Three registers in an untrained female singer analyzed by sound spectrography, strobolaryngoscopy and videokymography

Jan G. Švec, Johan Sundberg and Stellan Hertegård

There has been a lack of objective data on the registers used in the various F0 ranges of the singing voice, particularly female voices. The most elusive of the registers is the so called “whistle” register, occurring in the top part of the female pitch range, which is accessible only to some singers. In this register, imaging of the vocal fold vibration has been problematic due to laryngoscopic constraints to singing as well as due to frame rate limitations of the videolaryngoscopic systems. In this study we were able to obtain unique strobolaryngoscopic and high-speed (8000 images/s) videokymographic data on the vibratory behavior of the vocal folds from an untrained female singer capable of producing three distinct voice qualities, i.e., the chest, head and whistle registers. The sound was documented spectrographically. The transition from chest to middle register occurred near 500 Hz and was found to be associated with a slight decrease in arytenoids adduction, resulting in decrease of the closed quotient. The register shift from head to whistle occurred at fundamental frequencies between 670 and 1000 Hz. Here, the shape of the vibration pattern, the vibration amplitude and the glottal closure spontaneously changed without any observable changes in gross laryngeal adjustment. The results suggest that the chest/head register transition was produced laryngeally whereas the head to whistle transition occurred rather due to interaction of the vocal fold vibrations with the acoustic resonance of the vocal tract.

Authors’ addresses:

Jan G. Švec1,2, Johan Sundberg3and Stellan Hertegård4

1) GroningenVoice Research Lab, University Medical Center Groningen, the Netherlands
2) Centre for Communication Disorders, Medical Healthcom, Ltd., Prague, the Czech Republic
3) Dept. of Speech, Music and Hearing, KTH, Stockholm, Sweden
4) Dept. Logopedics and Phoniatrics, Karolinska University Hospital, Huddinge, Stockholm, Sweden

Correspondence address:
Jan G. Svec, Ph.D.
GroningenVoice Research Lab, Dept. of Biomedical Engineering, University Medical Center Groningen
University of Groningen
Antonius Deusinglaan 1, NL 9713 AV GRONINGEN, The Netherlands
Phone +31 50 363 8162 Fax: +31 50 363 8352
e-mail: svecjan@vol.cz, e-mail: j.g.svec@med.umcg.nl
http://www.ncvs.org/ncvs/about/people/svec.htm

Johan Sundberg, Ph.D.
Dept. of Speech, Music and Hearing , KTH, Drottning Kristinas väg 31 , SE-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden
Tel: +46-8-790-7873 Fax: +46-8-790-7854
e-mail: jsu@csc.kth.se

Stellan Hertegard, M.D., Ph.D.
Dept of Logopedics and Phoniatrics B69, Karolinska University Hospital, Huddinge
SE-141 86 Stockholm, Sweden,
e-mail: Stellan.Hertegard@klinvet.ki.se