Comparison of vocal vibrato across multiple singers and vowels

Abstract

Vibrato is a common technique used by singers to add expressiveness to their voice, which involves oscillating slightly above and below the target pitch. Analyzing the features of vibrato could be useful in projects such as identifying singers based on their voice or creating a more realistic autotune. The parameters of the vibrato explored included frequency modulation width, frequency modulation rate, and amplitude modulation width. To collect data on these parameters, various singers of different voice parts were recorded singing scales on different vowels with and without vibrato. The singers were recorded in an anechoic chamber to minimize the impact of the room on the samples. The scales were then cut down into individual pitches that could be analyzed. Using MATLAB, the vibrato parameters of the voice samples were calculated and graphed. The data was then compared between vowels sung by the same singer, and between different singers.