Summary
Aims
Radio broadcasters need to have a voice that suits the station, which employs them.
The aim of this study was to determine whether there are any acoustic measures that
reflect differences between male broadcasters, who use their voices on commercial
and public radio stations, and nonbroadcasting, male controls.
Method
Male commercial (n=4) and public (n=11) broadcasters and two groups of male, age-matched controls were recorded while
reading the “Rainbow Passage” as if presenting on radio. Reading productions were
analyzed for equivalent sound level (Leq), two measures of the long-term average spectrum and two measures of cepstral peak
prominence. A two-group (ie, commercial vs public) by two-paired (broadcaster/matching
control) analysis of variance was performed for each measure.
Results
An interaction effect was observed such that commercial broadcasters had a higher
peak in speaker's formant (SF) region and lower alpha ratio (AR) (lower level difference
between 0 and 1 kHz and 1 and 4 kHz ranges) than public broadcasters and controls. Post hoc discriminant function analyses showed that AR could predict whether a radio performer
worked on commercial or public radio network to 81% accuracy (R2=0.810, P<0.001).
Discussion
Commercial broadcasters have a more prominent peak in the SF region and smaller AR
than public broadcasters and controls, similar to levels documented in actors. Given
these features were not found in the public broadcasters and either control group,
these results indicate that voice quality requirements for broadcasters may distinctly
differ based on their station of employment. Further research with a larger sample
size is required to validate this hypothesis.
Key Words
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to Journal of VoiceAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- What makes a good voice for radio: perceptions of radio employers and educators.J Voice. 2013; 27: 217-224
Foundation RH, White K. Australian Radio Stations 2012. Available at: http://www.radioheritage.net/Australia.asp. Last accessed May 16, 2013.
- Principles of Voice Production.Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ1994
- Voice-over: perceptual and acoustic analysis of vocal features.J Voice. 2005; 19: 340-349
- Attributes of the newscaster's voice as predictors of his credibility.Journalism Quarterly. 1978; 55: 276-300
- Acoustic measurement of overall voice quality: a meta-analysis.J Acoust Soc Am. 2009; 126: 2619-2634
- The speaker's formant.J Voice. 2006; 20: 555-578
- Vocal projection in actors: the long-term average spectral features that distinguish comfortable acting voice from voicing with maximal projection in male actors.J Voice. 2005; 19: 440-453
- Level and center frequency of the singer's formant.J Voice. 2001; 15: 176-186
- Long-term average spectrum in screening of voice quality in speech: untrained male university students.J Voice. 2009; 23: 671-676
- Acoustic and perceptual analyses of Brazilian male actors' and nonactors' voices: long-term average spectrum and the "actor's formant".J Voice. 2008; 22: 146-154
- Formation of the actor's/speaker's formant: a study applying spectrum analysis and computer modeling.J Voice. 2011; 25: 150-158
- Acoustic correlates of breathy vocal quality: dysphonic voices and continuous speech.J Speech Lang Hear Res. 1996; 39: 311-321
- Quantifying dysphonia severity using a spectral/cepstral-based acoustic index: comparisons with auditory-perceptual judgements from the CAPE-V.Clin Linguist Phon. 2010; 24: 742-758
- The relationship between cepstral peak prominence and selected parameters of dysphonia.J Voice. 2002; 16: 20-27
- How does speaking clearly influence acoustic measures? A speech clarity study using long-term average speech spectra in Korean language.Clin Exp Otorhinolaryngol. 2012; 5: 68
Warhurst S, McCabe P, Heard R, Yiu E, Ternström S, Madill C. Perceptual and acoustic analysis of good voice quality for in male radio performers. Folia Phoniatr Logop. Submitted.
- Voice loudness and gender effects on jitter and shimmer in healthy adults.J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2008; 51: 1152-1160
- Dimensionality in voice quality.J Voice. 2007; 21: 257-272
- Reliability in perceptual analysis of voice quality.J Voice. 2005; 19: 555-573
- Voice and Articulation Drillbook.Harper, New York, NY1960
Hitech. Soundswell. 4.5 ed. Sweden 2008.
Mazonni D. Audacity. 2.0 ed. 2012. Available at: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/.
Hillenbrand J. SpeechTool. Available at: http://homepages.wmich.edu/∼hillenbr/. Last accessed May 15, 2012.
- Effect on LTAS of vocal loudness variation.Logoped Phoniatr Vocol. 2004; 29: 183-191
- Long-time average spectrum characteristics of different choirs in different rooms.Voice (UK). 1993; 2: 55-77
- Using Multivariate Statistics.4th ed. Allyn & Bacon, Boston, MA2001
- Vocal intensity characteristics in normal and elderly speakers.J Voice. 2001; 15: 503-511
- Effects of a three-week vocal exercise program using the Finnish Kuukka exercises on the speaking voice of Norwegian broadcast journalism students.Logoped Phoniatr Vocol. 2010; 35: 150-165
- Spectral correlates of glottal voice source waveform characteristics.J Speech Hear Res. 1989; 32: 556-565
- Acoustic prediction of voice type in women with functional dysphonia.J Voice. 2005; 19: 268-282
- Cepstral analysis of voice in unilateral adductor vocal fold palsy.J Voice. 2011; 25: 326-329
- Articulatory interpretation of the 'singing formant'.J Acoust Soc Am. 1974; 55: 838-844
Article info
Publication history
Published online: July 29, 2013
Accepted:
April 23,
2013
Identification
Copyright
© 2013 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
