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J. Sundberg

KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Speech Communication Music Acoustics, Faculty Member

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Johan Sundberg, professor of Music Acoustics, KTH, Stockholm (retired 2001), PhD (musiciology), Honorary Doctor at the universities of York (UK) Athens (Greece), and Liège (Belgium), member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. He has published more than 360 scientific articles. His books Röstlära (The science of the Singing Voice) describes acoustics and physiology of singing and Musikens ljudlära (The Science of Musical Sounds, 1991) presents acoustic aspects of musical sound. He has initiated and published proceedings of many public symposia. He has organized courses on the function of the singing voice, combining theory with real-time feedback of aspects of phonation and articulation. He has supervised or co-supervised more than 20 doctoral students. He has had extensive experience music performance both as chorister and soloist. Main research areas: function, acoustics, and expressivity of the singing voice

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Alexander R Jensenius

University of Oslo

KTH Royal Institute of Technology

Macquarie University

Linda T Kaastra

University of the Fraser Valley

University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Leon van Noorden

Ghent University

Mikail F Lumentut

National Taiwan University

Liam O Sullivan

Trinity College Dublin

Washington Center for Consciousness Studies

Sebnem Helvacioglu

Istanbul Technical University

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Papers by J. Sundberg

Comparison of Two Inverse Filtering Methods in Parameterization of the Glottal Closing Phase Characteristics in Different Phonation Types

Journal of Voice, 2007

Inverse filtering (IF) is a common method used to estimate the source of voiced speech, the glott... more Inverse filtering (IF) is a common method used to estimate the source of voiced speech, the glottal flow. This investigation aims to compare two IF methods: one manual and the other semiautomatic. Glottal flows were estimated from speech pressure waveforms of six female and seven male subjects producing sustained vole /a/ in breathy, normal, and pressed phonation. The closing phase characteristics of the glottal pulse were parameterized using two time-based parameters: the closing quotient (C1Q) and the normalized amplitude quotient (NAQ). The information given by these two parameters indicates a strong correlation between the two IF methods. The results are encouraging in showing that the parameterization of the voice source in different speech sounds can be performed independently of the technique used for inverse filtering.

Off-equilibrium response of grafted polymer chains subject to a variable rate of compression

Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 2011

We present Brownian dynamics simulations of single grafted semiflexible chains (i.e., &quot;p... more We present Brownian dynamics simulations of single grafted semiflexible chains (i.e., &quot;polymer mushrooms&quot;) with varying persistence lengths, intra-chain interactions, and subject to confinement. The results from different rates of compression are presented in the cases of an approaching infinite plane and a paraboloid tip. We discuss the different behaviour observed for grafted chains with strong and weak self-attraction (i.e., &quot;hard&quot; and &quot;soft&quot; polymer mushrooms). In both cases the effect on the size and shape is more pronounced for a slow compression rate, especially for &quot;hard mushrooms&quot;. We have also studied the relaxation of the chain while the compressing plane is maintained, and when it is removed suddenly. We find that the response depends strongly on the time allowed for relaxation in the compressed state. When using instead a paraboloid tip, the overall effects are similar yet less pronounced because the chain can dodge the confining object via an &quot;escape transition.&quot;

Acoustic inverse filtering of breathy phonation

Pedagogical strategies for ensuring the continued survival of China´ s musical folksong heritage:: A case study

Pedagogical strategies for ensuring the continued survival of China´s musical folksong heritage: ... more

Contact Quotient Versus Closed Quotient: A Comparative Study on Professional Male Singers

Journal of Voice, 2015

Objectives. The term ''closed quotient'' is frequently used for data derived both from inverse fi... more Objectives. The term ''closed quotient'' is frequently used for data derived both from inverse filtering and from electroglottography. In the former case, it is defined as the ratio between the closed phase and the period, as measured in flow glottograms (FLOGG), whereas in the latter case, it is defined as the time interval between the falling and rising parts of the electroglottogram (EGG), measured at some percentage of the peak-to-peak amplitude. The study aims at analyzing differences between EGG-and FLOGG-based closed quotients and their relationships with voice source parameters. Study Design. Comparative study. Methods. FLOGG-and EGG-based measures collected from five professional male singers were compared, under different pitch and loudness conditions. Results. Compared with the FLOGG-based quotient, the EGG-based quotient (i) varied more between subjects, (ii) presented greater values, (iii) varied less with subglottal pressure, (iv) varied less with the normalized amplitude quotient (ie, the ratio between the flow pulse amplitude and the product of period and maximum flow declination rate), and (v) varied less with the relative amplitude of the voice source fundamental. Conclusions. Although positively related, FLOGG-and EGG-based closed quotients differ and must not be confused.

Level and Center Frequency of the Singer's Formant

Journal of Voice, 2001

Velum Behavior in Professional Classic Operatic Singing

Journal of Voice, 2002

The velopharyngeal opening (VPO) is analyzed in 17 professional operatic singers, 3 high sopranos... more The velopharyngeal opening (VPO) is analyzed in 17 professional operatic singers, 3 high sopranos, 3 sopranos, 2 mezzo-sopranos, 3 tenors, 2 baritones, 2 bass-baritones, and 2 basses singing the vowels [a, i, u] at middle degree of vocal loudness at different pitches throughout their pitch range. Three methods were used for detection of a VPO. One was nasofiberscopy, which revealed VPO of various shapes in several singers. Another method was recording nasal and oral airflow by means of a divided flow mask. These measurements showed a nasal DC airflow at least at some pitches in a majority of the singers. A third method was a comparison of the level of the fundamental in the nasal and oral airflow signals; this level difference was less than 15 dB in cases where a nasal DC airflow was observed. Values less than 15 dB were observed in some cases, thus suggesting the presence of a VPO. The tokens produced by the singers were assessed by an expert panel with respect to nasal quality of the vowel timbre; no correlation was found between rated nasal quality and the presence of a VPO.

Throaty Voice Quality: Subglottal Pressure, Voice Source, and Formant Characteristics

Journal of Voice, 2006

"Throaty" voice quality has been regarded by voice pedagogues as undesired and even harmful. This... more "Throaty" voice quality has been regarded by voice pedagogues as undesired and even harmful. This study attempts to identify acoustic and physiological correlates of this quality. One male and one female subject read a text habitually and with a throaty voice quality. Oral pressure during p-occlusion was measured as an estimate of subglottal pressure. Long-term average spectrum analysis described the average spectrum characteristics. Sixteen syllables, perceptually evaluated with regard to throaty quality by five experts, were selected for analysis. Formant frequencies and voice source characteristics were measured by means of inverse filtering, and the vocal tract shape of the throaty and normal versions of the vowels [a,u,i,ae] of the male subject were recorded by magnetic resonance imaging. From this material, area functions were derived and their resonance frequencies were determined. The throaty versions of these four vowels all showed a pharynx that was narrower than in the habitually produced versions. To test the relevance of formant frequencies to perceived throaty quality, experts rated degree of throatiness in synthetic vowel samples, in which the measured formant frequency values of the subject were used. The main acoustic correlates of throatiness seemed to be an increase of F1, a decrease of F4, and in front vowels a decrease of F2, which presumably results from a narrowing of the pharynx. In the male subject, voice source parameters suggested a more hyperfunctional voice in throaty samples.

Intonation and Expressivity: A Single Case Study of Classical Western Singing

Journal of Voice, 2013

Previous studies have shown that singers tend to sharpen phrase-peak tones as compared with equal... more Previous studies have shown that singers tend to sharpen phrase-peak tones as compared with equally tempered tuning (ETT). Here we test the hypothesis that this can serve the purpose of musical expressivity. Data were drawn from earlier recordings, where a professional baritone sang excerpts as void of musical expression as he could (Neutral) and as expressive as in a concert (Concert). Fundamental frequency averaged over tones was examined and compared with ETT. Phrase-peak tones were sharper in excited examples, particularly in the Concert versions. These tones were flattened to ETT using the Melodyne software. The manipulated and original versions were presented pairwise to a musician panel that was asked to choose the more expressive version. By and large, the original versions were perceived as more expressive, thus supporting the common claim that intonation is a means for adding expressivity to a performance.

Measuring insufficient vocal fold closure during phonation

STL-QPSR, 1983

... One such factor influencing the closure is vocal intensity. With increasing voice effort, an ... more

Musical punctuation on the microlevel: Automatic identification and performance of small melodic units*

Journal of New Music Research, 1998

and-conditions-of-access.pdf This article may be used for research, teaching and private study pu... more and-conditions-of-access.pdf This article may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution , reselling , loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.

Oxygen chemisorption/desorption in a reversible single-crystal-to-single-crystal transformation

Chem. Sci., 2014

A compound that can reversibly chemisorb O2 in the solid phase undergoes several consecutive sing... more

I V. Music Acoustics A. Data on the Glottal Voice Source Behavior I N

source behavior in vowel production Gauffin, J. and Sundberg, J.

B. On Melodical Similarity in Versions of a Swedish Folk- Tune

A set of different versions of the Swedish folk-tune "Fiskeskarsvisan" collected by Moberg i s st... more A set of different versions of the Swedish folk-tune "Fiskeskarsvisan" collected by Moberg i s studied a s r e g a r d s the question why they a r e felt to be melodically similar. The observations of common elements made in an analysis of the melodies a r e integrated into a rule system by means of which new versions of the folk-tune can be generated. The rule system shows that signaling the constituent structure i s important, and that melodical similarity seems to be closely related to the marking of constituents and the prominence values of the notes.

Phonetographic aspects of physiological and perceptual voice characterist

111. Musical Acoustics A. Vibrato and Vowel Identification

The influence of vibrato on vowel identification i s studied in synthesized vowel sounds with fun... more The influence of vibrato on vowel identification i s studied in synthesized vowel sounds with fundamental frequencies between 300 and 1000 Hz. Phonetically trained subjects were asked to identify these stimuli presented with and without vibrato a s any of 12 Swedish long vowels. Small and occasional effects a r e observed on the mean formant frequencies and the scatter between the responses. However, the effects a r e greater and more frequent$haai would be expected by chance. In a majority of the cases, where the vibrato affected the responses, the vowel identification became somewhat harder when the stimulus was presented with vibrato.

Perceptual and Acoustic Correlates of Abnormal Voice Qualities

Acta Oto-Laryngologica, 1980

A set of 17 voices representing various voice disorders were presented to a jury of voice experts... more A set of 17 voices representing various voice disorders were presented to a jury of voice experts who rated them on a 5-point scale for each of 28 terms frequently used for describing voices. A statistical treatment of these ratings yielded 5 bipolar factors accounting for 85% of the total variance. Significant correlations were found between four of these factors and certain acoustic data extracted fron long-time-average spectra and fundamental frequency distribution analysis of the same voice sample.

Music and Hearing Quarterly Progress and Status Report X-ray study of articulation and formant frequencies in two female singers

Interdependencies among Voice Source Parameters in Emotional Speech

IEEE Transactions on Affective Computing, 2011

Emotions have strong effects on the voice production mechanisms and consequently on voice charact... more Emotions have strong effects on the voice production mechanisms and consequently on voice characteristics. The magnitude of these effects, measured using voice source parameters, and the interdependencies among parameters have not been examined. To better understand these relationships, voice characteristics were analyzed in 10 actors' productions of a sustained/a/ vowel in five emotions. Twelve acoustic parameters were studied and grouped according to their physiological backgrounds, three related to subglottal pressure, five related to the transglottal airflow waveform derived from inverse filtering the audio signal, and four related to vocal fold vibration. Each emotion appeared to possess a specific combination of acoustic parameters reflecting a specific mixture of physiologic voice control parameters. Features related to subglottal pressure showed strong within-group and betweengroup correlations, demonstrating the importance of accounting for vocal loudness in voice analyses. Multiple discriminant analysis revealed that a parameter selection that was based, in a principled fashion, on production processes could yield rather satisfactory discrimination outcomes (87.1 percent based on 12 parameters and 78 percent based on three parameters). The results of this study suggest that systems to automatically detect emotions use a hypothesis-driven approach to selecting parameters that directly reflect the physiological parameters underlying voice and speech production.

The tuning and vocal formant features of Chinese folk song singing: a case study of Hua'er music

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 2012

ABSTRACT The learning and teaching of different singing styles, such as operatic and Chinese folk... more ABSTRACT The learning and teaching of different singing styles, such as operatic and Chinese folk singing, was often found to be very challenging in professional music education because of the complexity of varied musical properties and vocalizations. By studying the acoustical and musical parameters of the singing voice, this study identified distinctive tuning characteristics of a particular folk music in China-Hua&amp;#39;er music-to inform the ineffective folk singing practices, which were hampered by the neglect of inherent tuning issues in music. Thirteen unaccompanied folk song examples from four folk singers were digitally audio recorded in a sound studio. Using an analyzing toolkit consisting of Praat, PeakFit, and MS Excel, the fundamental frequencies (F0) of these song examples were extracted into sets of &amp;quot;anchor pitches&amp;quot; mostly used, which were further divided into 253 F0 clusters. The interval structures of anchor pitches within each song were analyzed and then compared across 13 examples providing parameters that indicate the tuning preference of this particular singing style. The data analyses demonstrated that all singers used a tuning pattern consisting of five major anchor pitches suggesting a nonequal-tempered bias in singing. This partly verified the pentatonic scale proposed in previous empirical research but also argued a potential misunderstanding of the studied folk music scale that failed to take intrinsic tuning issues into consideration. This study suggests that, in professional music training, any tuning strategy should be considered in terms of the reference pitch and likely tuning systems. Any accompanying instruments would need to be tuned to match the underlying tuning bias. Copyright © 2014 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Comparison of Two Inverse Filtering Methods in Parameterization of the Glottal Closing Phase Characteristics in Different Phonation Types

Journal of Voice, 2007

Inverse filtering (IF) is a common method used to estimate the source of voiced speech, the glott... more Inverse filtering (IF) is a common method used to estimate the source of voiced speech, the glottal flow. This investigation aims to compare two IF methods: one manual and the other semiautomatic. Glottal flows were estimated from speech pressure waveforms of six female and seven male subjects producing sustained vole /a/ in breathy, normal, and pressed phonation. The closing phase characteristics of the glottal pulse were parameterized using two time-based parameters: the closing quotient (C1Q) and the normalized amplitude quotient (NAQ). The information given by these two parameters indicates a strong correlation between the two IF methods. The results are encouraging in showing that the parameterization of the voice source in different speech sounds can be performed independently of the technique used for inverse filtering.

Off-equilibrium response of grafted polymer chains subject to a variable rate of compression

Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 2011

We present Brownian dynamics simulations of single grafted semiflexible chains (i.e., &quot;p... more We present Brownian dynamics simulations of single grafted semiflexible chains (i.e., &quot;polymer mushrooms&quot;) with varying persistence lengths, intra-chain interactions, and subject to confinement. The results from different rates of compression are presented in the cases of an approaching infinite plane and a paraboloid tip. We discuss the different behaviour observed for grafted chains with strong and weak self-attraction (i.e., &quot;hard&quot; and &quot;soft&quot; polymer mushrooms). In both cases the effect on the size and shape is more pronounced for a slow compression rate, especially for &quot;hard mushrooms&quot;. We have also studied the relaxation of the chain while the compressing plane is maintained, and when it is removed suddenly. We find that the response depends strongly on the time allowed for relaxation in the compressed state. When using instead a paraboloid tip, the overall effects are similar yet less pronounced because the chain can dodge the confining object via an &quot;escape transition.&quot;

Acoustic inverse filtering of breathy phonation

Pedagogical strategies for ensuring the continued survival of China´ s musical folksong heritage:: A case study

Pedagogical strategies for ensuring the continued survival of China´s musical folksong heritage: ... more

Contact Quotient Versus Closed Quotient: A Comparative Study on Professional Male Singers

Journal of Voice, 2015

Objectives. The term ''closed quotient'' is frequently used for data derived both from inverse fi... more Objectives. The term ''closed quotient'' is frequently used for data derived both from inverse filtering and from electroglottography. In the former case, it is defined as the ratio between the closed phase and the period, as measured in flow glottograms (FLOGG), whereas in the latter case, it is defined as the time interval between the falling and rising parts of the electroglottogram (EGG), measured at some percentage of the peak-to-peak amplitude. The study aims at analyzing differences between EGG-and FLOGG-based closed quotients and their relationships with voice source parameters. Study Design. Comparative study. Methods. FLOGG-and EGG-based measures collected from five professional male singers were compared, under different pitch and loudness conditions. Results. Compared with the FLOGG-based quotient, the EGG-based quotient (i) varied more between subjects, (ii) presented greater values, (iii) varied less with subglottal pressure, (iv) varied less with the normalized amplitude quotient (ie, the ratio between the flow pulse amplitude and the product of period and maximum flow declination rate), and (v) varied less with the relative amplitude of the voice source fundamental. Conclusions. Although positively related, FLOGG-and EGG-based closed quotients differ and must not be confused.

Level and Center Frequency of the Singer's Formant

Journal of Voice, 2001

Velum Behavior in Professional Classic Operatic Singing

Journal of Voice, 2002

The velopharyngeal opening (VPO) is analyzed in 17 professional operatic singers, 3 high sopranos... more The velopharyngeal opening (VPO) is analyzed in 17 professional operatic singers, 3 high sopranos, 3 sopranos, 2 mezzo-sopranos, 3 tenors, 2 baritones, 2 bass-baritones, and 2 basses singing the vowels [a, i, u] at middle degree of vocal loudness at different pitches throughout their pitch range. Three methods were used for detection of a VPO. One was nasofiberscopy, which revealed VPO of various shapes in several singers. Another method was recording nasal and oral airflow by means of a divided flow mask. These measurements showed a nasal DC airflow at least at some pitches in a majority of the singers. A third method was a comparison of the level of the fundamental in the nasal and oral airflow signals; this level difference was less than 15 dB in cases where a nasal DC airflow was observed. Values less than 15 dB were observed in some cases, thus suggesting the presence of a VPO. The tokens produced by the singers were assessed by an expert panel with respect to nasal quality of the vowel timbre; no correlation was found between rated nasal quality and the presence of a VPO.

Throaty Voice Quality: Subglottal Pressure, Voice Source, and Formant Characteristics

Journal of Voice, 2006

"Throaty" voice quality has been regarded by voice pedagogues as undesired and even harmful. This... more "Throaty" voice quality has been regarded by voice pedagogues as undesired and even harmful. This study attempts to identify acoustic and physiological correlates of this quality. One male and one female subject read a text habitually and with a throaty voice quality. Oral pressure during p-occlusion was measured as an estimate of subglottal pressure. Long-term average spectrum analysis described the average spectrum characteristics. Sixteen syllables, perceptually evaluated with regard to throaty quality by five experts, were selected for analysis. Formant frequencies and voice source characteristics were measured by means of inverse filtering, and the vocal tract shape of the throaty and normal versions of the vowels [a,u,i,ae] of the male subject were recorded by magnetic resonance imaging. From this material, area functions were derived and their resonance frequencies were determined. The throaty versions of these four vowels all showed a pharynx that was narrower than in the habitually produced versions. To test the relevance of formant frequencies to perceived throaty quality, experts rated degree of throatiness in synthetic vowel samples, in which the measured formant frequency values of the subject were used. The main acoustic correlates of throatiness seemed to be an increase of F1, a decrease of F4, and in front vowels a decrease of F2, which presumably results from a narrowing of the pharynx. In the male subject, voice source parameters suggested a more hyperfunctional voice in throaty samples.

Intonation and Expressivity: A Single Case Study of Classical Western Singing

Journal of Voice, 2013

Previous studies have shown that singers tend to sharpen phrase-peak tones as compared with equal... more Previous studies have shown that singers tend to sharpen phrase-peak tones as compared with equally tempered tuning (ETT). Here we test the hypothesis that this can serve the purpose of musical expressivity. Data were drawn from earlier recordings, where a professional baritone sang excerpts as void of musical expression as he could (Neutral) and as expressive as in a concert (Concert). Fundamental frequency averaged over tones was examined and compared with ETT. Phrase-peak tones were sharper in excited examples, particularly in the Concert versions. These tones were flattened to ETT using the Melodyne software. The manipulated and original versions were presented pairwise to a musician panel that was asked to choose the more expressive version. By and large, the original versions were perceived as more expressive, thus supporting the common claim that intonation is a means for adding expressivity to a performance.

Measuring insufficient vocal fold closure during phonation

STL-QPSR, 1983

... One such factor influencing the closure is vocal intensity. With increasing voice effort, an ... more

Musical punctuation on the microlevel: Automatic identification and performance of small melodic units*

Journal of New Music Research, 1998

and-conditions-of-access.pdf This article may be used for research, teaching and private study pu... more and-conditions-of-access.pdf This article may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution , reselling , loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.

Oxygen chemisorption/desorption in a reversible single-crystal-to-single-crystal transformation

Chem. Sci., 2014

A compound that can reversibly chemisorb O2 in the solid phase undergoes several consecutive sing... more

I V. Music Acoustics A. Data on the Glottal Voice Source Behavior I N

source behavior in vowel production Gauffin, J. and Sundberg, J.

B. On Melodical Similarity in Versions of a Swedish Folk- Tune

A set of different versions of the Swedish folk-tune "Fiskeskarsvisan" collected by Moberg i s st... more A set of different versions of the Swedish folk-tune "Fiskeskarsvisan" collected by Moberg i s studied a s r e g a r d s the question why they a r e felt to be melodically similar. The observations of common elements made in an analysis of the melodies a r e integrated into a rule system by means of which new versions of the folk-tune can be generated. The rule system shows that signaling the constituent structure i s important, and that melodical similarity seems to be closely related to the marking of constituents and the prominence values of the notes.

Phonetographic aspects of physiological and perceptual voice characterist

111. Musical Acoustics A. Vibrato and Vowel Identification

The influence of vibrato on vowel identification i s studied in synthesized vowel sounds with fun... more The influence of vibrato on vowel identification i s studied in synthesized vowel sounds with fundamental frequencies between 300 and 1000 Hz. Phonetically trained subjects were asked to identify these stimuli presented with and without vibrato a s any of 12 Swedish long vowels. Small and occasional effects a r e observed on the mean formant frequencies and the scatter between the responses. However, the effects a r e greater and more frequent$haai would be expected by chance. In a majority of the cases, where the vibrato affected the responses, the vowel identification became somewhat harder when the stimulus was presented with vibrato.

Perceptual and Acoustic Correlates of Abnormal Voice Qualities

Acta Oto-Laryngologica, 1980

A set of 17 voices representing various voice disorders were presented to a jury of voice experts... more A set of 17 voices representing various voice disorders were presented to a jury of voice experts who rated them on a 5-point scale for each of 28 terms frequently used for describing voices. A statistical treatment of these ratings yielded 5 bipolar factors accounting for 85% of the total variance. Significant correlations were found between four of these factors and certain acoustic data extracted fron long-time-average spectra and fundamental frequency distribution analysis of the same voice sample.

Music and Hearing Quarterly Progress and Status Report X-ray study of articulation and formant frequencies in two female singers

Interdependencies among Voice Source Parameters in Emotional Speech

IEEE Transactions on Affective Computing, 2011

Emotions have strong effects on the voice production mechanisms and consequently on voice charact... more Emotions have strong effects on the voice production mechanisms and consequently on voice characteristics. The magnitude of these effects, measured using voice source parameters, and the interdependencies among parameters have not been examined. To better understand these relationships, voice characteristics were analyzed in 10 actors' productions of a sustained/a/ vowel in five emotions. Twelve acoustic parameters were studied and grouped according to their physiological backgrounds, three related to subglottal pressure, five related to the transglottal airflow waveform derived from inverse filtering the audio signal, and four related to vocal fold vibration. Each emotion appeared to possess a specific combination of acoustic parameters reflecting a specific mixture of physiologic voice control parameters. Features related to subglottal pressure showed strong within-group and betweengroup correlations, demonstrating the importance of accounting for vocal loudness in voice analyses. Multiple discriminant analysis revealed that a parameter selection that was based, in a principled fashion, on production processes could yield rather satisfactory discrimination outcomes (87.1 percent based on 12 parameters and 78 percent based on three parameters). The results of this study suggest that systems to automatically detect emotions use a hypothesis-driven approach to selecting parameters that directly reflect the physiological parameters underlying voice and speech production.

The tuning and vocal formant features of Chinese folk song singing: a case study of Hua'er music

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 2012

ABSTRACT The learning and teaching of different singing styles, such as operatic and Chinese folk... more ABSTRACT The learning and teaching of different singing styles, such as operatic and Chinese folk singing, was often found to be very challenging in professional music education because of the complexity of varied musical properties and vocalizations. By studying the acoustical and musical parameters of the singing voice, this study identified distinctive tuning characteristics of a particular folk music in China-Hua&amp;#39;er music-to inform the ineffective folk singing practices, which were hampered by the neglect of inherent tuning issues in music. Thirteen unaccompanied folk song examples from four folk singers were digitally audio recorded in a sound studio. Using an analyzing toolkit consisting of Praat, PeakFit, and MS Excel, the fundamental frequencies (F0) of these song examples were extracted into sets of &amp;quot;anchor pitches&amp;quot; mostly used, which were further divided into 253 F0 clusters. The interval structures of anchor pitches within each song were analyzed and then compared across 13 examples providing parameters that indicate the tuning preference of this particular singing style. The data analyses demonstrated that all singers used a tuning pattern consisting of five major anchor pitches suggesting a nonequal-tempered bias in singing. This partly verified the pentatonic scale proposed in previous empirical research but also argued a potential misunderstanding of the studied folk music scale that failed to take intrinsic tuning issues into consideration. This study suggests that, in professional music training, any tuning strategy should be considered in terms of the reference pitch and likely tuning systems. Any accompanying instruments would need to be tuned to match the underlying tuning bias. Copyright © 2014 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.