Abstract
IntroductionDynamic MRI analysis of phonation has gathered interest in voice and speech physiology. However, there are limited data addressing the extent to which articulation is dependent on loudness.Material and Methods12 professional singer subjects of different voice classifications were analysed concerning the vocal tract profiles recorded with dynamic real-time MRI with 25fps in different pitch and loudness conditions. The subjects were asked to sing ascending scales on the vowel /a/ in three loudness conditions (comfortable = mf, very soft = pp, very loud = ff, respectively). Furthermore, fundamental frequency and sound pressure level were analysed from the simultaneously recorded optical audio signal after noise cancellation.ResultsThe data show articulatory differences with respect to changes of both pitch and loudness. Here, lip opening and pharynx width were increased. While the vertical larynx position was rising with pitch it was lower for greater loudness. Especially, the lip opening and pharynx width were more strongly correlated with the sound pressure level than with pitch.ConclusionFor the vowel /a/ loudness has an effect on articulation during singing which should be considered when articulatory vocal tract data are interpreted.
Highlights
Dynamic MRI analysis of phonation has gathered interest in voice and speech physiology
While the vertical larynx position was rising with pitch it was lower for greater loudness
With regard to singing voice physiology, it has been shown that the vertical larynx position can change during phonation [7]
Summary
Dynamic MRI analysis of phonation has gathered interest in voice and speech physiology. According to Titze et al the term vocal tract resonances is used if the transfer function of the vocal tract is characterized whereas the term formant is used when the vocal tract is excited by a voice source [14] These studies included the modification of different variables, such as pitch (perceptual term) and fundamental frequency (ƒo, acoustical parameter) [9,12,13,15], vowel conditions [10,13,16], register [8,9,10,17] or different singing styles [18,19,20]. It could be hypothesized that SPL might influence articulation independent of register, ƒo or vowel condition
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