Voice Type Research Articles

Dramaturgical function of the orchestra in song cycle by Hector Berlioz – Théophile Gautier “Summer Nights”

Dramaturgical function of the orchestra in song cycle by Hector Berlioz – Théophile Gautier “Summer Nights”

The Effect of Head Flexion/Extension on Acoustic Measures of Singing Voice Quality

A study was undertaken to identify the effect of head flexion/extension on singing voice quality. The amplitude of the fundamental frequency (F0) and the singing power ratio (SPR), an indirect measure of Singer's Formant activity, were measured. F0 and SPR scores at four experimental head positions were compared with the subjects' scores at their habitual positions. Three vowels and three pitch levels were tested. F0 amplitudes and low-frequency partials in general were greater with neck extension, while SPR increased with neck flexion. No effect of pitch or vowel was found. Gains in SPR appear to be the result of damping low-frequency partials rather than amplifying those in the Singer's Formant region. Raising the amplitude of F0 is an important resonance tool for female voices in the high range, and may be of benefit to other voice types in resonance, loudness, and laryngeal function.

Application of Pitch Derived Parameters to Speech and Monophonic Singing Classification

Speech and singing voice discrimination is an important task in the speech processing area given that each type of voice requires different information retrieval and signal processing techniques. This discrimination task is hard even for humans depending on the length of voice segments. In this article, we present an automatic speech and singing voice classification method using pitch parameters derived from musical note information and f 0 stability analysis. We applied our method to a database containing speech and a capella singing and compared the results with other discrimination techniques based on information derived from pitch and spectral envelope. Our method obtains good results discriminating both voice types, is efficient, has good generalisation capabilities and is computationally fast. In the process, we have also created a note detection algorithm with parametric control of the characteristics of the notes it detects. We compared the agreement of this algorithm with a state-of-the-art note detection algorithm and performed an experiment that proves that speech and singing discrimination parameters can represent generic information about the music style of the singing voice.

What Are the Effects of the Maternal Voice on Preterm Infants in the NICU?

Premature infants often experience extended stays in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) as opposed to home with parents. This prolonged separation creates a strain for both parents and infants, decreasing attachment and parental caregiving. One strategy to combat this shared stress is increasing parental participation, particularly through the use of their voices whether parents are present or not. This Evidence-Based Practice Brief column explores the connection between mother and child, specifically the effects of maternal voice on infant autonomic stability, weight gain, and behavioral states. A systematic search of CINAHL, PubMed, and PsycInfo was used to identify studies involving the use of maternal voice intervention with preterm infants in the NICU. Fifteen studies were identified. Three intervention categories emerged: (1) live maternal speech, (2) recorded maternal speech (subcategories included whether intervention content was prescribed or not), and (3) recorded maternal speech that was combined with biological maternal sounds (heart rate). Within each category, studies were organized chronologically to reflect how knowledge has changed overtime. Maternal voice has physiological as well as behavioral and emotional effect on preterm infants. Several studies found that maternal voice increased autonomic stability improving (heart rate and respirations) as well as weight gain. No negative effects were identified. Given these findings, incorporating different types of maternal voice into routine care by the bedside nurse can assist the mother in feeling more involved in her infant's care without seemingly being a distraction or obstacle to providers. A major limitation for generalizability was sample size; more research is needed with larger sample sizes replicating interventions types to discern best outcomes.Video Abstract available at https://journals.lww.com/advancesinneonatalcare/Pages/videogallery.aspx?videoId=31&autoPlay=true.

Vocal Pitch Discrimination in Children with and without Vocal Fold Nodules.

Vocal pitch discrimination abilities were compared in sixteen children with vocal fold nodules (CwVN) and sixteen matched controls with typical voices (CwTV). Vocal pitch discrimination was also evaluated in thirty-five vocally healthy children and twenty adults to examine potential changes as a function of maturation. CwTV were categorized as either younger (N = 15, 5.6–7.7 years) or older (N = 20, 8.2–11.7 years). Participants completed two-alternative, forced choice listening tasks in which they judged whether pairs of sustained /α/ tokens were different in pitch. Each pair consisted of a base token with a fundamental frequency fo) of 216.2 Hz and a test token with a fo that was adaptively modified, according to the participant’s prior judgments. There were no significant differences in pitch discrimination abilities between CwVN and CwTV. Pitch discrimination abilities were significantly poorer in younger and older CwTV as compared to adults. Additionally, younger CwTV had significantly poorer discrimination abilities than older CwTV. Findings from this study suggest that CwVN do not have differences in pitch discrimination abilities, yet, therapies designed for CwVN should consider this developmental trend in perceptual abilities.

Correlation Between Voice, Speech, Body and Facial Types in Young Adults

Correlation Between Voice, Speech, Body and Facial Types in Young Adults

Do Hotel Responses Matter?

This article aims to examine how hotel responses to online reviews influence how potential consumers perceived the helpfulness of the online reviews. Response length and voice were employed to measure the hotel's response quality. 637 reviews with responses were used for empirical analysis. The study identified three different types of response voices: disputed voice, professional voice, and empathetic voice. The results show that both response length and response voice have significant effects on the helpfulness perceived by potential consumers. Moreover, they also have some interaction effects with star ratings, review length, and review image. This study suggests that hotels should strategically respond to both positive and negative online reviews so as to both create a positive interaction atmosphere and resolve consumer complaints. The findings of this study can, to some extent, help manage word of mouth reputations.

Differential promotive voice–prohibitive voice relationships with employee performance: Power distance orientation as a moderator

Increased attention has been paid to research on the outcomes of voice. However, the existing findings on the relationship between voice and employee performance are inconclusive. To address the insufficient understanding of the voice–employee performance relationship, this study proposed a model that specifies the relationships between two types of voice (i.e., promotive and prohibitive) and employee performance along with the moderating role of power distance orientation. The results of the analysis of a sample in China that comprised 80 leaders and 431 employees showed an inverted U-shaped relationship between promotive voice and employee performance and a positive linear relationship between prohibitive voice and employee performance. Power distance orientation was found to significantly moderate the nonlinear and linear relationships. Specifically, the inverted U-shaped relationship was more pronounced, while the positive linear relationship was weaker among employees with high power distance orientation. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed, along with the limitations of this study and future research directions.

Quantification of Voice Type Components Present in Human Phonation Using a Modified Diffusive Chaos Technique.

Signal typing has been used to categorize healthy and disordered voices; however, human voices are likely comprised of differing proportions of periodic type 1 elements, type 2 elements that are periodic with modulations, aperiodic type 3 elements, and stochastic type 4 elements. A novel diffusive chaos method is presented to detect the distribution of voice types within a signal with the goal of providing an objective and clinically useful tool for evaluating the voice. It was predicted that continuous calculation of the diffusive chaos parameter throughout the voice sample would allow for construction of comprehensive voice type component profiles (VTCP). One hundred thirty-five voice samples of sustained /a/ vowels were randomly selected from the Disordered Voice Database Model 4337. All samples were classified according to the voice type paradigm using spectrogram analysis, yielding 34 type 1, 35 type 2, 42 type 3, and 24 type 4 voice samples. All samples were then analyzed using the diffusive chaos method, and VTCPs were generated to show the distribution of the 4 voice type components (VTC). The proportions of VTC1 varied significantly between the majority of the traditional voice types (P < .001). Three of the 4 VTCs of type 3 voices were significantly different from the VTCs of type 4 voices (P < .001). These results were compared to calculations of spectrum convergence ratio, which did not vary significantly between voice types 1 and 2 or 2 and 3. The diffusive chaos method demonstrates proficiency in generating comprehensive VTCPs for disordered voices with varying severity. In contrast to acoustic parameters that provide a single measure of disorder, VTCPs can be used to detect subtler changes by observing variations in each VTC over time. This method also provides the advantage of quantifying stochastic noise components that are due to breathiness in the voice.

THE USE OF AIRFLOW TESTS AND ANTHROPOLOGICAL MEASUREMENTS IN ASSESSING THE VOICE RANGE OF PROFESSIONAL SINGERS

INTRODUCTION&#x0D; In the vocal arts, it is difficult to determine the exact type of human voice, and it is particularly challenging to identify the voice category of vocalist-beginners because the diapason of the voice has not fully developed. A vocalist often develops his or her voice in an unsuitable tessitura (sings in a wrong voice type) resulting in a loss of sound quality and damage to the voice. An objective metric-based system for the determination of the human voice is needed.&#x0D; The detection for the correlation between the airflow and vital capacity of the lungs, anthropometric data of the singers and the type of the human voice.&#x0D; MATERIALS AND METHODS&#x0D; Sixty vocalists (ten sopranos, ten mezzo-sopranos, ten altos, ten tenors, ten baritones, and ten basses) were examined during this experimental research. All participants were professional singers who have been very successful singing in their voice category for more than five years. The Jaeger spirograph was used to investigate the volume of the peak expiratory flow of representatives of various voice categories, i.e. by measuring the speed of airflow in a time unit (per second). Measurements were made of height, body weight, vital lung capacity, and volume of the air flow per second in the big, middle and small bronchial tubes.&#x0D; To analyse the results, leading indicators of descriptive statistics were calculated, and one-factor disperses analysis (ANOVA) was used in equivalence testing calculations of the average values of morphological qualities. All statistical calculations were performed with the “Statistics” programme (7.0 edition).&#x0D; RESULTS&#x0D; The average height of the vocalists: sopranos – 165,8; mezzo-sopranos – 168,1; altos – 175,8; tenors – 180,5; baritones – 187,5; basses – 188,2.&#x0D; The average weight of the singers (kg): sopranos – 60,2; mezzo-sopranos – 70,5; altos – 74,1; tenors - 87,7; baritones – 91,4; basses – 92,6.&#x0D; The average vital lung capacity of the singers (L): sopranos – 3,79; mezzo-sopranos – 3,96; altos – 4,35; tenors 5,13; baritones – 6,06; basses – 6,12.&#x0D; The average peak expiratory flow of the singers per second (L/s): sopranos – 7,44; mezzo-sopranos – 7,43; altos – 8,19; tenors – 9,80; baritones - 11,49; basses – 11,2.&#x0D; The average volume of the air flow per second in the big bronchial tubes of the singers(L/s): sopranos – 6,49; mezzo-sopranos – 9,29; altos – 7,42; tenors – 7,91; baritones – 10,07; basses – 9,77.&#x0D; The average volume of the air flow per second in the middle bronchial tubes of the singers (L/s): sopranos – 4,60; mezzo-sopranos – 4,02; altos – 4,96; tenors 4,46; baritones – 5,79; basses – 5,73.&#x0D; The average volume of the air flow per second in the small bronchial tubes of the singers (L/s): sopranos – 1,98; mezzo-soprano – 1,49; altos – 1,99; tenors – 1,69; baritones – 2,24; basses – 2,17.&#x0D; There was a correlation between the airflow results e.a. Vital capacity, MEF 75 MEF 50 and PEF and the type of human voice, but there was no correlation between PEF 25 and the type of human voice.&#x0D; There was a positive correlation between anthropometric data like weight and height and the pitch of the voice.&#x0D; CONCLUSION&#x0D; There is a correlation between the type of human voice and a person's height, weight as well as their vital lung capacity and peak expiratory flow. According to our research data, an algorithm could be made for the determination of the type of human voice to avoid voice damage and health problems related to the forced use of the voice in a wrong pitch.

How leader secure-base support facilitates hotel employees’ promotive and prohibitive voices

PurposeThis study aims to extend the prior literature on voice behavior by integrating leader secure-base support, psychological capital (PsyCap) and regulatory foci with promotive and prohibitive voices. The current research draws on the notions of the proactive motivation model and regulatory focus to provide insights into why and when the influences of PsyCap on a certain type of voice are determined by its relevant regulatory focus.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses a sample of 278 supervisor–subordinate dyads from Taiwan hotels. Hypothesis tests were conducted using AMOS 21.0 and the SPSS application PROCESS (Hayes, 2013).FindingsThe current study determined that PsyCap mediated the positive relationships between leader secure-base support and two types of voices. Promotion focus moderated the relationships between PsyCap and promotive voice and the indirect effect of leader secure-base support on promotive voice. This indirect relationship is more pronounced when promotion focus is low than when it is high.Research limitations/implicationsThis study has a few implications for future research. First, the use of PsyCap to explain the voice behavior of employees may extend the application of the proactive motivation model. Second, leader secure-base support should be viewed as a promising leadership behavior owing to its value as a PsyCap predictor. Third, results show that PsyCap can mediate the relationship between such support and two types of voices. Finally, incorporating the concept of ecological congruence provides improved insights into the role of regulatory foci.Originality/valueFirst, this study extends the notions of the proactive motivation model by elucidating the effects of PsyCap on promotive and prohibitive voices. Second, our findings indicate that leader secure-base support can enhance PsyCap, which in turn facilitate voice behaviors in hotel work settings. Finally, his study contributes to theory of regulatory focus by integrating the notion of Hobfoll’s (1998) ecological congruence to explain how each of the promotion and prevention focus can determine the path from PsyCap to different types of voices.

When service failure is interpreted as discrimination: Emotion, power, and voice

The service failure that customers experience may be appraised as an intentional, discriminatory act under certain circumstances. Using two studies, we examined the impact of a service failure, which is perceived as discrimination, on customers’ direct, face-to-face and indirect, online voice behavior, incorporating power as a boundary condition. In Study 1, we constructed a moderated mediation model involving perceived discrimination, anger, power, and two types of customer voice. The results showed that a low power state suppresses the impact of perceived discrimination on direct, face-to-face voice through anger, but not on indirect, online voice. In other words, low-power individuals may not confront service providers to speak up on site when they are angry at perceived discrimination; they rather express themselves indirectly in the online environment. Further, in Study 2, content analyses revealed that most customers avoid using the term, “discrimination” while making complaints despite their strong agreement on perceived discrimination.

Discrimination between Modal, Breathy and Pressed Voice for Single Vowels Using Neck-Surface Vibration Signals.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility of using neck-surface acceleration signals to discriminate between modal, breathy and pressed voice. Voice data for five English single vowels were collected from 31 female native Canadian English speakers using a portable Neck Surface Accelerometer (NSA) and a condenser microphone. Firstly, auditory-perceptual ratings were conducted by five clinically-certificated Speech Language Pathologists (SLPs) to categorize voice type using the audio recordings. Intra- and inter-rater analyses were used to determine the SLPs’ reliability for the perceptual categorization task. Mixed-type samples were screened out, and congruent samples were kept for the subsequent classification task. Secondly, features such as spectral harmonics, jitter, shimmer and spectral entropy were extracted from the NSA data. Supervised learning algorithms were used to map feature vectors to voice type categories. A feature wrapper strategy was used to evaluate the contribution of each feature or feature combinations to the classification between different voice types. The results showed that the highest classification accuracy on a full set was 82.5%. The breathy voice classification accuracy was notably greater (approximately 12%) than those of the other two voice types. Shimmer and spectral entropy were the best correlated metrics for the classification accuracy.

Echoes of Corporate Social Responsibility: How and When Does CSR Influence Employees’ Promotive and Prohibitive Voices?

In this study, we examine whether, how, and when corporate social responsibility (CSR) increases promotive and prohibitive voices in accordance with ethical climate theory and multi-experience model of ethical climate. Data from 382 employees at two time points are examined. Results show that CSR is positively related to promotive and prohibitive voices. Other-focused and self-focused climates mediate the relationship between CSR and the two types of voice (promotive and prohibitive voice). Moreover, humble leadership moderates the positive relationship between CSR and other-focused climate. Such leadership moderates the negative relationship between CSR and self-focused climate. Humble leadership also moderates the indirect effect between CSR and the two kinds of voice through other-focused and self-focused climates. The findings of this study provide important insights into how and when CSR influences employee voice.

Passage comprehension performance in children with cochlear implants and/or hearing aids: the effects of voice quality and multi-talker babble noise in relation to executive function

Purpose: Speech signal degradation such as a voice disorder presented in quiet or in combination with multi-talker babble noise could affect listening comprehension in children with hearing impairment. This study aims to investigate the effects of voice quality and multi-talker babble noise on passage comprehension in children with using cochlear implants (CIs) and/or hearing aids (HAs). It also aims to examine what role executive functioning has for passage comprehension in listening conditions with degraded signals (voice quality and multi-talker babble noise) in children using CI/HA. Methods: Twenty-three children (10 boys and 13 girls; mean age 9 years) using CI and/or HA were tested for passage comprehension in four listening conditions: a typical voice or a (hoarse) dysphonic, voice presented in quiet or in multi-talker babble noise. Results: The results show that the dysphonic voice did not affect passage comprehension in quiet or in noise. Multi-talker babble noise decreased passage comprehension compared to performance in quiet. No interactions with executive function were found. Conclusions: In conclusion, children with CI/HA seem to struggle with comprehension in poor sound environments, which in turn may reduce learning opportunities at school.

Semantic predictability and the use of creaky voice in female speakers

The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of creaky voice in sentence-final position as a function of semantic predictability of the final word. Creaky voice is maligned in the media and often claimed to be less intelligible than normal phonation. A recent study finds some evidence to support this claim by examining intelligibility of single words. If speakers were concerned about intelligibility of their speech, they may be less likely to use it in sentences with little semantic support (e.g., “Mr. Black knew about the pad” compared to “Tear off some paper from the pad”). In the current study, 11 young female speakers without any vocal pathologies produced sentences from the Speech Perception in Noise (SPIN) test. Fourteen final words that appeared in both high and low semantic predictability sentences were selected for analysis. Three outcome measures were examined for these final words: presence versus absence of creaky voice, duration of creaky voice, and type of creaky voice. Contrary to our expectations, the results indicated that semantic support does not significantly predict the existence, amount, or type of creaky voice in young female speakers.

If you can defend your own point of view, you're good: Norms of voice construction in student writing on an international Master's programme

This ethnographically oriented study followed the writing experiences of four students on an international masters programme in Finland. Gathering a range of data, the study set out to examine what counts as good writing on a programme with a very diverse student body in which English is used as a lingua franca. Both teachers and students emphasised the importance of arguing one's ‘own point of view’ in academic writing, and teachers often formed impressions of students on the basis of their texts, drawing attention particularly to their use of metadiscourse markers (e.g., self-mentions, attitude markers and hedges). The present article therefore combines a quantitative analysis of students' use of metadiscourse in their papers with qualitative analysis of the voice types they construed in their texts and the ways in which their practices were perceived. The analysis found that students' use of metadiscourse varied from text to text, and they construed strikingly different voice types in their writing. Based on interview and journal data, their practices seemed to be influenced by their experiences of the classroom and teacher, as well as their disciplinary backgrounds. Teachers seemed to prefer the voice of a detached cultural analyst, with fewer explicit expressions of the writer's stance. However, they also drew on their impressions of the individual student's learning and on images of cultural norms in interpreting their practices.

Lee Silverman voice treatment (LSVT) mitigates voice difficulties in mild Parkinson's disease.

Background: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurological disorder and many PD patients experience some type of voice and speech disorders during the course of illness. In this study, the aim was to investigate the effect of Lee Silverman voice treatment (LSVT) on improving voice difficulties in patients with mild PD using voice handicap index (VHI). Methods: This interventional study was conducted on 23 PD patients who were randomly divided into 2 groups: a treatment group (PD-T) (n=13) and a no-treatment group (PD-NT) (n=10). Neurologically healthy control (NNC) group consisted of 13 healthy participants who did not suffer from voice and speech problems and were matched with PD group by age (50-65 years), sex, and education. VHI questionnaire was completed a day before the start of LSVT and a day after the treatment fulfillment for the PD-T group; the same time spots were applied for the PD-NT and NNC groups. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS Statistics 22.0 and significance level was set at 0.05. The multivariate analysis of variance and repeated measure analysis of variance were used for data analysis. Results: PD groups showed a significant weakness in VHI scores before treatment compared to NNC group (p≤ 0.001). The mean of VHI scores for PD-T, PD-NT, and NNC groups before treatment was 44.31±11.23, 43.54±6.10, and 8.15±4.27, respectively. LSVT was successful in improving VHI scores in PD-T group (17.23±5.35, p≤ 0.001). However, no improvement was observed in PD-NT group (44.00±5.88). Conclusion: Improvement in VHI score could be the result of ameliorated self-monitoring and self-regulation created by LSVT.

Immediate Effect of a Resonance Tube on the Vocal Range Profile of Choristers

The aim of this study was to determine the immediate effect of the resonance tube technique associated with ascending and descending glissando on the vocal range profile (VRP) of amateur choristers. The sample consisted of 40 choristers aged between 18 and 57 years (average of 26.28 ± 7.51 years) with the following voice types: soprano, contralto, tenor and bass, with no vocal symptoms. Recordings of the VRP of the choristers were made before and after performing the resonance tube technique executed in ascending and descending glissando for 3 minutes in each modality. The recordings were made in the VRP of specific software. The VRP of the choristers increased after application of the ascending and descending technique. Stratifying by voice types showed an increase in contralto, tenor and bass after the ascending glissando technique and in tenor and bass after the descending technique. The resonance tube technique associated with ascending and descending glissando increased the VRP in contralto, tenor and bass voice types, as well as the maximum frequency and range in hertz and semitones, in all the voice types of the choristers under study, justifying its application in the vocal warm-up of this population.

Voicing the academy

The development of an appropriate authorial voice is considered to be fundamental to successful academic writing in the target language. Voice research in second language writing, therefore, seeks to delineate voice salience in L2 academic texts, the relationship between voice and high quality academic writing, the second language (L2) writer’s development of an appropriate authorial voice, and how voice research might inform second language writing pedagogy. However, while voice research addresses a range of concerns in second language writing, there are a limited number of methods available for analysing authorial voice in texts. The following article investigates Ivanic and Camp’s (2001) typology, which indexes voice as a series of ideational, interpersonal, and textual voice types, as a possible method for measuring voice. The typology was applied to two long argument essays written by postgraduate international students studying at an Australian university. The results of the application of the typology underscored a range of both normative and non-normative voices in the students’ texts. The article concludes that Ivanic and Camp’s (2001) typology has the potential to contribute to present understandings apropos of the language resources that correlate to normative and non-normative voice types. The article also provides some recommendations for future research.