The effect of chiaroscuro and coup de glotte training on reducing the effects of intrinsic pitch in sung vowel transitions

Abstract

Intrinsic pitch is an acoustic value that differs depending on vowel height. Sapir (1989) describes the various theories that provide an explanation for intrinsic pitch. Essentially, vowels which are produced higher in the filter (e.g., /i/ and /u/) tend to be pitched slightly higher than vowels produced at lower locations in the filter (e.g., /a/). The purpose of this study is to determine whether the chiaroscuro and coup de glotte vocal techniques used in the bel canto method of singing reduce the natural effects of intrinsic pitch of sung vowels by attempting to equalize both resonance and vibrational properties across the vowel spectrum. Six singers (2 sopranos, 2 tenors, and 2 basses) were recorded in this study. Participants sang a set of vowel transition exercises in a pre-training setting, then were trained in chiaroscuro and coup de glotte techniques, after which they did a post-training recording. Pitch, formant values, and amplitude (as mean values and at various times within each vowel) were e...