ACOUSTICS OF SINGING

MUSICAL ACOUSTICS

Science of Sound, Chapters 15, 17

THE VOCAL ORGANS

THE LARYNX

(a) BACK VIEW

(b) SIDE VIEW

VOCAL FOLDS CONTROL OF THE GLOTTAL OPENING BY THE ARYTENOIDS

SCHEMATIC OF THE BREATHING APPARATUS

(b) CONTRACTION OF THECHEST CAVITY BY THE INTERNAL INTERCOSTALS,ALONG WITH RAISING THE DIAPHRAM, CAUSES THE LUNGS TO CONTRACT

(a) EXPANSION OF THE CHEST CAVITY BY THEEXTERNAL INTERCOSTALSALONG WITH A FLATTENINGOF THEDIAPHRAM REDUCES THE PRESSURE AND CAUSESTHE LUNGS TO EXPANDAND FILL WITH AIR

LUNG CAPACITY IN THE NORMAL YOUNG ADULT AND ITS SUBDIVISION INTO FUNCTIONING VOLUMES. THE VOLUME OF THE MALE LUNG IS INDICATED AT THE LEFT, THE FEMALE AT THE RIGHT

GLOTTAL WAVE FORM SPECTRUM

CLOSED PIPE MODEL OFTHE VOCAL TRACT

SIMPLE MODELS OF THE VOCAL TRACT

THE EFFECT OF FORMANTS ON SOUND

FIRST AND SECOND FORMANTS OF VOWELS

VOWEL /æ/ AS SPOKEN AND SUNG

FORMANT FREQUENCIES OF BASIC SUNG VOWELS

M = men, W = women

SINGER’SFORMANT

SPECTRUM OF /α/ WITH HIGH AND LOW LARYNX

AVERAGE SPECTRUM ENVELOPES OF BASS IN SOLO AND CHOIR MODES

REGISTERS

FORMANT TUNING BY SOPRANOS

F1 AND F2 ARE THELOWEST FORMANTSOF VOWELS /i/, /α/, and /u/

SOLID LINES ARE THEFIRST 7 HARMONICS OF THE SUNG NOTE

SUBGLOTTAL PRESSURE IN

SINGING

GLOTTAL WAVEFORMS:

Rates of closure

RELATIVE STRENGTHS OF HARMONICS IN FEMALE AND MALE VOICES

IN MODAL ANDFALSETTO (MALE)

POPULAR SINGING

LESS VOWEL MODIFICATION (“STRAIGHT TEXT”)

NATURALNESS AT THE EXPENSE OF BEAUTY

SONG IS FREELY CHANGED TO SHOW OFF SINGER’S VOICE

BELTING – EXTENDING CHEST REGISTER ABOVE NORMAL RANGE

COUNTRY SINGERSSPECTRA OF SPOKEN & SUNG VOWELS ARE SIMILAR“SINGER’S FORMANT” USUALLY MISSING

HARMONIC SINGING

VOCAL TRACT IS SHAPED TO GIVE STRONG EMPHASIS TO CERTAIN HARMONICS

HARMONIC CHANT NORMAL SINGING

CHOIR SINGING

CHOIR VS. SOLO SINGING MALE SINGERS HAVE LESS PROMINENT SINGER’S FORMANT IN CHOIR MODE

“SELF” TO “OTHERS” RATIO (S0R) CHOIR SINGERS PREFER SOR OF ABOUT 6dB (AVE) MEASURED SORs ARE 4 dB (SINGLE ROW) TO 3 d (DOUBLE ROW) IN OPERA CHORUS, SOR IS 10 –15 dB (Ternström, 2005)

UNISONS /u/ IS MORE DIFFICULT TO MATCH TO A REFERENCE TONE THAN /ά/, PROBABLY BECAUSE OF LACK OF HARMONICS PITCH ACCURACY STANDARD DEVIATION IN A BASS SECTION FOUND TO BE 16 CENTS