Do not sing a song in your head before performing it on stage – this is the conclusion reached by American scientists. It can confuse you, they claim. The study presents the first evidence indicating a link between subvocalization and singing accuracy.
For humans, singing serves as a form of emotional expression, a mechanism for forming social bonds, a communication tool, a means of additional learning for children and adults, and a form of entertainment. It also helps with neurological disorders and speech impairments associated with stuttering, Parkinson’s disease, brain lesions, and autism. Despite the significant role of singing in daily life, little is known so far about such an important process related to singing as the vocal imitation of pitch.
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As a rule, singing involves reproducing a melody from memory, most often based on an auditory-musical representation that precedes and shapes the sound. Researchers have found that the mental image formed in our heads before singing affects not only how we will sing but also the sensorimotor function of the laryngeal muscles. In particular, subvocalization (silent speech during reading or singing) can stimulate motor planning when a person prepares to hit a note or sing a melody.
In some cases, subvocalization is a great help to a performer, as it allows them to be prepared in advance for abrupt transitions in a song, especially if they are combined with dance movements. But researchers insist that singing in the head directly affects pitch and singing accuracy. Subvocalization seems to bring the laryngeal muscles into a specific position corresponding to the musical image in the head. However, the way a song sounds in our thoughts can differ noticeably from how it needs to be sung. Experienced vocalists usually learn to get rid of subvocalization, but for inexperienced performers, it creates additional difficulties.
