our names are Erica Ross and Michael Leblanc and we are currently students at the
University of Prince Edward Island. We are participating in the psychology honours program,
and part of the requirement for this program is to design and implement a research project under
the supervision of a professor at UPEI. Our honours supervisor is Dr. Annabel Cohen (902-6284325), and she will be assisting us throughout this process. We are writing to you to request
permission to invite children from your centre to participate in our study, and to collect data from
them.
This research project is part of a larger research project called AIRS (Advancing
Interdisciplinary Research in Singing). The AIRS project is funded by the Social Sciences and
Humanities Research Council of Canada. AIRS is a seven year project that researches various
aspects of singing including development, teaching and learning, and well-being. Our project
will use a collection of singing games or questions to reveal basic singing skills, to further
investigate what role age plays in our development of singing skills and singing abilities. The
Test Battery is comprised of the following 11 components:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.

Opening conversation and repeat a sentence
Vocal range testing
Minor third warm up
Favourite song
Familiar song
Musical elements
Improvise an ending
Creation of a song from a picture prompt
Unfamiliar song
Familiar song
Parting conversation and make up a story

This study is important, because little research has been conducted on singing. Our study will be
one of only a few studies that address the question of the role of age in singing abilities. Children
will be asked to partake in these short singing exercises, which will be video and audio recorded.
We are also using video recording because it can provide information about basic measures of
interest in singing, for example.
Participation in this project will take approximately 30 minutes of each child’s time and will
consist of participating in each of the 11 musical tasks. Each task will last between one and five

 58
minutes. This study will be conducted at AIRS/CMTC laboratory in Robertson Library at the
University of Prince Edward Island, or at a mutually suitable location.
Participation is entirely voluntary and will pose no harm to children. Children may stop
participation in the research project at any time, without penalty or prejudice. All that is
necessary for discontinuing participation in the study is to inform the researcher that they no
longer wish to continue their participation.
The “singing interviews” will be audio and video recorded for later data analysis. All audio and
video information collected from this study will remain in a secure, restricted to permissionaccess database. Only members of the research team will have access to that data recordings
resulting from this project. Data recordings collected from this project will be securely kept in
the AIRS database for a period of five years after completion of the project, at which time the
raw data will be destroyed in accordance with the ethical guidelines. To ensure participant
confidentiality the participant’s full name will not be referred to during the testing session.
If you approve of the daycare taking part in our study, permission/information letters can be
given to the children to take home and go over with their parents. To volunteer for the study the
child’s parents/legal guardian can reach us by telephone or email, and a mutually convenient
time to participate will be set up.
If you have any questions or concerns about this research project, you may consult with Dr.
Annabel J. Cohen, (902) 368-4325, acohen@upei.ca or Dr. Philip Smith, Chair of the
Department of Psychology, (902) 566-0549, email: smithp@upei.ca.
This research project has been approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Department of
Psychology, as a sub committee of the UPEI Research Ethics Board, as well as by the UPEI
Research Ethics Board.
For access to the full results of the research project once they are available, please leave your
contact information indicating your interest in receiving this information on the consent form, or
contact Dr. Annabel J. Cohen, (902) 368-4325, acohen@upei.ca. The results should eventually
be posted on the AIRS web-site as well. (www.airplace.com)
Sincerely,
Erica Ross, Michael Leblanc, & Dr. Annabel J. Cohen
Email: emross@upei.ca, mleblanc@upei.ca , acohen@upei.ca
Telephone : 566-6023

 59
Permission Letter to various Community groups
(i.e. Churches, Social clubs, Seniors Residences etc.)
Dear (insert name of director here),
Hi, our names are Erica Ross and Michael Leblanc and we are currently students at the
University of Prince Edward Island. We are participating in the psychology honours program,
and part of the requirement for this program is to design and implement a research project under
the supervision of a professor at UPEI. Our honours supervisor is Dr. Annabel Cohen (902-6284325), and she will be assisting us throughout this process. We are writing to you to request
permission to invite your group members to participate in our study, and to collect data from
them.
This research project is part of a larger research project called AIRS (Advancing
Interdisciplinary Research in Singing). The AIRS project is funded by the Social Sciences and
Humanities Research Council of Canada. The AIRS project runs for seven years and researches
various aspects of singing including development, teaching and learning, and well-being. Our
project will use one of AIRS research testing instruments, the AIRS Test Battery of Singing
Skills, to further investigate what role age plays in our development of singing skills and singing
abilities. The Test Battery is comprised of the following 11 components:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.

Opening conversation and repeat a sentence
Vocal range testing
Minor third warm up
Favourite song
Familiar song
Musical elements
Improvise an ending
Creation of a song from a picture prompt
Unfamiliar song
Familiar song Reprise
Parting conversation and make up a story

This is an important research study as little research has been conducted on singing. Our study
will be one of only few studies that address the question of the role of age in singing abilities.
Participation is entirely voluntary and will pose no harm to participants. Participants may stop
participation in the research project at any time, without penalty or prejudice. All that is
necessary for discontinuing participation in the study is to inform the researcher that they no
longer wish to continue their participation.
Testing will be conducted at AIRS/CMTC laboratory in Robertson Library at the University of
Prince Edward Island, or at a mutually suitable location.

 60
The “singing interviews” will be audio and video recorded for later data analysis. All audio and
video information collected from this study will remain in a secure, restricted to permissionaccess database. Only members of the research team will have access to that data recordings
resulting from this project. Data recordings collected from this project will be securely kept in
the AIRS database for a period of five years after completion of the project, at which time the
raw data will be destroyed in accordance with the ethical guidelines. To ensure participant
confidentiality the participant’s full name will not be referred to during the testing session.

If we have permission to use members of your organization, consent forms will be provided. If
there are individuals interested in participating, they can contact a member of the research team
via telephone or email. Contact information is listed below.
If you have any questions or concerns about this research project, you may consult with Dr.
Annabel J. Cohen, (902) 368-4325, acohen@upei.ca or Dr. Philip Smith, Chair of the
Department of Psychology, (902) 566-0549, email: smithp@upei.ca.
For access to the full results of the research project once they are available, please leave your
contact information indicating your interest in receiving this information on the consent form, or
contact Dr. Annabel Cohen, (902) 368-4325, acohen@upei.ca. The results should eventually be
posted on the AIRS web-site as well.
This research project has been approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Department of
Psychology, as a sub-committee of the UPEI Research Ethics Board, as well as the UPEI
Research Ethics Board.

Sincerely,
Erica Ross, Michael Leblanc, & Dr. Annabel J. Cohen
Email: emross@upei.ca, mleblanc@upei.ca, acohen@upei.ca
Telephone : 566-6023

 61

Participant Information Letter
Parental Information letter for child participants.
Your child has been invited to participate in a research project on singing. This research study is
being conducted by Erica Ross and Michael LeBlanc, under the supervision of Dr. Annabel
Cohen, Professor of Psychology at UPEI and AIRS (Advancing Interdisciplinary Research in
Singing) Project Director. We are conducting this study to fulfill the requirements for the
Psychology Honours Program.
The purpose of this study is to further investigate the role that age may play on the development
and changes of our singing abilities across the various stages of the lifespan. The research
concerning this topic is very limited, and this research study is one of the few that address a
broad range of singing skills and look at the role that age may play.
This research project is part of a larger research project called AIRS (Advancing
Interdisciplinary Research in Singing).
The AIRS research project is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of
Canada. The AIRS project runs for seven years and researches various aspects of singing
including development, teaching and learning, and well-being. This research project will make
use of one the AIRS research instruments, the AIRS Test Battery of Singing Skills, to further
investigate what role age plays in our singing development and abilities.
Children will be asked to engage in a series of short singing games and they will be recorded on
video during this “singing interview”. We are using video, as opposed to only audio, because it
can provide information about the role of play and socialization, and it can also provide us with
basic measures of interest of the child in the singing activities. The testing session will last
approximately 30 minutes and will involve 11 different components each lasting between 1-5
minutes. Participation in this research project will take place at the CMTC laboratory in the
Robertson Library at UPEI, or at a mutually suitable location.
Participation in this research project will pose no harm to your child, and may well be enjoyable,
is completely voluntary. You or your child may stop participation in this research project at any
time, without penalty or prejudice.
The “singing interviews” will be audio and video recorded for later data analysis. All audio and
video information collected from this study will remain in a secure, restricted to permissionaccess database. Only members of the research team will have access to that data recordings
resulting from this project. Data recordings collected from this project will be securely kept in
the AIRS database for a period of five years after completion of the project, at which time the
raw data will be destroyed in accordance with the ethical guidelines. To ensure participant
confidentiality the participant’s full name will not be referred to during the testing session.

 62
In return for your child’s participation in this research study, your child will receive a small prize
or a ballot to be entered into a prize draw for movie money.
If you have any questions or concerns about this research project, you may consult with Dr.
Annabel J. Cohen, (902) 368-4325, acohen@upei.ca or Dr. Philip Smith, Chair of the
Department of Psychology, (902) 566-0549, email: smithp@upei.ca. For access to the full results
of the research project once these are available, please contact Dr. Annabel Cohen, (902) 3684325, acohen@upei.ca.
Please indicate on the attached consent form whether you would like to take part in this study. If
your child would like to participate in this study, please contact us via telephone or email
(listed below) for more information and to set up a convenient time to participate.
We are very appreciative of anyone who is willing to participate as this study will provide a
useful measure of the role that age plays in the phenomena of singing.
This research project has been approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Department of
Psychology, as a sub-committee of the UPEI Research Ethics Board, as well as the UPEI
Research Ethics Board.
Sincerely,
Erica Ross, Michael Leblanc, & Dr. Annabel J. Cohen
Email: emross@upei.ca, mleblanc@upei.ca, acohen@upei.ca
Telephone : 566-6023

 63

Participant Information Letter
Participant Information Letter for 15 year old participants
You have been invited to participate in a research project on singing abilities across the lifespan
conducted by Erica Ross and Michael Leblanc under the supervision of Dr. Annabel Cohen,
Professor of Psychology at UPEI and AIRS (Advancing Interdisciplinary Research in Singing)
Project Director. This study is being conducted to fulfill the requirements of the Psychology
Honours Program.
This research project aims to test participants at varying ages across the lifespan on the AIRS
(Advancing Interdisciplinary Research in Singing) Test Battery of Singing Skills. The research
aims to uncover similarities as well as differences that occur across the lifespan in respect to
singing skills. We are interested in seeing how singing progresses across the lifespan.
This research project is part of a larger research project called AIRS (Advancing
Interdisciplinary Research in Singing). The AIRS project is funded by the Social Sciences and
Humanities Research Council. AIRS is a seven year research project that studies various aspects
of singing including development, teaching and learning, and well-being . This project will use
one of AIRS research instruments, the AIRS Test Battery of Singing Skills, to further investigate
what role age plays in our development of singing skills and singing abilities. This is an
important research study as little research has been conducted on singing.
Participation in this project will take approximately 30 minutes of your time and will consist of
participating in 11 short musical tasks. Each task will last between one and five minutes. Your
participation in this research project is entirely voluntary and will pose no harm to you. You may
stop your participation in the research project at any time, without penalty or prejudice.
Participation in this research project will take place at the CMTC laboratory in the Robertson
Library at UPEI, or at a mutually suitable location.
The “singing interviews” will be audio and video recorded for later data analysis. All audio and
video information collected from this study will remain in a secure, restricted to permissionaccess database. Only members of the research team will have access to that data recordings
resulting from this project. Data recordings collected from this project will be securely kept in
the AIRS database for a period of five years after completion of the project, at which time the
raw data will be destroyed in accordance with the ethical guidelines. To ensure participant
confidentiality the participant’s full names will not be referred to during the testing session.
In return for your participation with this research study you will receive a ballot to be entered
into a draw for movie money. If you choose to discontinue participation in this study at any
point, you will not lose any compensation that you have received.

 64
If you have any questions or concerns about this research project, you may consult with Dr.
Annabel J. Cohen, (902) 368-4325, acohen@upei.ca or Dr. Philip Smith, Chair of the
Department of Psychology, (902) 566-0549, email: smithp@upei.ca. For access to the full results
of the research project once these are available, please contact Dr. Annabel Cohen, (902) 3684325, acohen@upei.ca.
We are very appreciative of anyone who is willing to participate as this study will provide a
useful measure of the role that age plays in the phenomena of singing. If you would like to
participate in this study, please contact us via telephone or email (listed below).
This research project has been approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Department of
Psychology, as a sub-committee of the UPEI Research Ethics Board, as well as the UPEI
Research Ethics Board.
Sincerely,
Erica Ross, Michael Leblanc, & Dr. Annabel J. Cohen
Email: emross@upei.ca, mleblanc@upei.ca, acohen@upei.ca
Telephone : 566-6023

 65

Participant Information Letter
Information letter for University Students
You have been invited to participate in a research project on singing abilities across the lifespan
conducted by Erica Ross and Michael Leblanc under the supervision of Dr. Annabel Cohen,
Professor of Psychology at UPEI and AIRS (Advancing Interdisciplinary Research in Singing)
Project Director. This study is being conducted to fulfill the requirements of the Psychology
Honours Program.
This research project aims to test participants at varying ages across the lifespan on the AIRS
(Advancing Interdisciplinary Research in Singing) Test Battery of Singing Skills. The research
aims to uncover similarities as well as differences that occur across the lifespan in respect to
singing skills. We are interested in seeing how singing progresses across the lifespan.
This research project is part of a larger research project called AIRS (Advancing
Interdisciplinary Research in Singing). The AIRS project is funded by the Social Sciences and
Humanities Research Council of Canada. AIRS is a seven year research project that studies
various aspects of singing including development, teaching and learning, and well-being. This
project will use one of AIRS research instruments, the AIRS Test Battery of Singing Skills; to
further investigate what role age plays in our development of singing skills and singing abilities.
This is an important research study as little research has been conducted on singing.
Participation in this project will take approximately 30 minutes of your time and will consist of
participating in 11 short musical/speech tasks. Each task will last between one and five minutes.
Your participation in this research project is entirely voluntary and will pose no harm to you.
You may stop your participation in the research project at any time, without penalty or prejudice.
Participation in this research project will take place at the CMTC laboratory in the Robertson
Library at UPEI.
The “singing interviews” will be audio and video recorded for later data analysis. All audio and
video information collected from this study will remain in a secure, restricted to permissionaccess database. Only members of the research team will have access to that data recordings
resulting from this project. Data recordings collected from this project will be securely kept in
the AIRS database for a period of five years after completion of the project, at which time the
raw data will be destroyed in accordance with the ethical guidelines. To ensure participant
confidentiality the participant’s full names will not be referred to during the testing session.
In return for your participation in this research project, you will receive a modest honorarium of
a $2.00 beverage voucher from Chartwell’s Food Services. If you are enrolled in Introductory
Psychology, you have the alternative honorarium option of receiving 1 mark toward the
laboratory component of your grade in Psychology 101/Psychology 102 to a total of 15 marks. If

 66
you choose not to participate in this research project, there will be further opportunities for you
to participate in other research projects to make up this laboratory grade. If you decide to
withdraw from the research project at any time, you will not lose the compensation that you have
been awarded for participation.
If you have any questions or concerns about this research project, you may consult with Dr.
Annabel J. Cohen, (902) 368-4325, acohen@upei.ca or Dr. Philip Smith, Chair of the
Department of Psychology, (902) 566-0549, email: smithp@upei.ca. For access to the full results
of the research project once these are available, please contact Dr. Annabel Cohen, (902) 3684325, acohen@upei.ca.
We are very appreciative of anyone who is willing to participate as this study will provide a
useful measure of the role that age plays in the phenomena of singing. If you are interested in
participating in this study, please contact us via telephone or email (listed below) and we will
set up a convenient time for you to take part in our study.
This research project has been approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Department of
Psychology, as a sub-committee of the UPEI Research Ethics Board, as well as the UPEI
Research Ethics Board.
Sincerely,
Erica Ross, Michael Leblanc, & Dr. Annabel J. Cohen
Email: emross@upei.ca, mleblanc@upei.ca, acohen@upei.ca
Telephone : 566-6023

 67

Participant Information Letter
Information Letter for Adults
You have been invited to participate in a research project on singing abilities across the lifespan
conducted by Erica Ross and Michael Leblanc under the supervision of Dr. Annabel Cohen in
the Department of Psychology at the University of Prince Edward Island. This study is being
conducted to fulfill the requirements of the Psychology Honours Program.
This research project aims to test participants at varying ages across the lifespan on the AIRS
(Advancing Interdisciplinary Research in Singing) Test Battery of Singing Skills. The research
aims to uncover similarities as well as differences that occur across the lifespan in respect to
singing skills. We are interested in seeing how singing progresses across the lifespan.
Participants will be asked to partake in short singing exercises which will be video and audio
recorded. We are also using video recording because it can provide information about basic
measures of interest in singing. That can help explain other findings
This research project is part of a larger research project called AIRS (Advancing
Interdisciplinary Research in Singing). The AIRS project is funded by the Social Sciences and
Humanities Research Council of Canada. AIRS is a seven year research project that studies
various aspects of singing including development, teaching and learning, and well-being . This
project will use one of AIRS research instruments, the AIRS Test Battery of Singing Skills, to
further investigate what role age plays in our development of singing skills and singing abilities.
This is an important research study as little research has been conducted on singing, in
comparison to vast research that has been done on speech.
Participation in this project will take approximately 30 minutes of your time and will consist of
participating in 11 short musical/speech tasks. Each task will last between one and five minutes.
Your participation in this research project is entirely voluntary and will pose no harm to you.
You may stop your participation in the research project at any time, without penalty or prejudice.
All information collected in the course of this project will remain confidential and anonymous,
and you will not be able to be identified from any of your responses.
Testing will be conducted at AIRS/CMTC laboratory in Robertson Library at the University of
Prince Edward Island, or at a mutually suitable location.
The “singing interviews” will be audio and video recorded for later data analysis. All audio and
video information collected from this study will remain in a secure, restricted to permissionaccess database. Only members of the research team will have access to that data recordings
resulting from this project. Data recordings collected from this project will be securely kept in
the AIRS database for a period of five years after completion of the project, at which time the

 68
raw data will be destroyed in accordance with the ethical guidelines. To ensure participant
confidentiality the participant’s full names will not be referred to during the testing session.
If you have any questions or concerns about this research project, you may consult with Dr.
Annabel J. Cohen, (902) 368-4325, acohen@upei.ca or Dr. Philip Smith, Chair of the
Department of Psychology, (902) 566-0549, email: smithp@upei.ca. For access to the full results
of the research project once these are available, please contact Dr. Annabel Cohen, (902) 3684325, acohen@upei.ca.
We are very appreciative of anyone who is willing to participate as this study will provide a
useful measure of the role that age plays in the phenomena of singing. If you are interested in
participating in this study, please contact us via telephone or email (listed below) and a
convenient time will be set up for you to participate.
This research project has been approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Department of
Psychology, as a sub-committee of the UPEI Research Ethics Board, as well as the UPEI
Research Ethics Board.

Sincerely,
Erica Ross, Michael Leblanc, & Dr. Annabel J. Cohen
Email: emross@upei.ca, mleblanc@upei.ca, acohen@upei.ca
Telephone : 566-6023

 69
Parental Consent form for Children participants
PARENTAL/GUARDIAN CONSENT FORM
I consent to my son/daughter/ participating in research concerning the practice of singing across
the lifespan. I understand that his/her participation involves participating in the AIRS Test
Battery of Singing Skills. Testing will be conducted at the CMTC laboratory in the Robertson
Library at UPEI. I have read and understood the material about this study in the Information
Letter, and understand that:

1. His/her participation in the study is entirely voluntary;
2. He/she may discontinue his/her participation at any time without any adverse consequences;
3. His/her responses will be kept confidential and anonymous, except where the researcher is
required by law to report them;
4. Once all data has been submitted and identifiers removed, he/she will no longer have the
opportunity to request that his/her data be removed from the study;
5. He/she has the freedom not to answer any question included in the research;
6. He/she may have a copy of the signed and dated consent form to keep.
7. I understand that his/her data will be stored in the AIRS database for the research team to
analyze.
This research is being conducted by Erica Ross and Michael Leblanc for the Psychology
Honours Program under the supervision of Dr. Annabel Cohen. Any questions or concerns about
this study can be directed to Dr. Annabel Cohen, (902) 368-4325, acohen@upei.ca
This research project has been approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Department of
Psychology, as a sub-committee of the UPEI Research Ethics Board, as well as the UPEI
Research Ethics Board.
____Yes, I grant permission for my child to take part in this study.

____Yes, I grant permission for my child to be videotaped.

____Yes, I agree to allow my child’s video examples to be shown in a professional meeting in
which a report of the study would be presented by either of the honours students or their
supervisor, Dr. Cohen.

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We hope you have enjoyed your experience with us, and we appreciate your participation in this
study, and value the important information that you have provided to us.
Please consider one more way of helping us with further participation, as we may be
conducting further studies of this type.
____ I would be willing for my child to be contacted again for follow-up information or further
studies.

Child’s name (please print): _______________________________________________________
Parent/Guardian’s name (please print):
_______________________________________________________
Parent/Guardian’s signature: ______________________________________________________
Contact information (phone number/email address): ___________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Date: ____________________________________
When we have received your signed consent form, we will contact you via telephone or email to
set up a mutually convenient time for your child to participate in this study.

Sincerely,
Erica Ross, Michael Leblanc, & Dr. Annabel J. Cohen
Email: emross@upei.ca, mleblanc@upei.ca, acohen@upei.ca
Telephone : 566-6023

 71
Adult Participant Consent Form
PARTICIPANT CONSENT FORM
I consent to participate in research on singing abilities. I understand that my participation
involves completing the AIRS Test Battery of Singing Skills. Testing will take place in the
CMTC laboratory in the Robertson Library at UPEI. I have read and understood the material
about this study in the Information Letter, and understand that:

1. My participation in the study is entirely voluntary;
2. I may discontinue my participation at any time without any adverse consequence;
3. My responses will be kept confidential and anonymous, except where the researcher is
required by law to report them;
4. Once all data have been submitted and identifiers removed, I will no longer have the
opportunity to request that my data be removed from the study;
5. I have the freedom not to answer any question included in the research;
6. I may have a copy of the signed and dated consent form to keep.
7. I understand that my data will be stored in the AIRS database for the research team to analyze.
This research is being conducted by Erica Ross and Michael Leblanc for the Psychology
Honours Program under the supervision of Dr. Annabel Cohen. Any questions or concerns about
this study can be directed to Dr. Annabel Cohen, (902) 368-4325, acohen@upei.ca
This research project has been approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Department of
Psychology, as a sub-committee of the UPEI Research Ethics Board, as well as the UPEI
Research Ethics Board.
____Yes, I would like to participate in this study.

____Yes, I grant permission for my interview to be videotaped.

____Yes, I agree to allow my video examples to be shown in a professional meeting in which a
report of the study would be presented by either of the honours students or their supervisor, Dr.
Cohen.

 72

We hope you have enjoyed your experience with us, and we appreciate your participation in this
study, and value the important information that you have provided to us.
Please consider one more way of helping us with further participation, as we may be
conducting further studies of this type.
____ I would be willing to be contacted again for follow-up information or further studies.

Participant’s Name (please print):____________________________________________
Participant’s Signature: ____________________________________________________
Contact information (phone number/email address): _____________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Date: ____________________________________

When we have received your signed consent form, we will contact you via telephone or email to
set up a mutually convenient time for your child to participate in this study.

Sincerely,
Erica Ross, Michael Leblanc, & Dr. Annabel J. Cohen
Email: emross@upei.ca, mleblanc@upei.ca, acohen@upei.ca
Telephone : 566-6023

 73
Interviewer Agreement Form
I______________________________________ (Student Name), in conducting interviews for
research within the context of the Psychology honours program, Psychology 480/490 agree to the
following:
1. Clearly identifying the aims of my study;
2. Providing my participant with a schedule of interview questions PRIOR to my interview, so
that any questions that may cause distress for my participant can be eliminated or changed to
his/her satisfaction;
3. Treating with respect the information that my participant shares with me, by not continuing
with a line of questioning if the participant has indicated that he/she does not want to address
issues being raised, AND by protecting her confidentiality AT ALL TIMES;
4. Making sure that my participant cannot be identified unless they offer written consent to the
disclosure of their first name on the AIRS database. 5. Erasing the audio-recordings in situations
in which participants who decide that they do not wish to continue with the research, or if they
do not want their participation used for the purpose of this research.
6. Allowing my participant to discontinue the interview at any time, and respecting that decision
by not asking for reasons for his/her withdrawal.
This research is being conducted by Erica Ross and Michael Leblanc under the supervision of
Dr. Annabel Cohen in completion of the Psychology Honours program at UPEI. Any questions
about this study, and/or your participation in this study should be directed to Erica Ross,
emross@upei.ca, Michael Leblanc, mleblanc@upei.ca, or Dr. Annabel Cohen, (902) 368-4325,
acohen@upei.ca
This research project has been approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Department of
Psychology, as a sub-committee of the UPEI Research Ethics Board, as well as the UPEI
Research Ethics Board.
Interviewer’s Name (please print):____________________________________________
Interviewer’s Signature: ______________________________________________________
Date: ____/____/____

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Appendix B
Detailed script of the AIRS test batter of singing skills:
AIRS Test Battery protocol
Component 0-welcome
Welcome to the AIRS Test Battery of Singing Skills. My name is Erica, and I will be
your guide for this singing interview. The interview will ask a number of questions or give you
short singing tasks. Throughout the interview, I will provide instructions for each task.
In a number of the tasks, your voice response will be recorded. The recording is carried in two
different ways, depending on the type of task. Some tasks require you to start the video recording
of your response. In this case, you will need to use the mouse to click the record button. The
record button is a red circle located on the bottom left side of the screen. Clicking the record
button starts the recording of your response. Please make sure that you are prepared for your
response to be recorded prior to clicking the record button. After you click the record button, it
changes to a grey square. If you click on this grey square, it will stop the recording of your
response.
Some tasks however automatically record your response. You won’t have to click any
buttons during these tasks. I will tell you when your responses are going to be recorded
automatically. In this type of task you will see a video of headphones as well as a microphone.
When you see the headphones (which are always green), it means that you should listen to the
audio that is playing. When you see the microphone (which is always red), it means that you
should produce your response, either by singing or speaking, depending on the task. For this type

 75
of task, you should click the next button, which is a triangle (like an arrow head). Clicking the
next button will then move to the following task.
Please note that your response for each task can only be recorded once. You will not have
multiple opportunities to re-record your responses.
Your participation in the AIRS Test Battery of Singing Skills will take less than 30
minutes of your time. We thank you for your participation in this research project.
Please click the next button to start the AIRS Test Battery of Singing Skills.
Component 1-record the speaking voice
Although this is a singing interview, I would like to hear your speaking voice first. Once
you feel comfortable, please say a few words by answering at least one of the following
questions.
Question 1: Do you have a favourite type of music, and if so, can you say a few things
about it.
Question 2: Music is becoming very accessible. What role does music play in your life?
Question 3: Do you enjoy singing? Just say a few things so that we get an idea of what
you like.
To start recording your introduction, please click the red record button. When you have
finished answering, please move on to the next task by clicking the "next" button.
Component 2-Brother John-a (sing Brother John before listening to it)

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Do you know the song Brother John? Please start to sing this song with the help of a few
words of the song on the screen. If you are not sure of the whole melody, just sing the parts that
you know. Click the red “record” button to start. When you have finished, please move on to the
next task.
(lyrics on the screen)
Are you sleeping?
...
Morning bells are ringing
...
Component 3-repeat a sentence-English
Now I am going play an English sentence that will appear on the screen. I will play it
once and ask you to repeat it. Then, I will replay it and ask you to repeat it one more time. When
you repeat it, please do your best to imitate exactly what you hear. When you are ready, Click
the “next” button to start. Your response will be recorded automatically
Component 3-repeat a sentence-Non-English
Now I am going to play a very short non-English phrase. I will play it once and ask you
to repeat it. Then, I will play it again and ask you to repeat it one more time. When you are
repeating the phrase, don’t worry about the meaning; just do your best to imitate exactly what
you have heard. When you are ready, Click the “next” button to start. Your response will be
recorded automatically.

 77
Component 4-minor third song (warm up)
Now, I am going to play a short melody for you and ask you to repeat it back on the
syllable “la”, just as you hear it.

When you are ready, Click the “next” button to start. Your

response will be recorded automatically.
Component 5-voice range-highest
Now I am going to find the highest note your voice can sing. Please use whatever sound
and method you are most comfortable with to sing your highest note. Take your time and don’t
worry if at first you don’t do the best. Just keep trying until you do your best. When you are
ready, please click the record button to start. Try as long as you want to sing your highest note.
Then move to the next task by clicking the next button.
Component 5-voice range-lowest
Now I am going to find the lowest note your voice can sing. Please use whatever sound
and method you are most comfortable with to sing your lowest note. Take your time and don’t
worry if at first you don’t do the best. Just keep trying until you do your best. When you are
ready, please click the record button to start. Try as long as you want to sing your lowest note.
Then move to the next task by clicking the next button.
Component 2-Brother John-b (first training part Brother John-entire song)
Now, I am going to play the song Brother John for you and ask you to sing it back.
When you are ready, Click the “next” button to start.

Your response will be recorded

automatically.
Component 2-Brother John-c (second training part Brother John-section by section)

 78
I am going to present the song Brother John in sections and ask you to repeat each
section immediately after. When you are ready Click the “next” button to start. Your response
will be recorded automatically.
Component 2-Brother John-d (third training part Brother John-entire song)
Now, I am going to play the song Brother John for you again. Please listen carefully and
do your best to remember it. Please click the “next” button to move on.
Component 6-favourite song-1
I am going to ask you to sing your favourite song or one of your favourite songs. It
doesn’t have to be the whole song, but at least an entire section is encouraged. Please take some
time to think about and choose your favourite song. Click on the “next" button when you have
made your choice.
Component 6- favourite song-2
It’s time to sing your favourite song! Please click the “record” button to start singing.
Please click the “stop” button after you have finished and click next to go on.
Component 6-favourite song-3
Now that you have sung your song aloud, could you please tell me about this song by
answering the following questions: (Please type your answers in the blank you see on the
screen).


the name of the song



the composer, the performer

 79


the genre or type of song



what year do you think it was composed



how old were you when you first heard it



does it remind you of anything?



why is it your favourite song?



anything else you would like to add

Please feel free to share as much information as you are comfortable with. Please click next
to move on.
Component 7-music elements
Now, I am going to play several short melodies, and after each melody, I would like you
to repeat back what you heard. When you are ready, please Click the “next” button to start
recording.
Component 8-improvise an ending
I am going to play the beginning of a melody. This melody doesn't have an ending, so
I'm asking you to create an ending for it. I’ll let you hear the beginning twice, and then you must
repeat this beginning and then continue the melody to end it. In other words, please repeat the
melody that you heard before you create an ending. Click the “next” button when you are ready
to start.
Component 9- create a song from a picture prompt- a1*
In this task, you will see four pictures. There will be a circle beside each picture. Please
select the circle beside the picture you like the most. Click the next button to see the pictures.

 80
Component 9-create a song from a picture prompt-a1
Now you see four pictures. There is a circle beside each picture. Please select the circle
beside the picture you like the most, and click the "next" button to continue.
Component 9- create a song from a picture prompt -a2
Please create an original song for the picture you chose. Your song can last as long as you
like. Please take some time to think about and prepare your song (in your head). Click the “next”
button when you have prepared a song.
Component 9- create a song from a picture prompt- a3
Now I would like you to sing the song you just prepared! Click the “Record” button to
start and the “stop” button when you have finished singing. Then move to the following task by
clicking the next button.
Component 9- create a song from a picture prompt- b1*
In this task you will see the same four pictures on the screen. Please select the circle
beside a picture for another song, and click the next button to see the pictures.

Component 9-create a song from a picture prompt-b1
Now you can see the same four pictures on the screen. Please select the circle beside a
picture for another song, and click the "next" button to continue
Component 9- create a song from a picture prompt- b2

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Please take some time to think about and prepare a song (in your head) for the picture
you chose. The song can have words and a melody, or the song can have only a melody. If there
was only a melody in your last song, please create a song with words. If you used words and a
melody for your last song, please create a song without words. When you have prepared your
song, click the "next" button.
Component 9- create a song from a picture prompt- b3
Now I would like you to sing the song you just created! Click the “Record” button to start
and the “stop” button when you have finished singing. Then move to the following question by
clicking the next button.
Component 10-unfamiliar song-a-melody only
I have another song for you, but this one probably won’t be as familiar as the Brother
John song. The words may sound strange. I’ll play it twice and then ask you to sing it to the best
of your ability. I would like you to sing just the melody using "la". Don't sing any words.
Remember just sing "la" to the melody. Click the “next” button to start. Your response will be
recorded automatically.
Component 10-unfamiliar song-b-melody and words
I’ll play the same song twice again and then ask you to sing it to the best of your ability. I would
like you to sing the melody and the words, even if they seem strange. Remember: sing the words.
Click the “next” button to start. Your response will be recorded automatically.
Reprise: Component 2-Brother John-e (sing Brother John again)

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Do you still remember the song Brother John? Please sing Brother John again. It begins
with: Are you sleeping? If you are not sure about all of it, just sing the parts that you know. Click
the "record" button to start, and the "stop" button when you have finished. Please move to the
next task by clicking the "next" button.
Component 11- tell a story from a picture prompt 1*
In this task you will see two pictures. There will be a circle beside each picture. Please
select the circle beside the picture you like the most. Click the next button to see the pictures.
Component 11-tell a story from a picture prompt-1
Please choose which of the pictures you like the most. Click the circle beside the picture to make
your selection. After you have made your selection, click the “next” button to continue.
Component11- tell a story from a picture prompt-2
Please take some time to think about and create a story for the picture you chose. Your story
should have a beginning, middle and an ending. Click the “next” button when you are ready to
tell the story.
Component11- tell a story from a picture promt-3
Please tell the story you have created about the picture. Click the “Record” button to start and
the “stop” button when you have finished. When you have finished, please move to the following
task by clicking the "next" button.
Component 10-unfamiliar song-b-melody and lyrics-other languages

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I’ll play the same song twice again and ask you to sing it back to the best of your ability.
I would like you to sing the melody and the words, even if they seem strange. Remember: sing
the words. Click the next button to start. Your response will be recorded automatically.
Component 2-Brother John-f (fourth singing back Brother John-entire song)
Now, and finally, I am going to ask you to sing back the entire song of Brother John.
This time without any clues. When you are ready, please click the “record” button to start.
Debriefing
Thank you very much for helping me with my research. [to the debriefing narrative, if
this is completes the final time of testing]. You have now completed the AIRS Test Battery of
Singing Skills. I would like to thank you for your participation in our research project. I
appreciate you taking the time to help us out. If you have any questions or concerns about this
interview please feel free to ask. All of your information will be kept confidential, and used only
for our research. Before you leave, please click the submit button. Thanks again.

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