Auditory-Motor Control of Fundamental Frequency in Vocal Vibrato

Area of Science:

• Vocal acoustics and motor control
• Auditory feedback mechanisms in singing

Background:

• Vocal vibrato involves complex control of fundamental frequency (f_o).
• Understanding how singers use auditory feedback is crucial for vocal pedagogy and performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate auditory feedback's role in classically trained singers' f_o control during vibrato production.
• To determine if singers exhibit reflexive and adaptive f_o responses to auditory feedback perturbations.
• To assess the impact of auditory cues on adaptive f_o response measurement.

Main Methods:

• Ten classically trained singers produced sustained vowels with vibrato.
• Auditory feedback f_o was perturbed by 100 cents (sudden or repeated).
• Acoustical analyses measured f_o changes in response to perturbations, with/without auditory cues.

Main Results:

• Singers demonstrated compensatory f_o responses to both sudden and repeated auditory feedback perturbations.
• Responses to repeated perturbations were significantly larger than to sudden perturbations.
• Auditory cues enhanced adaptive f_o responses during repeated perturbations.

Conclusions:

• Classically trained singers employ both feedforward and feedback control for average f_o during vibrato.
• Reflexive f_o responses during vibrato appear larger than in steady voice production, suggesting heightened feedback engagement.
• Auditory feedback plays a critical role in maintaining vocal stability and precision during vibrato.