Quality of the singing voice in sopranos. Influence of the text and the musical accompaniment in the opera singing.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Opera singing voice uses different technical tools for artistic purposes. We want to define if the quality of the sung sound is affected by an aware work on the musical accompaniment and the text. We analyse the acoustic signal and the subjective perception. The pitch studied in the soprano voice is A4 (880 Hz) with the vowel /a/. We have chosen a tone and a vowel that can be generated by different strategies in terms of phonoresonance adjustments. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We have carried out a prospective study with 20 sopranos, without voice pathology, who have sung a phrase from the aria Deh, vieni non tarda and another from the aria Dove sono i bei momenti from the opera Le nozze di Figaro, by W.A. Mozart. First, each phrase sung spontaneously was recorded and then a second time, after a proposed work on the content of the text and musical aspects of the accompaniment such as: rhythm, harmony, texture and direction of the phrase. The participants prolonged the emission of the A4 for more than three seconds, maintaining the context of the sentence. The acoustic signal has been analysed using the PRAAT programme and a VAS (Visual Analogue Scale) questionnaire has been used to collect subjective perceptions. RESULTS: The mean age was 36 ± 11 years (range between 20 and 58) and the mean number of years singing was 17 ± 12 years (range between 3 and 35). No statistically significant differences were found, although an improvement in the VAS was seen in the second sentence after the intervention. CONCLUSIONS: The acoustic analysis parameters are stable, and the VAS tends to improve when an awareness of the text and the instrumental accompaniment is carried out.

Singing Voice Therapy Revisited / Revisión de la terapia de voz cantada

Introduction. Singing is a type of sportive activity and, like sports medicine, profes-sional voice medicine is interested in the habilitation and rehabilitation of the vocal performer. The vocal needs of the professional vocal performer may not be similar to other professional or non-professional voice users. Like a professional athlete, a vocal performer's ability to perform for many decades at a high level will be enhanced by basing artistic and lifestyle decisions on a scientifically sound foundation. Objective. The aim of this study is to present a multidimensional introduction to the methods of SVT, incorporating the principles of sport and exercise medicine, and physical therapy and rehabilitation.Reflection. Singing voice therapy needs to provide answers to "what", "why", "how", and "when" questions. SVT must first correctly identify the problem, leading to the "how to do" solutions for a wide variety of cases, followed by a schedule of prescribed activities including answers to the "why" question (which exercise relates to which muscle). The periodization and motor learning principles provide a temporal answer to the "when" question when developing habilitation and/or rehabilitative protocols.Conclusion. Singing is not only an artistic expression, but also a sportive performance. The clinical approach to professional voice is a multidimensional and multilayered team effort. All practices are structured by blending scientific and ped-agogical knowledge

Introducción. El canto es una forma de actividad deportiva y, al igual que la medicina deportiva, la medicina vocal profesional se interesa por la habilitación y rehabilitación del intérprete vocal. Las necesidades vocales del intérprete vocal profesional pueden no ser similares a las de otros usuarios de voz profesionales o no profesionales. Al igual que un atleta profesional, la capacidad de un intérprete vocal para desempeñarse durante muchas décadas a un alto nivel se mejorará al basar las decisiones artísticas y de estilo de vida en un fundamento científicamente sólido. Objetivo. El objetivo de este estudio es presentar una introducción multidimensional a los métodos de TSV, incorporando los principios de la medicina del deporte y el ejercicio, y la fisioterapia y rehabilitación. Reflexión. La terapia de la voz cantada debe proporcionar respuestas a preguntas de "qué", "por qué", "cómo" y "cuándo". SVT primero debe identificar correctamente el problema, lo que lleva a las soluciones de "cómo hacer" para una amplia variedad de casos, seguido de un programa de actividades prescritas que incluyen respuestas a la pregunta "por qué" (qué ejercicio se relaciona con qué músculo). Los principios de periodización y aprendizaje motor proporcionan una respuesta temporal a la pregunta de "cuándo", al desarrollar protocolos de habilitación y/o rehabilitación. Conclusión. Cantar no es solo una expresión artística, sino también una actuación deportiva. El enfoque clínico de la voz profesional es un esfuerzo de equipo multidimensional y de múltiples capas. Todas las prácticas están estructuradas, al combinar conocimientos científicos y pedagógicos.