Comparative Analysis of the Closed Quotient for Lip and Tongue Trills in Relation to the Sustained Vowel /epsilon/

Various types of trill exercises have been used for a long time as a tool in the treatment and preparation of the voice. Although they are reported to produce vocal benefits in most subjects, their physiology has not yet been studied in depth. The aim of this study was to compare the mean and standard deviation of the closed quotient in exercises of lip and tongue trills with the sustained vowel /epsilon/ in opera singers. Ten professional classical (operatic) singers, reportedly in perfect laryngeal health, served as subjects for this study and underwent electroglottography. During the examination, the subjects were instructed to deliver the sustained vowel /epsilon/ and lip and tongue trills in a same preestablished frequency and intensity. The mean values and standard deviation of the closed quotient were obtained using the software developed for this purpose. The comparison of the results was intrasubjects; maximum intensities were compared only among them and so were minimum intensities. The means of closed quotient were statistically significant only in the strong intensities, and the lip trill was different from the tongue trill and the sustained vowel /epsilon/. The standard deviation of the closed quotient distinguished the sustained vowel /epsilon/ from the lip and tongue trills in the two intensities. We concluded that there is oscillation of the closed quotient during the exercises of tongue and lip trills, and the closed quotient is higher during the performance of exercises of the lip trill, when compared with the two other utterances, only in the strong intensities.

Musicians' working memory for tones, words, and pseudowords

Studies investigating factors that influence tone recognition generally use recognition tests, whereas the majority of the studies on verbal material use self-generated responses in the form of serial recall tests. In the present study we intended to investigate whether tonal and verbal materials share the same cognitive mechanisms, by presenting an experimental instrument that evaluates short-term and working memories for tones, using self-generated sung responses that may be compared to verbal tests. This paradigm was designed according to the same structure of the forward and backward digit span tests, but using digits, pseudowords, and tones as stimuli. The profile of amateur singers and professional singers in these tests was compared in forward and backward digit, pseudoword, tone, and contour spans. In addition, an absolute pitch experimental group was included, in order to observe the possible use of verbal labels in tone memorization tasks. In general, we observed that musical schooling has a slight positive influence on the recall of tones, as opposed to verbal material, which is not influenced by musical schooling. Furthermore, the ability to reproduce melodic contours (up and down patterns) is generally higher than the ability to reproduce exact tone sequences. However, backward spans were lower than forward spans for all stimuli (digits, pseudowords, tones, contour). Curiously, backward spans were disproportionately lower for tones than for verbal material-that is, the requirement to recall sequences in backward rather than forward order seems to differentially affect tonal stimuli. This difference does not vary according to musical expertise.

Coralistas amadores: auto-imagem, dificuldades e sintomas na voz cantada

Purpose: to evaluate vocal self-perception, difficulties and presence of negative symptoms after singing of amateur choir singers of different vocal classifications, age and experience. Method: one hundred and twenty five singers answered a questionnaire containing identification data, information about self-perception of the singing voice, difficulties with singing and negative symptoms after singing. Results: the comparison considering vocal classification evidenced greater difficulties with high notes for altos and basses, greater difficulty regarding the transition to high notes for basses and greater vocal fatigue for altos. Comparing the singers by age, both adults and young adults referred more breathiness than the elderly. The adults referred better vocal intensity than the young adults. The young adults referred better timbre than adults. Regarding the experience, the less experienced singers reported self-perception of hoarseness and presence of hoarseness after singing in greater number than the experienced singers. Conclusion: the difficulties with singing are connected to the vocal classification and do not depend on age or experience. Vocal symptoms are related to the vocal classification and to the experience with singing. Negative self-perception is also related the vocal classification and to the experience with singing, and positive self-perception was more reported by experienced singers.