Thesis (MMus) -- University of Stellenbosch, 2001. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In preparation for the basic teaching in the instruction of the male singing voice, it is essential that the singing teacher becomes thoroughly familiar with the general pedagogical requirements of vocal training. Each of the sections in chapter 1 represents a wide-ranging study by itself but it will be presented in summarized form here. Chapter 2 focus chiefly on basic beginners' instruction which is indispensable for the establishment of a sound singing technique. The teaching principles of beginners' instruction which are set out in this chapter, are based on tested methods recognized internationally by various famous teachers. These teaching methods, together with literary research on this subject, have been condensed empirically over thirty years, into a system of teaching by the writer. The major focus of chapter 3 is on the physiology of the adolescent boy's changing voice. When adolescence sets in, from the age 13 - 15, enormous changes take place in the anatomical-physiological structure of a boy's larynx. These far-reaching changes are brought about by the influence of the sex hormones and consist of complex physical as well as psychological growth stages through which the young boy has to develop. Knowledge of the different stages in voice changes and their individual characteristics of sound are important requirements for voice classification which takes place during the formative training. Chapter 4 focuses on the problematic nature of the transition of the register of the male voice. To prepare for the teaching process of this transition (of the male voice), the teacher should be well-qualified to be able to identify the classification of the registers of the different male voice-types. In addition, he should be totally familiar with the ideal sound typical of the upper registers which would be required from a professional singer on the international stage. "The head register in the male singing voice is often one of the most difficult vocal adjustments to acquire and to maintain ... A well developed operatic head register, 'Vollton der Kopfstimme', is the hall-mark [ ... ] of all well-trained male singers" (Miller 1982: 120). The actualisation of this ideal sound which comes about through copertura-schooling of sound in the upper register is the focal point of this study. Therefore this chapter focuses specially on the ideal sound of the full voice in the upper register versus a cultivated falsetto sound in the upper register. Chapter 5 addresses the implementation of a didactical system by famous singers and singing teachers. Therefore in chapter 5 the focus is placed on the technical training of the secondo passagio by presenting technical exercise and the practical application of the standard vocal repertoire of the male voice. Due to length restrictions of this dissertation, there will be reference only to some technical exercise and examples of repertoire. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: As voorbereiding tot die didaktiese beginsels in sangonderrig van die manstem is dit noodsaaklik dat die sangonderwyser volkome vertroud sal wees met die algemene pedagogiese voorvereistes vir die onderrig van sang. Elkeen van die afdelings in hoofstuk 1 regverdig eintlik 'n omvattende studie in sigself, maar hier word dit samevattend aangebied. Hoofstuk 2 fokus hoofsaaklik op goeie aanvangsonderrig wat onontbeerlik is vir die vestiging van 'n goeie sangtegniek. Samevattend word op die noodsaaklike basiese beginsels van aanvangsonderrig gekonsentreer. Die didaktiese beginsels van aanvangsonderrig wat vanaf hierdie hoofstuk uiteengesit word, is gebaseer op beproefde metodes wat internasionaal deur verskeie beroemde leermeesters erken word. Hierdie onderrigmetodes, tesame met die nagevorsde vakliteratuur, is oor 'n tydperk van dertig jaar op empiriese wyse deur die skrywer gekondenseer tot 'n sisteem van onderrig. Die kemfokus van hoofstuk 3 is op die stemfisiologie van die adolessente seun. Wanneer adolessensie vanaf die ouderdom van dertien tot vyftien jaar by die seun intree, vind daar groot veranderinge in die anatomies-fisiologiese struktuur van die seun se larinks plaas. Hierdie ingrypende veranderinge word teweeg gebring deur die invloed van die geslagshormone en behels fisiek sowel as psigies 'n komplekse groeifase waardeur die jong seun moet ontwikkel. Dit is belangrik dat die pedagoog deeglik vertroud sal wees met hierdie komplekse groeiproses. Kennis van die verskillende stemmutasiestadiums en die individuele klankkarakters daarvan is 'n belangrike voorvereiste vir die stemklassifisering wat by aanvangsonderrig plaasvind. In hoofstuk 4 val die soeklig op die problematiek van registeroorgange by die manstem. As voorbereiding tot die onderrigproses van die registeroorgange van die manstem moet die pedagoog onderleg wees in die klassifisering van die registers van die verskillende manstemtipes. Ook moet hy ten volle vertroud wees met die tipiese klankideaal van die hoëregister wat van 'n professionele sanger op die internasionale verhoog verwag word. "The head register in the male singing voice is often one of the most difficult vocal adjustments to acquire and to maintain . . . A well developed operatic head register, 'Vollton der Kopfstimme', is the hall-mark [ ... ] of all well-trained male singers" (Miller 1982: 120). Die verwesenliking van hierdie klankideaal wat deur copertura-klankgebruik in die hoëregister tot stand kom, is die kemfokus van hierdie studie. Hierdie hoofstuk konsentreer dus sterk op die klankideaal van volstem in die hoëregister versus 'n gekultiveerde falsetklank in die hoëre gister. Vir die verkryging van 'n stabiele hoëregister deur middel van die copertura-tegniek word in hoofstuk 5 betoog vir die toepassing van 'n didaktiese sisteem wat gebaseer is op onderrigmetodes wat beproef is deur beroemde sangers en sangpedagoë. In hoofstuk 5 is dus gekonsentreer op die tegniese skoling van die secondo passaggio deur middel van tegniese oefeninge en die praktiese toepassing daarvan op die standaard sangrepertorium van die manstem. Weens lengtebeperking by hierdie skripsie word daar net na enkele tegniese oefeninge en repertoriumvoorbeelde verwys.

An investigation was conducted to determine if laryngeal valving economy, as reflected in measures of laryngeal airway resistance during vowel production, varies across adulthood. Toward this end, sixty healthy men were studied, ten from each of six age groups--25, 35, 45, 55, 65, and 75 years (± 2 years). Results showed that there are age-related differences in laryngeal airway resistance during vowel production, and that these differences are characterized by a lower mean resistance in 75-year-old men than in younger men of the ages studied. This finding provides insight into mechanisms regarding the impact of age on laryngeal function and has important clinical implications for the evaluation and management of men with voice disorders.

The purpose of this study is to assemble information needed to assess, understand and hopefully correct muscular hyperfunction that is related to tongue tension in singing and speech which inhibit freely, efficiently, and comfortably produced beautiful singing. This text will include a definition of freely produced, fully resonating tone for beautiful singing, major components of vocal technique, physiology related to singing and speech production, hyperfunctions associated with tongue tension, tongue involvement in the articulation of the four major singing languages, and will present exercises for training the muscles of coordination in a manner conducive to singing and speech.

A total laryngectomy (TL) affects the quality of life (QoL) of individuals who have undergone this surgical procedure, as changes are seen in respiration, swallowing and communication. The aim of this study was to gather perspectives of the hallmarks of successful alaryngeal voice rehabilitation by tracheo-esophageal puncture (TEP) with voice prosthesis of laryngectomy patients from key role players based at a public hospital in Gauteng Province, South Africa. A qualitative method of inquiry was used, namely a single-program, collective case study. A focus group, comprising of four individuals who had undergone a total laryngectomy, was held to identify the participants‟ views about successful voice rehabilitation. From this focus group, one successful communicator was identified to be interviewed individually. Five semi-structured, face-to-face individual interviews using open-ended questions were conducted with five key role players in alaryngeal voice rehabilitation. The interviewees comprised of the successfully rehabilitated person with total laryngectomy (PWTL), his caregiver, an ear, nose and throat surgeon, speech-language pathologist and specialist nurse, to gather their perspectives on the factors that contributed to successful alaryngeal voice rehabilitation using TES. The Thematic Framework Approach was used to qualitatively analyze the data. Factors identified as contributing to success included patient selection for tracheo-esophageal puncture, information provision, support in the form of support groups, spiritual as well as family support, stomal care, the skill of the team and key management issues. Issues related to finance adversely affect the provision of voice prostheses and/or the provision of correctly sized prostheses and accessories. Systems have been implemented at the hospital to provide the option of TEP with voice prosthesis without much consideration to the other two alaryngeal options; namely esophageal speech and electrolarynx speech. Implications for clinical practice have been identified especially the need to provide more social support services to persons with TL. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2012.

The location of the available research literature and its relationship to the pedagogy of the female high voice is the subject of this thesis. The nature and pedagogy of the female high voice are described in the first four chapters. The next two chapters discuss maintenance of the voice in conventional and experimental repertoire. Chapter seven is a summary of all the pedagogy. The last chapter is a comparison of the nature and the pedagogy of the female high voice with recommended areas for further research. For instance, more information is needed to understand the acoustic factors of vibrato, singer's formant, and high energy levels in the female high voice.

L’objectif de la thèse est le développement et la validation d’un synthétiseur des voix pathologiques. Peu d’études ont été consacrées à la synthèse des voix avec des dyspériodicités vocales malgré les nombreux arguments en faveur du développement et de l’amélioration des simulateurs des voix dysphoniques. Dans le cadre de ce travail, nous avons mis en œuvre un synthétiseur permettant de contrôler l’excitation glottique d’une manière fine et par conséquent de simuler efficacement les différentes catégories des dysphonies. <p>Les troubles simulés sont la gigue vocale, le tremblement vocal, la biphonation, la diplophonie et les vibrations aléatoires. Le shimmy vocal résulte de la distorsion de modulation dans le conduit vocal qui transforme la gigue en shimmy vocal. Le souffle est synthétisé par la modulation d’un bruit Brownien.<p>Des expériences préliminaires ont montré la capacité du synthétiseur à produire différentes catégories de voyelles. Pour la validation, nous avons utilisé des modèles de troubles simulés. Les résultats des expériences d’évaluations perceptives, portant sur des corpus de stimuli synthétiques ou humains, modales ou dysphoniques, sont encourageants et montrent la capacité du synthétiseur à produire des voix aussi bien modales que troublées avec des timbres indiscernables des humains. Enfin, les résultats d’une expérience d’exploitation concernant la classification des stimuli synthétiques selon les échelles ordinales GRB suggèrent que troubles simulés et évaluations perceptives concordent. Aussi, les scores perceptifs prédits à partir des paramètres de contrôle du synthétiseur et les scores attribués par des experts sont fortement corrélés. <p> / Doctorat en Sciences de l'ingénieur / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Voices are used as a vehicle for language, and variation in the acoustic properties of voices also contains information about the speaker. Listeners use measurable qualities, such as pitch and formant traits, as cues to a speaker’s physical stature and attractiveness. Emotional states and personality characteristics are also judged from vocal stimuli. The research contained in this thesis examines vocal masculinity, aesthetics and personality, with an emphasis on the perception of prosocial traits including trustworthiness and cooperativeness. I will also explore themes which are more cognitive in nature, testing aspects of vocal stimuli which may affect trait attribution, memory and the ascription of identity. Chapters 2 and 3 explore systematic differences across vocal utterances, both in types of utterance using different classes of stimuli and across the time course of perception of the auditory signal. These chapters examine variation in acoustic measurements in addition to variation in listener attributions of commonly-judged speaker traits. The most important result from this work was that evaluations of attractiveness made using spontaneous speech correlated with those made using scripted speech recordings, but did not correlate with those made of the same persons using vowel stimuli. This calls into question the use of sustained vowel sounds for the attainment of ratings of subjective characteristics. Vowel and single-word stimuli are also quite short – while I found that attributions of masculinity were reliable at very short exposure times, more subjective traits like attractiveness and trustworthiness require a longer exposure time to elicit reliable attributions. I conclude with recommending an exposure time of at least 5 seconds in duration for such traits to be reliably assessed. Chapter 4 examines what vocal traits affect perceptions of pro-social qualities using both natural and manipulated variation in voices. While feminine pitch traits (F0 and F0-SD) were linked to cooperativeness ratings, masculine formant traits (Df and Pf) were also associated with cooperativeness. The relative importance of these traits as social signals is discussed. Chapter 5 questions what makes a voice memorable, and helps to differentiate between memory for individual voice identities and for the content which was spoken by administering recognition tests both within and across sensory modalities. While the data suggest that experimental manipulation of voice pitch did not influence memory for vocalised stimuli, attractive male voices were better remembered than unattractive voices, independent of pitch manipulation. Memory for cross-modal (textual) content was enhanced by raising the voice pitch of both male and female speakers. I link this pattern of results to the perceived dominance of voices which have been raised and lowered in pitch, and how this might impact how memories are formed and retained. Chapter 6 examines masculinity across visual and auditory sensory modalities using a cross-modal matching task. While participants were able to match voices to muted videos of both male and female speakers at rates above chance, and to static face images of men (but not women), differences in masculinity did not influence observers in their judgements, and voice and face masculinity were not correlated. These results are discussed in terms of the generally-accepted theory that masculinity and femininity in faces and voices communicate the same underlying genetic quality. The biological mechanisms by which vocal and facial masculinity could develop independently are speculated.

Within the context of the assessment of laryngeal function, acoustic analysis has an important place because the speech signal may be recorded non-invasively and it forms the base on which the perceptual assessment of voice is founded. Given the limitations of perceptual ratings, one has investigated vocal cues of disordered voices that are clinically relevant, summarize properties of speech signals and report on a speaker's phonation in general and voice in particular. Ideally, the acoustic descriptors should also be correlates of auditory-perceptual ratings of voice. Generally speaking, the goal of acoustic analysis is to document quantitatively the degree of severity of a voice disorder and monitor the evolution of the voice of dysphonic speakers.<p><p><p>The first part of this thesis is devoted to the analysis of disordered connected speech. The aim is to investigate vocal cues that are clinically relevant and correlated with auditory-perceptual ratings. Two approaches are investigated. The variogram-based method in the temporal domain is addressed first. The second approach is in the cepstral domain. In particular, the first rahmonic amplitude is used as an acoustic cue to describe voice quality. A multi-dimensional approach combining temporal and spectral aspects is also investigated. The goal is to check whether acoustic cues in both domains report complementary information when predicting perceptual scores.<p><p><p>Both methods are tested first on a corpus of synthetic sound stimuli that has been obtained by means of a synthesizer of disordered voices. The purpose is to learn about the link between the signal properties (fixed by the synthesis parameters) and acoustic cues.<p>In this study, we had the opportunity to use two large natural speech corpora. One of them has been perceptually rated. <p><p><p>The final part of the text is devoted to the automatic classification of voice with regard to perceived voice quality. Many studies have proposed a binary (normal/pathological) classification of voice samples. An automatic categorization according to perceived degrees of hoarseness appears, however, to be more attractive to both clinicians and technologists and more likely to be clinically relevant. Indeed, one way to reduce inter-rater variability of an auditory-perceptual evaluation is to ask several experts to participate and then to average the perceptual scores. However, auditory-perceptual evaluation of a corpus by several judges is a very laborious, time-consuming and costly task. Making this perceptual evaluation task automatic is therefore desirable. <p>The aim of this study is to exploit the support vector machine classifier that has become, over the last years, a popular tool for classification, to carry out categorization of voices according to perceived degrees of hoarseness. / Doctorat en Sciences de l'ingénieur / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished