Voice Parameter Changes in Professional Musician-Singers Singing with and without an Instrument: The Effect of Body Posture

Abstract

Background and Aim: The impact of body posture on vocal emission is well known. Postural changes may increase muscular resistance in tracts of the phono-articulatory apparatus and lead to voice disorders. This work aimed to assess whether and to which extent body posture during singing and playing a musical instrument impacts voice performance in professional musicians. Subjects and Methods: Voice signals were recorded from 17 professional musicians (pianists and guitarists) while they were singing and while they were singing and playing a musical instrument simultaneously. Metrics were extracted from their voice spectrogram using the Multi-Dimensional Voice Program (MDVP) and included jitter, shift in fundamental voice frequency (sF0), shimmer, change in peak amplitude, noise to harmonic ratio, Voice Turbulence Index, Soft Phonation Index (SPI), Frequency Tremor Intensity Index, Amplitude Tremor Intensity Index, and maximum phonatory time (MPT). Statistical analysis was performed using two-tailed t tests, one-way ANOVA, and χ² tests. Subjects’ body posture was visually assessed following the recommendations of the Italian Society of Audiology and Phoniatrics. Thirty-seven voice signals were collected, 17 during singing and 20 during singing and playing a musical instrument. Results: Data showed that playing an instrument while singing led to an impairment of the “singer formant” and to a decrease in jitter, sF0, shimmer, SPI, and MPT. However, statistical analysis showed that none of the MDVP metrics changed significantly when subjects played an instrument compared to when they did not. Shoulder and back position affected voice features as measured by the MDVP metrics, while head and neck position did not. In particular, playing the guitar decreased the amplitude of the “singer formant” and increased noise, causing a typical “raucous rock voice.” Conclusions: Voice features may be affected by the use of the instrument the musicians play while they sing. Body posture selected by the musician while playing the instrument may affect expiration and phonation.

Origins of vocal-entangled gesture

“…Singers are sometimes even advised to tense the buttocks to control voicing (see, e.g., link). Common wisdom aside, there is considerable evidence that bodily postures affect singing (Cardoso et al, 2019;Longo et al, 2020;Miller et al, 2012bMiller et al, , 2014Pettersen andWestgaard, 2004, 2005;Pettersen, 2006). Piano playing modifies back and shoulder positioning (e.g., extrarotated shoulder), which correlates with decreased energy at the harmonic formant attributable to changes in upper airway flow (Longo et al, 2020).…”

“…Common wisdom aside, there is considerable evidence that bodily postures affect singing (Cardoso et al, 2019;Longo et al, 2020;Miller et al, 2012bMiller et al, , 2014Pettersen andWestgaard, 2004, 2005;Pettersen, 2006). Piano playing modifies back and shoulder positioning (e.g., extrarotated shoulder), which correlates with decreased energy at the harmonic formant attributable to changes in upper airway flow (Longo et al, 2020). The pectoralis major, an arm-rotating muscle, is active during phonation in expert and non-expert singers, which helps to counteract upper thorax inflation, thereby guiding expiratory control (Pettersen, 2006).…”

Gesture–vocal coupling in Karnatak music performance: A neuro–bodily distributed aesthetic entanglement

“…Further, bodily gestures that can interact with the vocal system need not be limited to hand gestures, [83][84][85] and indeed, it is apparent in the current performances that movements were performed with the whole upper body. Given that, for example, postural changes associated with piano-playing seem to affect superior airflow, affecting the harmonic formant of vocal acoustics when simultaneously singing and playing the piano, 86 it is possible that other types of bodily postures and movements are entangled with the voice. This more fine-grained whole-body research would employ respiratory-related measurements, as well as muscle activation tracking (EMG) in experimental contexts, where different vocal targets need to be reached, with and without specific gestures designed to recruit different muscle units.…”

Origins of vocal-entangled gesture

“…Singers are sometimes even advised to tension the buttocks to control voicing (e.g., https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYKdW32-rxM). Common wisdom aside, there is considerable evidence that bodily postures affect singing (Cardoso et al, 2019;Longo et al, 2020;Miller et al, 2012bMiller et al, , 2014Pettersen andWestgaard, 2004, 2005;Pettersen, 2006). For example, Longo et al (2020) finds that in professional musicians, playing an instrument (e.g., piano) modifies back and shoulder positioning (e.g., extrarotated shoulder), which correlated with decreased intensity at the harmonic formant attributable to changes in superior airway flow.…”

“…Common wisdom aside, there is considerable evidence that bodily postures affect singing (Cardoso et al, 2019;Longo et al, 2020;Miller et al, 2012bMiller et al, , 2014Pettersen andWestgaard, 2004, 2005;Pettersen, 2006). For example, Longo et al (2020) finds that in professional musicians, playing an instrument (e.g., piano) modifies back and shoulder positioning (e.g., extrarotated shoulder), which correlated with decreased intensity at the harmonic formant attributable to changes in superior airway flow. The pectoralis major, often listed as an inspiratory accessory muscle, is active during phonation too in expert and non-expert singers, which helps to counteract upper thorax inflation, thereby guiding expiratory control (Pettersen, 2006).…”