Voice Range Profiles of Singing Students: The Effects of Training Duration and Institution

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the study was to assess differences in voice parameters measured by the physiological voice range profile (VRP) in groups of vocally healthy subjects differentiated by the duration of vocal training and the training institution. Patients and Methods: Six basic frequency- and intensity-related VRP parameters and the frequency dip of the register transition zone were determined from VRP recordings of 162 females studying in individual singing lessons (1st-5th level) in Dutch, Belgian, English, and French public or private training facilities. Sixty-seven nonsinging female students served as controls. Results: Singing students in more advanced singing classes demonstrated a significantly greater frequency range, particularly at high frequencies, than did first-year students. Students with private training showed a significantly increased mean intensity range in comparison to those in group classes, while students with musical theater training exhibited significantly increased frequency- and intensity-related VRP parameters in comparison to the students with classical training. When compared to nonsingers, all singing student subgroups showed significant increases in all basic VRP parameters. However, the register transition parameter was not influenced by training duration or institution. Conclusion: Our study suggests that the extension of physiological vocal limits might depend on training duration and institution.

Establishing Normative Data on Singing Voice Parameters of Children and Adolescents with Average Singing Activity Using the Voice Range Profile

“…These findings resemble the data of nonsinging children described by Siupsinskiene and Lycke [30]. The contrast of frequencies between the sexes is easily visible when comparing 16-year-old males with a minimum frequency of 81.9 Hz (GЬ 2 ) and females with 175.0 Hz (F 3 ), the latter resembling the values found by Lycke and Siupsinskiene [34] for female nonsingers. A similar descent is shown with the variable maximum frequency as depicted above.…”

Usefulness of Spectral Range Profile in Quantitative Assessment of Voice Quality in Adults and Children

“…However, the following main question remains: which of the methods and voice parameters are the most sensitive to voice training and could better quantitatively describe voice quality, as well as assess voice training effect. According to the literature, to achieve this purpose VRP along with SRP are proposed as relevant methods [4][5][6][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]. Findings of the present study support this opinion.…”

“…Several research works have shown that voice training has a quantifiable effect on voice capabilities, mostly on VRP parameters [4,[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]. Measurements derived from the VRP are useful in identifying voices which are well-equipped; in the diagnosis of vocal dysfunction; in suggesting starting points for voice training and in controlling training effectiveness or outcomes of the treatment.…”

Efficacy of Phonosurgery, Logopedic Voice Treatment and Vocal Pedagogy in Common Voice Problems of Singers

“…Right side: pre-/post-therapeutic comparison via kernel density curves (Gaussian smoothing), in which histograms were shifted and overlaid with smooth density estimates to illustrate the different distributions remediation techniques. Moreover, the influence of singing training on measures of voice quality is also well documented [63,64]. Dastolfo-Hromack et al [65] investigated singing voice outcomes following singing voice therapy in patients with functional and organic dysphonia.…”