| 1. |
- Echternach, Matthias, et al.
(författare)
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High-Speed Imaging and Electroglottography Measurements of the Open Quotient in Untrained Male Voices' Register Transitions
- 2010
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Ingår i: Journal of Voice. - : Elsevier BV. - 0892-1997 .- 1873-4588. ; 24:6, s. 644-650
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Vocal fold oscillation patterns in vocal register transitions are still unclarified. The vocal fold oscillations and the open quotient were analyzed with high-speed digital imaging (HSDI) and electroglottography (EGG) in 18 male untrained subjects singing a glissando from modal to the falsetto register. Results reveal that the open quotient changed with register in both HSDI. and EGG. The in-class correlations for different HSDI and EGG determinations of the open quotient were high. However, we found only weak interclass correlations between both methods. In ID subjects, irregularities of vocal fold vibration occurred during the register transition. Our results confirm previous observations that falsetto register is associated with a higher open quotient compared with modal register. These data suggest furthermore that irregularities typically observed in audio and electroglottographic signals during register transitions are caused by irregularities in vocal fold vibration.
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| 2. |
- Echternach, Matthias, et al.
(författare)
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Laryngeal evidence for the first and second passaggio in professionally trained sopranos
- 2017
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Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library Science. - 1932-6203. ; 12:5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Introduction Due to a lack of empirical data, the current understanding of the laryngeal mechanics in the passaggio regions (i.e., the fundamental frequency ranges where vocal registration events usually occur) of the female singing voice is still limited. Material and methods In this study the first and second passaggio regions of 10 professionally trained female classical soprano singers were analyzed. The sopranos performed pitch glides from A3 (f(o) = 220 Hz) to A4 (f(o) = 440 Hz) and from A4 (f(o) = 440 Hz) to A5 (f(o) = 880 Hz) on the vowel [i:]. Vocal fold vibration was assessed with trans-nasal high speed videoendoscopy at 20,000 fps, complemented by simultaneous electroglottographic (EGG) and acoustic recordings. Register breaks were perceptually rated by 12 voice experts. Voice stability was documented with the EGG-based sample entropy. Glottal opening and closing patterns during the passaggi were analyzed, supplemented with open quotient data extracted from the glottal area waveform. Results In both the first and the second passaggio, variations of vocal fold vibration patterns were found. Four distinct patterns emerged: smooth transitions with either increasing or decreasing durations of glottal closure, abrupt register transitions, and intermediate loss of vocal fold contact. Audible register transitions (in both the first and second passaggi) generally coincided with higher sample entropy values and higher open quotient variance through the respective passaggi. Conclusions Noteworthy vocal fold oscillatory registration events occur in both the first and the second passaggio even in professional sopranos. The respective transitions are hypothesized to be caused by either (a) a change of laryngeal biomechanical properties; or by (b) vocal tract resonance effects, constituting level 2 source-filter interactions.
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| 3. |
- Echternach, Matthias, et al.
(författare)
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Perturbation Measurements in Untrained Male Voices' Transitions From Modal to Falsetto Register
- 2011
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Ingår i: Journal of Voice. - : Elsevier BV. - 0892-1997 .- 1873-4588. ; 25:6, s. 663-669
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose. Voice periodicity during transitions from modal to falsetto register still remains an unclarified question. Method. We examined the acoustic and electroglottographic signals of 20 healthy untrained male voices' transitions from modal to falsetto register on the vowels /a, e, i, o, u, and ae/. Results. In addition to discontinuities in fundamental frequency (F0), an independent increase of jitter, relative average perturbation, and shimmer was observed during and apparently caused by the register transition. In falsetto, the jitter was higher than in the modal register. The contact quotient derived from the electroglottographic signal tended to be lower for higher than for lower F0. Conclusion. Register transitions are associated with increase of perturbation.
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| 4. |
- Echternach, Matthias, et al.
(författare)
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Professional Opera Tenors' Vocal Tract Configurations in Registers
- 2010
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Ingår i: Folia Phoniatrica et Logopaedica. - : S. Karger AG. - 1021-7762 .- 1421-9972. ; 62:6, s. 278-287
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: Tenor singers may reach their top pitch range either by shifting from modal to falsetto register or by using their so-called 'voix mixte'. Material and Methods: In this study, dynamic real-time MRI of 8 frames per second was used to analyze the vocal tract profile in 10 professional opera tenors, who sang an ascending scale from C4 (262 Hz) to A4 (440 Hz) on the vowel /a/. The scale included their register transition and the singers applied both register techniques in different takes. Results: Modal to falsetto register changes were associated with only minor vocal tract modifications, including elevation and tilting of the larynx and a lifted tongue dorsum. Transitions to voix mixte, by contrast, were associated with major vocal tract modifications. Under these conditions, the subjects widened their pharynges, their lip and jaw openings, and increased their jaw protrusion. These modifications were stronger in more 'heavy' tenors than in more 'light' tenors. The acoustic consequences of these articulatory changes are discussed.
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| 5. |
- Echternach, Matthias, et al.
(författare)
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Resonatory Properties in Professional Tenors Singing Above the Passaggio
- 2016
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Ingår i: Acta Acoustica united with Acustica. - 1610-1928 .- 1861-9959. ; 102:2, s. 298-306
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Introduction: The question of formant tuning in male professional voices has been a matter of discussion for many years. Material and Methods: In this study four very successful Western classically trained tenors of different repertoire were analysed. They sang a scale on the vowel conditions /a,e,i,o,u/ from the pitch C4 (250 Hz) to A4 (440 Hz) in their stage voice avoiding a register shift to falsetto. Formant frequencies were calculated from inverse filtering of the audio signal and from two-dimensional MRI data. Results: Both estimations showed only for vowel conditions with low first formant (F1) a tuning F1 adjusted to the first harmonic. For other vowel conditions, however, no clear systematic formant tuning was observed. Conclusion: For most vowel conditions the data are not able to support the hypothesis of a systematic formant tuning for professional classically trained tenors.
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| 6. |
- Echternach, Matthias, et al.
(författare)
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Vocal fold vibrations at high soprano fundamental frequencies
- 2013
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Ingår i: Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. - : Acoustical Society of America (ASA). - 0001-4966 .- 1520-8524. ; 133:2, s. EL82-EL87
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Human voice production at very high fundamental frequencies is not yet understood in detail. It was hypothesized that these frequencies are produced by turbulences, vocal tract/vocal fold interactions, or vocal fold oscillations without closure. Hitherto it has been impossible to visually analyze the vocal mechanism due to technical limitations. Latest high-speed technology, which captures 20 000 frames/s, using transnasal endoscopy was applied. Up to 1568Hz human vocal folds do exhibit oscillations with complete closure. Therefore, the recent results suggest that human voice production at very high F0s up to 1568Hz is not caused by turbulence, but rather by airflow modulation from vocal fold oscillations. (C) 2013 Acoustical Society of America
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| 7. |
- Echternach, Matthias, et al.
(författare)
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Vocal tract and register changes analysed by real-time MRI in male professional singers - a pilot study
- 2008
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Ingår i: Logopedics, Phoniatrics, Vocology. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1401-5439 .- 1651-2022. ; 33:2, s. 67-73
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Changes of vocal tract shape accompanying changes of vocal register and pitch in singing have remained an unclear field. Dynamic real-time magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was applied to two professional classical singers (a tenor and a baritone) in this pilot study. The singers sang ascending scales from B3 to G#4 on the vowel /a/, keeping the modal register throughout or shifting to falsetto register for the highest pitches. The results show that these singers made few and minor modifications of vocal tract shape when they changed from modal to falsetto and some clear modifications when they kept the register. In this case the baritone increased his tongue dorsum height, widened his jaw opening, and decreased his jaw protrusion, while the tenor merely lifted his uvula. The method used seems promising and should be applied to a greater number of singer subjects in the future.
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| 8. |
- Echternach, Matthias, et al.
(författare)
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Vocal tract area functions and formant frequencies in opera tenors' modal and falsetto registers
- 2011
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Ingår i: Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. - : Acoustical Society of America (ASA). - 0001-4966 .- 1520-8524. ; 129:6, s. 3955-3963
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- According to recent model investigations, vocal tract resonance is relevant to vocal registers. However, no experimental corroboration of this claim has been published so far. In the present investigation, ten professional tenors' vocal tract configurations were analyzed using MRI volumetry. All subjects produced a sustained tone on the pitch F4 (349 Hz) on the vowel /a/(1) in modal and (2) in falsetto register. The area functions were estimated from the MRI data and their associated formant frequencies were calculated. In a second condition the same subjects repeated the same tasks in a sound treated room and their formant frequencies were estimated by means of inverse filtering. In both recordings similar formant frequencies were observed. Vocal tract shapes differed between modal and falsetto register. In modal as compared to falsetto the lip opening and the oral cavity were wider and the first formant frequency was higher. In this sense the presented results are in agreement with the claim that the formant frequencies differ between registers.
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| 9. |
- Echternach, Matthias, et al.
(författare)
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Vocal Tract in Female Registers : A Dynamic Real-Time MRI Study
- 2010
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Ingår i: Journal of Voice. - : Elsevier BV. - 0892-1997 .- 1873-4588. ; 24:2, s. 133-139
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The area of vocal registers is still unclarified. In a previous investigation, dynamic real-time magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which is able to produce up to 10 frames per second, was successfully applied for examinations of vocal tract modifications in register transitions in male singers. In the present study, the same MRI technique was used to study vocal tract shapes during four professional young sopranos' lower and upper register transitions. The subjects were asked to sing a scale on the vowel /a/ across their transitions. The transitions were acoustically identified by four raters. In neither of these transitions, clear vocal tract changes could be ascertained. However, substantial changes, that is, widening of the lips, opening of the jaw, elevation of the tongue dorsum, and continuous widening of the pharynx, were observed when the singers reached fundamental frequencies that were close to the frequency of the first formant of the vowel sung. These findings suggest that in these subjects register transition was not primarily the result of modifications of the vocal tract.
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| 10. |
- Havel, Miriam, et al.
(författare)
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Effects of Nasalization on Vocal Tract Response Curve
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of Voice. - : Elsevier BV. - 0892-1997 .- 1873-4588.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Earlier studies have shown that nasalization affects the radiated spectrum by modifying the vocal tract transfer function in a complex manner. Methods: Here we study this phenomenon by measuring sine-sweep response of 3-D models of the vowels /u, a, ᴂ, i/, derived from volumetric MR imaging, coupled by means of tubes of different lengths and diameters to a 3-D model of a nasal tract. Results: The coupling introduced a dip into the vocal tract transfer function. The dip frequency was close to the main resonance of the nasal tract, a result in agreement with the Fujimura & Lindqvist in vivo sweep tone measurements [Fujimura & Lindqvist, 1972]. With increasing size of the coupling tube the depth of the dip increased and the first formant peak either changed in frequency or was split by the dip. Only marginal effects were observed of the paranasal sinuses. For certain coupling tube sizes, the spectrum balance was changed, boosting the formant peaks in the 2 – 4 kHz range. Conclusion: A velopharyngeal opening introduces a dip in the transfer function at the main resonance of the nasal tract. Its depth increases with the area of the opening and its frequency rises in some vowels.
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