Effects of Professional Singing Education on Vocal Vibrato—A Longitudinal Study

Vocal vibrato is regarded as one of the essential characteristics of voice quality in classical singing. Professional singers seem to develop vibrato automatically, without actively striving to acquire it. In this longitudinal investigation, the vocal vibrato of 22 singing students was examined at the beginning of and after 3 years of professional singing education. Subjects sang an ascending-descending triad pattern in slow tempo on vowel [a:] at a comfortable pitch level twice at soft (piano) and twice at medium (mezzoforte) loudness. The top note of the triad pattern was sustained for approximately 5s. The mean and the standard deviation (SD) of the vibrato rate were measured for this note. Results revealed that after 3 years of training, voices with vibrato slower than 5.2 Hz were found to have a faster vibrato, and voices with vibrato faster than 5.8 Hz were found to have a slower vibrato. Standard deviation of vibrato rate was higher in soft than in medium loudness, particularly before the education. Also high values of SD of vibrato rate, exceeding 0.65 Hz, had decreased after the education. These findings confirm that vibrato characteristics can be affected by singing education.     

The Singing Power Ratio as an Objective Measure of Singing Voice Quality in Untrained Talented and Nontalented Singers

A growing body of contemporary research has investigated differences between trained and untrained singing voices. However, few studies have separated untrained singers into those who do and do not express abilities related to singing talent, including accurate pitch control and production of a pleasant timbre (voice quality). This investigation studied measures of the singing power ratio (SPR), which is a quantitative measure of the resonant quality of the singing voice. SPR reflects the amplification or suppression in the vocal tract of the harmonics produced by the sound source. This measure was acquired from the voices of untrained talented and nontalented singers as a means to objectively investigate voice quality differences. Measures of SPR were acquired from vocal samples with fast Fourier transform (FFT) power spectra to analyze the amplitude level of the partials in the acoustic spectrum. Long-term average spectra (LTAS) were also analyzed. Results indicated significant differences in SPR between groups, which suggest that vocal tract resonance, and its effect on perceived vocal timbre or quality, may be an important variable related to the perception of singing talent. LTAS confirmed group differences in the tuning of vocal tract harmonics.     

Are Real-Time Displays of Benefit in the Singing Studio? An Exploratory Study

This article reports on an exploratory research project to evaluate the usefulness or otherwise of real-time visual feedback in the singing studio. The primary purpose of the work was not to optimize the technology for this application, but to work alongside teachers and students to study the impact of real-time visual feedback technology use on the students' learning experiences. An action research methodology was used to explore the benefit of real-time displays over an extended period. The experimental phase of the work was guided by a Liaison Panel of teachers and academics in the areas of singing, pedagogy, voice science, speech therapy, and linguistic science. Qualitative data were collected from eight students working with two professional singing teachers. The teachers and students acted as co-researchers under the action research paradigm. Teachers and students alike kept journals of their teaching and learning experiences. Singing lessons were observed regularly by the research team, coded for teacher and student behaviors, and all co-researchers were interviewed at the mid- and endpoint of the project. The use of technology had a positive impact on the learning process, and this is evidenced through case study data.     

Pitch Matching Accuracy of Trained Singers, Untrained Subjects with Talented Singing Voices, and Untrained Subjects with Nontalented Singing Voices in Conditions of Varying Feedback

At a physiological level, the act of singing involves control and coordination of several systems involved in the production of sound, including respiration, phonation, resonance, and afferent systems used to monitor production. The ability to produce a melodious singing voice (eg, in tune with accurate pitch) is dependent on control over these motor and sensory systems. To test this position, trained singers and untrained subjects with and without expressed singing talent were asked to match pitches of target pure tones. The ability to match pitch reflected the ability to accurately integrate sensory perception with motor planning and execution. Pitch-matching accuracy was measured at the onset of phonation (prephonatory set) before external feedback could be utilized to adjust the voiced source, during phonation when external auditory feedback could be utilized, and during phonation when external auditory feedback was masked. Results revealed trained singers and untrained subjects with singing talent were no different in their pitch-matching abilities when measured before or after external feedback could be utilized. The untrained subjects with singing talent were also significantly more accurate than the trained singers when external auditory feedback was masked. Both groups were significantly more accurate than the untrained subjects without singing talent.     

Predicted Singers' Vocal Fold Lengths and Voice Classification—A Study of X-Ray Morphological Measures

Students admitted to the solo singing education at the University of Music Dresden, Germany have been submitted to a detailed physical examination of a variety of factors with relevance to voice function since 1959. In the years 1959–1991, this scheme of examinations included X-ray profiles of the singers' vocal tracts. This material of 132 X-rays of voice professionals was used to investigate different laryngeal morphological measures and their relation to vocal fold length. Further, the study aimed to investigate if there are consistent anatomical differences between singers of different voice classifications. The study design used was a retrospective analysis. Vocal fold length could be measured in 29 of these singer subjects directly. These data showed a strong correlation with the anterior-posterior diameter of the subglottis and the trachea as well as with the distance from the anterior contour of the thyroid cartilage to the anterior contour of the spine. These relations were used in an attempt to predict the 132 singers' vocal fold lengths. The results revealed a clear covariation between predicted vocal fold length and voice classification. Anterior-posterior subglottic-tracheal diameter yielded mean vocal fold lengths of 14.9, 16.0, 16.6, 18.4, 19.5, and 20.9 mm for sopranos, mezzo-sopranos, altos, tenors, baritones, and basses, respectively. The data support the assumption that there are consistent anatomical laryngeal differences between singers of different voice classifications, which are of relevance to pitch range and timbre of the voice.     

红外光谱应用新进展及其与色谱指纹图谱对比分析

综述了红外光谱技术在常用中药材鉴定、地方民族药识别、中药炮制、中药注射剂四方面应用最新进展,这些包括加强计算机解析深度,增加药材前处理,利用二维相关红外光谱进行炮制监控等;另外,简述了色谱指纹图谱多组分含量分析框架体系的构建;分析比较红外光谱与色谱指纹图谱技术在中药质量控制领域应用的共性与差异点。     

Dissimilarity and the Classification of Female Singing Voices: A Preliminary Study

Traditionally, timbre has been defined as that perceptual attribute that differentiates two sounds when pitch and loudness are equal and thus is a measure of dissimilarity. By such a definition, each voice possesses a set of timbres, and the identity of any voice or voice category across different pitch-loudness-vowel combinations must be due to an abstraction of the pattern of timbre transformation. Using stimuli produced across the singing range by singers from different voice categories, this study sought to examine how timbre and pitch interact in the perception of dissimilarity. This study also investigated whether listener experience affects the perception of timbre as a function of pitch. The resulting multidimensional scaling (MDS) representations showed that for all stimuli and listeners, dimension 1 correlated with pitch, whereas dimension 2 correlated with spectral centroid and separated vocal stimuli into the categories mezzo-soprano and soprano. Dimension 3 appeared highly idiosyncratic depending on the nature of the stimuli and on the experience of the listener. Inexperienced listeners appeared to rely more heavily on pitch in making dissimilarity judgments than did experienced listeners. The resulting MDS representations of dissimilarity across pitch provide a glimpse of the timbre transformation of voice categories across pitch.     

驻波声场中悬浮临界密度及稳定性研究

本文以声场中物体为研究对象,理论上得到行波和驻波场中的声辐射压力方程.在驻波声场中引入临界悬浮密度概念,可作为物体能否在非线性声场中悬浮的判据,同时给出谐振腔移动速度的最大范围.更进一步,以实验参数作为数值计算的输入来指导实验,并结合实验结果讨论了驻波声场中样品密度和大小、发射面和反射面形状以及两者之间的距离、反射面的尺寸等因素对物体悬浮稳定性的影响,发现当物体尺寸和密度确定时,调控好谐振腔的长度,增加波腹处的声压是提升声悬浮稳定性的有效手段.     

抗缺氧藏药中微量及宏量元素的测定

用HNO₃-HClO₄(4∶1) 混酸作消化液对红景天胶囊、安神散、五味石榴散、章松八味沉香散、十六味杜鹃散、二十五味余甘子丸、二十五味竹黄胶囊、十五味龙胆丸、秘诀清凉散、七十味珍珠丸、八味沉香散、六味丁香散和七味葡萄散等13种抗缺氧藏成药进行消化,采用火焰原子吸收分光光法测定了其中银、铝、镉、钴、铬、铜、铁、汞、镁、锰、镍、铅、锡和锌等14种微量及宏量元素的含量。结果表明,抗缺氧藏成药中含有比较丰富的铁、镁、铜、铬、锌及锰等微量元素。为探讨微量、宏量元素与藏成药抗氧化作用之间的关系提供了有用的数据。     

含矿物中成药及其胃肠消化液中五种重金属元素的测定研究

传统含雄黄中成药中可能含有多种微量元素及高含量的砷等有毒元素.对含雄黄的三种中成药分别采用微波消解与电热板消解进行处理,用电感耦合等离子体质谱(ICP-MS)及电感耦合发射光谱(ICP-AES)法检测其中的As,Hg,Cu,Cd,Pb.此外,还研究了含雄黄中成药经模拟人工胃肠消化后消化液中有毒有害金属含量.结果显示,三...     

Recovery process of respiratory muscle strength in patients following stroke: A Pilot Study

Objective: To determine the recovery process of respiratory muscle strength during 3 months following stroke, and to investigate the association of change in respiratory muscle strength and physical functions. Additionally, we compared respiratory muscle strength with those of healthy subjects. Method: In this prospective, observational study, 19 stroke patients and 19 healthy subjects were enrolled. Maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP), maximal expiratory pressure (MEP), motricity index, trunk control test, 6-minute walk test (6MWT) and functional independence measure were assessed at 1, 2, and 3 months from stroke onset in stroke patients. MIP and MEP were assessed at arbitrary times in healthy subjects. Repeated one-way analysis of variance with Bonferroni post-hoc test was used to compare the change in respiratory muscle strength in each period in stroke patients. Pearson''s correlation coefficient was computed for changes in respiratory muscle strength and physical functions. Student''s t-test was used to compare respiratory muscle strength between stroke patients at 3 months from onset and healthy subjects. Results: MIP was significantly increased at 3 months compared to 1 month. MEP was significantly increased in 2 months and 3 months, compared to 1 month. MIP changes associated with 6MWT changes. Compared to healthy subjects, MIP and MEP at 3 months were significantly lower in stroke patients. Conclusion: Respiratory muscle strength significantly increased during 3 months following stroke. However, the trend of recovery may be different. MIP changes may associated with walking endurance changes. During 3 months following stroke, respiratory muscle strength did not recover to healthy subjects.     

ICP-MS测定三种抗肿瘤中成药中铅镉汞砷含量

采用电感耦合等离子体-质谱(ICP-MS)法测定了三种抗肿瘤中成药(金克槐耳、华蟾素和复方苦参)中四种元素铅、镉、汞、砷的含量。结果显示,铅、镉、汞、砷四种元素在三种抗肿瘤中成药中的含量较低,均符合东南亚进口标准。其中金克槐耳中汞和砷含量略高于美国FAD药品与功能性食品要求标准,但仍符合其他标准。电感耦合等离子体-质谱法是测定中成药中铅、镉、汞、砷快速、准确的方法。     

Comparative Study of the Propagation of Jet Noise in Static and Flow Environments

In order to analyze the effect of the background flow on the sound prediction of fine-scale turbulence noise, the sound spectra from static and flow environments are compared. It turns out that, the two methods can obtain similar predictions not only at 90 deg to the jet axis but also at mid- and high frequencies in other directions. The discrepancies of predictions from the two environments show that the effect of the jet flow on the sound propagation is related to low frequencies in the downstream and upstream directions. It is noted that there is an obvious advantage of computational efficiency for calculating in static environment, compared with that in flow environment. A good agreement is also observed to some extent between the predictions in static environment and measurements of subsonic to supersonic. It is believed that the predictions in static environment could be an effective method to study the propagation of the sound in jet flow and to predict the fine scale turbulence noise accurately in a way as well.     

双光谱二维异步相关光谱表征分子间相互作用的可行性研究

双光谱二维异步相关光谱(2T2D-异步相关光谱)是一种利用两幅一维光谱创建异步相关光谱的新方法。相对于最少需要三幅一维光谱的传统异步相关光谱, 2T2D-异步相关光谱可简化实验过程,有利于样品昂贵体系的表征。利用数学分析、模拟及实际体系实验对2T2D-异步相关光谱应用于表征分子间相互作用的可行性进行了研究。首先建立一个包含P和Q两种溶质的模拟体系,设定P有光谱峰, Q没有光谱峰。数学分析表明:(1)不正确设置P和Q初始浓度,可导致2T2D-异步相关光谱的强度恒为零;(2) 2T2D-异步相关光谱不能反映与分子间相互作用相关的峰强变化;因此,利用2T2D-异步相关光谱表征分子间相互作用可能得到错误的结论。为将2T2D-异步相关光谱发展成为表征分子间相互作用的可靠方法,首先对2T2D-异步相关光谱中P和Q初始浓度的设置方法进行了研究,得出当P和Q初始浓度满足文中式(6)时,可避免不正确设置P和Q初始浓度导致2T2D-异步相关光谱强度恒为零的情况;在此基础上,为解决2T2D-异步相关光谱不能反映与分子间相互作用相关的峰强变化问题,通过向体系中加入具有独立光谱峰和适合浓度的虚拟物质S,发展出带有辅助交叉峰的2T2D-异步相关光谱(ASAP-2T2D-异步相关光谱)。模拟体系实验表明ASAP-2T2D-异步相关光谱可正确反映与分子间相互作用相关的峰宽、峰位及峰强变化,是表征分子间相互作用的可靠方法。最后,将ASAP-2T2D-异步相关光谱应用于表征苯并-15-冠醚-5(BC)与Li^+间的相互作用,实验结果表明ASAP-2T2D-异步相关光谱可同时反映BC特征峰的峰位及峰强变化,进一步证实ASAP-2T2D-异步相关光谱可正确表征分子间相互作用。     

热疗用聚焦脉冲声场的时域和频域特性研究

本文用传递函数的概念导出了凹球面聚焦脉冲声扬的简洁表达式,从数值计算上和实验上研究了这种声场和中轴线上不同位置处声压信号的持续时间和频谱特征,分析了它们对热疗的影响。