Clinical Measurement of Fundamental Frequency in Normal and Dysphonic Voices Using Electronic Tuners

1994 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 96-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larry C. Solberg ◽  
Linda A. Hoag ◽  
Laura Beals
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Oral Reading ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
Connected Speech ◽  
Clinical Measurement ◽  
Frequency Measurements ◽  
Sophisticated Equipment ◽  
Female Voices ◽  
Normal Males

The purpose of this study was to determine whether fundamental frequency measurements made with two portable electronic tuners, relatively inexpensive devices used by musicians for fast-tuning their instruments, were comparable to those made with the Visi-Pitch (Model 6097) when analyzing both normal and dysphonic voices. Voice recordings of vowel prolongations and connected speech (oral reading) of 40 adult subjects (10 normal females, 10 dysphonic females, 10 normal males, 10 dysphonic males) were analyzed. Results indicated that measurements of connected speech samples made with the tuners correlated very highly with those made by the Visi-Pitch. The measurements of vowel samples made with the tuners also correlated very highly with those made with the Visi-Pitch with the exception of the dysphonic female voices. Measurement differences of approximately one octave for two severely dysphonic female voices contributed to the lower but nevertheless significant correlations for dysphonic female voices. Regression analyses indicated that the tuners underestimated the measurements made with the Visi-Pitch by approximately 4 Hz or less. The results support the use of the tuners for clinical measurement of fundamental frequency when more sophisticated equipment is unavailable and when users are aware of the devices’ limitations.

Pitch features of classroom French intonation

1988 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-82
Author(s):  
Brian McCarthy
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Oral Reading ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Student Speech ◽  
Frequency Measurements ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Pitch Movement

Abstract Using fundamental frequency measurements taken from mingograph traces, the direction and range of pitch movements were studied in a series of utterances produced by native speakers of French and by a group of (near-) beginner students of that language. Results were also compared to the Delattre models for major and minor continuation and finality. Analysis of the native speakers allows us to determine the extent to which the pattern of pitch movement is a function of the speaking context. It is then possible to see additional differences occurring when the task is performed by foreign language learners. Our most significant findings relate to differences between the utterances of free conversation and those occurring in controlled contexts (oral reading, repetition, drill responses), and to a certain blurring of the distinction between major and minor continuation in student speech.

A Comparison of Contact Microphone and Electroglottograph for the Measurement of Vocal Fundamental Frequency

1980 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 258-273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anders Askenfelt ◽  
Jan Gauffin ◽  
Johan Sundberg ◽  
Peter Kitzing
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Analog Circuits ◽  
Speech Signal ◽  
Cricoid Cartilage ◽  
Connected Speech ◽  
Frequency Measurements ◽  
Simple Analog ◽  
Vocal Fundamental Frequency

Signals from a throat contact microphone or an electroglottograph often are more suited for fundamental frequency measurements with simple analog circuits than the radiated speech signal. This report compares a contact (accelerometer) microphone placed on the neck below the cricoid cartilage and an electroglottograph for measurement of fundamental frequency in connected speech. The advantages and drawbacks of the two methods are discussed.

scholarly journals Comparison of fundamental frequency and formants frequency measurements in two speech tasks

Revista CEFAC ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Flávia Viegas ◽  
Danieli Viegas ◽  
Glaucio Serra Guimarães ◽  
Margareth Maria Gomes de Souza ◽  
Ronir Raggio Luiz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Effect Size ◽  
Oral Communication ◽  
Speech Disorders ◽  
Brazilian Portuguese ◽  
T Test ◽  
Speech Signals ◽  
Frequency Measurements ◽  
Age Range ◽  
Voice And Speech

ABSTRACT Purpose: to compare the measurements of fundamental frequency (F0) and frequency of the first two formants (F1 and F2) of the seven oral vowels of the Brazilian Portuguese in two speech tasks, in adults without voice and speech disorders. Methods: eighty participants in the age range 18 and 40 years, paired by gender, were selected after orofacial, orthodontic and auditory-perceptual assessments of voice and speech. The speech signals were obtained from carrier phrases and sustained vowels and the values of the F0 and frequencies of F1 and F2 were estimated. The differences were verified through the t Test, and the effect size was calculated. Results: differences were found in the F0 measurements between the two speech tasks, in two vowels in males, and in five vowels, in females. In the F1 frequencies, differences were noted in six vowels, in men, and in two, in women. In the F2 frequencies, there was a difference in four vowels, in men, and three, in women. Conclusion: based on the differences found, it is concluded that the speech task for evaluation of fundamental frequency and formants’ frequencies, in the Brazilian Portuguese, can show distinct results in both glottal and supraglottal measures in the production of different oral vowels of this language. Thus, it is suggested that clinicians and researchers consider both forms of emission for a more accurate interpretation of the implications of these data in the evaluation of oral communication and therapeutic conducts.

A Comparison of Habitual and Derived Optimal Voice Fundamental Frequency Values in Normal Young Adult Speakers

1990 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 476-484 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthea I. Britto ◽  
Philip C. Doyle
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Oral Reading ◽  
Clinical Implications ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Vocal Training ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Voice Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Normal Adults

The purpose of this study was to compare habitual (modal) and derived optimal pitch (fundamental frequency) values in 40 young adults. The individual habitual F 0 values of 20 male and 20 female nonsmokers with normal larynges, normal voices, and no history of laryngeal pathology or formal vocal training were obtained from high-quality recordings of spontaneous monologue, oral reading, and sustained phonation. Optimal fundamental frequency (F 0 ) was derived from each individual's phonational range using the 25% Method (Fairbanks, 1960; Pronovost, 1942). Using correlative analyses, the predicted optimal F 0 values that were derived were compared to habitual F 0 values for the male and female speaker groups, and for specific vocal tasks used to identify habitual F 0 (i.e., spontaneous monologue vs. oral reading vs. sustained phonation). Results indicate that habitual F 0 was not consistent with derived optimal F 0 values using the 25% Method; rather, habitual F 0 in our normal adults occurred between 8% and 10% up the phonational range from basal F 0 . Clinical implications of these data and the related limitations associated with the concept of optimal pitch (F 0 ) are discussed.

Botulinum Toxin Injections for Essential Voice Tremor

2000 ◽  
Vol 109 (2) ◽  
pp. 204-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stellan Hertegård ◽  
Svante Granqvist ◽  
Per-Åke Lindestad
Keyword(s):  
Botulinum Toxin ◽  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Acoustic Analysis ◽  
Connected Speech ◽  
Perceptual Evaluation ◽  
Subjective Evaluations ◽  
Subjective Judgments ◽  
Method Of Evaluation ◽  
Botulinum Toxin Injections ◽  
Frequency Variations

Fifteen patients, 13 women and 2 men, with a mean age of 72.7 years (56 to 86 years) and a clinical diagnosis of essential voice tremor, were treated with botulinum injections to the thyroarytenoid muscles, and in some cases, to the cricothyroid or thyrohyoid muscles. Evaluations were based on subjective judgments by the patients, and on perceptual and acoustic analysis of voice recordings. Subjective evaluations indicated that the treatment had a beneficial effect in 67% of the patients. Perceptual evaluations showed a significant decrease in voice tremor during connected speech (p < .05). Acoustic analysis showed a nearly significant decrease in the fundamental frequency variations (p = .06) and a significant decrease in fundamental frequency during sustained vowel phonation (p < .01). The results of perceptual evaluation coincided most closely with the subjective judgments. It was concluded that the treatment was successful in 50% to 65% of the patients, depending on the method of evaluation.

Consistency of Fundamental Frequency and Perturbation in Repeated Phonations of Sustained Vowels, Reading, and Connected Speech

1990 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 360-363 ◽  
Author(s):  
James L. Fitch
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Correlation Coefficient ◽  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Spontaneous Speech ◽  
The Other ◽  
Acoustic Measurement ◽  
Vowel Production ◽  
Connected Speech ◽  
Retest Reliability ◽  
Test Retest Reliability

The purpose of this study was to determine consistency of the acoustic measurement of fundamental frequency (f 0 ) and f 0 perturbation using the Visi-Pitch. Samples of speech including a reading passage, vowels, and spontaneous speech were recorded for 12 normal young adults (6 men and 6 women). The results indicated that test-retest reliability was highest for the reading passage. The measurements of fundamental frequency for reading and spontaneous speech were very similar, but vowel production was, on average, higher in frequency than the other contexts. Test-retest measures of perturbation using the Visi-Pitch did not have a high correlation coefficient. Perturbation measures must be interpreted cautiously because of the influence of frequency.

Alpha Hemispheric Asymmetry and Stuttering

1980 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 229-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. H. Moore ◽  
William O. Haynes
Keyword(s):  
Hemispheric Asymmetry ◽  
Hemispheric Processing ◽  
Connected Speech ◽  
Hemispheric Asymmetries ◽  
Subject Selection ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Normal Males ◽  
Normal Speaking

The alpha hemispheric asymmetries of normal-speaking males, normal-speaking females and male stutterers were examined with electroencephalographic (EEG) techniques during exposure to connected speech and connected nonlinguistic stimuli. The subject selection was controlled for familial right handedness. The stutterers showed significantly less alpha in their right hemispheres for both verbal and nonverbal tasks. The findings are discussed in terms of possible variables affecting hemispheric processing in normal males, females, and stutterers. The hypothesis that stuttering may be a linguistic segmentation dysfunction is presented.

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