scholarly journals Vocal Fold Vibration Characteristics during SOVTE using a Vibration Simulator and Digital Kymography

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 921-932
Author(s):  
Ji Sung Kim ◽  
Seong Hee Choi ◽  
Kyoungjae Lee ◽  
Chul-Hee Choi ◽  
Soo-Geun Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Practice ◽  
Vocal Fold ◽  
Clinical Evidence ◽  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Voice Quality ◽  
Vibration Characteristics ◽  
Single Source ◽  
Vocal Fold Vibration ◽  
Vibration Parameters

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to investigate the characteristics of vocal fold vibration during sustained vowel /a/ phonation and various semi-occluded vocal tract exercise (SOVTEs) using a vibration simulator and digital kymography (DKG).Methods: A total of 12 normal young speakers (6 males, 6 females) aged 20-30 years participated in the study. They phonated a sustained /a/ vowel and performed SOVTE. The vocal fold vibration characteristics were measured according to the number of vibration sources (single vs. double), and vocal tract occlusion degree using a vibration simulator and DKG. Glottal gap quotient (GQ, %), speed quotient (SQ, %) and amplitude (pixel) were estimated quantitatively from the DKG image.Results: The results showed that significantly higher GQ (p = .000) and SQ (p = .000) were observed in the humming and bilabial fricative /β/ compared to open vowels. The amplitude was significantly higher in the open vowel /a/ than in humming (p = .018) and bilabial fricative /β/ (p = .003). Also, when comparing the vocal fold vibration parameters according to vibration type (single source: straw phonation vs. double source: straw phonation with water), the double source presented a significantly higher GQ (p = .000) as well as SQ (p = .008) in comparison with a single source.Conclusion: SOVTE showed a glottal gap that is different from the opened vowel /a/. It also had a longer opening of the vocal fold and a smaller amplitude than the vowel. This suggests that SOVTE may be helpful for facilitating vocal fold vibration and good voice quality in clinical practice. The current study can be meaningful in providing theoretical and clinical evidence for SOVTE.

scholarly journals Impact of Vocal Tract Resonance on the Perception of Voice Quality Changes Caused by Varying Vocal Fold Stiffness

2016 ◽  
Vol 102 (2) ◽  
pp. 209-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosario Signorello ◽  
Zhaoyan Zhang ◽  
Bruce Gerratt ◽  
Jody Kreiman
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Fold ◽  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Voice Quality ◽  
Quality Changes ◽  
Vocal Tract Resonance

Phonetics of Singing in Western Classical Style

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johan Sundberg
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Vocal Fold ◽  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Formant Frequency ◽  
Vowel Identification ◽  
Fundamental Frequencies ◽  
Vocal Fold Vibration ◽  
Syllable Duration ◽  
Classical Singing ◽  
The Voice

The function of the voice organ is basically the same in classical singing as in speech. However, loud orchestral accompaniment has necessitated the use of the voice in an economical way. As a consequence, the vowel sounds tend to deviate considerably from those in speech. Male voices cluster formant three, four, and five, so that a marked peak is produced in spectrum envelope near 3,000 Hz. This helps them to get heard through a loud orchestral accompaniment. They seem to achieve this effect by widening the lower pharynx, which makes the vowels more centralized than in speech. Singers often sing at fundamental frequencies higher than the normal first formant frequency of the vowel in the lyrics. In such cases they raise the first formant frequency so that it gets somewhat higher than the fundamental frequency. This is achieved by reducing the degree of vocal tract constriction or by widening the lip and jaw openings, constricting the vocal tract in the pharyngeal end and widening it in the mouth. These deviations from speech cause difficulties in vowel identification, particularly at high fundamental frequencies. Actually, vowel identification is almost impossible above 700 Hz (pitch F5). Another great difference between vocal sound produced in speech and the classical singing tradition concerns female voices, which need to reduce the timbral differences between voice registers. Females normally speak in modal or chest register, and the transition to falsetto tends to happen somewhere above 350 Hz. The great timbral differences between these registers are avoided by establishing control over the register function, that is, over the vocal fold vibration characteristics, so that seamless transitions are achieved. In many other respects, there are more or less close similarities between speech and singing. Thus, marking phrase structure, emphasizing important events, and emotional coloring are common principles, which may make vocal artists deviate considerably from the score’s nominal description of fundamental frequency and syllable duration.

Phonetics of Vowels

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Ericsdotter Nordgren
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Fold ◽  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Vowel Quality ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
Upper Airways ◽  
Vocal Fold Vibration ◽  
General Linguistic ◽  
Vocal Tract Shape

Speech sounds are commonly divided into two main categories in human languages: vowels, such as ‘e’, ‘a’, ‘o’, and consonants, such as ‘k’, ‘n’, ‘s’. This division is made on the basis of both phonetic and phonological principles, which is useful from a general linguistic point of view but problematic for detailed description and analysis. The main differences between vowels and consonants are that (1) vowels are sounds produced with an open airway between the larynx and the lips, at least along the midline, whereas consonants are produced with a stricture or closure somewhere along it; and (2) that vowels tend to be syllabic in languages, meaning that they embody a sonorous peak in a syllable, whereas only some kinds of consonants tend to be syllabic. There are two main physical components needed to produce a vowel: a sound source, typically a tone produced by vocal fold vibration at the larynx, and a resonator, typically the upper airways. When the tone resonates in the upper airways, it gets a specific quality of sound, perceived and interpreted as a vowel quality, for example, ‘e’ or ‘a’. Which vowel quality is produced is determined by the shape of the inner space of the throat and mouth, the vocal tract shape, created by the speaker’s configuration of the articulators, which include the lips, tongue, jaw, hard and soft palate, pharynx, and larynx. Which vowel is perceived is determined by the auditory and visual input as well as by the listener’s expectations and language experience. Diachronic and synchronic studies on vowel typology show main trends in the vowel inventories in the worlds’ languages, which can be associated with human phonetic aptitude.

Vocal Fold Vibration and Voice Quality

1999 ◽  
Vol 52 (1-3) ◽  
pp. 32-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seiji Niimi ◽  
Mamiko Miyaji
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Fold ◽  
Voice Quality ◽  
Vocal Fold Vibration

Impact of speech therapy on the improvement of voice quality in patients with unilateral vocal fold paralysis

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Anna Kuligowska ◽  
Barbara Jamróz ◽  
Joanna Chmielewska ◽  
Katarzyna Jędra ◽  
Tomasz Czernicki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Fold ◽  
Speech Therapy ◽  
Acoustic Analysis ◽  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Voice Quality ◽  
Maximum Phonation Time ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Vocal Fold Palsy ◽  
The Voice

Aim of study: Evaluation of the speech therapy on voice quality in patients with unilateral vocal fold palsy. Material and methods: The study group included 11 patients, 8 women and 3 men, in age between 16 to 72 years, with unilateral vocal fold palsy, diagnosed in ENT Department of Warsaw Medical University between 2017-2018. Each person completed questionnaires: the voice disability self-assessment scale (VHI), the voice-based quality of life (VRQoL) scale, the vocal tract discomfort scale (VTD). All questionnaires were completed twice, before and after the voice therapy. In addition, the acoustic analysis of the voice, the assessment of the maximum phonation time and the breathing tract were performed twice in each patient. Each of the patients had a voice rehabilitation consisting of a series of 10 meetings. Results: Statistical analysis of the results of maximum phonation time, the self-assessment of voice disability, the quality of life depending on the voice, discomfort of the vocal tract voice acoustic analysis showed statistically significant differences in the results before and after rehabilitation (p <0.005). In addition, the improvement of the respiratory tract was observed in the majority of patients. Conclusions: Speech therapy significantly affects the voice quality of patients with unilateral laryngeal nerve palsy.

Simulation of the coupling between vocal-fold vibration and time-varying vocal tract

2011 ◽  
Vol 130 (4) ◽  
pp. 2441-2441
Author(s):  
Yosuke Tanabe ◽  
Parham Mokhtari ◽  
Hironori Takemoto ◽  
Tatsuya Kitamura
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Fold ◽  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Time Varying ◽  
Vocal Fold Vibration

Using Semi-Occluded Vocal Tract Exercises in Voice Therapy: The Clinician's Primer

2014 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 71-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marci D. Rosenberg
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Fold ◽  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Voice Therapy ◽  
Exact Nature ◽  
Voice Production ◽  
Vocal Fold Vibration

Semi-occluded vocal tract (SOVT) exercises have long been used by voice trainers and pedagogues and have been particularly popular in Scandinavia dating as far back as the 1800s. Titze (1988, 1994, 2006; Titze, Riede, & Popolo, 2008; Titze & Verdolini-Abbot, 2012) has contributed significantly to the exploration of the SOVT and impact on voice production, and these types of exercise have become ubiquitous in the clinical voice arena. Although SOVT exercises are commonly used, there continue to be questions about the exact nature of how they impact phonation and improved vocal economy. This article aims to explore the physiology of a SOVT on vocal fold vibration and vocal output. Several variations are described within context of recent research.

scholarly journals Comparing Measures of Voice Quality From Sustained Phonation and Continuous Speech

2016 ◽  
Vol 59 (5) ◽  
pp. 994-1001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce R. Gerratt ◽  
Jody Kreiman ◽  
Marc Garellek
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Fold ◽  
Voice Quality ◽  
Quality Analysis ◽  
Perceptual Information ◽  
Continuous Speech ◽  
Voice Source ◽  
Acoustic Measures ◽  
Vocal Fold Vibration ◽  
Vocal Quality ◽  
Quality Deviation

Purpose The question of what type of utterance—a sustained vowel or continuous speech—is best for voice quality analysis has been extensively studied but with equivocal results. This study examines whether previously reported differences derive from the articulatory and prosodic factors occurring in continuous speech versus sustained phonation. Method Speakers with voice disorders sustained vowels and read sentences. Vowel samples were excerpted from the steadiest portion of each vowel in the sentences. In addition to sustained and excerpted vowels, a 3rd set of stimuli was created by shortening sustained vowel productions to match the duration of vowels excerpted from continuous speech. Acoustic measures were made on the stimuli, and listeners judged the severity of vocal quality deviation. Results Sustained vowels and those extracted from continuous speech contain essentially the same acoustic and perceptual information about vocal quality deviation. Conclusions Perceived and/or measured differences between continuous speech and sustained vowels derive largely from voice source variability across segmental and prosodic contexts and not from variations in vocal fold vibration in the quasisteady portion of the vowels. Approaches to voice quality assessment by using continuous speech samples average across utterances and may not adequately quantify the variability they are intended to assess.

scholarly journals Automatic Evaluation of Voice Quality Using Text-Based Laryngograph Measurements and Prosodic Analysis

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tino Haderlein ◽  
Cornelia Schwemmle ◽  
Michael Döllinger ◽  
Václav Matoušek ◽  
Martin Ptok ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Fold ◽  
Voice Quality ◽  
Support Vector ◽  
Analysis Method ◽  
Prosodic Features ◽  
Connected Speech ◽  
Perceptual Evaluation ◽  
Vocal Fold Vibration ◽  
The North ◽  
Automatic Methods

Due to low intra- and interrater reliability, perceptual voice evaluation should be supported by objective, automatic methods. In this study, text-based, computer-aided prosodic analysis and measurements of connected speech were combined in order to model perceptual evaluation of the German Roughness-Breathiness-Hoarseness (RBH) scheme. 58 connected speech samples (43 women and 15 men;48.7±17.8years) containing the German version of the text “The North Wind and the Sun” were evaluated perceptually by 19 speech and voice therapy students according to the RBH scale. For the human-machine correlation, Support Vector Regression with measurements of the vocal fold cycle irregularities (CFx) and the closed phases of vocal fold vibration (CQx) of the Laryngograph and 33 features from a prosodic analysis module were used to model the listeners’ ratings. The best human-machine results for roughness were obtained from a combination of six prosodic features and CFx (r=0.71,ρ=0.57). These correlations were approximately the same as the interrater agreement among human raters (r=0.65,ρ=0.61). CQx was one of the substantial features of the hoarseness model. For hoarseness and breathiness, the human-machine agreement was substantially lower. Nevertheless, the automatic analysis method can serve as the basis for a meaningful objective support for perceptual analysis.

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