Solo or Doubled Singing: Ecological Validity and Effects in Two Response Modes

The increased reporting of singing proficiency in popular news reflects a general interest in singing and in singing with others. In fact, people often express concern about their own singing voices, which individuals are only sometimes accurate at assessing (Cuddy, Balkwill, Peretz, & Holden, 2005). The reason most non-professionals want to sing well is to participate in singing activities with others. For example, people want to join in ceremonial and ritual songs such as “Happy Birthday”, holiday music—whether sacred or secular—patriotic songs, and of course singing along to songs on the radio at parties or in the car. Research in singing accuracy is focused on the ability to sing in-tune, or lack thereof. One limitation to this research is that it has focused on solo singing rather than assessments in contexts where participants sing along with others. The focus of this chapter is on both solo and doubled singing—sometimes referred to as “unison” singing or singing “in unison”.