The speaker's formant in male voices

Spectral analysis of vowels during connected speech can be performed using the spectral intensity distribution within critical bands corresponding to a natural scale on the basilar membrane. Normalization of the spectra provides the opportunity to make objective comparisons independent from the recording level. An increasing envelope peak between 3,150 and 3,700 Hz has been confirmed statistically for a combination of seven vowels in three groups of male speakers with hoarse, normal, and professional voices. Each vowel is also analyzed individually. The local energy maximum is called "the speaker's formant" and can be found in the region of the fourth formant. The steepness of the spectral slope (i.e. the rate of decline) becomes less pronounced when the sonority or the intensity of the voice increases. The speaker's formant is connected with the sonorous quality of the voice. It increases gradually and is approximately 10 dB higher in professional male voices than in normal male voices at neutral loudness (60 dB at 0.3 min). The peak intensity becomes stronger (30 dB above normal voices) when the overall speaking loudness is increased to 80 dB. Shouting increases the spectral energy of the adjacent critical bands but not the speaker's formant itself.