What Might the Trombone Teach Us About the Singing Voice?-A Tutorial Review.

The trombone and the male voice cover similar frequency ranges and, at a physical level, the basic anatomies of the voice and the trombone show some qualitative similarity: both have two vibrating flaps of muscular tissue (the vocal folds and the trombonist's lips, respectively), and in each case, these are loaded acoustically by resonant ducts both upstream and downstream. There are also large differences. For example, the downstream ducts differ in length. The trombone usually operates with an oscillation frequency close to that of one of the downstream resonances; this is only occasionally true of the voice. Because the lips of a trombone player are much more readily accessible for experiments, they have yielded more detailed measurements of longitudinal and transverse motion, AC and DC pressures, and flow under varying acoustic loads. In normal operation, the downstream motion of the lips or vocal folds leads the lateral opening motion, resulting in a sweeping flow that leads the flow through the aperture. The relative timing of these flow components is related to the phases of the pressure across the tissues and the downstream acoustic load. Further, the work done on trombonists' lips due to their sweeping motion makes an important contribution to maintaining oscillation with both inertive and compliant acoustic loads. This probably explains why trombonists can "lip" the pitch smoothly from above to below a downstream resonance. Similar calculations on measurements of vocal fold motion show a similar work contribution and suggest that this sweeping motion is significant in powering this component of laryngeal motion. Comparing and contrasting the operation of the two "instruments" gives new perspectives on the basic science of the voice, with practical applications including the use of resonances. This could be helpful to voice scientists but also useful background knowledge for singers and singing teachers.

Using visual feedback to tune the second vocal tract resonance for singing in the high soprano range.

PURPOSE: Over a range roughly C5-C6, sopranos usually tune their first vocal tract resonance (R1) to the fundamental frequency (fo) of the note sung: R1:fo tuning. Those who sing well above C6 usually adjust their second vocal tract resonance (R2) and use R2:fo tuning. This study investigated these questions: Can singers quickly learn R2:fo tuning when given suitable feedback? Can they subsequently use this tuning without feedback? And finally, if so, does this assist their singing in the high range? METHODS: New computer software for the technique of resonance estimation by broadband excitation at the lips was used to provide real-time visual feedback on fo and vocal tract resonances. Eight sopranos participated. In a one-hour session, they practised adjusting R2 whilst miming (i.e. without phonating), and then during singing. RESULTS: Six sopranos learned to tune R2 over a range of several semi-tones, when feedback was present. This achievement did not immediately extend their singing range. When the feedback was removed, two sopranos spontaneously used R2:fo tuning at the top of their range above C6. CONCLUSIONS: With only one hour of training, singers can learn to adjust their vocal tract shape for R2:fo tuning when provided with visual feedback. One additional participant who spent considerable time with the software, acquired greater skill at R2:fo tuning and was able to extend her singing range. A simple version of the hardware used can be assembled using basic equipment and the software is available online.

How the acoustic resonances of the subglottal tract affect the impedance spectrum measured through the lips.

Experimental determinations of the acoustic properties of the subglottal airway, from the trachea below the larynx to the lungs, may provide useful information for detecting airway pathologies and aid in the understanding of vocal fold auto-oscillation. Here, minimally invasive, high precision impedance measurements are made through the lips (7 men, 3 women) over the range 14-4200 Hz during inspiration, expiration, and with a closed glottis. Closed glottis measurements show the expected resonances and anti-resonances of the supraglottal vocal tract. As the glottis is gradually opened, and the glottal inertance decreases, maxima in the subglottal impedance increasingly affect the measured impedance spectrum, producing additional pairs of maxima and minima. The pairs with the lowest frequency appear first. Measurements during a cycle of respiration show the disappearance and reappearance of these extrema. For a wide glottal opening during inspiration, and for the frequency range 14-4200 Hz, the impedance spectrum semi-quantitatively resembles that of a single, longer duct, open at the remote end, and whose total effective length is 37 ± 4 cm for men and 34 ± 3 cm for women. Fitting to simple models of the subglottal tract yields mean effective acoustic lengths of 19.5 cm for the men and 16.0 cm for the women in this study.

The role of vocal tract and subglottal resonances in producing vocal instabilities.

During speech and singing, the vibrating vocal folds are acoustically loaded by resonant ducts upstream (the trachea) and downstream (the vocal tract). Some models suggest that the vocal fold vibration (at frequency fo) is more stable at frequencies below that of a vocal tract resonance, so that the downstream load is inertive (mass-like). If so, vocal fold vibration might become unstable when fo and resonance frequencies "cross over" and the load varies rapidly in phase and magnitude. In one experiment, singers produced a slow diphthong at constant pitch, thus shifting the first tract resonance R1 across fixed fo. In another, pitch glides took fo across the tract and subglottal resonances. Few instabilities occurred when singers could change lip geometry and thus alter R1. This suggests that avoiding resonance crossings can aid vibrational stability. In experiments in which R1 was constrained using a mouth ring, instabilities occurred at frequencies above R1. When subjects sang into an acoustically infinite pipe, which provided a purely resistive load at the lips, R1 was eliminated. Here, instabilities were reduced and concentrated near the lower limit of the head voice.

Frequencies, bandwidths and magnitudes of vocal tract and surrounding tissue resonances, measured through the lips during phonation.

The frequencies, magnitudes, and bandwidths of vocal tract resonances are all important in understanding and synthesizing speech. High precision acoustic impedance spectra of the vocal tracts of 10 subjects were measured from 10 Hz to 4.2 kHz by injecting a broadband acoustic signal through the lips. Between 300 Hz and 4 kHz the acoustic resonances R (impedance minima measured through the lips) and anti-resonances R¯ (impedance maxima) associated with the first three voice formants, have bandwidths of ∼50 to 90 Hz for men and ∼70 to 90 Hz for women. These acoustic resonances approximate those of a smooth, dry, rigid cylinder of similar dimensions, except that their bandwidths indicate higher losses in the vocal tract. The lossy, inertive load and airflow caused by opening the glottis further increase the bandwidths observed during phonation. The vocal tract walls are not rigid and measurements show an acousto-mechanical resonance R0 ∼ 20 Hz and anti-resonance R¯0∼200 Hz. These give an estimate of wall inertance consistent with an effective thickness of 1-2 cm and a wall stiffness of 2-4 kN m(-1). The non-rigidity of the tract imposes a lower limit of the frequency of the first acoustic resonance fR1 and the first formant F1.