IN BOTH THE VOICE AND MUSICAL WIND INSTRUMENTS, A VALVE (VOCAL FOLDS, LIPS, OR REED) LIES BETWEEN AN UPSTREAM AND DOWNSTREAM DUCT: trachea and vocal tract for the voice; vocal tract and bore for the instrument. Examining the structural similarities and functional differences gives insight into their operation and the duct-valve interactions. In speech and singing, vocal tract resonances usually...

The subglottal pressure (Ps) and voice source characteristics of five professional baritone singers have been analyzed and the normalized amplitude quotient (NAQ), defined as the ratio between peak-to-peak pulse amplitude and the negative peak of the differentiated flow glottogram and normalized with respect to the period time, was used as an estimate of glottal adduction. The relationship betw...

The subglottal pressure (Ps) and voice source characteristics of five professional baritone singers were analyzed. Glottal adduction was estimated with amplitude quotient (AQ), defined as the ratio between peak-to-peak pulse amplitude and the negative peak of the differentiated flow glottogram, and with normalized amplitude quotient (NAQ), defined as AQ divided by fundamental period length. Pre...

This thesis addresses aspects of voice characteristics in operatic and musical theatre singing. The common aim of the studies was to identify respiratory, phonatory and resonatory characteristics accounting for salient voice timbre differences between singing styles. The velopharyngeal opening (VPO) was analyzed in professional operatic singers, using nasofiberscopy. Differing shapes of VPOs su...

BACKGROUND Voice change is one of the earliest features of Parkinson's disease. However, quantitative studies of vocal fold dynamics which are needed to provide insight into disease biology, aid diagnosis, or track progression, are few. METHODS We therefore quantified arytenoid cartilage movements and glottic area during repeated phonation in 15 patients with Parkinson's disease (symptom dura...

PURPOSE To assess the benefits of a group vocal improvement program to popular singers without voice disorders. METHODS This is a quasi-experimental intervention study, carried out with 37 popular singers of both genders, with ages between 18 and 40 years and adapted vocal quality. Participants were divided into two groups: Intervention (IG) and Control (CG). The IG included 21 subjects who p...

Low mean fundamental frequency (F(0)) in men's voices has been found to positively influence perceptions of dominance by men and attractiveness by women using standardized speech. Using natural speech obtained during an ecologically valid social interaction, we examined relationships between multiple vocal parameters and dominance and attractiveness judgments. Male voices from an unscripted dat...

Any time a young adult wants to begin lessons with a teacher of singing, it is essential that the teacher be aware of the limitations of the student's knowledge, training, and experience. If the singing or speaking voice of this young adult presents any evidence of being vocally disordered, singing instruction should not begin until that person has been examined by a laryngologist who is conver...