Summary
Objectives/Hypothesis
Vibrato is a core aesthetic element in singing. It varies considerably by both genre
and era. Though studied extensively in Western classical singing over the years, there
is a dearth of studies on vibrato in contemporary commercial music. In addressing
this research gap, the objective of this study was to find and investigate common
crossover song material from the opera, operetta, and Schlager singing styles from the historical early 20th to the contemporary 21st century epochs.
Study Design/Methods
A total of 51 commercial recordings of two songs, “Es muss was Wunderbares sein” by Ralph Benatzky, and “Die ganze Welt ist himmelblau” by Robert Stolz, from "The White Horse Inn" ("Im weißen Rößl") were collected from opera, operetta, and Schlager singers. Each sample was annotated using Praat and analyzed in a custom Matlab- and
Python-based algorithmic approach of singing voice separation and sine wave fitting
novel to vibrato research.
Results
With respect to vibrato rate and extent, the three most notable findings were that
(1) fo and vibrato were inherently connected; (2) Schlager, as a historical aesthetic category, has unique vibrato characteristics, with higher
overall rate and lower overall extent; and (3) fo and vibrato extent varied over time based on the historical or contemporary recording
year for each genre.
Conclusions
Though these results should be interpreted with caution due to the limited sample
size, conducting such acoustical analysis is relevant for voice pedagogy. This study
sheds light on the complexity of vocal vibrato production physiology and acoustics
while providing insight into various aesthetic choices when performing music of different
genres and stylistic time periods. In the age of crossover singing training and commercially
available recordings, this investigation reveals important distinctions regarding
vocal vibrato across genres and eras that bear beneficial implications for singers
and teachers of singing.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: April 18, 2023
Accepted:
December 29,
2022
Publication stage
In Press Corrected ProofFootnotes
Presented as poster: 10th International Physiology & Acoustics of Singing Con- ference (PAS7+) May 5, 2022 at 14:20 CET; Online via Zoom.
Identification
Copyright
© 2023 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
