The Change of the Length of Vocal Tract in Singers according to the Phonation at Different Levels of Pitch

성악인에서 발성 시 음의 높낮이에 따른 성도 길이의 변화

Background and Objectives: The purpose of this study is to investigate the change of vocal tract length according to the level of the pitch by the singers. Materials and Methods: Fifteen tenors were asked to produce successive /a/ sound in G4(382Hz) for the head register, C3(131Hz) for the chest register and usual speaking sound. The control group consisted of 15 males of an similar age who are not professional singers. The length of vocal tract was calculated by applying the formula of Fn=(2n-1) c/4L(F : formant frequency, c : the speed of sound in the vocal tract(350m/sec), L : length of vocal tract, $n=1,2,3,4,{\ldots}{\infty}$). Results: In singer's group, there showed no significant statistical difference of length among head and chest register and usual speaking sound. However in the control group, there showed statistically significant difference of length. Comparison of the absolute difference in the length of vocal tract by changing level of pitch in phonation, between the control group and the singers group. Changing from G4 phonation to C3 phonation and C3 phonation to usual speaking sound showed statistically difference of vocal tract length was less in the singers group than the control group. Conclusion: The change of vocal tract length, in either speaking or singing, was less in singers than the control group. We could assume that the singers maintain their larynx position constantly throughout the pitch range when phonation.