Change in messa di voce characteristics during 3 years of classical singing training at the tertiary level.

A 3-year longitudinal study was conducted to investigate changes in vocal quality as a result of singing training at a tertiary level conservatorium in Australia. Singers performed a messa di voce (MDV) at intervals of 6 months over the 3-year period of training. The study investigated the evolving acoustic features of the singers' voices exhibited during the MDV, including sound pressure level (SPL), short-term energy ratio (STER), duration, and vibrato parameters of the fundamental frequency (F0), SPL, and STER. The maximum SPL exhibited a marginal systematic increase over the training period, but the maximum STER did not systematically change. F0 vibrato extent increased significantly, whereas the extent of SPL and STER vibrato did not change significantly.

Perceived effects of the menstrual cycle on young female singers in the Western classical tradition.

This study investigated the perceived effects of the female hormonal cycle on young female classical singers. All the singers, including male controls, were tertiary singing students from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Australia, who were selected for entry into vocal study programs by competitive audition. Female participants completed a questionnaire and daily diary in the first and third months of the study. Male controls completed the diary for the first month only. The questionnaire and diary focused on singers' physical symptoms, their mood states, and vocal production. Analysis of the diaries indicated that although 81% of female singers reported regular menstrual cycles and 43% reported using an oral contraceptive, neither of these factors was related to the voice quality variables as measured on the first day of the cycle. Singers who were not taking a contraceptive pill rated their voice quality lower and their mood higher than those on the pill. There was no relationship between temperature recording in the females and day of cycle. Perceived voice quality for female singers was lower on days 1-3 compared to the remainder of the cycle and there was a trend for ratings to improve through days 1-7. The voice parameters for male singers tended to be slightly flatter over the cycle days than for females. Although voice quality in females indicated a tendency to be lower on average during days 24-4 of the cycle, voice quality for males tended to be more alike during the two phases, days 24-4 and days 5-23. Overall, reduced voice quality was associated with more negative mood experiences. The six most severely affected females completed voice recordings of specific vocal tasks on the first day of the cycle and again in midcycle. These recordings were randomly presented to both the participants and expert vocal pedagogues to ascertain whether significant differences in vocal quality were perceptually identifiable. Singers, but not pedagogues, were able to accurately identify the timing of the recordings. Although the singer recognized that greater effort is required to produce the sound during menstruation, discernible differences were not detected by expert listeners.

Defining 'open throat' through content analysis of experts' pedagogical practices.

'Open throat' is a term regularly used in the singing studio, but agreement across pedagogues as to its definition and function has not yet been assessed. Fifteen expert singing pedagogues participated in a qualitative study involving a semi-structured interview to explore current thinking regarding terminology, pedagogy, sound quality and the perceived physiology to achieve open throat, as used in the singing studio. Most teachers included the use of the technique as a fundamental in singing training, and were positive about the sound quality it achieved, especially in classical singing. The purpose of the technique was described as a way of maximizing pharyngeal space and/or achieving abduction of the ventricular folds.