Wagner ’ s music is even better than it sounds : resonance tuning produced by matching vowels with pitch

The vowels of European languages are primarily distinguished by the frequencies of the two lowest formants in the spectrum of the output sound, which are in turn produced by the frequencies (R1 and R2) of the first two resonances of the vocal tract [1]. Under some conditions, many singers use the strategy of resonance tuning; i.e. they tune a resonance to a harmonic of the fundamental frequency f0. In particular, sopranos deliberately tune R1 to match f0, (R1:f0 tuning) once the fundamental frequency f0 approaches or exceeds the value of R1 in normal speech [2]. According to simple models of oscillator-duct interactions [3], and the reports of singers, resonance tuning can increase the loudness, uniformity of timbre, stability and ease of singing, all of which are usually considered to be particularly advantageous in opera. There is, however, a reduction in intelligibility once R1 is varied from its value in normal speech. The amount of deliberate resonance tuning required by sopranos would be reduced if the pitch of the note written for a vowel corresponded with its usual range of R1. Analysis of soprano rôles in operas by different composers indicates that Wagner aided the acoustics of the soprano voice at high pitch when setting text to music. Some other composers show either no systematic correlation of vowel with pitch, or correlations that do not aid R1:f0 resonance tuning. The paper will be illustrated with a collection of sound files.