Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Vocal range'

Research on voice change in males has generally fallen into two categories: music education studies of changes in the singing voice and speech studies of changes in the speaking voice. These studies rarely consider differences in the dynamic ability of male singers at different stages of vocal development. The concept of tessitura, a portion of the vocal range in which the singer sounds best, is referred to in the literature on vocal music, but the means for identifying its size and location within the range have not been consistently specified. Tessitura appears to be a portion of the range which is most controllable in terms of dynamics and agility and is optimal in tonal quality. This study used the phonetograph to investigate differences in measures of intensity control between pre-pubertal, pubertal (changing) and post-pubertal voices in 48 males aged 9 to 18 years old. These intensity measures were compared to ratings of vocal effort from a panel of 4 music educators in order to determine if tessitura could be identified from acoustic and perceptual evidence of an optimum vocal area. Results of the study were: 1) post-pubertal voices demonstrated greater control of vocal intensity as revealed in lower mean minimum and comfortable intensity measures, higher overall maximum intensity measures and a larger minimum-to-maximum intensity range; 2) intensity measures for pubertal voices were similar to those observed in pre-pubertal voices, contrary to trends suggested in the literature on voice change; 3) the Greatest Dynamic Range (GDR) on the phonetograph, indicating the range in which singers had the most dynamic control, was smaller than the range in which the singers were judged to sound best; 4) tessitura originated in the lower portion of the vocal range, around the location of mean speaking fundamental frequency. Although registers were not specifically investigated, tessitura appeared to be primarily related to modal register in singers who had completed voice change.

L'un des plus grands défis posés par la communication est que l'information codée par l'émetteur est toujours modifiée avant d'atteindre le récepteur, et que celui-ci doit traiter cette information altérée afin de recouvrer le message. Ceci est particulièrement vrai pour la communication acoustique, où la transmission du son dans l'environnement est une source majeure de dégradation du signal, ce qui diminue l'intensité du signal relatif au bruit. La question de savoir comment les animaux transmettent l'information malgré ces conditions contraignantes a été l'objet de nombreuses études, portant soit sur l'émetteur soit sur le récepteur. Cependant, une recherche plus intégrée sur l'analyse de scènes auditives est nécessaire pour aborder cette tâche dans toute sa complexité. Le but de ma recherche était d'utiliser une approche transversale afin d'étudier comment les oiseaux s'adaptent aux contraintes de la communication à longue distance, en examinant le codage de l'information au niveau de l'émetteur, les dégradations du signal acoustiques dues à la propagation, et la discrimination de cette information dégradée par le récepteur, au niveau comportemental comme au niveau neuronal. J'ai basé mon travail sur l'idée de prendre en compte les problèmes réellement rencontrés par les animaux dans leur environnement naturel, et d'utiliser des stimuli reflétant la pertinence biologique des problèmes posés à ces animaux. J'ai choisi de me focaliser sur l'information d'identité individuelle contenue dans le cri de distance des diamants mandarins (Taeniopygia guttata) et d'examiner comment la signature vocale individuelle est codée, dégradée, puis discriminée et décodée, depuis l'émetteur jusqu'au récepteur. Cette étude montre que la signature individuelle des diamants mandarins est très résistante à la propagation, et que les paramètres acoustiques les plus individualisés varient selon la distance considérée. En testant des femelles dans les expériences de conditionnement opérant, j'ai pu montrer que celles-ci sont expertes pour discriminer entre les signature vocales dégradées de deux mâles, et qu'elles peuvent s'améliorer en s'entraînant. Enfin, j'ai montré que cette capacité de discrimination impressionnante existe aussi au niveau neuronal : nous avons montré l'existence d'une population de neurones pouvant discriminer des voix individuelles à différent degrés de dégradation, sans entrainement préalable. Ce niveau de traitement évolué, dans le cortex auditif primaire, ouvre la voie à de nouvelles recherches, à l'interface entre le traitement neuronal de l'information et le comportement
In communication systems, one of the biggest challenges is that the information encoded by the emitter is always modified before reaching the receiver, who has to process this altered information in order to recover the intended message. In acoustic communication particularly, the transmission of sound through the environment is a major source of signal degradation, caused by attenuation, absorption and reflections, all of which lead to decreases in the signal relative to the background noise. How animals deal with the need for exchanging information in spite of constraining conditions has been the subject of many studies either at the emitter or at the receiver's levels. However, a more integrated research about auditory scene analysis has seldom been used, and is needed to address the complexity of this process. The goal of my research was to use a transversal approach to study how birds adapt to the constraints of long distance communication by investigating the information coding at the emitter's level, the propagation-induced degradation of the acoustic signal, and the discrimination of this degraded information by the receiver at both the behavioral and neural levels. Taking into account the everyday issues faced by animals in their natural environment, and using stimuli and paradigms that reflected the behavioral relevance of these challenges, has been the cornerstone of my approach. Focusing on the information about individual identity in the distance calls of zebra finches Taeniopygia guttata, I investigated how the individual vocal signature is encoded, degraded, and finally discriminated, from the emitter to the receiver. This study shows that the individual signature of zebra finches is very resistant to propagation-induced degradation, and that the most individualized acoustic parameters vary depending on distance. Testing female birds in operant conditioning experiments, I showed that they are experts at discriminating between the degraded vocal signatures of two males, and that they can improve their ability substantially when they can train over increasing distances. Finally, I showed that this impressive discrimination ability also occurs at the neural level: we found a population of neurons in the avian auditory forebrain that discriminate individual voices with various degrees of propagation-induced degradation without prior familiarization or training. The finding of such a high-level auditory processing, in the primary auditory cortex, opens a new range of investigations, at the interface of neural processing and behavior

Differences may exist between the voice qualities of those who professionally use and train their voices and those who do not. The examination of fundamental frequency and frequency range m actresses and non-actresses is integral to determining voice quality differences in these populations. These differences, whether the result of frequent use or training of the voice, may exist relative to fatiguing conditions such as may be experienced by actresses in the course of their work. Fatigue has been shown to produce greater effects in normals than in performers, particularly in singers (Gelfer, Andrews, and Schmidt, 1991). Little research has been found comparing actresses to non-actresses in such an interaction effect. In order to determine whether a separate set of normative values should be sought for actresses, it is first necessary to determine whether significant differences exist between these populations in voice quality parameters. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether or not significant changes in fundamental frequency and frequency range occurred in non-actresses relative to actresses as a result of fatigue. The subjects for the study included ten actresses between the ages of 20 and 30 who had a minimum of one quarter of voice training and three years of acting experience and ten women of the same age group who had no voice training or experience in acting. Each subject passed a puretone audiometric screening, had a negative history of voice disorders, and had not smoked within the last year. These two groups were evaluated for: 1) fundamental frequency in prolonged productions of the vowel lal; 2) speaking fundamental frequency in connected speech; 3) frequency range in sung scales; and 4) frequency range in connected speech. Data was statistically analyzed using one way ANOV A tests with repeated measures. No significant interactions occurred between group and time, suggesting that non-actresses did not produce a greater shift than did actresses in fundamental frequency or frequency range as a result of fatigue. These results contradicted some findings and supported other findings of previous research based on similar samples.

The performer's conceptualisation and perception of herself is projected through the acoustic voice and impacts upon vocal delivery in rehearsal and performance. However, in the context of performer voice training in Western theatre practice the performer's sense of self, or identity, is seldom the focus of development. Vocal development is inherently a transformational process that requires the performer to expand beyond what has become habitual selfexpression. Since vocal expression is embedded in identity, an attempt to change the voice necessitates a deeper understanding, questioning, and challenging of the performer's established sense of self. In this dissertation I posit that acoustic vocal development can be successfully achieved through an embodied and imaginative approach that investigates the performer's metaphorical voice through learning opportunities provided by a process that integrates the practices of Voice Movement Therapy (VMT) and maskwork. This dissertation presents art-based autoethnographic research into the potential value of such an integrated approach to performer vocal development. The VMT maskwork approach is fundamentally an embodied and envoiced process that provides a vastly different and heightened experience of the bodymind and invites the performer to play in the liminal realm of active imagination, which is triggered by the mask-image. The dissertation investigates the vocal development benefits of using self-made masks as a psychophysical training tool to expand the performer's understanding and experience of the bodymind. The area of archetypes and subpersonalities has been identified as a primary intersection between the two modalities and three ways of working are proposed, either taking impulses from the image (mask-image and/or imagination), the body and its movement, or the voice. These three ways of working trigger the bodymind into a process of active imagination that evokes a creative and integrated mask-voice-body exploration of archetypes and/or subpersonalities. The process gives permission to, and provides a safe container for, the amplified expression of the extremes of self and voice. This dissertation offers a tri-phase VMT maskwork process structure, and highlights key steps for the VMT practitioner-led facilitation of such a process. It positions the mask as a useful transitional object which encourages reengagement with imagination, body, voice and emotion, and thus encourages an on-going and multi-layered reflection and investigation of self and voice is possible. The research showed that the integrated approach of VMT maskwork resulted in vocal expansion in all 10 of the VMT 10 vocal components; pitch, pitch fluctuation, loudness, glottal engagement, free air, disruption, violin, register, timbre and articulation. Apart from acoustic vocal expansion, the approach fostered expansion in the performer's metaphorical voice and resulted in improved grounding and confidence in performance. These conclusions support the research statement that VMT maskwork may be a valuable approach to vocal development in the context of theatre performer voice training. As researcher practitioner I hold that the embodied learning process of VMT maskwork exposes the performer to a vastly different experience of self, which fosters a process of self-reflexivity leading to personal meaning making, self-knowledge, the challenging of vocal habits, and ultimately, vocal transformation.
Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2016.
Drama
MA
Unrestricted

The aim of this study was to describe the laryngeal anatomy, perceptual, acoustic and aerodynamic vocal characteristics of school-aged children with and without ADHD. The predisposition that children with ADHD have for laryngeal injuries are recurrent in nature and are more often than not overlooked as laryngitis. Previous studies have reported varied results on the prevalence rates of paediatric VFN within the school-aged ADHD population. A static, two-group comparison was used in the study to investigate the clinical, perceptual, acoustic and aerodynamic vocal characteristics of children between 7 and 9 years old with and without ADHD. The study replicated the protocol as executed by Barona-Lleo and Fernandez (2016) with additions. The Multidimensional Voice Program (MDVP) and the Voice Range Profile (VRP) as additions to the assessment of vocal parameters were used with which comparable dysphonia severity index (DSI) scores were calculated. Once-off clinical, perceptual, acoustic and aerodynamic voice assessments were conducted on 20 age-gender matched participants. The difference in assessment results between the vocal characteristics of children without a history of ADHD (control group) and those of children with ADHD (ADHD group) was then investigated and described. Forty five percent (n=9) of the total sample population had laryngeal pathology. Comparable parent reported etiological voice symptoms and vocal habits were seen across both groups. Both groups performed similarly across both perceptual and aerodynamic voice assessments. Acoustically, the control group achieved significantly higher producible pitches than the ADHD group (p=0.028) and were found to have more dysphonic DSI scores than their ADHD group peers (p=0.034). Prepubertal, school-aged children with or without ADHD may have similar vocal characteristics than previously thought. This variation in school-aged children warrants further research into larger sample sizes with this population with a special focus on the effect that CNS stimulants may have on the voice.
Dissertation (MCommunication Pathology)--University of Pretoria, 2019.
Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology
MCommunication Pathology
Unrestricted

The purpose was to determine the relationship between high or low cultural mistrust and vocal characteristics in African-American adolescent females. The vocal characteristics were vocal self-identification, singing style, and singing range.

The range and use of the tenor voice in classical music has long been established since the late 19th century. It is widely accepted among pedagogues that the range is C3-C5 (with obvious exceptions depending on the fach). However, with the advent and development of the American Musical as a genre since the early 20th century, the ‘tenor’ has taken on an entirely new direction and range altogether. Several well-known sources have stated that the ‘Broadway tenor’ has a range of A2-A4. This is (as it widely accepted in the classical profession) the range of a baritone. The catalyst of these changes include vaudeville, composers, social trends, and probably most important, the invention and proliferation of the microphone. This study will analyze a cross section of repertoire in order to demonstrate this downward shift of vocal range, and demonstrate some of the main reasons why this shift occurred.

Syftet med min undersökning har varit att öka förståelsen och kunskapen kring barnrösten och dess begränsade röstomfång genom att kartlägga de läromedel, bestående av utgivna barnmusikmaterial, som används på ett urval förskolor. Utifrån barnröstens förutsättningar har jag både översiktligt och mer ingående studerat musikexempel från barnskivor och dess anpassning till barnens eget röstläge. Förskolor har via webbenkät medverkat och angivit de skivor som de själva använder sig av. Efter datainsamling och bearbetning har jag först gjort en översiktlig analys av 866 barnvisor och därefter har jag gjort en mer ingående granskning över ett urval, som visar på varierande aspekter, problematik och förutsättningar gentemot barnrösten. Detta illustreras av ett pianodiagram där jag visar sångernas omfång och röstläge. Min studie visar att färre än hälften av de tillfrågade förskolorna använder inspelade barnskivor under sångstunden. Den visar också att det finns många musikläromedel som inte är anpassade till barnrösten och att det är svårt att, utan träning eller speciell kunskap, själv avgöra om läromedlet är anpassat eller inte. Sånger med ett litet eller mellanstort omfång är att föredra eftersom det då är lättare att hitta ett gemensamt röstläge mellan barn och vuxen.
The purpose of my study was to increase knowledge and understanding about children’s voices and their limited vocal range by mapping the learning material, consisting of published children's music materials used in a variety of preschools. Based on the children's vocal potential, I have done both an overview and a detailed study of music examples from children's records and their adaptations to the children's own voices. Preschools have participated by entering the discs that they themselves use in a web form. After the data collection and processing, I have done a general analysis of 866 children's songs. After that I made a detailed review of samples, demonstrating various aspects, problems and opportunities in relation to the child’s voice. This is illustrated by a kind of piano chart where I show the melodic range of the songs. My study shows that fewer than half surveyed preschools are using recorded discs during music time. It also shows that there are many music teaching materials that are not adapted to children's voices and that it is difficult, without training or special knowledge, to know whether the teaching material is adapted or not. Songs with a small or medium size melodic range are the best alternatives, as it is easier to find a common key between the child and the adult.

The purpose of this study was to compare the speaking fundamental frequency, physiological vocal range, singing voice quality, and self-perceptions of the singing and speaking voice between two groups of girls ages 11 through 15 years, who were pre-menarcheal by 6 months and post-menarcheal by 10 months or more. Subjects were volunteers who attended a North Texas public school system. Each subject was examined by an otolaryngologist. Age, height, weight, a hearing screening, and information on music classes and/or private music lessons were obtained. The speaking fundamental frequency measure was obtained by having each subject speak for 30 seconds on a subject of choice and read a passage of approximately 100 syllables. The vocal range measure was obtained by having each subject begin at an arbitrary pitch and sing mah and moo up the scale as high as possible and mah and moo down the scale as low as possible. These four measures were repeated with the researcher giving visual gestures. For singing-voice quality, each subject sang "America" in the key of her choice and again in the key of F major. Each subjects singing voice was rated according to breathiness. Data regarding self-perceptions of the singing and speaking voice were obtained through a rating assessment of 10 questions and a conversation with each subject. There were no significant differences between the means of the pre-meanarcheal and post-menarcheal girls on speaking fundamental frequency, physiological vocal range, and singing-voice quality. But, more of the post-menarcheal girls exhibited lower speaking pitches, lower singing ranges, and increased breathiness in their singing voices than did the pre-menarcheal girls. Two questions of the perceptions rating assessment were significant, with the post-menarcheal girls citing higher incidences of vocal inconsistencies than the pre-menarcheal girls. The findings of the qualitative data analysis indicated that more post-menarcheal girls had an adequate vocabulary to describe various aspects of their singing and speaking voices than did the pre-menarcheal girls.

Ce travail de recherche concerne le compositeur de musique, organiste, maître de chapelle, chef de choeur et professeur Marc de Ranse, né à Aiguillon (Lot-et-Garonne) le 20 avril 1881, mort à Agen (Lot-et-Garonne) le 12 février 1951. Musicien du premier XXème siècle, élève de Vincent d'Indy, Marc de Ranse appartient au vaste courant issu de la Schola Cantorum. Tome I : Le premier livre retrace le parcours biographique du compositeur, à savoir : ses premières années passées à Aiguillon (1881-1892), puis à Agen (1892-1897), sa formation musicale effectuée à Paris (1897-1907), les débuts de sa vie professionnelle à Paris (1905-1914), sa participation à la période de la Première Guerre mondiale (1914-1918-1919), le développement de son activité artistique à Paris (1921-1933), son retour définitif en Lot-et-Garonne (1933-1951). Le deuxième livre expose l'oeuvre du compositeur à partir : d'une présentation et d'une analyse des sources manuscrites, d'une présentation commentée des sources imprimées, d'un développement traitant de l'esthétique propre à cette musique. Le tome I s'achève par l'index des noms propres cités. Tome II : Il est consacré aux annexes. Son principal intérêt est de présenter, sur plus de 200 pages, la reproduction de très nombreux manuscrits de Marc de Ranse ainsi que la restitution d'une partition pour choeur à 4 voix mixtes. Il contient aussi la correspondance du compositeur, les catalogues raisonné et chronologique de ses oeuvres ainsi que des documents divers concernant sa vie et son activité artistique. Le tome II se termine par une bibliographie générale.

碩士
國立臺灣大學
資訊網路與多媒體研究所
99
Karaoke is one of the indispensable entertainments in modern life. There are many singing performance evaluation systems using the information of pitch and volume to score a singer. These systems may be helpful to let a singer realize his/her vocal performance roughly. However, she or he can not use these information to choose songs suitable for her/his vocal range. In this thesis, an application for Karaoke is implemented to analyze a male singer’s vocal range using pitch information, and then recommend a song list with suitable vocal range. This may be convenient for general karaoke users.

碩士
國立臺北教育大學
音樂學系碩士班
102
The study analysis whether selected songs of Art and Humanities areas of elementary schools meet the development of children’s singing range. For figuring out whether songs of each version agree with children’s development of singing range from third grade to sixth grade, I take textbooks of Academic year 2012 (version Nan-I, Kang-Hsuan and Han-Lin, which approved by MOE, 8 volumes for each version, three versions for 24 volumes and 142 singing songs to total) as example to analyze song’s range and expressional area of each version. I compare and conclude that: 1.Comparison of treble and bass range from third grade to sixth grade: (1) Contrabass: Selected songs in Version Nan-I and Kang-Hsuan are mostly consistent with range but inconsistent with expressional area, then the songs consistent with range and expressional area, the rest are totally inconsistent with range and expressional area. Selected songs in Version Han-Lin are mostly consistent with range and expressional area, then the songs consistent with range but inconsistent with expressional area, the rest are totally inconsistent with range and expressional area. (2)Treble: Selected songs in each version are mostly consistent with range and expressional area, then the songs consistent with range but inconsistent with expressional area, the rest are totally inconsistent with range and expressional area. 2.Comparison of high and low range in the same grade (1)Contrabass: selected songs in the third grade takes majority in c1 , the fourth grade in c1, both grade still have songs in many ranges; the fifth grade’s majority in c1, with less variety compared to the fourth grade; the sixth grade’s majority in d1, c1 is gradually replace by d1 and a, it shows it’s variety than the fifth grade. (2)Treble: selected songs in the third grade takes mostly in c2 and d2, the fourth grade in c2, d2 and a1, the fifth and sixth grade are in c2, d2 and e2. 3.Comparing the expressional area of singing songs and suitability of range: Version Han-Lin: 8 songs too low, 1 song too high, the portion of inconsistent with expressional area is the most among 3 versions, it takes 60% to 80%, and the standard is 80%, so the gap is small. Version Nan-I: 7 songs too low, I can even find song’s expressional area lower than 60%. Version Kang-Hsuan: 4 songs too low, it takes 60% to 80%, the gap is small. 4.Range extension curve of three versions (1)Contrabass curve: Version Nan-I: the range of the second semester of fourth grade, the first and second semester of fifth grade narrow down rapidly, the difference with standard range extension curve is farthest in the second semester of fifth grade, the interval of two tones is major fourth. Version Han-Lin: the range of the second semester of third, fifth and sixth grade narrow down gradually, the difference with standard range extension curve is farthest in the second semester of fourth grade, the interval of two tones is minor third. Version Kang-Hsuan: the first and second semester of fifth grade and the second semester of sixth grade narrow down slightly, the difference with standard range extension curve is farthest in the first semester of sixth grade, the interval of two tones is major third. (2)Treble curve: Version Kang-Hsuan’s curve range is changing rapidly, its difference with standard range extension curve is farthest in the first semester of third grade, and the interval of two tones is minor third. Version Nan-I’s curve range change is fewer than the former, its difference with standard range extension curve is farthest in the first semester of third grade, the interval of two tones is minor third. Version Han-Lin’s curve range change is the least of three versions, its differences with standard range extension curve are lower or higher than the tone of the standard line, and the interval of two tones is minor second. 5. The extension of range and interval of three versions The interval of Version Nan-I reduces in the fifth grade, Version Kang-Hsuan reduces in the first semester of the fifth grade, and Version Han-Lin reduces in the second semester of the fifth grade.