Where Is a Singer's Voice if It Is Placed “Forward”?

Singing teachers sometimes characterize voice quality in terms of "forward" and "backward" placement. In view of our traditional knowledge about voice production it is hard to explain any possible acoustic or articulatory differences between the voices so "placed." The analysis of the teachers' expert opinions demonstrates that, in general, a voice placed "forward" indicates a desirable quality that students should attain by the end of their studies. Productions that were perceived as "forward" and "backward" were selected from the listening test. The acoustic analysis of those productions reveals that the voice quality in the case of "forward" placement correlates with higher frequencies of the second (F2) and third (F3) formants, as well as with a more salient "singer's formant" in the voice. The five basic vowels were included in the investigation.     

Multimodal Standardization of Voice Among Four Multicultural Populations Formant Structures

A stratified random sample of 20 males and 20 females matched for physiologic factors and cultural-linguistic markers was examined to determine differences in formant frequencies during prolongation of three vowels: [a], [i], and [u]. The ethnic and gender breakdown included four sets of 5 male and 5 female subjects comprised of Caucasian and African American speakers of Standard American English, native Hindi Indian speakers, and native Mandarin Chinese speakers. Acoustic measures were analyzed using the Computerized Speech Lab (4300B) from which formant histories were extracted from a 200-ms sample of each vowel token to obtain first formant (F1), second formant (F2), and third formant (F3) frequencies. Significant group differences for the main effect of culture and race were found. For the main effect gender, sexual dimorphism in vowel formants was evidenced for all cultures and races across all three vowels. The acoustic differences found are attributed to cultural-linguistic factors.     

The Speaker's Formant

The current study concerns speaking voice quality in two groups of professional voice users, teachers (n = 35) and actors (n = 36), representing trained and untrained voices. The voice quality of text reading at two intensity levels was acoustically analyzed. The central concept was the speaker's formant (SPF), related to the perceptual characteristics "better normal voice quality" (BNQ) and "worse normal voice quality" (WNQ). The purpose of the current study was to get closer to the origin of the phenomenon of the SPF, and to discover the differences in spectral and formant characteristics between the two professional groups and the two voice quality groups. The acoustic analyses were long-term average spectrum (LTAS) and spectrographical measurements of formant frequencies. At very high intensities, the spectral slope was rather quandrangular without a clear SPF peak. The trained voices had a higher energy level in the SPF region compared with the untrained, significantly so in loud phonation. The SPF seemed to be related to both sufficiently strong overtones and a glottal setting, allowing for a lowering of F4 and a closeness of F3 and F4. However, the existence of SPF also in LTAS of the WNQ voices implies that more research is warranted concerning the formation of SPF, and concerning the acoustic correlates of the BNQ voices.     

Voice Parameters in Children With Down Syndrome

Down syndrome (DS) is the most frequent chromosomal disorder. Commonly, individuals with DS have difficulties with speech and show an unusual quality in the voice. Their phenotypic characteristics include general hypotonia and maxillary hypoplasia with relative macroglossia, and these contribute to particular acoustic alterations. Subjective perceptual and acoustic assessments of the voice (Praat-4.1 software) were performed in 66 children with DS, 36 boys and 30 girls, aged 3 to 8 years. These data were compared with those of an age-matched group of children from the general population. Perceptual evaluations showed significant differences in the group of children with DS. The voice of children with DS presented a lower fundamental frequency (F(0)) with elevated dispersion. The conjunction of frequencies for formants (F(1) and F(2)) revealed a decreased distinction between the vowels, reflecting the loss of articulatory processing. The DS vocalic anatomical functional ratio represents the main distinctive parameter between the two groups studied, and it may be useful in conducting assessments.     

Acoustic and Perceptual Analyses of Brazilian Male Actors' and Nonactors' Voices: Long-term Average Spectrum and the “Actor's Formant”

SUMMARY: This study investigates the possible differences between actors' and nonactors' vocal projection strategies using acoustic and perceptual analyses. A total of 11 male actors and 10 male nonactors volunteered as subjects, reading an extended text sample in habitual, moderate, and loud levels. The samples were analyzed for sound pressure level (SPL), alpha ratio (difference between the average SPL of the 1-5kHz region and the average SPL of the 50Hz-1kHz region), fundamental frequency (F0), and long-term average spectrum (LTAS). Through LTAS, the mean frequency of the first formant (F1) range, the mean frequency of the "actor's formant," the level differences between the F1 frequency region and the F0 region (L1-L0), and the level differences between the strongest peak at 0-1kHz and that at 3-4kHz were measured. Eight voice specialists evaluated perceptually the degree of projection, loudness, and tension in the samples. The actors had a greater alpha ratio, stronger level of the "actor's formant" range, and a higher degree of perceived projection and loudness in all loudness levels. SPL, however, did not differ significantly between the actors and nonactors, and no differences were found in the mean formant frequencies ranges. The alpha ratio and the relative level of the "actor's formant" range seemed to be related to the degree of perceived loudness. From the physiological point of view, a more favorable glottal setting, providing a higher glottal closing speed, may be characteristic of these actors' projected voices. So, the projected voices, in this group of actors, were more related to the glottic source than to the resonance of the vocal tract.     

Level and Center Frequency of the Singer's Formant

The "singer's formant" is a prominent spectrum envelope peak near 3 kHz, typically found in voiced sounds produced by classical operatic singers. According to previous research, it is mainly a resonatory phenomenon produced by a clustering of formants 3, 4, and 5. Its level relative to the first formant peak varies depending on vowel, vocal loudness, and other factors. Its dependence on vowel formant frequencies is examined. Applying the acoustic theory of voice production, the level difference between the first and third formant is calulated for some standard vowels. The difference between observed and calculated levels is determined for various voices. It is found to vary considerably more between vowels sung by professional singers than by untrained voices. The center frequency of the singer's formant as determined from long-term spectrum analysis of commercial recordings is found to increase slightly with the pitch range of the voice classification.     

Formant Frequencies of Malay Vowels Produced by Malay Children Aged Between 7 and 12 Years

The formant frequencies of Malaysian Malay children have not been well studied. This article investigates the first four formant frequencies of sustained vowels in 360 Malay children aged between 7 and 12 years using acoustical analysis. Generally, Malay female children had higher formant frequencies than those of their male counterparts. However, no significant differences in all four formant frequencies were observed between the Malay male and female children in most of the vowels and age groups. Significant differences in all formant frequencies were found across the Malay vowels in both Malay male and female children for all age groups except for F4 in female children aged 12 years. Generally, the Malaysian Malay children showed a nonsystematic decrement in formant frequencies with age. Low levels of significant differences in formant frequencies were observed across the age groups in most of the vowels for F1, F3, and F4 in Malay male children and F1 and F4 in Malay female children.     

Comparison of Singer''s Formant, Speaker''s Ring, and LTA Spectrum Among Classical Singers and Untrained Normal Speakers

Many studies have described and analyzed the singer's formant. A similar phenomenon produced by trained speakers led some authors to examine the speaker's ring. If we consider these phenomena as resonance effects associated with vocal tract adjustments and training, can we hypothesize that trained singers can carry over their singing formant ability into speech, also obtaining a speaker's ring? Can we find similar differences for energy distribution in continuous speech? Forty classically trained singers and forty untrained normal speakers performed an all-voiced reading task and produced a sample of a sustained spoken vowel /a/. The singers were also requested to perform a sustained sung vowel /a/ at a comfortable pitch. The reading was analyzed by the long-term average spectrum (LTAS) method. The sustained vowels were analyzed through power spectrum analysis. The data suggest that singers show more energy concentration in the singer's formant/speaker's ring region in both sung and spoken vowels. The singers' spoken vowel energy in the speaker's ring area was found to be significantly larger than that of the untrained speakers. The LTAS showed similar findings suggesting that those differences also occur in continuous speech. This finding supports the value of further research on the effect of singing training on the resonance of the speaking voice.