DOCSLIB.ORG

Analysing and Understanding the Singing Voice

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

Analysing and Understanding the Singing Voice: Recent Progress and Open Questions Malte Kob, Nathalie Henrich Bernardoni, Hanspeter Herzel, David Howard, Isao Tokuda, Joe Wolfe To cite this version: Malte Kob, Nathalie Henrich Bernardoni, Hanspeter Herzel, David Howard, Isao Tokuda, et al.. Analysing and Understanding the Singing Voice: Recent Progress and Open Questions. Current Bioinformatics, Benthams Science, 2011, 6 (3), pp.1574-8936. 10.2174/157489311796904709. hal- 00618255 HAL Id: hal-00618255 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00618255 Submitted on 22 Apr 2020 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. 362 Current Bioinformatics, 2011, 6, 362-374 Analysing and Understanding the Singing Voice: Recent Progress and Open Questions Malte Kob*,1, Nathalie Henrich2, Hanspeter Herzel3, David Howard4, Isao Tokuda5 and Joe Wolfe6 1Erich Thienhaus Institute, University of Music Detmold, Germany; 2Department of Speech and Cognition, GIPSA-lab (UMR 5216: CNRS, INPG, University Stendhal, UJF), Grenoble, France; 3Institute for Theoretical Biology, Humboldt- University, Berlin, Germany; 4Department of Electronics, University of York, UK; 5Department of Micro System Technology, Ritsumeikan University, Kusatsu, Japan; 6School of Physics, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia Abstract: The breadth of expression in singing depends on fine control of physiology and acoustics. In this review, the basic concepts from speech acoustics, including the source-filter model, models of the glottal source and source-filter interactions, are described. The precise control, the extended pitch range, the timbre control and, in some cases, the uses of alternate phonation modes all merit further attention and explanation. Here we review features of the singing voice and the understanding that has been delivered by new measurement techniques. We describe the glottal mechanisms and the control of vocal tract resonances used in singing. We review linear and nonlinear components of the voice and the way in which they are measured and modelled and discuss the aero-acoustic models. We conclude with a list of open questions and active fields of research. Keywords: Singing voice, speech acoustics, vocal folds, vocal tract, source-filter interaction. 1. INTRODUCTION This article gives an overview of areas of singing voice research. It begins with an introduction to features of the The singing voice is probably the most versatile musical singing voice. The second section introduces the source-filter instrument of all. As a musical instrument, it covers a range theory of voice production. Sections 3 and 4 cover methods of some 80 dB in intensity, two to four or five octaves in to study the voice source and the vocal tract filter and some fundamental frequency and a broad range of timbre in results of these studies. In section 5 some aspects of numerous singing styles. In addition to the properties of a nonlinearities in voice production are presented. Section 6 musical instrument it adds verbal components to the describes recent approaches to singing voice modelling. The performance, which allows the expression of nearly all review concludes with a summary and outlook. aspects of spoken language. The power source of the singing voice is the same as that used for breathing – one of our most 2. FEATURES OF THE SINGING VOICE vital and basic functions – which probably contributes to the 2.1. Styles close relation between the singer’s mood and vocal expression. The human singing voice is capable of a wide variety of sounds. This diversity is reflected in the numerous singing The singing voice is probably our species’ oldest musical styles found around the world, including ‘classical’ singing instrument. Nevertheless, its production, performance and styles (e.g. western operatic, lied, baroque, ...) to popular perception are fascinating fields of ongoing research in ones (‘contemporary commercial music’, e.g. rock, jazz, domains such as acoustics, voice, phoniatrics, musicology musicals, ...) and traditional ones (e.g. yodel, kulning, and education. Further, the requirement of precise control of overtone singing, ...). In the past century, much research pitch in much of singing requires a deeper understanding, effort has aimed at understanding classical singing styles and a consideration of behaviours, such as resonance tuning, from both a physiological and a physical perspective [2]. that are observed in singing but that are probably rare in This scientific knowledge has provided the basis for speech, with the possible exception of theatrical speech. Due understanding popular and traditional singing styles. Pop, to its interdisciplinary nature, the results of singing voice jazz, blues and musical-theatre voice source characteristics research often have impact in several domains. One example have been compared to those of classical singers [3-7], is the understanding of the production of the growl sound demonstrating consistent differences in sub-glottal-pressure and the impact of its performance on voice health [1]. management, glottal behaviour and sound-pressure level. Knowledge and modelling of nonlinear source-filter interactions have provided insights into belting style [8]. *Address correspondence to this author at the University of Music Detmold, Voice-production characteristics of country singers have Erich Thienhaus Institute, Neustadt 22, 32756 Detmold, Germany; been compared with those of speech [9-12]. Some traditional Tel: +49-5231-975-646, Fax: +49-5231-975-689; singing styles, such as overtone singing, challenge the E-mail: [email protected] normal use of the voice apparatus [13,14]. 1574-8936/11 $58.00+.00 © 2011 Bentham Science Publishers Analysing and Understanding the Singing Voice Current Bioinformatics, 2011, Vol. 6, No. 3 363 2.2. Registers 2.4. Intonation The variety of singing sounds is produced by a single In many styles of singing, precise pitch control is a instrument, qualitatively similar for everyone, which consists desirable skill. The perceived pitch of a sung sound is largely of three subsystems: a breathing apparatus (muscles, lungs, determined by the fundamental frequency of vibration of the bronchi, trachea) delivers air flow, the larynx converts some vocal folds and less directly by the intensity, overall timbre of the aerodynamic energy in that flow into acoustic waves, and duration of the sound being produced. Auditory and the vocal tract (the upper part of the larynx, pharynx, feedback allows the singer to monitor and thus to adjust the oral and nasal cavities) modifies these waves to produce a pitch appropriately while singing. Quantitative monitoring of wide range of sounds. The perceived vocal qualities of the fundamental period to an accuracy of 1µs of vocal fold resulting sound can be categorised into singing-voice vibration is now reported [25]. Subjects were found to be registers, each register corresponding to a pitch range with more accurate when they tune a note against a recording of homogeneous timbre [15]. The singing-voice registers result themselves singing a reference note as opposed to tuning to a from specific pneumo-phono-articulatory adjustments made reference note from a female singer or a non-vocal complex by the singer to achieve a target vocal quality. Much remains tone [26]. In-tune singing and accurate ensemble intonation to be understood regarding these adjustments [16]. is essential for a cappella (unaccompanied) choral singing and singers tend towards just intonation, i.e. to a non-equal Recent studies have explored articulatory behaviors in the main singing-voice registers for both male and female temperament with commensurate ratios among notes in a chord [27]. A consequence is that pitch may drift when operatic singers by means of a dynamic Magnetic Resonance music changes key in some ways [28]. Performers can either Imaging technique [17-19]. For the studied singers, the stay in-tune or in-pitch; the latter requiring a pitch shift transition from modal to falsetto registers resulted in only which has been commented on since the sixteenth century minor modifications of vocal-tract shape, such as an [29]. elevation and tilting of the larynx and a lifted tongue dorsum. In comparison, the transition from modal to voix- mixte registers resulted in major modifications, such as a 2.5. Vibrato pharynx widening, lip and jaw openings, and increased jaw In singing, vibrato consists of a modulation of protrusion. fundamental frequency. It is a very common feature in The laryngeal nature of singing-voice registers, to which singing that is especially associated with Western opera [30]. the term register may sometimes solely refer [20], can be Sundberg [30] gives four parameters that quantify vibrato: described in terms of vocal-fold biomechanics, glottal-flow rate (typically 5-7.5 Hz), extent (typically 1 semitone for properties and non-linear dynamics (see section 5). From a opera singers), regularity (generally consistent but tends to physiological point of view, many researchers, including
Recommended publications
  • Voice Types in Opera

    Voice Types in Opera

    Voice Types in Opera In many of Central City Opera’s educational programs, we spend some time explaining the different voice types – and therefore character types – in opera. Usually in opera, a voice type (soprano, mezzo soprano, tenor, baritone, or bass) has as much to do with the SOUND as with the CHARACTER that the singer portrays. Composers will assign different voice types to characters so that there is a wide variety of vocal colors onstage to give the audience more information about the characters in the story. SOPRANO: “Sopranos get to be the heroine or the princess or the opera star.” – Eureka Street* “Sopranos always get to play the smart, sophisticated, sweet and supreme characters!” – The Great Opera Mix-up* A soprano is a woman’s voice type. There are many different kinds of sopranos within the general category: coloratura, lyric, and spinto are a few. Coloratura soprano: Diana Damrau as The Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute (Mozart): https://youtu.be/dpVV9jShEzU Lyric soprano: Mirella Freni as Mimi in La bohème (Puccini): https://youtu.be/yTagFD_pkNo Spinto soprano: Leontyne Price as Aida in Aida (Verdi): https://youtu.be/IaV6sqFUTQ4?t=1m10s MEZZO SOPRANO: “There are also mezzos with a lower, more exciting woman’s voice…We get to be magical or mythical characters and sometimes… we get to be boys.” – Eureka Street “Mezzos play magnificent, magical, mysterious, and miffed characters.” – The Great Opera Mix-up A mezzo soprano is a woman’s voice type. Just like with sopranos, there are different kinds of mezzo sopranos: coloratura, lyric, and dramatic.
  • The Chöömij of Mongolia a Spectral Analysis of Overtone Singing Ronald Walcott SELECTED REPORTS in Ethnomusicology Volume II, No

    The Chöömij of Mongolia a Spectral Analysis of Overtone Singing Ronald Walcott SELECTED REPORTS in Ethnomusicology Volume II, No

    Soundtransformation, Michael Ormiston & Candida Valentino Web Pages The Chöömij of Mongolia A Spectral Analysis of Overtone Singing Ronald Walcott SELECTED REPORTS IN Ethnomusicology Volume II, No. 1 1974 CHÖÖMIJ* is the Mongolian name for a solo style of overtone singing where two distinct pitch lines are sounded throughout. One, a nasal-sounding drone of relatively constant pitch, corresponds to the fundamental; the other, consisting of piercing, whistle like tones, forms a melody, line above the drone and results from the reinforcement of individual overtones within the ambitus of the 5th through 13th partials. Reinforcement of partials is achieved by characteristic changes in the shape and volume of the mouth cavity. This is reminiscent of the principle of the Jew's harp,' where a vibrating tongue sounded at the lips produces a drone fundamental which the player modifies by shaping his mouth cavity so as to form a resonance chamber of critical volume. The volume of this chamber, functioning on the principle of a Helmholtz resonator, reinforces a narrow frequency band area within an existing spectrum. This band is sufficiently narrow to enable the singer to select a given single partial above the drone in accordance with the degree of modification made by him. The principle involving the reinforcement of discrete partials by a specific shaping of the mouth cavity is thus common to both chöömij and the Jew's harp. A difference, however, lies in the physical origination of the fundamental. In the Jew's harp it is produced at the lips, in the chöömij it originates in the throat region.
  • Treble Voices in Choral Music

    Treble Voices in Choral Music

    loft is shown by the absence of the con• gregation: Bach and Maria Barbara were Treble Voices In Choral Music: only practicing and church was not even in session! WOMEN, MEN, BOYS, OR CASTRATI? There were certain places where wo• men were allowed to perform reltgious TIMOTHY MOUNT in a "Gloria" and "Credo" by Guillaume music: these were the convents, cloisters, Legrant in 1426. Giant choir books, large and religious schools for girls. Nuns were 2147 South Mallul, #5 enough for an entire chorus to see, were permitted to sing choral music (obvious• Anaheim, California 92802 first made in Italy in the middle and the ly, for high voices only) among them• second half of the 15th century. In selves and even for invited audiences. England, choral music began about 1430 This practice was established in the with the English polyphonic carol. Middle Ages when the music was limited Born in Princeton, New Jersey, Timo• to plainsong. Later, however, polyphonic thy Mount recently received his MA in Polyphonic choral music took its works were also performed. __ On his musi• choral conducting at California State cue from and developed out of the cal tour of Italy in 1770 Burney describes University, Fullerton, where he was a stu• Gregorian unison chorus; this ex• several conservatorios or music schools dent of Howard Swan. Undergraduate plains why the first choral music in Venice for girls. These schools must work was at the University of Michigan. occurs in the church and why secular not be confused with the vocational con• compositions are slow in taking up He has sung professionally with the opera servatories of today.
  • Keyboard Playing and the Mechanization of Polyphony in Italian Music, Circa 1600

    Keyboard Playing and the Mechanization of Polyphony in Italian Music, Circa 1600

    Keyboard Playing and the Mechanization of Polyphony in Italian Music, Circa 1600 By Leon Chisholm A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Music in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Kate van Orden, Co-Chair Professor James Q. Davies, Co-Chair Professor Mary Ann Smart Professor Massimo Mazzotti Summer 2015 Keyboard Playing and the Mechanization of Polyphony in Italian Music, Circa 1600 Copyright 2015 by Leon Chisholm Abstract Keyboard Playing and the Mechanization of Polyphony in Italian Music, Circa 1600 by Leon Chisholm Doctor of Philosophy in Music University of California, Berkeley Professor Kate van Orden, Co-Chair Professor James Q. Davies, Co-Chair Keyboard instruments are ubiquitous in the history of European music. Despite the centrality of keyboards to everyday music making, their influence over the ways in which musicians have conceptualized music and, consequently, the music that they have created has received little attention. This dissertation explores how keyboard playing fits into revolutionary developments in music around 1600 – a period which roughly coincided with the emergence of the keyboard as the multipurpose instrument that has served musicians ever since. During the sixteenth century, keyboard playing became an increasingly common mode of experiencing polyphonic music, challenging the longstanding status of ensemble singing as the paradigmatic vehicle for the art of counterpoint – and ultimately replacing it in the eighteenth century. The competing paradigms differed radically: whereas ensemble singing comprised a group of musicians using their bodies as instruments, keyboard playing involved a lone musician operating a machine with her hands.
  • How to Read Choral Music.Pages

    How to Read Choral Music.Pages

    ! How to Read Choral Music ! Compiled by Tim Korthuis Sheet music is a road map to help you create beautiful music. Please note that is only there as a guide. Follow the director for cues on dynamics (volume) and phrasing (cues and cuts). !DO NOT RELY ENTIRELY ON YOUR MUSIC!!! Only glance at it for words and notes. This ‘manual’ is a very condensed version, and is here as a reference. It does not include everything to do with reading music, only the basics to help you on your way. There may be !many markings that you wonder about. If you have questions, don’t be afraid to ask. 1. Where is YOUR part? • You need to determine whether you are Soprano or Alto (high or low ladies), or Tenor (hi men/low ladies) or Bass (low men) • Soprano is the highest note, followed by Alto, Tenor, (Baritone) & Bass Soprano NOTE: ! Alto If there is another staff ! Tenor ! ! Bass above the choir bracket, it is Bracket usually for a solo or ! ! ‘descant’ (high soprano). ! Brace !Piano ! ! ! • ! The Treble Clef usually indicates Soprano and Alto parts o If there are three notes in the Treble Clef, ask the director which section will be ‘split’ (eg. 1st and 2nd Soprano). o Music written solely for women will usually have two Treble Clefs. • ! The Bass Clef indicates Tenor, Baritone and Bass parts o If there are three parts in the Bass Clef, the usual configuration is: Top - Tenor, Middle - Baritone, Bottom – Bass, though this too may be ‘split’ (eg. 1st and 2nd Tenor) o Music written solely for men will often have two Bass Clefs, though Treble Clef is used for men as well (written 1 octave higher).
  • Physical Modeling of the Singing Voice

    Physical Modeling of the Singing Voice

    Malte Kob Physical Modeling of the Singing Voice 6000 5000 4000 3000 Frequency [Hz] 2000 1000 0 0 0.5 1 1.5 Time [s] logoV PHYSICAL MODELING OF THE SINGING VOICE Von der FakulÄat furÄ Elektrotechnik und Informationstechnik der Rheinisch-WestfÄalischen Technischen Hochschule Aachen zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades eines DOKTORS DER INGENIEURWISSENSCHAFTEN genehmigte Dissertation vorgelegt von Diplom-Ingenieur Malte Kob aus Hamburg Berichter: UniversitÄatsprofessor Dr. rer. nat. Michael VorlÄander UniversitÄatsprofessor Dr.-Ing. Peter Vary Professor Dr.-Ing. JuÄrgen Meyer Tag der muÄndlichen PruÄfung: 18. Juni 2002 Diese Dissertation ist auf den Internetseiten der Hochschulbibliothek online verfuÄgbar. Die Deutsche Bibliothek – CIP-Einheitsaufnahme Kob, Malte: Physical modeling of the singing voice / vorgelegt von Malte Kob. - Berlin : Logos-Verl., 2002 Zugl.: Aachen, Techn. Hochsch., Diss., 2002 ISBN 3-89722-997-8 c Copyright Logos Verlag Berlin 2002 Alle Rechte vorbehalten. ISBN 3-89722-997-8 Logos Verlag Berlin Comeniushof, Gubener Str. 47, 10243 Berlin Tel.: +49 030 42 85 10 90 Fax: +49 030 42 85 10 92 INTERNET: http://www.logos-verlag.de ii Meinen Eltern. iii Contents Abstract { Zusammenfassung vii Introduction 1 1 The singer 3 1.1 Voice signal . 4 1.1.1 Harmonic structure . 5 1.1.2 Pitch and amplitude . 6 1.1.3 Harmonics and noise . 7 1.1.4 Choir sound . 8 1.2 Singing styles . 9 1.2.1 Registers . 9 1.2.2 Overtone singing . 10 1.3 Discussion . 11 2 Vocal folds 13 2.1 Biomechanics . 13 2.2 Vocal fold models . 16 2.2.1 Two-mass models . 17 2.2.2 Other models .
  • Voice Types Are Soprano, Mezzo Soprano, Tenor and Baritone

    Voice Types Are Soprano, Mezzo Soprano, Tenor and Baritone

    The four most common voice types are Soprano, Mezzo Soprano, Tenor and Baritone. FEMALE VOCAL RANGE RANGE FEMALE EXAMPLES Highest Soprano Coloratura Soprano Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor Lyric Soprano Violetta in La Traviata Dramatic Soprano Leonara in Il Trovatore Mezzo Soprano Coloratura Mezzo Rosina in The Barber of Seville Dramatic Mezzo Carmen in Carmen Lowest Contralto Katisha in The Mikado VOICE SOPRANO The highest of the female voice types, the soprano has always had a TYPES place of importance in the order of vocal types. In the operatic world, the soprano is almost always the ‘heroine’ or leading character within an opera. MEZZO SOPRANO The mezzo is the lower-ranged female voice type. Throughout opera history the mezzo has been used to convey many different types of characters: everything from boys or young men (these are called trouser or pants roles), to mother-types, witches, gypsies and old women. The four most common voice types are Soprano, Mezzo Soprano, Tenor and Baritone. MALE VOCAL RANGE RANGE MALE EXAMPLES Highest Tenor Light Lyric Tenor Nemorino in La Cenerentola Lyric Tenor Nadir in the Pearlfishers Lyric-dramatic Tenor Rodolfo in La Boheme Dramatic Tenor Canio in Pagliacci Heldentenor Tristan in Tristan und Isolde Baritone Papageno in The Magic Flute Bass-baritone Figaro in The Magic of Figaro VOICE Lowest Bass Sarastro in The Magic Flute TENOR The Tenor is the highest of the male voices and has many sub categories TYPES such as a lyric tenor and a dramatic tenor. The tenor is usually cast in the romantic roles of opera.
  • Voice Dysphoria and the Transgender and Genderqueer Singer

    Voice Dysphoria and the Transgender and Genderqueer Singer

    What the Fach? Voice Dysphoria and the Transgender and Genderqueer Singer Loraine Sims, DMA, Associate Professor, Edith Killgore Kirkpatrick Professor of Voice, LSU 2018 NATS National Conference Las Vegas Introduction One size does not fit all! Trans Singers are individuals. There are several options for the singing voice. Trans woman (AMAB, MtF, M2F, or trans feminine) may prefer she/her/hers o May sing with baritone or tenor voice (with or without voice dysphoria) o May sing head voice and label as soprano or mezzo Trans man (AFAB, FtM, F2M, or trans masculine) may prefer he/him/his o No Testosterone – Probably sings mezzo soprano or soprano (with or without voice dysphoria) o After Testosterone – May sing tenor or baritone or countertenor Third Gender or Gender Fluid (Non-binary or Genderqueer) – prefers non-binary pronouns they/them/their or something else (You must ask!) o May sing with any voice type (with or without voice dysphoria) Creating a Gender Neutral Learning Environment Gender and sex are not synonymous terms. Cisgender means that your assigned sex at birth is in agreement with your internal feeling about your own gender. Transgender means that there is disagreement between the sex you were assigned at birth and your internal gender identity. There is also a difference between your gender identity and your gender expression. Many other terms fall under the trans umbrella: Non-binary, gender fluid, genderqueer, and agender, etc. Remember that pronouns matter. Never assume. The best way to know what pronouns someone prefers for themselves is to ask. In addition to she/her/hers and he/him/his, it is perfectly acceptable to use they/them/their for a single individual if that is what they prefer.
  • Arnold Schering on “Who Sang the Soprano and Alto Parts in Bach's

    Arnold Schering on “Who Sang the Soprano and Alto Parts in Bach's

    Arnold Schering on “Who sang the soprano and alto parts in Bach’s cantatas?” Translation by Thomas Braatz © 2009 [The following is a translation of pages 43 to 48 from Arnold Schering’s book, Johann Sebastian Bachs Leipziger Kirchenmusik, published in 1936 in Leipzig and presented in facsimile after the translation. To distinguish between Schering’s original footnotes and mine, his are highlighted in red while mine are left in black.] The paragraph leading into this passage describes Georg PhilippTelemann’s (1681- 1767) sacred music activities in the Neukirche (New Church) in Leipzig. These cantata performances were accomplished by Telemann with the help of university students only and without any assistance from the Thomaner1 choir(s) which were under Johann Kuhnau’s (1660-1722 - Bach’s immediate predecessor) direction. Jealous of the success that Telemann was having with his performances, Kuhnau commented that the young people there [Neukirche] had no real idea about what the proper style of singing in a church was all about and that their goal was “directed toward a so- called cantata-like manner of singing”. By this he evidently meant the elegant, modern way that male falsettists2 sang their solos [compared to the soprano and alto voices of young boys before their mutation]. What was Bach’s way of treating this matter in his sacred music? A cantor’s constant concern, as we have seen, is the ability to obtain and train good sopranos and basses. Kuhnau’s experience, that among his young scholars strong bass singers were a rarity,3 was an experience that his cantor predecessors in Leipzig had already had.
  • Detection and Analysis of Human Emotions Through Voice And

    Detection and Analysis of Human Emotions Through Voice And

    International Journal of Computer Trends and Technology (IJCTT) – Volume 52 Number 1 October 2017 Detection and Analysis of Human Emotions through Voice and Speech Pattern Processing Poorna Banerjee Dasgupta M.Tech Computer Science and Engineering, Nirma Institute of Technology Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India Abstract — The ability to modulate vocal sounds high-pitched sound indicates rapid oscillations, and generate speech is one of the features which set whereas, a low-pitched sound corresponds to slower humans apart from other living beings. The human oscillations. Pitch of complex sounds such as speech voice can be characterized by several attributes such and musical notes corresponds to the repetition rate as pitch, timbre, loudness, and vocal tone. It has of periodic or nearly-periodic sounds, or the often been observed that humans express their reciprocal of the time interval between similar emotions by varying different vocal attributes during repeating events in the sound waveform. speech generation. Hence, deduction of human Loudness is a subjective perception of sound emotions through voice and speech analysis has a pressure and can be defined as the attribute of practical plausibility and could potentially be auditory sensation, in terms of which, sounds can be beneficial for improving human conversational and ordered on a scale ranging from quiet to loud [7]. persuasion skills. This paper presents an algorithmic Sound pressure is the local pressure deviation from approach for detection and analysis of human the ambient, average, or equilibrium atmospheric emotions with the help of voice and speech pressure, caused by a sound wave [9]. Sound processing. The proposed approach has been pressure level (SPL) is a logarithmic measure of the developed with the objective of incorporation with effective pressure of a sound relative to a reference futuristic artificial intelligence systems for value and is often measured in units of decibel (dB).
  • Downloads/9215D25f931f4d419461a88825f3f33f20160622021223/Cb7be6

    Downloads/9215D25f931f4d419461a88825f3f33f20160622021223/Cb7be6

    JOAN LA BARBARA’S EARLY EXPLORATIONS OF THE VOICE by Samara Ripley B.Mus., Mount Allison University, 2014 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (Music) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) August 2016 © Samara Ripley, 2016 Abstract Experimental composer and performer Joan La Barbara treats the voice as a musical instrument. Through improvisation, she has developed an array of signature sounds, or extended vocal techniques, that extend the voice beyond traditional conceptions of Western classical singing. At times, her signature sounds are primal and unfamiliar, drawing upon extreme vocal registers and multiple simultaneous pitches. In 2003, La Barbara released Voice is the Original Instrument, a two-part album that comprises a selection of her earliest works from 1974 – 1980. The compositions on this album reveal La Barbara’s experimental approach to using the voice. Voice Piece: One-Note Internal Resonance Investigation explores the timbral palette within a single pitch. Circular Song plays with the necessity of a singer’s breath by vocalizing, and therefore removing, all audible inhalations and exhalations. Hear What I Feel brings the sense of touch into an improvisatory composition and performance experience. In October Music: Star Showers and Extraterrestrials, La Barbara moves past experimentation and layers her different sounds into a cohesive piece of music. This thesis is a study of La Barbara’s treatment of the voice in these four early works. I will frame my discussion with theories of the acousmatic by Mladen Dolar and Brian Kane and will also draw comparisons with Helmut Lachnemann’s musique concrète instrumentale works.
  • Consonance & Dissonance

    Consonance & Dissonance

    UIUC Physics 406 Acoustical Physics of Music Consonance & Dissonance: Consonance: A combination of two (or more) tones of different frequencies that results in a musically pleasing sound. Why??? Dissonance: A combination of two (or more) tones of different frequencies that results in a musically displeasing sound. Why??? n.b. Perception of sounds is also wired into (different of) our emotional centers!!! Why???/How did this happen??? The Greek scholar Pythagoras discovered & studied the phenomenon of consonance & dissonance, using an instrument called a monochord (see below) – a simple 1-stringed instrument with a movable bridge, dividing the string of length L into two segments, x and L–x. Thus, the two string segments can have any desired ratio, R x/(L–x). (movable) L x x L When the monochord is played, both string segments vibrate simultaneously. Since the two segments of the string have a common tension, T, and the mass per unit length, = M/L is the same on both sides of the string, then the speed of propagation of waves on each of the two segments of the string is the same, v = T/, and therefore on the x-segment of string, the wavelength (of the fundamental) is x = 2x = v/fx and on the (L–x) segment of the string, we have Lx = 2(L–x) = v/fLx. Thus, the two frequencies associated with the two vibrating string segments x and L – x on either side of the movable bridge are: v f x 2x v f Lx 2L x - 1 - Professor Steven Errede, Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois 2002 - 2017.