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Resonances of a bent vocal tract
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
|April 1, 1986
Summary
Vocal tract curvature slightly shifts resonance frequencies. This study quantizes the impact of a bent vocal tract on sound resonances, finding shifts of 2-8% below 4 kHz.
Area of Science:
- Acoustics
- Bioacoustics
- Speech Science
Background:
- Vocal tract models typically assume a straight axis for wave propagation analysis.
- The influence of vocal tract curvature on acoustic resonances remains largely unquantified.
Purpose of the Study:
- To estimate the effect of vocal tract curvature on resonance frequencies.
- To compare the acoustic properties of a bent vocal tract model with a straight one.
Main Methods:
- Developed an idealized, uniformly curved vocal tract model where the wave equation is separable.
- Computed resonance frequencies for the bent model and compared them to a corresponding straight vocal tract.
Main Results:
- The curvature of the vocal tract causes a shift in resonance frequencies.
- For typical vocal tract dimensions, this shift is between 2% and 8% for frequencies below 4 kHz.
Conclusions:
- Vocal tract curvature has a quantifiable effect on acoustic resonances.
- The findings provide new insights into the acoustic behavior of non-linear vocal tract geometries.