Comparisons of pharynx, source, formant, and pressure characteristics in operatic and musical theatre singing

Abstract

Belting, a vocal technique typically cultivated in musical theatre singing, differs timbrally from operatic singing in many interesting respects. The underlying phonatory differences have not been previously investigated in detail. Yet, belting is frequently associated with disturbances of voice function. Articulatory and phonatory characteristics are investigated in a female subject who is a professional singer (co-author JL) trained in both the operatic and belting styles and in an intermediate vocal technique ("mixed"). This article presents data obtained from this subject by video-fiberoptic observation of the pharynx, inverse filtering of airflow, and measurement of subglottal pressure. The results reveal that belting was characterized by very high subglottal pressures and sound levels, and apparently also by a comparatively high degree of glottal adduction. Comparisons with other investigations of related aspects of belting and operatic singing support the assumption that the data obtained from our subject are representative for these vocal techniques.

Laryngoscopic, Acoustic, Perceptual, and Functional Assessment of Voice in Rock Singers

“…They stated that the values reflected a relatively high larynx position and open mouth configuration. In this regard, earlier studies have demonstrated that a similar vocal tract configuration is classically displayed by sopranos during production of high pitches to avoid laryngeal muscle effort [41,42,43]. …”

“…Earlier studies have reported that the lower part of the vocal tract changes depending on the style of singing. In classical singing, wide pyriform sinuses and a wide hypopharynx, as well as a narrow epilaryngeal tube have been observed [2,3]. According to Sundberg [4,5], the area ratio between these two last structures would be the main explanation for the singer's formant cluster.…”

Vocal tract resonances in speech, singing, and playing musical instruments

“…Studies have already characterized formants or tract resonances for different singing styles (classical, belting, see Stone et al, 2003;Sundberg et al, 1993), or different qualities or techniques (twang, "forward," "throaty," "resonant," or "open" singing; see Bloothooft and Pomp, 1986a;Hertegard et al, 1990;Steinhauer et al, 1992;Ekholm et al, 1998;Titze, 2001;Vurma and Ross, 2002;Titze et al, 2003;Bjorkner, 2006;Garnier 2007b).…”

Effects of Melody and Technique on Acoustical and Musical Features of Western Operatic Singing Voices

“…16,33 Several parameters, such as the singing power ratio, 27 the energy ratio, 6 the a coefficient, 32 and the difference in energy between different frequency bands, have been proposed to quantify the spectral balance from an LTAS. Although these measurements are not intended to provide information about the singer's formant, they illustrate differences in energy distribution.…”

“…They applied three kinds of methods: the comparison of a single professional singer in different musical styles 5,16,33,[39][40][41][42] ; the comparison of different groups specializing in one particular musical style 14,[43][44][45] ; or the examination of one melody performed by one group of participants with two different vocal techniques. [46][47][48] However, all these experimental designs have their limitations.…”