My research explores absolute pitch through the experiences of singers, with particular interest in how pitch perception interacts with the physical, cognitive, and emotional processes involved in singing.
My Master of Music research at the University of Lethbridge culminated in the support paper Absolute Pitch and Singing: Learning to Navigate Interior Musical Processes. This project brought together existing research, qualitative inquiry, and reflection on my own experiences as a singer with absolute pitch, offering a preliminary resource for understanding how absolute pitch can shape both individual vocal practice and participation in ensemble environments.
As part of this work, I conducted a small study, Absolute Pitch in Choral Singing Environments: Impacts and Experiences, which explored the experiences of singers with absolute pitch in choral settings. My research considered not only the ability itself within these environments, but also the ways absolute pitch can intersect with singers' relationships with their peers, conductors, and themselves.
More broadly, I am interested in aspects of musical experience that can be difficult to observe from the outside: how singers process pitch internally, how perception and vocal production interact, and how individual differences in musical cognition shape the experience of making music.
I hope to continue developing this area of research through future study, with particular interests in absolute pitch, singing, musical cognition, and singers' lived experiences. I am especially interested in research that brings singers' voices and experiences into conversation with existing qualitative approaches.
My Master of Music support paper, Absolute Pitch and Singing: Learning to Navigate Interior Musical Processes, will be available through the University of Lethbridge's OPUS research repository.
Link coming soon!