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Perception of Non-Vibrato Sung Tones: A Pilot Study
1University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas..
Journal of Voice : Official Journal of the Voice Foundation
|November 28, 2015
Summary
Singers perceive a tone as non-vibrato when vibrato extent is minimal, but vibrato rate also influences this perception. Professional groups did not differ in their judgments of non-vibrato singing.
Area of Science:
- Vocal Pedagogy
- Acoustic Phonetics
- Psychoacoustics
Background:
- Singing with a non-vibrato quality is frequently requested, yet achieving a truly non-vibrato tone is physiologically impossible due to inherent fundamental frequency variations.
- Perception of non-vibrato singing is subjective and influenced by various vibrato characteristics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the perceptual threshold for non-vibrato tone based on vibrato extent.
- To investigate the impact of vibrato rate on the perception of non-vibrato tone.
- To examine if professional background (singer, voice teacher, choir director, speech pathologist) influences non-vibrato perception.
Main Methods:
- An online survey was employed as the study design.
- Participants evaluated 40 randomized soprano vocal samples with varying vibrato rates and extents.
- Vocal samples featured the vowel [ɑ], and reliability was assessed through repeated samples.
Main Results:
- A perceptual threshold for non-vibrato tone was identified concerning vibrato extent.
- Vibrato rate significantly modulated the vibrato extent threshold for non-vibrato perception.
- Vibrato extent and rate interact to influence the perception of non-vibrato singing.
Conclusions:
- Both vibrato extent and rate are crucial factors in the perception of non-vibrato singing.
- No significant differences in non-vibrato perception thresholds were found among the professional groups surveyed.
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