top of page
This site was designed with the
.com
website builder. Create your website today.Start Now

PARTICIPANT INFORMATION

Thank you for participating in my postgraduate study of pop-song singing. There are 3 tasks involved in this study: a) a singing task b) a speaking task, and c) a brief questionnaire.

 

Task 1

You will need:

  1. Earphones/headphones

  2. A quiet room (some low background noise is acceptable)

  3. Recording device or software (Audacity if on a desktop or laptop, recording software on your mobile device, or a browser-based recorder such as vocaroo will suffice).

  4. 30-45 minutes of your time

 

In task 1, you are being asked to produce 5 recordings of you singing 5 different songs (a synth-pop song, an R&B song, a rock song, an indie song, and an acoustic song - each no more than 30 seconds in length). Please follow the below steps to complete the task:

 

Step 1: Download the Participant Consent Form, Participant Questionnaire, Participant Information Sheet, and the Song Lyrics and Sheet Music document. Read through all of the information provided to you carefully.

Step 2: Go to the "Songs" page of this website.

Step 3: Listen to the first preview song - this will be a synth-pop track.

Step 4: Learn the lyrics and melody of the song using the karaoke-style music video (the synth-pop song has two versions - one of the melody an octave higher. Choose whichever feels most comfortable).

Step 5: Record yourself singing the song. The recording must be vocal only - some audio from the backing track is acceptable, however this should be minimised as much as possible. There should be no errors in singing in the lyrics in the final recording.

Step 6: Repeat step 3-5 for each song until you have 5 recordings.

​

It is useful to bear in mind the following:

  1. The performance does not need to be pitch-perfect. I am not investigating your skill as an individual singer.

  2. I am also not investigating how quickly you can learn a previously unheard song. The materials I have created are designed to speed up the process, but you are not on the clock if more time is desired or required.

  3. The lyrics must be sung exactly how they are written.

  4. You may listen to the music and the guide track as many times as you wish. These will have been provided to you prior to the recording session, but you can use the session itself as an opportunity to refresh your mind.

  5. It is not a problem if you are not experienced/familiar with a certain musical genre. Please simply approach the exercise in the way you best see fit.

  6. You may use the lyric sheets and sheet music provided to assist you in learning the song- there is no requirement to only use the karaoke-style videos.

 

Task 2.

Please produce a recording of your spoken voice by reading the lyrics for each song exactly as written. This can take the form of multiple recordings too, if required.

Task 3.

Finally, please complete the accompanying questionnaire, or access it via Google Forms here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfFo4KI6sdgmb07nHOlmbrMS3gloSILFs5NlJIEUZmDYgecNA/viewform?usp=sf_link

 

Upon completion of each task, please send all recordings and documents to me at ryan.gibson@hud.ac.uk

If the files are too large to email, I can accept via WeTransfer, Dropbox, iCloud or OneDrive.

 

Please get in touch ASAP should you encounter any difficulties.

 

Important: I am also seeking participants for an interview. Please let me know if you would be happy for a follow-up interview and we will schedule a time.
 

bottom of page