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At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed2005

Development of an auditory-perceptual rating instrument for the operatic singing voice.

Although considerable progress has been made in the development of acoustic and physiological measures of operatic singing voice, there is still no widely accepted objective tool for the evaluation of its multidimensional features. Auditory-perceptual evaluation, therefore, remains an important evaluation method for singing pedagogues, voice scientists, and clinicians who work with opera singers. Few investigators, however, have attempted to develop standard auditory-perceptual tools for evaluation of the operatic voice. This study aimed to pilot test a new auditory-perceptual rating instrument for operatic singing voice. Nine expert teachers of operatic singing used the instrument to rate the singing voices of 21 professional opera chorus artists from a national opera company. The findings showed that the instrument has good face validity, that it can be legitimately treated as a psychometrically sound scale, and that raters can use the scale consistently, both between and within judges. This new instrument, therefore, has the potential to allow opera singers, their teachers, voice care clinicians, and researchers to evaluate the important auditory-perceptual features of operatic voice quality.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Should singing activities be included in speech and voice therapy for prepubertal children?

Customarily, speaking and singing have tended to be regarded as two completely separate sets of behaviors in clinical and educational settings. The treatment of speech and voice disorders has focused on the client's speaking ability, as this is perceived to be the main vocal behavior of concern. However, according to a broader voice-science perspective, given that the same vocal structure is used for speaking and singing, it may be possible to include singing in speech and voice therapy. In this article, a theoretical framework is proposed that indicates possible benefits from the inclusion of singing in such therapeutic settings. Based on a literature review, it is demonstrated theoretically why singing activities can potentially be exploited in the treatment of prepubertal children suffering from speech and voice disorders. Based on this theoretical framework, implications for further empirical research and practice are suggested.

Child↗
PubMed2001

Reduction of female-directed song motifs induced by repeated singing in laboratory-bred zebra finches.

Songbirds such as zebra finches show a remarkable degree of neural plasticity associated with the motor act of singing. Here we show that in adult male zebra finches repeated female-directed singing episodes are associated with a change in subsequent singing behavior involving a progressive long-lasting decline in the number of song motifs sung. This reduction in song motif production cannot be completely explained by the circadian rhythm, declining motivation or neuromuscular exhaustion. Paired song induction sessions reveal that the time course of motif reduction during repeated singing can be best explained by the cumulative effect of reduction produced by each singing episode. These results suggest that song production in zebra finches is prone to a form of rapid behavioral adaptation.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed2001

Long-term-average spectrum characteristics of country singers during speaking and singing.

Five premier male country singers involved in our previous studies spoke and sang the words of both the national anthem and a country song of their choice. Long-term-average spectra were made of the spoken and sung material of each singer. The spectral characteristics of county singers' speech and singing were similar. A prominent peak in the upper part of the spectrum, previously described as the "speaker's formant," was found in the county singers' speech and singing. The singer's formant, a strong spectral peak near 2.8 kHz, an important part of the spectrum of classically trained singers, was not found in the spectra of the country singers. The results support the conclusion that the resonance characteristics in speech and singing are similar in country singing and that county singing is not characterized by a singer's formant.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Voice source characteristics in Mongolian "throat singing" studied with high-speed imaging technique, acoustic spectra, and inverse filtering.

Mongolian "throat singing" can be performed in different modes. In Mongolia, the bass-type is called Kargyraa. The voice source in bass-type throat singing was studied in one male singer. The subject alternated between modal voice and the throat singing mode. Vocal fold vibrations were observed with high-speed photography, using a computerized recording system. The spectral characteristics of the sound signal were analyzed. Kymographic image data were compared to the sound signal and flow inverse filtering data from the same singer were obtained on a separate occasion. It was found that the vocal folds vibrated at the same frequency throughout both modes of singing. During throat singing the ventricular folds vibrated with complete but short closures at half the frequency of the true vocal folds, covering every second vocal fold closure. Kymographic data confirmed the findings. The spectrum contained added subharmonics compared to modal voice. In the inverse filtered signal the amplitude of every second airflow pulse was considerably lowered. The ventricular folds appeared to modulate the sound by reducing the glottal flow of every other vocal fold vibratory cycle.

Culture↗
PubMed2001

Discrimination functions: can they be used to classify singing voices?

Researchers long have searched for invariant acoustic features that can be used to identify singing voice categories or even individual singers. Few researchers have examined how listeners perceive singing voice categories or individual voices. Timbre, the most studied perceptual dimension of the singing voice, is generally believed to vary systematically between singing voice categories but is often assumed to be invariant with an individual singer. To test this assumption, 2 mezzo-sopranos and 2 sopranos were recorded singing the vowel /a/ on the pitches A3, C4, G4, B4, F5, and A5. Trials of three stimuli were constructed. Two of the three stimuli in each trial were produced by the same singer at two different pitches (X1 and X2), while the third stimulus was produced by a different singer (Y). Three X1X2 conditions were created: (1) G4, B4; (2) C4, F5; and (3) A3, A5. For each singer and each condition, Y was varied across the three remaining singers and across all six pitches. Experienced and inexperienced listeners were asked to identify which stimulus was produced by the "odd" person. The ability to correctly choose the odd person varied greatly depending on pitch factors, suggesting that the traditional concept of an invariant timbre associated with a singer is inaccurate and that vocal timbre must be conceptualized in terms of transformations in perceived quality that occur across an individual singer's range and/or registers.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Physiological characteristics of the supported singing voice. A preliminary study.

The purpose of this study was to develop a definition of the supported singing voice based on physiological characteristics by comparing the subjects' concepts of a supported voice with objective measurements of their supported and unsupported voice. This preliminary report presents findings based on data from eight classically trained singers. Subjects answered questions about their concepts of the characteristics of the supported singing voice and how it is produced. Samples of the supported and unsupported singing voice produced at low, medium, and high pitches at a comfortable loudness level were collected for acoustic, spectral, airflow, electroglottographic, air volume, and stroboscopic analyses. Significant differences between the supported and unsupported voice were found for sound pressure level (SPL), peak airflow, subglottal pressure (Ps), glottal open time, and frequency of the fourth formant (F4). Mean flow and F2 frequency differences were sex and pitch related. Males adjusted laryngeal configuration to produce supported voice, whereas glottal configuration differences were greater in females. Breathing patterns were variable and not significantly different between supported and unsupported voice. Subjects in this study believe that the supported singing voice is resonant, clear, and easy to manage and is produced by correct breath management. Results of data analysis show that the supported singing voice has different spectral characteristics from and higher SPL, peak airflow, and Ps than the unsupported voice. Singers adjust laryngeal and/or glottal configuration to account for these changes, but no significant differences in breathing activity were found.

Acoustics↗
PubMed1994

Acoustic and physiologic factors in duet singing: a pilot study.

Ensemble singing has recently received increased attention by voice scientists. From the literature, it appears that singing in groups requires techniques that are different from those used in solo singing. This experiment studied the characteristics of a pair of male vocalists who were recorded as they sang two duet scores. Analysis of the results showed that timing, pitch, loudness, and long-term average spectra characteristic of both solo and ensemble singing were employed. The use of solo versus ensemble techniques may be more a function of musical style rather than the number of individuals who sing in a group.

Humans↗
PubMed1997

Movement of the velum during speech and singing in classically trained singers.

The present study addresses two questions: (a) Is the action and/or posture of the velopharyngeal valve conducive to allow significant resonance during Western tradition classical singing? (b) How do the actions of the velopharyngeal valve observed in this style of singing compare with normal speech? A photodetector system was used to observe the area function of the velopharyngeal port during speech and classical style singing. Identical speech samples were produced by each subject in a normal speaking voice and then in the low, medium, and high singing ranges. Results indicate that in these four singers the velopharyngeal port was closed significantly longer in singing than in speaking samples. The amount of time the velopharyngeal port was opened was greatest in speech and diminished as the singer ascended in pitch. In the high voice condition, little or no opening of the velopharyngeal port was measured.

Humans↗
PubMed2003

Words in melody: an H(2)15O PET study of brain activation during singing and speaking.

We used H(2)15O PET to characterize the interaction of words and melody by comparing brain activity measured while subjects spoke or sang the words to a familiar song. Relative increases in activity during speaking vs singing were observed in the left hemisphere, in classical perisylvian language areas including the posterior superior temporal gyrus, supramarginal gyrus, and frontal operculum, as well as in Rolandic cortices and putamen. Relative increases in activity during singing were observed in the right hemisphere: these were maximal in the right anterior superior temporal gyrus and contiguous portions of the insula; relative increases associated with singing were also detected in the right anterior middle temporal gyrus and superior temporal sulcus, medial and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices, mesial temporal cortices and cerebellum, as well as in Rolandic cortices and nucleus accumbens. These results indicate that the production of words in song is associated with activation of regions within right hemisphere areas that are not mirror-image homologues of left hemisphere perisylvian language areas, and suggest that multiple neural networks may be involved in different aspects of singing. Right hemisphere mechanisms may support the fluency-evoking effects of singing in neurological disorders such as stuttering or aphasia.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Spectral analysis of sung vowels. I. Variation due to differences between vowels, singers, and modes of singing.

Average 1/3-oct filter spectra of vowels, sung by seven professional male and seven professional female singers , were measured. The material consisted of nine different vowels, sung at six fundamental frequencies (F0, ranging from 98 up to 880 Hz). For each vowel the singers were requested to sing in the following nine modes: neutral, light, dark, pressed, free, loud, soft, straight, and extra vibrato . To study origins of spectral variation, the quantity of spectral variance, based on band filter sound levels, was used. For each fundamental frequency and separately for males and females, portions of total spectral variance associated with the main effects and the interactions of the factors "vowels," " singers ," and "modes of singing," were computed. A considerable decrease in total spectral variance was found when F0 rose from 98 to 880 Hz, mostly due to the reduced spectral variance between vowels. Above about F0 = 660 Hz spectral variation was dominated by differences related to singers and modes of singing. Additional analyses revealed that for all F0 values vowel spectra of the tenor and the soprano singers varied more than those of the bass and the alto singers , there was only a slight dependence of spectral differences between vowels on the mode of singing, and the amount of spectral variation in a vowel, sung by different singers with different modes of singing, was vowel dependent.

Female↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Singing and evil in visual art.

Surprisingly, singing and music sometimes are connected with poor or even lethal outcomes. One example is personified in the legend of Orpheus, who through the power of his songs, succeeded in leading the wild Thracians into the Greek religion. This did not save him, however, from being murdered by Thracian women probably because of his paedophilic tendency. The scene has been illustrated since 490 BC on Attic red-figure vases. The Sirens, with the body of a bird and the head of a female and dwelling in the Sicilian Sea, were creatures who attracted sailors by their song and devoured the unhappy wretches who had been unable to resist their seductive singing. This topic has also been depicted on ancient Greek vases as part of the Odyssey. The idea that beautiful singing with an instrument can also be a symbol of sin and a sign of the devil is deeply rooted in Christian thinking. This aspect of music as the power of evil is extensively depicted in Dutch and Flemish genre paintings where singing and playing string instruments were also common symbols of lust and vices, seduction and, therefore, moral decay. Some examples of the power of evil in singing in representative art are presented in this article.

Culture↗
PubMed1999

Singing-related neural activity in a dorsal forebrain-basal ganglia circuit of adult zebra finches.

The anterior forebrain pathway (AFP) of songbirds, a specialized dorsal forebrain-basal ganglia circuit, is crucial for song learning but has a less clear function in adults. We report here that neurons in two nuclei of the AFP, the lateral magnocellular nucleus of the anterior neostriatum (LMAN) and Area X, show marked changes in neurophysiological activity before and during singing in adult zebra finches. The presence of modulation before song output suggests that singing-related AFP activity originates, at least in part, in motor control nuclei. Some neurons in LMAN of awake birds also responded selectively to playback of the bird's own song, but neural activity during singing did not completely depend on auditory feedback in the short term, because neither the level nor the pattern of this activity was strongly affected by deafening. The singing-related activity of neurons in AFP nuclei of songbirds is consistent with a role of the AFP in adult singing or song maintenance, possibly related to the function of this circuit during initial song learning.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Gonads and singing play separate, additive roles in new neuron recruitment in adult canary brain.

New neurons are constantly added to the high vocal center (HVC) of adult male canaries, Serinus canaria. Singing and testosterone (T) are known to promote this addition, but it is not known whether either variable can act on its own and what is their effect when acting together. We studied this question by castrating adult male canaries in late summer and quantifying their song in early fall. Intact birds served as controls. A 5 d systemic treatment of two daily injections of the cell birth marker 3H-thymidine started 10 d after surgery. Twenty days after the first 3H-thymidine injection and for a period of 1 month, we quantified the singing of all birds, which were then killed. Amount of singing, syllable diversity, and song stability were similar in intacts and castrates. When castrates and intacts that sang comparable amounts were compared, the number of 3H-labeled HVC neurons was 2.6 times higher in intacts than in castrates. In castrates with plasma T levels that were undetectable, the mean amount of singing was positively related to the number of new neurons. We suggest that singing and gonadal factors promote, separately, the recruitment of new neurons and that when they exert this effect together they do so in an additive manner.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Infants' response to the audible and visible properties of the human face: II. Discrimination of differences between singing and adult-directed speech.

Human infants' responsiveness to the audible and visible features of human faces was studied by habituating them to a person speaking a prepared script in an adult-directed manner and then administering a series of separate test trials where a person could be seen, heard, or seen and heard singing. When habituated to a female person speaking in an adult-directed manner and tested with a singing female 4, 6, and 8-month-old infants responded to the audible, visible, and bimodal changes, whereas 3-month-old infants only responded to the visual and bimodal changes. In contrast, when habituated to a male person speaking in an adult-directed manner and tested with a singing female, all age groups discriminated all three types of changes. These findings demonstrate that infants are responsive to differences between low- and high-prosody content inherent in both the facial and vocal characteristics of the human face and that, whereas responsiveness to the visible and bimodal features associated with differences between adult-directed speech and singing is present as early as 3 months of age, responsiveness to the audible features emerges between 3 and 4 months of age depending on whether gender differences are present as well.

Acoustic Stimulation↗
PubMed1999

[Vocal capabilities of nonprofessional singers evaluated by measurement and superimposition of their speaking, shouting and singing voice range profiles].

Voice range profile(VRP) measurement (Phonetography) was used for the evaluation of the vocal capabilities of 41 female (F) and 50 male (M) members of a nonprofessional choir. By means of an automatic VPR measurement system F0 and SPL dB(A) were determined and displayed real time, two-dimensionally. The speaking voice (reading a standard passage as well as counting from the softest to the loudest intensity), the shouting voice (3-4 times shouting a standard sentence) and the singing voice (sustained phonation / la:/ at minimum and maximum intensity level) were measured. The VRPs of these voice modalities were superimposed on the screen and the plot. The averaged values for the speaking VRP: intensity range (F): 48 dB (range 46 soft to 94 dB loud phonation), (M): 52 dB (range 46-98). Pitch range (F): 15 semitones (ST) (Cis3, 138-E4, 329 Hz), (M): 19 ST (E2, 82 Hz-H3, 246 Hz). The average slope for the speaking voice (F): 0,31 ST/dB, (M): 0,36 ST/dB. Shouting VRP highest intensity (F): 106,5 dB, (M): 108,5 dB, highest pitch (F): between Ais4, 466 and H4, 493 Hz. (M): E4, 329 Hz. Average slope for speaking and shouting voice (F): 0,36 ST/dB, (M): 0,39 ST/dB. Singing VRP pitch range (F): 34,6 ST, (M): 37 ST, intensity range (F): 60 dB, (M): 58 dB. The pitch extension of the speaking VRP ranges from 2,9 to 46,2%, speaking and shouting VRPs together with 2,9 to 65% of the pitch range of the singing VRP (F), (M) 2,7-54% and 2,7-67,5% accordingly. The average values for nonprofessional singers reflect an effective but not special use of the phonatory system for the speaking, shouting and singing voice functions with respect to pitch and intensity.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Heavy metal pollution affects dawn singing behaviour in a small passerine bird.

Although several studies have suggested that behavioural measures may be more comprehensive than other biomarkers for indicating an organism's health or welfare, this has rarely been investigated in free-living terrestrial vertebrates. Here we examine the expression of dawn singing behaviour in a free-living small songbird in relation to environmental pollution. We compared the singing behaviour of male great tits Parus major inhabiting an area extremely polluted with heavy metals with that of males inhabiting areas of low(er) pollution (at 4 and 20 km distance from the pollution source). Males at the most polluted site had a significantly smaller repertoire size than males at the two other sites. They also produced a significantly lower total amount of song during the dawn chorus than the males at a distance of 4 km from the pollution source. Our results, although non-experimental and obtained in field conditions, strongly suggest that heavy metal pollution might affect the expression of singing behaviour. Taking into account that previous studies were not able to detect clear, straightforward differences between the health of great tits at the most polluted site and at 4 km distance from the pollution source, our results suggest that the singing behaviour of great tits may be a useful indicator of environmental stress at the population level.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed2004

Effects of choir singing or listening on secretory immunoglobulin A, cortisol, and emotional state.

The present study investigates the effects of choir music on secretory immunoglobulin A (S-IgA), cortisol, and emotional states in members of a mixed amateur choir. Subjects participated in two conditions during two rehearsals 1 week apart, namely singing versus listening to choral music. Saliva samples and subjective measures of affect were taken both before each session and 60 min later. Repeated measure analyses of variance were conducted for positive and negative affect scores, S-IgA, and cortisol. Results indicate several significant effects. In particular, singing leads to increases in positive affect and S-IgA, while negative affect is reduced. Listening to choral music leads to an increase in negative affect, and decreases in levels of cortisol. These results suggest that choir singing positively influences both emotional affect and immune competence. The observation that subjective and physiological responses differed between listening and singing conditions invites further investigation of task factors.

Adult↗