Summary
Objective/Hypothesis
This study aimed to determine objective production differences relative to two emotional
interpretations in performing an excerpt from a classical art song. The null hypothesis
was proposed.
Methods
The first author recorded an excerpt from an art song. The excerpt was sung with two
contrasting musical interpretations: an “empathetic legato” approach, and a “sarcastic”
approach characterized by emphatic attacks. Microphone, airflow, and electroglottography
signals were digitized. The vowels were analyzed in terms of intensity, long term
average spectra, fundamental frequency (fo), airflow vibrato rate and extent, vowel onset slope, intensity comparison of harmonic
frequencies, and glottal measures based on electroglottograph waveforms. Four consonant
tokens were analyzed relative to airflow, voice onset time, and production duration.
Results & Conclusions
The emphatic performance had faster vowel onset, increased glottal adduction, increased
intensity of harmonics in 2-3 kHz, increased intensity in the fourth and fifth formants,
inferred subglottal pressure increase, increased airflow for /f/, and greater aspiration
airflow for /p, t/. Vibrato extents for intensity, fo, and airflow were wider in the emphatic approach. Findings revealed larger EGGW25
and peak-to-peak amplitude values of the electroglottography waveform, suggesting
greater vocal fold contact area and longer glottal closure for the emphatic approach.
Long-term average spectrum analyses of the entire production displayed minor variation
across all formant frequencies, suggesting an insignificant change in vocal tract
shaping between the two approaches. This single-case objective study emphasizes the
reality of physiological, aerodynamic, and acoustic production differences in the
interpretive and pedagogical aspects of art song performance.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: February 12, 2021
Accepted:
December 21,
2020
Identification
Copyright
© 2021 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
