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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Does singing promote well-being?: An empirical study of professional and amateur singers during a singing lesson.

This study explored the possible beneficial effects of singing on well-being during a singing lesson. Eight amateur (2m, 6f, age 28-53 yrs) and eight professional (4m, 4f, age 26-49 yrs) singers who had been attending singing lessons for at least six months were included. Continuous ECG was recorded and computerized spectral analysis was performed. Serum concentrations of TNF-alpha, prolactin, cortisol, and oxytocin were measured before and 30 min after the lesson. Five visual analogue scales (VAS, sad-joyful, anxious-calm, worried-elated, listless-energetic, and tense-relaxed) were scored before and after the lesson. In addition, a semi-structured interview was performed. Heart rate variability analyses showed significant changes over time in the two groups for total power, and low and high frequency power. Power increased during singing in professionals, whereas there were no changes in amateurs. This indicates an ability to retain more "heart-brain connection." i.e., more cardio-physiological fitness for singing in professional singers, compared to amateur singers. Serum concentration of TNF-alpha increased in professionals after the singing lesson, whereas the concentration in amateurs decreased. Serum concentrations of prolactin and cortisol increased after the lesson in the group of men and vice versa for women. Oxytocin concentrations increased significantly in both groups after the singing lesson. Amateurs reported increasing joy and elatedness (VAS), whereas professionals did not. However, both groups felt more energetic and relaxed after the singing lesson. The interviews showed that the professionals were clearly achievement-oriented, with focus on singing technique, vocal apparatus and body during the lesson. The amateurs used the singing lessons as a means of self-actualization and self-expression as a way to release emotional tensions. In summary, in this study, singing during a singing lesson seemed to promote more well-being and less arousal for amateurs compared to professional singers, who seemed to experience less well-being and more arousal.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Potential factors related to untrained singing talent: a survey of singing pedagogues.

A national survey was conducted to identify factors associated with untrained singing talent based on perceptions obtained from a homogeneous group of professional singing pedagogues. Survey items included questions related to the perception of singing talent, factors associated with untrained singing talent, and physiological variables that distinguished untrained singing talented individuals from those without obvious singing talent. The survey data suggested that intonation, timbre, and musicality were rated the most important factors associated with the perception of singing talent in an untrained individual. Environmental influences and genetics were rated most important for explaining why one individual would express singing talent and another would not. In addition, the data suggested that abilities related to the control of pitch distinguished untrained talented individuals from those without singing talent more than other physiological variables.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

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.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

The effects of solo singing, choral singing and swimming on mood and physiological indices.

The effects of solo singing, choral singing and swimming on mood and physiological indices were compared. Engaging in these activities reduced tense arousal and increased energetic arousal, positive hedonic tone and heart rate. Effects were greater for swimming than for singing, with little difference between choral and solo singing. Possible mechanisms and the implications for mental well-being are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

The effects of solo singing, choral singing and swimming on mood and physiological indices.

The effects of solo singing, choral singing and swimming on mood and physiological indices were compared. Engaging in these activities reduced tense arousal and increased energetic arousal, positive hedonic tone and heart rate. Effects were greater for swimming than for singing, with little difference between choral and solo singing. Possible mechanisms and the implications for mental well-being are discussed.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2000

Acoustic analysis of the singing and speaking voice in singing students.

The singing power ratio (SPR) is an objective means of quantifying the singer's formant. SPR has been shown to differentiate trained singers from nonsingers and sung from spoken tones. This study was designed to evaluate SPR and acoustic parameters in singing students to determine if the singer-in-training has an identifiable difference between sung and spoken voices. Digital audio recordings were made of both sung and spoken vowel sounds in 55 singing students for acoustic analysis. SPR values were not significantly different between the sung and spoken samples. Shimmer and noise-to-harmonic ratio were significantly higher in spoken samples. SPR analysis may provide an objective tool for monitoring the student's progress.

Acoustics↗
PubMed1996

Singing power ratio: quantitative evaluation of singing voice quality.

This paper presents a parameter for objectively evaluating singing voice quality. Power spectrum of vowel sound /a/ was analyzed by Fast Fourier Transform. The greatest harmonics peak between 2 and 4 kHz and the greatest harmonics peak between 0 and 2 kHz were identified. Power ratio of these peaks, termed singing power ratio (SPR), was calculated in 37 singers and 20 nonsingers. SPR of sung /a/ in singers was significantly greater than in nonsingers. In singers, SPR of sung /a/ was significantly greater than that of spoken /a/. By digital signal processing, power spectrum of sung /a/ was varied, and the processed sounds were perceptually analyzed. SPR had a significant relationship with perceptual scores of "ringing" quality. SPR provides an important quantitative measurement for evaluating singing voice quality for all voice types, including soprano.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

[Oropharyngeal vocal tract space during singing--comparison of tactile-kinesthetic and auditory perception with objective endoscopic findings].

BACKGROUND: In this study we compared the perceived diameter of the vocal tract's oropharyngeal part with the diameter that was determined endoscopically. METHODS: 28 singers (13 male, 15 female) were examined with transnasal fiberscopic pharyngoscopy while singing the vowels /a/, /i/ and /u/ in 4 different timbres (normal, opened, covered, dumpled) and 3 different pitches (chest/modal register, subjective comfortable pitch for singing, head/falsetto register). The tactile-kinesthetic and auditive rating of the singers, the auditive rating of a singing teacher and the visual-endoscopic analysis of three laryngologists were compared. RESULTS: The tactile-kinesthetic and auditory self-perception of the singers was quite different from the auditive perception of a singing teacher and visual endoscopic findings of the laryngologists. The singers had the impression that the different singing timbres (normal, opened, covered, dumpled) influence oropharyngeal vocal tract space during singing. They judged the vowel itself and the pitch as having very little influence. Based on his auditory perception, the singing teacher also rated that the timbre plays an important role for the oropharyngeal vocal tract space but he found vowels to be the parameter with the greatest impact. Via visual endoscopic examination we found that, among the three parameters (vowel, timbre, pitch), the different vowels are most influential on the oropharyngeal vocal tract space. Analysis of video sequences revealed that pitch and timbre are less important. CONCLUSION: Subjective tactile-kinesthetic and auditory perception of the singers differs from auditory perception of the singing teacher as well as from endoscopic findings. The endoscopically determined oropharyngeal vocal tract space during singing the vowels /i/ or /u/ tends to be larger compared to the oropharyngeal vocal tract space while singing the vowel /a/.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Effect of instruction to sing on stuttering frequency at normal and fast rates.

Singing as a fluency-enhancing mechanism is well-established. The fluency derived by singing has been attributed to a reduced speech rate, memorized material, semantically reduced content, and an imposed rhythm. In this study, we attempted to address each of these explanations. 12 participants who stuttered were instructed to read or sing each of four different passages under the following conditions: reading at a normal rate, reading at a fast rate, singing at a normal rare, and singing at a fast rate. Participants exhibited a statistically significant increase in disfluencies while reading, i.e., participants displayed a 75% reduction in disfluency in the singing condition relative to the reading condition. There was no difference in stuttering frequency with rate conditions. Current findings suggest that stutterers are capable of internally generating fluent speech production by imposing idiosyncratic melodic structures or some derivation of melody when asked simply to sing. There is no claim that these participants were singing, as skills and capabilities varied tremendously, only that participants achieved dramatic enhancement of fluency after they were just asked to sing. Thus, the only intervening variable was the instruction to sing, which suggests the attempt to follow the instruction, no matter how futile, generated fluent speech. Since fluency was maintained in both the normal and fast rates of production, alternate central mechanisms must be held accountable for these findings.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Rearrangements at a hobo element inserted into the first intron of the singed gene in the unstable sn49 system of Drosophila melanogaster.

The cytological structure of the X chromosome and the DNA organisation of the singed locus were examined in five singed bristle mutants of Drosophila melanogaster. These mutants are all derived from the unstable mutant singed-49, isolated from a wild population in the Russian Far East in 1975. Rearrangements were found at a site within the first intron of the singed gene, where a hobo element is inserted in these mutants. One rearrangement, which is associated with a strong bristle phenotype, has an inversion between 2D and the location of singed at 7D, which separates the singed promoter from the singed coding region. Two phenotypically wild-type derivatives have smaller rearrangements within the first intron which do not appear to interfere with singed expression. Two derivatives with bristle phenotypes have more complex rearrangements, and one of them shows a dominant or antimorphic phenotype. DNA blotting and in situ hybridisation experiments show that, in addition to these rearrangements at a hobo element inserted at singed, other hobo elements in these strains have been mobilised. This system is therefore similar to others in which functional hobo elements continue to transpose, resulting in elevated rates of mutation and chromosome rearrangement.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Drosophila singed, a fascin homolog, is required for actin bundle formation during oogenesis and bristle extension.

Drosophila singed mutants were named for their gnarled bristle phenotype but severe alleles are also female sterile. Recently, singed protein was shown to have 35% peptide identity with echinoderm fascin. Fascin is found in actin filament bundles in microvilli of sea urchin eggs and in filopodial extensions in coelomocytes. We show that Drosophila singed is required for actin filament bundle formation in the cytoplasm of nurse cells during oogenesis; in severe mutants, the absence of cytoplasmic actin filament bundles allows nurse cell nuclei to lodge in ring canals and block nurse cell cytoplasm transport. Singed is also required for organized actin filament bundle formation in the cellular extension that forms a bristle; in severe mutants, the small disorganized actin filament bundles lack structural integrity and allow bristles to bend and branch during extension. Singed protein is also expressed in migratory cells of the developing egg chamber and in the socket cell of the developing bristle, but no defect is observed in these cells in singed mutants. Purified, bacterially expressed singed protein bundles actin filaments in vitro with the same stoichiometry reported for purified sea urchin fascin. Singed-saturated actin bundles have a molar ratio of singed/actin of approximately 1:4.3 and a transverse cross-banding pattern of 12 nm seen using electron microscopy. Our results suggest that singed protein is required for actin filament bundle formation and is a Drosophila homolog of echinoderm fascin.

Actins↗
PubMed1996

Laryngeal biomechanics of the singing voice.

By transnasal fiberoptic laryngoscopy, patients with functional voice often demonstrate abnormal laryngeal biomechanics, commonly supraglottic contraction. Appropriately, such conditions are sometimes termed muscle tension dysphonias. Singers working at the limits of their voice may also transiently demonstrate comparable tension patterns. However, the biomechanics of normal singing, particularly for different singing styles, have not been previously well characterized. We used transnasal fiberoptic laryngoscopy to study 100 healthy singers to assess patterns of laryngeal tension during normal singing and to determine whether factors such as sex, occupation, and style of singing influence laryngeal muscle tension. Thirty-nine male and 61 female singers were studied; 48 were professional singers, and 52 were amateurs. Examinations of study subjects performing standardized and nonstandardized singing tasks were recorded on a laser disk and subsequently analyzed in a frame-by-frame fashion by a blinded otolaryngologist. Each vocal task was graded for muscle tension by previously established criteria, and objective muscle tension scores were computed. The muscle tension score was expressed as a percentage of frames for each task with one of the laryngeal muscle tension patterns shown. The lowest muscle tension scores were seen in female professional singers, and the highest muscle tension scores were seen in amateur female singers. Male singers (professional and amateur) had intermediate muscle tension scores. Classical singers had lower muscle tension scores than nonclassical singers, with the lowest muscle tension scores being seen in those singing choral music (41%), art song (47%), and opera (57%), and the highest being seen in those singing jazz/pop (65%), musical theater (74%), bluegrass/country and western (86%), and rock/gospel (94%). Analyzed also were the influences of vocal nodules, prior vocal training, number of performance and practice hours per week, warm-up before singing, race, smoking, and alcohol consumption.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Structure and transcription of the singed locus of Drosophila melanogaster.

Developmental and genetic studies of the singed gene of Drosophila melanogaster indicate that the gene has a role in somatic cells during the formation of adult bristles and hairs, and in the female germline during oogenesis. During metamorphosis a single 3.6-kilobase (kb) RNA is made, and this RNA is also present in adults and early embryos. Early embryos and adult females have additional 3.3- and 3.0-kb RNAs. The RNAs differ only in the length of the 3' untranslated region and a single gene product of 57 kilodaltons is predicted. Analysis of RNA from females lacking ovaries suggests that the 3.3- and 3.0-kb RNAs are made only in ovaries. The absence of the 3.3- and 3.0-kb RNAs in pupae and the time course of their appearance in adult females after eclosion suggests that transcription of singed in the ovary is from middle to late stages of oogenesis. Analysis of RNA in embryos from the reciprocal crosses between wild type and singed-3 showed that all three RNAs are maternally inherited with very little zygotic transcription in embryos. The mutation singed-3 appears to separate the two requirements for singed function as it has an extreme effect upon bristle development, but does not obviously affect oogenesis. In singed-3, there is a deletion at the 5' end of the gene, but the coding region is intact. Transcription in singed-3 is from a cryptic promoter in the upstream flanking sequences which is sufficiently active during oogenesis for fertility, but less active than the wild-type promoter during metamorphosis. The role of the single singed gene product may be in the asymmetric organization and/or movement of cytoplasmic components.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2001

The perceived benefits of singing: findings from preliminary surveys of a university college choral society.

Two exploratory studies are reported on the perceived benefits associated with active participation in choral singing. In the first study, 84 members of a university college choral society completed a brief questionnaire that asked whether they had benefited personally from their involvement in the choir and whether there were ways in which participation could benefit their health. A large majority of respondents agreed they had benefited socially (87%) and emotionally (75%), with 58% agreeing they had benefited in some physical way, and 49% spiritually. A content analysis of written comments served to elaborate the ways in which choir members felt they had benefited. Common themes expressed were: meeting new people, feeling more positive, increased control over breathing, feeling more alert and feeling spiritually uplifted. With respect to health benefits, 84% of participants gave answers, the main themes of which related to improved lung function and breathing, improved mood and stress reduction. In the second study, 91 members of the choir completed a structured questionnaire consisting of 32 statements about singing reflecting the ideas expressed in the first study. Over 40% of respondents strongly agreed that 'singing helps to make my mood more positive', 'singing is a moving experience for me sometimes', 'singing makes me feel a lot happier' and 'singing is good for my soul'. A principal components analysis followed by Oblimin rotation identified six dimensions of benefit associated with singing. These were labelled as: benefits for well-being and relaxation, benefits for breathing and posture, social benefits, spiritual benefits, emotional benefits, and benefits for heart and immune system. Cronbach alpha coefficients were satisfactory for all components except the third, social benefits, due primarily to the small number of items loading on this component. Women were significantly more likely to experience benefits for well-being and relaxation, younger people were more likely to report social benefits, and those professing religious beliefs were more likely to experience spiritual benefits. The present studies have a number of limitations, but they provide a useful foundation for future larger scale surveys, more sophisticated qualitative studies, and experimental investigations of the impact of singing on psycho-physiological functioning.

Adult↗