ACOUSTICS OF SINGING

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ACOUSTICS OF SINGING

• MUSICAL ACOUSTICS

Science of Sound, Chapter 17 Science of the
Singing Voice, J. Sundberg (NIU Press)
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THE VOCAL ORGANS
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THE LARYNX

• BACK VIEW
• (b) SIDE VIEW

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VOCAL FOLDS CONTROL OF THE
GLOTTAL OPENING BY THE ARYTENOIDS
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SCHEMATIC OF THE BREATHING APPARATUS
(a) EXPANSION OF THE CHEST CAVITY BY
THE EXTERNAL INTERCOSTALS ALONG WITH A
FLATTENINGOF THE DIAPHRAM REDUCES THE PRESSURE
AND CAUSES THE LUNGS TO EXPAND AND FILL WITH AIR
(b) CONTRACTION OF THE CHEST CAVITY BY THE
INTERNAL INTERCOSTALS, ALONG WITH RAISING THE
DIAPHRAM, CAUSES THE LUNGS TO CONTRACT
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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
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THE EFFECT OF FORMANTS ON SOUND
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FORMANTS OF MALE AND FEMALE SPEAKERS
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FIRST AND SECOND FORMANTS OF VOWELS
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FORMANT FREQUENCIES OF BASIC SUNG VOWELS
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SPOKEN AND SUNG VOWELS
IN SINGING THE LARYNX IS LOWERED THE JAW OPENING
IS LARGER THE TONGUE TIP IS ADVANCED IN THE BACK
VOWELS /u/, /o/, /a/ THE LIPS ARE PROTRUDED IN
THE FRONT VOWELS /I/, /e/ /ae/
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VOWEL æ AS SPOKEN AND SUNG
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SINGERS FORMANT
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SPECTRUM OF /?/ WITH HIGH AND LOW LARYNX
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FORMANT TUNING BY SOPRANOS
F1 AND F2 ARE THE LOWEST FORMANTS OF VOWELS /i/,
/?/, and /u/ SOLID LINES ARE THE FIRST 7
HARMONICS OF THE SUNG NOTE
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SUBGLOTTAL PRESSURE IN SINGING
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REGISTERS
H HEAVY MECHANISM L LIGHT MECHANISM
IN THE LIGHT MECHANISM VOCAL FOLDS ARE UP TO 30
LONGER, ARE APPRECIABLY THINNER, AND HAVE A
SMALLER EFFECTIVE MASS
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GLOTTAL WAVEFORMS Rates of closure
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RELATIVE STRENGTHS OF HARMONICS IN FEMALE AND
MALE VOICES
IN MODAL AND FALSETTO (MALE)
DEVIATION FROM 12 dB/octave character of voice
source
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CHOIR SINGING
CHOIR VS. SOLO SINGING MALE SINGERS HAVE
LESS PROMINENT SINGERS 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 dB
(DOUBLE ROW) IN OPERA CHORUS, SOR IS 10 15
dB (Ternström, 2005)
UNISONS /u/ IS MORE DIFFICULT TO MATCH TO A
REFERENCE TONE THAN /?/, PROBABLY BECAUSE OF
LACK OF HARMONICS PITCH ACCURACY
STANDARD DEVIATION IN A BASS SECTION FOUND TO BE
16 CENTS
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AVERAGE SPECTRUM ENVELOPES OF BASS IN SOLO AND
CHOIR MODES
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POPULAR SINGING
LESS VOWEL MODIFICATION (STRAIGHT
TEXT) NATURALNESS AT THE EXPENSE OF BEAUTY SONG
IS FREELY CHANGED TO SHOW OFF SINGERS VOICE
BELTING EXTENDING CHEST REGISTER ABOVE NORMAL
RANGE
COUNTRY SINGERS SPECTRA OF SPOKEN SUNG VOWELS
ARE SIMILAR SINGERS FORMANT USUALLY MISSING
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HARMONIC SINGING
VOCAL TRACT IS SHAPED TO GIVE STRONG EMPHASIS TO
CERTAIN HARMONICS
HARMONIC CHANT
NORMAL SINGING