Aerodynamic Study of the Primary Female Register Transition in Singing

Abstract

The technique of “isoparametric tones” (tones of the same fundamental frequency, sound level, and phonemic category in different vocal registers), developed by Large (1968) for acoustic and perceptual studies of vocal registers, was utilized in an aerodynamic investigation of female chest and middle registers in singing. Air flow in each register was recorded by a pneumotachographic system. It was found that, for a given pair of isoparametric tones in which there was an audible difference in register timbre, more air was consumed in middle register than in chest register. The difference in air-flow rates between registers reached a high level of statistical significance. Marked variability occurred in the air-flow rates for both registers between subjects. Characteristic of most of the samples was a synchrony between the amplitude vibrato and the variation in the mean rate of air flow. The results of this study support the theory that the key to the register problem is primarily laryngeal, not pharyngeal. [This research was supported by a U. S. Public Health Service research grant from the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke.]