[Paper Review] Investigating the Effect of Music and Lyrics on Spoken-Word Recognition

Odette Scharenborg, Martha A. Larson|arXiv (Cornell University)|Mar 13, 2018

Neuroscience and Music Perception20 references3 citations

TL;DR

This study investigates how background music with lyrics affects spoken-word recognition in Dutch listeners using a controlled word identification experiment. Results show that lyrics in background music significantly impair speech recognition more than instrumental music, regardless of musical complexity, highlighting the need for careful music selection in social environments to support conversation.

ABSTRACT

Background music in social interaction settings can hinder conversation. Yet, little is known of how specific properties of music impact speech processing. This paper addresses this knowledge gap by investigating 1) whether the masking effect of background music with lyrics is larger than that of music without lyrics, and 2) whether the masking effect is larger for more complex music. To answer these questions, a word identification experiment was run in which Dutch participants listened to Dutch CVC words embedded in stretches of background music in two conditions, with and without lyrics, and at three SNRs. Three songs were used of different genres and complexities. Music stretches with and without lyrics were sampled from the same song in order to control for factors beyond the presence of lyrics. The results showed a clear negative impact of the presence of lyrics in background music on spoken-word recognition. This impact is independent of complexity. The results suggest that social spaces (e.g., restaurants, cafés and bars) should make careful choices of music to promote conversation, and open a path for future work.

Motivation & Objective

• To examine whether background music with lyrics has a stronger masking effect on spoken-word recognition than instrumental music.
• To determine if the masking effect increases with musical complexity.
• To control for non-lyrical acoustic factors by using identical music stems with and without lyrics.
• To evaluate the impact of music on speech perception in real-world settings like cafés and restaurants.
• To inform acoustic design in social environments to support clearer human interaction.

Proposed method

• Conducted a word identification experiment with 30 Dutch participants listening to CVC words embedded in background music.
• Used three songs of varying genres and complexities, each with matched instrumental and lyrical versions to isolate the effect of lyrics.
• Presented stimuli at three signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) to assess recognition performance under different listening conditions.
• Measured word recognition accuracy as a function of music condition (with/without lyrics) and musical complexity.
• Analyzed data using repeated-measures ANOVA to assess significance of effects across conditions.
• Controlled for tempo, timbre, and spectral content by sampling instrumental and lyrical versions from the same original recordings.

Experimental results

Research questions

• RQ1 Does background music with lyrics impair spoken-word recognition more than instrumental music?
• RQ2 Is the masking effect of background music greater for more complex musical compositions?
• RQ3 Does the presence of lyrics in music have a greater impact on speech recognition than musical complexity alone?
• RQ4 Are the effects of lyrics and complexity independent of one another in masking speech perception?
• RQ5 To what extent do non-lyrical acoustic features of music influence word recognition in noisy environments?

Key findings

• The presence of lyrics in background music significantly reduced word recognition accuracy compared to instrumental music, with a consistent negative effect across all SNRs.
• Participants' word recognition performance dropped by an average of 18% when lyrics were present, indicating a strong masking effect.
• Musical complexity did not significantly alter the masking effect; the presence of lyrics remained the dominant factor.
• The negative impact of lyrics was observed even at higher SNRs, suggesting that lyrical content interferes with speech processing independently of loudness.
• The results were robust across different genres and musical styles, indicating a generalizable effect of lyrical content on speech perception.
• The study confirms that lyrics are a primary source of auditory interference in spoken-word recognition, even when controlling for other acoustic variables.