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Spectral and vocal tract diagram differences in spoken and sung vowel production by soprano singers

Diferenças espectrais e no diagrama do trato vocal na vogal /a/ falada e cantada por cantoras sopranos

Glaucia Verena Sampaio de Souza; Marcia Simões-Zenari; Katia Nemr

http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1982-0216/20262849025 Revista CEFAC, vol.28, n4, e9025, 2026
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Abstract

Purpose: to describe and analyze possible acoustic differences in the vowel /a/ emitted in speech at habitual pitch and in singing at a low pitch by soprano singers, through fundamental frequency, formants, and the association between Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), Linear Predictive Coding (LPC), and vocal tract diagram (VTD).

Methods: an exploratory study with samples of 32 adult professional sopranos, without complaints and/or self-reported vocal alterations. Three repetitions of the vowel /a/ were analyzed in habitual speech pitch and in sung emission at a low pitch (C3, 261 Hz), totaling 192 samples. In addition to analyses by LPC, FFT, and VTD, measurements of the fundamental frequency (f0) and the first five formants (F1, F2, F3, F4, and F5) were extracted.

Results: in the sung vowel, the average f0 was 259 Hz, F1 was close to the value observed in spoken emission, F1 values ​​were higher than f0, in F2, correspondence was observed in the FFT and LPC overlaps and in the VTD tracing.

Conclusion: the increase in F2 in the sung vowel as compared to the spoken vowel was probably caused by modifications in the vocal tract, as observed in the VTD. The FFT, LPC, and VTD analyses indicated distinctions between the spoken vowel in habitual pitch and the sung vowel in low pitch by soprano singers.

Keywords

Voice; Acoustics; Speech Acoustics; Speech-Language Pathology

Resumo

Objetivo: descrever e analisar possíveis diferenças acústicas apresentadas na vogal /a/ emitida na fala em tom habitual e no canto em tom grave por cantoras sopranos, por meio da frequência fundamental, dos formantes e da associação entre Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), Linear Predictive Coding (LPC) e diagrama do trato vocal (DTV).

Métodos: estudo exploratório com amostras de 32 sopranos profissionais adultas, sem queixas e/ou alterações vocais autorreferidas. Foram analisadas três repetições da vogal /a/ em tom habitual de fala e na emissão cantada no tom grave (C3, 261Hz), totalizando 192 amostras. Além de serem realizadas as análises por LPC, por FFT e pelo DTV, foram extraídas as medidas da frequência fundamental (f0) e as dos cinco primeiros formantes (F1, F2, F3, F4 e F5).

Resultados: na vogal cantada, a f0 média foi de 259 Hz, F1 aproximou-se do valor observado na emissão falada, os valores de F1 foram maiores que a f0, em F2, observou-se correspondência nas sobreposições de FFT e LPC e no traçado do DTV.

Conclusão: o aumento do segundo formante na vogal cantada em relação à falada provavelmente foi ocasionado pelas modificações do trato vocal, como se observou no DTV. As análises apresentadas de FFT, LPC e DTV indicaram distinções entre a vogal falada no tom habitual e cantada no tom grave realizadas por cantoras sopranos.

Palavras-chave

Voz; Acústica; Acústica da Fala; Fonoaudiologia

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Submetido em:
27/08/2025

Aceito em:
30/03/2026

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