[MRI examination of laryngeal height during vowel singing]

Larynx height positions were determined in 12 singing students and singers with magnetic resonance imaging. The examinations were carried out during the singing of 9 different pitch and loudness combinations of the vowels /a/, /u/ and /i/. It could be demonstrated that vertical larynx position differences were smaller in professional singers than in students. In 10 of 12 examined volunteers a correlation between raised larynx position and high pitch singing or between lowered larynx position and low pitch singing could be observed in at least one of the examined vowels. Loudness-dependent and vowel-dependent differences of larynx height position could not be identified.