• Speech Sciences
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.169-189
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• 2003

Trained singers, one group of professional voice users, have much more interest on the voice than common people, and on its management, too. They train for singing beautiful songs, and, at the same time, try for efficient voice production. The present study was performed with three tenors and three baritones, undergraduate students majored in classical singing, to investigate the degree of improvement of their voice production efficiency through vocal function exercise, by measuring the three dependent variables, maximum phonation time, speed quotient of glottal contact, and the number of semi tones. For the baseline establishment, dependent variables were measured 3$\sim$6 times for two weeks. Then, the subjects exercised vocal function exercise for seven weeks, and after the termination of training, evaluation was performed four times for two weeks, to find the maintenance of the training effect. Vocal function exercise is composed of four successive steps: warm-up, stretching exercise, contracting exercise, power exercise. As results, all of six subjects showed improvement in the aspect of maximum phonation time, speed quotient if glottal contact, and the number of semitones.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.37-42
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• 2009

The purpose of the present study was to determine the effect of the management program known as vocal function exercise (VFE) on voice quality. Typical VFE was modified and applied to patients with vocal nodules by controlling intensity of voice and relieving the vocal fold to solve hyperfunctional problems in VFE. Eight female subjects aged between 28 and 54 who had been diagnosed with vocal nodules took part in the study. The patients performed VFEs once a week for eight weeks. Vocal function exercises consist of voice hygiene, respiratory training, phonation training, and glide training. The subjects' voices were analyzed pre and post therapy on the aspects of acoustics, maximum phonation time (MPT), GRBAS, and voice handicap index (VHI). As a result, it was found that fundamental frequency ($F_o$) was significant increased, shimmer decreased remarkably and that noise to harmonic ratio (NHR) lowered obviously in the acoustic parameter. In addition, MPT was increased significantly. The scale of GRBAS indicated significant improvement in grade, roughness, and strained voice. VHI indicated significant improvement in an emotional part. In conclusion, VFE was effective in improving voice quality for patients with vocal nodules.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.183-191
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• 2015

This study evaluated the effect of the therapeutic methods between vocal function exercise(VFE), which has been used for the patients with presbyphonia in the precedent studies and laryngeal calibration technique($SKLCT^{(R)}$), which is designed by the author. We identified 58 patients who was been diagnosed as presbylaryngis by laryngoscopic examinations. 21 patients were underwent voice therapy using $SKLCT^{(R)}$, 20 patients were taken VFE, and the control group of 17 patients were not taken any voice therapy. All subjects received the therapy, ranging from seven to nine sessions, and were evaluated the voice change on pretherapy and posttherapy. The grade of hoarseness, roughness, and breathiness voice were reduced on perceptual judgments after $SKLCT^{(R)}$, but only grade of hoarseness was reduced after the VFE. Jitter, Shimmer, NHR were reduced and MPT were increased after the $SKLCT^{(R)}$(p<.05), while Jitter and SFF were reduced after the VFE. Frequency and intensity range were increased significantly on the posttest performance after taking voice therapy by the $SKLCT^{(R)}$, on the other hand only intensity range was increased after VFE. Especially, we can find the significant change that glottic gap and supraglottic compressions was reduced in most of patients after the $SKLCT^{(R)}$, but there's no changes in the group of VFE and control group. In the study, we can suggest that the $SKLCT^{(R)}$ may be useful in improving the voice qualities and laryngeal function of presbyphonia.

• Speech Sciences
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.103-116
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• 2008

Cerebral palsy children represent abnormal vocalization pattern caused by respiration problem and paralyzed oral motor muscle that are the basics of speech production. Thus, this study examined the effect of respiration and articulator training programs on the basic ability of speech production in CP children. The subjects of this study were 4 children with 3 of spastic CP and 1 of ataxia CP. The respiration and articulator program was conducted in 30 sessions for 30 minutes each. Pre-test was administered twice before the program, ongoing test was administered every 5 session during the period of experiment, and post-test was administered twice. The program included speech production such as respiration training, lips, jaw, cheek, and tongue exercise, and velopharyngeal training, and related articulator training. The following results were obtained. First, all subject children were less than 5 seconds in maximum phonation time before the experiment and 2 were improved by more than 4$\sim$5 seconds during the experiment, but 2 had relatively low rising width. Second, while children with less than 30dB before the experiment became bigger in strength during the experiment, children with more than 35dB before the experiment showed a minor change. Subject child 4 had lower vocal strength in the post-test period. Finally, although each subject had individual difference in syllable diadochokinetic ability, the function was improved and the number of repetition in one respiration was also increased.