Frank A Russo
Biographic Data
| ID | 1680351 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Frank A Russo |
| GIVEN NAMES | Frank A |
| FAMILY NAME | Russo |
| SIGNATURE | RUSSO F A |
| AFFILIATIONS | Toronto Metropolitan University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-2939-6358 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 12 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 7 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 11 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2005 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Virtually Together: Exploring the Impact of a Low-Latency Synchronized Audio Platform on Participant Wellbeing in a Facilitated Online Singing Group
While previous research shows that group singing has clear benefits for wellbeing, there is limited data on how these benefits transfer to online singing groups. A common challenge in virtual settings is that high-latency audio delays are incompatible with collective music making. Therefore, many online singing groups use a format in which the facilitator is heard collectively, while participants are muted. Emergent technologies now offer low-lat…
Biopsychosocial benefits of group singing in older adults with and without a neurodegenerative condition: A SingWell proof-of-concept study
BACKGROUND: While group singing is a long-standing human practice, a growing body of research highlights its potential to address psychosocial challenges that are prevalent in older adulthood and individuals diagnosed with neurodegenerative and age-associated conditions, such as Parkinson's. This study assessed the impact of group singing on biological, psychological, and social dimensions of wellbeing. METHODS: = 24) completed assessments on moo…
Changes in mood, oxytocin, and cortisol following group and individual singing: A pilot study
Group singing elevates mood, increases social bonding, and regulates stress. However, the question remains as to how much of the singer’s mood-boost is derived from social aspects of group singing and how much can be achieved through singing alone. In the current study, we adopted a sociobiological approach to investigate the underpinnings of the mood-boosting effect of singing. Using a within-subjects design, self-report mood, salivary oxytocin,…
Sonic Piety in Early New England
This article reinterprets New England's 1720s Singing Controversy as a sensory event that altered the nature of puritan sonic piety in early New England. Far from a parochial peculiarity in the history of American music, the 1720s singing reforms were part of broader challenges to a previous way of knowing-an epistemology, or, in this context, an “acoustemology.”
Indigenous youth reconnect with cultural identity: The evaluation of a community‐ and school‐based traditional music program
Reconnecting Indigenous youth with their cultural traditions has been identified as an essential part of healing the intergenerational effects of forced assimilation policies. Past work suggests that learning the music of one's culture can foster cultural identity and community bonding, which may serve as protective factors for well‐being. An 8‐week traditional song and dance program was implemented in a school setting for Indigenous youth. An ev…
Joint Speech and Its Relation to Joint Action
In his article “The Territory Between Speech and Song: A Joint Speech Perspective,” Cummins (2020) argues that research has failed to adequately recognize an important category of vocal activity that falls outside of the domains of language and music, at least as they are typically defined. This category, referred to by Cummins as joint speech, spans a range of vocal activity so broad that it is not possible to define it using musical or phonetic…
The Routledge Companion to Interdisciplinary Studies in Singing: Volume I: Development
Singing Promotes Cooperation in a Diverse Group of Children
Previous research involving preschool children and adults suggests that moving in synchrony with others can foster cooperation. Song provides a rich oscillatory framework that supports synchronous movement and may thus be considered a powerful agent of positive social relations. In the current study, we assessed this hypothesis in a group of primary-school aged children with diverse ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. Children participated in o…
An Empirically Derived Measure of Melodic Similarity
Music software applications often require similarity-finding measures. In this study, we describe an empirically derived measure for determining similarity between two melodies with multiple-note changes. The derivation of our final model involved three stages. In Stage 1, eight standard melodies were systematically varied with respect to pitch distance, pitch direction, tonal stability, metric salience and melodic contour. Comparison melodies wi…
Maternal Vocal Interactions with Infants: Reciprocal Visual Influences
The present study examined the influence of infant visual cues on maternal vocal and facial expressiveness while speaking or singing and the influence of maternal visual cues on infant attention. Experiment 1 asked whether mothers exhibit more vocal emotion when speaking and singing to infants in or out of view. Adults judged which of each pair of audio excerpts (in view, out of view) sounded more emotional. Face‐to‐face vocalizations were judged…
A New Look at Retest Learning in Older Adults: Learning in the Absence of Item-Specific Effects
We investigated retest learning (i.e., performance improvement through retest practice) in the absence of item-specific effects (i.e., learning through memorizing or becoming familiar with specific items) with older adults. Thirty-one older adults (ages 60-82 years, M = 71.10, SD = 6.27) participated in an eight-session self-guided retest program. To eliminate item-specific effects, parallel versions of representative psychometric measures for In…
Seeing music performance: Visual influences on perception and experience
Drawing from ethnographic, empirical, and historical / cultural perspectives, we examine the extent to which visual aspects of music contribute to the communication that takes place between performers and their listeners. First, we introduce a framework for understanding how media and genres shape aural and visual experiences of music. Second, we present case studies of two performances, and describe the relation between visual and aural aspects …
Maternal Vocal Interactions with Infants: Reciprocal Visual Influences
The present study examined the influence of infant visual cues on maternal vocal and facial expressiveness while speaking or singing and the influence of maternal visual cues on infant attention. Experiment 1 asked whether mothers exhibit more vocal emotion when speaking and singing to infants in or out of view. Adults judged which of each pair of audio excerpts (in view, out of view) sounded more emotional. Face‐to‐face vocalizations were judged…
Singing Promotes Cooperation in a Diverse Group of Children
Previous research involving preschool children and adults suggests that moving in synchrony with others can foster cooperation. Song provides a rich oscillatory framework that supports synchronous movement and may thus be considered a powerful agent of positive social relations. In the current study, we assessed this hypothesis in a group of primary-school aged children with diverse ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. Children participated in o…
The Routledge Companion to Interdisciplinary Studies in Singing: Volume I: Development
Seeing music performance: Visual influences on perception and experience
Drawing from ethnographic, empirical, and historical / cultural perspectives, we examine the extent to which visual aspects of music contribute to the communication that takes place between performers and their listeners. First, we introduce a framework for understanding how media and genres shape aural and visual experiences of music. Second, we present case studies of two performances, and describe the relation between visual and aural aspects …
Seeing music performance: Visual influences on perception and experience
Drawing from ethnographic, empirical, and historical / cultural perspectives, we examine the extent to which visual aspects of music contribute to the communication that takes place between performers and their listeners. First, we introduce a framework for understanding how media and genres shape aural and visual experiences of music. Second, we present case studies of two performances, and describe the relation between visual and aural aspects …
A New Look at Retest Learning in Older Adults: Learning in the Absence of Item-Specific Effects
We investigated retest learning (i.e., performance improvement through retest practice) in the absence of item-specific effects (i.e., learning through memorizing or becoming familiar with specific items) with older adults. Thirty-one older adults (ages 60-82 years, M = 71.10, SD = 6.27) participated in an eight-session self-guided retest program. To eliminate item-specific effects, parallel versions of representative psychometric measures for In…
An Empirically Derived Measure of Melodic Similarity
Music software applications often require similarity-finding measures. In this study, we describe an empirically derived measure for determining similarity between two melodies with multiple-note changes. The derivation of our final model involved three stages. In Stage 1, eight standard melodies were systematically varied with respect to pitch distance, pitch direction, tonal stability, metric salience and melodic contour. Comparison melodies wi…
Maternal Vocal Interactions with Infants: Reciprocal Visual Influences
The present study examined the influence of infant visual cues on maternal vocal and facial expressiveness while speaking or singing and the influence of maternal visual cues on infant attention. Experiment 1 asked whether mothers exhibit more vocal emotion when speaking and singing to infants in or out of view. Adults judged which of each pair of audio excerpts (in view, out of view) sounded more emotional. Face‐to‐face vocalizations were judged…
Singing Promotes Cooperation in a Diverse Group of Children
Previous research involving preschool children and adults suggests that moving in synchrony with others can foster cooperation. Song provides a rich oscillatory framework that supports synchronous movement and may thus be considered a powerful agent of positive social relations. In the current study, we assessed this hypothesis in a group of primary-school aged children with diverse ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. Children participated in o…
Joint Speech and Its Relation to Joint Action
In his article “The Territory Between Speech and Song: A Joint Speech Perspective,” Cummins (2020) argues that research has failed to adequately recognize an important category of vocal activity that falls outside of the domains of language and music, at least as they are typically defined. This category, referred to by Cummins as joint speech, spans a range of vocal activity so broad that it is not possible to define it using musical or phonetic…
The Routledge Companion to Interdisciplinary Studies in Singing: Volume I: Development
Indigenous youth reconnect with cultural identity: The evaluation of a community‐ and school‐based traditional music program
Reconnecting Indigenous youth with their cultural traditions has been identified as an essential part of healing the intergenerational effects of forced assimilation policies. Past work suggests that learning the music of one's culture can foster cultural identity and community bonding, which may serve as protective factors for well‐being. An 8‐week traditional song and dance program was implemented in a school setting for Indigenous youth. An ev…
Changes in mood, oxytocin, and cortisol following group and individual singing: A pilot study
Group singing elevates mood, increases social bonding, and regulates stress. However, the question remains as to how much of the singer’s mood-boost is derived from social aspects of group singing and how much can be achieved through singing alone. In the current study, we adopted a sociobiological approach to investigate the underpinnings of the mood-boosting effect of singing. Using a within-subjects design, self-report mood, salivary oxytocin,…
Sonic Piety in Early New England
This article reinterprets New England's 1720s Singing Controversy as a sensory event that altered the nature of puritan sonic piety in early New England. Far from a parochial peculiarity in the history of American music, the 1720s singing reforms were part of broader challenges to a previous way of knowing-an epistemology, or, in this context, an “acoustemology.”
Virtually Together: Exploring the Impact of a Low-Latency Synchronized Audio Platform on Participant Wellbeing in a Facilitated Online Singing Group
While previous research shows that group singing has clear benefits for wellbeing, there is limited data on how these benefits transfer to online singing groups. A common challenge in virtual settings is that high-latency audio delays are incompatible with collective music making. Therefore, many online singing groups use a format in which the facilitator is heard collectively, while participants are muted. Emergent technologies now offer low-lat…
Biopsychosocial benefits of group singing in older adults with and without a neurodegenerative condition: A SingWell proof-of-concept study
BACKGROUND: While group singing is a long-standing human practice, a growing body of research highlights its potential to address psychosocial challenges that are prevalent in older adulthood and individuals diagnosed with neurodegenerative and age-associated conditions, such as Parkinson's. This study assessed the impact of group singing on biological, psychological, and social dimensions of wellbeing. METHODS: = 24) completed assessments on moo…
Psychology (8 works) · Singing (7 works) · Developmental psychology (6 works) · Neuroscience and Music Perception (5 works) · Computer Science (4 works) · Sociology (4 works) · Art (3 works) · Cognitive psychology (3 works) · Mood (3 works) · Music Therapy and Health (3 works)