Summary
Objectives
This study examines the effects of including acoustic research-based elements of the
vocal expression of emotions in the singing lessons of acting students during a seven-week
teaching period. This information may be useful in improving the training of interpretation
in singing.
Study design
Experimental comparative study.
Methods
Six acting students participated in seven weeks of extra training concerning voice
quality in the expression of emotions in singing. Song samples were recorded before
and after the training. A control group of six acting students were recorded twice
within a seven-week period, during which they participated in ordinary training. All
participants sang on the vowel [a:] and on a longer phrase expressing anger, sadness,
joy, tenderness, and neutral states. The vowel and phrase samples were evaluated by
34 listeners for the perceived emotion. Additionally, the vowel samples were analyzed
for formant frequencies (F1–F4), sound pressure level (SPL), spectral structure (Alpha
ratio = SPL 1500–5000 Hz − SPL 50–1500 Hz), harmonic-to-noise ratio (HNR), and perturbation
(jitter, shimmer).
Results
The number of correctly perceived expressions improved in the test group's vowel samples,
while no significant change was observed in the control group. The overall recognition
was higher for the phrases than for the vowel samples. Of the acoustic parameters,
F1 and SPL significantly differentiated emotions in both groups, and HNR specifically
differentiated emotions in the test group. The Alpha ratio was found to statistically
significantly differentiate emotion expression after training.
Conclusions
The expression of emotion in the singing voice improved after seven weeks of voice
quality training. The F1, SPL, Alpha ratio, and HNR differentiated emotional expression.
The variation in acoustic parameters became wider after training. Similar changes
were not observed after seven weeks of ordinary voice training.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: January 22, 2021
Accepted:
December 22,
2020
Footnotes
Declarations of interest: none.
Identification
Copyright
© 2021 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
