Title: Does accuracy of singing the major triad predict accuracy of contour production in an
unfamiliar song?
Authors: Bing-Yi Pan (University of Prince Edward Island), Annabel J. Cohen (University of
Prince Edward Island), Leah Stevenson (University of Prince Edward Island)
Presentation format: Short oral
Sub-themes: 1.3
Introduction
The AIRS Test Battery of Singing Skills was developed to provide information on cultural,
experiential and universal factors influencing the acquisition of singing. The Battery was
recently administered to 32 students at a Canadian University, one half native Chinese, the
other, native Canadian. Participants performed the 11 components of the Battery twice. The
present analysis examines performance on Component 6 - Musical Elements and Component
9- Learning an Unfamiliar Song. The 5 musical elements were: first three notes of the major
scale, first 4 notes of the major scale, major triad, and ascending and descending major scale.
Participants heard a model (sung on the syllable la) and then echoed the example (on la). The
unfamiliar melody of Component 9 had 5 phrases in a major key. The English lyrics were
translated into Chinese, and one half of each language group of participants was presented with
Chinese; the remainder heard English. Regardless of the language of the lyrics, the melody was
to be sung back on la in both sessions. Component 6 items were scored by ear on a binary
scale; the 5 sung phrases from Component 9 were notated by ear, and their correctness was
scored in binary for a maximum score of 10 when collapsed over the 5 phrases and 2 sessions.
Correlations were performed between scores for the 5 elements from Component 6 and overall
performance of Component 9. Performance on the major triad significantly correlated with
ability to sing the contour of the unfamiliar song correctly. This finding is surprising because
contour does not require accurate interval representation but accurate singing of the major triad
does. We seek further confirmation as we search for common factors which can both explain
variation in performance on the AIRS test battery and contribute to the development of a model
of acquisition of the skills of singing.
Bios
Dr. Bing-Yi Pan received his Ph.D. in physics in 2010 from the Institute of Physics, Chinese
Academy of Sciences, Beijing and B.Sc. in physics in 2004 from Shandong University, Jinan
Simultaneously he received his B.A. in music education in 2008 from Central Conservatory of
Music, Beijing. Currently, he hold AIRS postdoctoral fellowship at UPEI with Dr. Annabel
Cohen, is working on the AIRS Test Battery and also contributing to the Chinese component
of the 3.1 project on singing and cross-cultural understanding. He is also interested in formal
teaching of singing.
Dr. Annabel J. Cohen is the Director of the AIRS MCRI and also leads the AIRS test battery
research sub-theme 3.1. She carried out her graduate work in Psychology at Queen’s
University, and her undergraduate research at McGill University. She is the Editor of
Psychomusicology: Music, Mind & Brain and serves as consulting editor on several other

 journals. She received her ARCT in voice performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music
[ Toronto, and is a Fellow of the Canadian Psychological Association. She is a member of
Council of the American Psychological Association.
Leah Stevenson is a UPEI graduate with a BA and an honours degree in Psychology, with
thesis conducted exploring the AIRS test battery with Chinese and English participants. She
aspires to be a speech-language pathologist; I am currently doing volunteer work in this field,
and plan to continue to do so while traveling in Australia next year.