Hybrid parametric-physiological glottal modelling with application to voice quality assessment.

A glottal model based on physical constraints is proposed. The model describes the vocal fold as a simple oscillator, i.e. a damped mass-spring system. The oscillator is coupled with a nonlinear block, accounting for fold interaction with the airflow. The nonlinear block is modelled as a regressor-based functional with weights to be identified, and a pitch-synchronous identification procedure is outlined. The model is used to analyse voiced sounds from normal and from pathological voices, and the application of the proposed analysis procedure to voice quality assessment is discussed.