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Vowel intelligibility in classical singing.

Jean Westerman Gregg1, Ronald C Scherer

  • 1drbob007@skybridge.com

Journal of Voice : Official Journal of the Voice Foundation
|September 6, 2005
PubMed
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Singing fewer vowels in daily vocal exercises does not impact intelligibility for classically trained singers. Vowel intelligibility in singing decreases with higher pitches and is lower for female singers.

Area of Science:

  • Vocal Music Performance
  • Speech Science
  • Acoustic Phonetics

Background:

  • Vowel intelligibility in Western classical singing is often low, decreasing with pitch and being lower for women.
  • Lack of contextual cues significantly impacts sung vowel intelligibility.
  • This study investigates if limited vowel usage in daily vocalises affects intelligibility.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine if classically trained singers who vocalize on fewer American English vowels have lower intelligibility.
  • To compare vowel intelligibility based on the number of vowels used in daily vocalises.
  • To analyze the impact of pitch and singer demographics on vowel intelligibility.

Main Methods:

  • 21 Western classically trained singers (15 women, 6 men) sang 11 American English vowels at two pitches.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Subjects were divided into groups based on the number of vowels used in daily vocalises (4-6 vs. 11 vowels).
  • Isolated sung vowels were presented to listening groups (singing teachers, speech-language pathologists) for identification.

    • Main Results:

    • Singing fewer vowels in daily vocalises did not decrease intelligibility compared to singing all 11 vowels.
    • Vowel intelligibility was generally lower at higher pitches.
    • Vowels sung by women were less intelligible than those sung by men.
    • Listener accuracy was similar between singing teachers and speech-language pathologists, with teachers being more accurate at lower pitches.

    Conclusions:

    • The number of vowels used in daily vocalises does not appear to be a primary factor in reduced sung vowel intelligibility.
    • Higher pitch and female vocal production are associated with lower vowel intelligibility in classical singing.
    • Further research may explore other factors influencing sung vowel clarity.