Using a Lossy Electrical Transmission Line Model for Optimizing Straw Phonation Configurations

Jonah Rosenthal,Nicole Haderlein,Austin Scholp,Matthew Silverman ,Jack J Jiang

doi:10.3390/app11073258

Abstract

Straw phonation has a long history of being a successful vocal therapy technique. However, not much is known about the mechanics of phonation with a straw, nor the best combination of phoneme and straw dimensions to be used. A significant limitation in research thus far is the complexity of existing models and computation techniques to determine acoustic and aerodynamic values such as impedance. In this study, a new electrical circuit-based model of the vocal tract as a transmission line is evaluated and compared to established impedance calculation methods. Results indicate that the model is not complete yet, so several adjustments are suggested and discussed. In addition, straw phonation configurations are examined using previously developed models to determine which maximize impedance and power.

Highlights

Using a Lossy Electrical TransmissionOver the past several decades, straw phonation has emerged as a novel method to improve vocal economy
The first goal of this paper was to determine whether the electrical circuit analogy of the vocal tract as a transmission line is a viable alternative to the existing standard model from Story
This study has demonstrated that the electrical circuit model of the vocal tract is not yet equipped fully to model the complex dynamics of human phonation

Summary

Introduction

Using a Lossy Electrical TransmissionOver the past several decades, straw phonation has emerged as a novel method to improve vocal economy. Existing research on straw phonation has developed two main theories explaining increased ease of phonation: an acoustic-aerodynamic interaction and a mechano-acoustic interaction [9]. The former deals with the shape of the glottal flow pulse while the latter is focused on the material properties of the vocal tract wall, especially inertance on supraglottal pressure. Both of these theories consider the importance of impedance, which creates a build-up of pressure after the glottis to facilitate oscillation of the vocal folds with decreased subglottal pressure [10]

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