“Are People Bad Singers?”, in the special Music issue of the Annals of Improbable Research, gathers research about that high-pitched question. Read the article free (PDF). Then, if you dare, purchase the issue, or subscribe to the magazine.
Tag: sing
Measurement: Two of 30 babies will one day sing and dance, maybe
Infants are not famous for being skilled consumers or producers of music. This study suggests that that lack of fame is justified for 28 of 30 babies: “Precursors of Dancing and Singing to Music in Three- to Four-Months-Old Infants,” Shinya Fujii [pictured here], Hama Watanabe, Hiroki Oohashi, Masaya Hirashima, Daichi Nozaki, Gentaro Taga, PLoS ONE, 9(5), 2014, […]
You Know Why the Caged Bird Sings?
A single question can arise in different contexts, and have different answers. Here’s an example — a study and a book both written in the late 1960’s: “The influence of vocal behavior on the performer’s testicular activity in budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus),” Barbara F. Brockway, The Wilson Bulletin (1967): 328-334. and I Know Why the Caged […]
Low notes, emanating from musical men
These videos document men singing remarkably low-pitched music. (Thanks to investigator Jim Cowdery for steering us to them.) and also, if you need more, Neatorama’s “Singer Sets World Record for Lowest Vocal Note”
Tim Blais and the accapellization of physics
McGill University physics graduate student Tim Blais sings, in highly coordinated bits and pieces, about physics. Two examples: Quantum Gravity: Rolling in the Higgs: BONUS: An interview with Tim Blais BONUS (unrelated): If you misspell Tim Blais’s name, you might find yourself reading about a different physicist, on a different continent: Tim Ball.
Researching Drinking Songs of Drunken Songbirds
The Neuroscience meeting in New Orleans is — at least in part — about wine, warblers, and song. This poster is that part (or part of that part): “Drinking songs: The efficacy of songbirds in alcohol research,” C. R. Olson [pictured below, near a glass presumably containing a beverage], A. E. Ryabinin, C. V. Mello, […]
Headline of the week: Singing bug willie
This week’s Headline of the Week comes from last year — June 30, 2011, to be specific. We neglected it, unfairly, at the time, though we did mention it later. Now we are mentioning it again. Behold: ‘Singing penis’ sets noise record for water insect By Ella Davies Reporter, BBC Nature Scientists from France and […]