Acoustic studies of the voice source in male singers

Abstract

This paper reviews various recent investigations with various co‐workers of male singers' vocal fold function mainly studied by inverse filtering for deriving the waveform of the transglottal airflow during phonation. Theoretical and experimental studies confirmed the dominating acoustic importance of (1) the peak airflow Ûg for the amplitude of the voice source fundamental, and (2) the negative peak amplitude of the differentiated waveform dU/dt for the SPL of the radiated sound. Unlike nonsingers, some professional baritone and bass singers have been found to retain a high Ûg during loud tones at high pitches. Different strategies are possible for increasing dUg/dt for loudness variation: increasing Ug, increasing the duration of the closed phase, and skewing the pulse shape. Different singers use different combinations of these alternatives depending on pitch, loudness range, and voice type. Some of the physiological correlates of these strategies can be postulated. Here, Ûg seems highly dependent on the degree of glottal adduction and dUg/dt on subglottal pressure. However, influence of the breathing strategy has also been quantitatively demonstrated.