Comparison of sound radiation between classical and pop singers

Abstract

The directional characteristics of six soprano opera singers and five pop singers in the horizontal and vertical planes were measured in an anechoic room. Sound radiation measurements were made across the whole frequency range at 44 positions in the hemispherical array around the head at a distance of 120 cm while the singer's mouth was the centre. The scales through two octaves (C4–C6) in four dynamics and gradual increase of loudness (crescendo) in nine pitch positions were measured for the Czech vowels /a/, /i/, and /u/. The main aim was to describe differences in sound radiation between both groups of singers and verify the results of a preliminary study.The study confirmed that classical singers have more omnidirectional sound radiation patterns. A different type of pattern was found when singing /i/ in the middle voice range A4–F5#. The analysis of sound radiation in octave bands confirmed the main influence of the position and levels in the frequency bands of the first formant or first harmonic level, which is made by the difference in vocal technique between both groups of genres. When pitch and SPL levels are higher, the level of sound radiation is attenuated in the rear directions in general. The different trends of sound radiation, connected with the change of pitch and SPL, are probably caused by the shape and size of the singer's mouth. Those relations will be examined in the follow-up study.