RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE FORMANT STRUCTURE OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF SINGING VOICES AND THE DIMENSIONS OF SUPRAGLOTTIC CAVITIES

Integrated spectra of different types of singing voices have been obtained. Each type is characteristic of a certain frequency range for high and low singing formants. The formant frequency increases in the following order: Bass, baritone, tenor, mezzo-soprano and soprano. Instant X-ray photographs have shown the larynx of each opera singer to have a strictly fixed position which can be higher or lower than the resting position. Measurements of the lengths of the buccopharyngeal tract have shown that for every voice type a fixed length of the buccopharyngeal tract is used. This length is decreased in the following order: Bass, baritone, tenor, mezzo-soprano and soprano. There is a clear correlation between acoustic characteristics and the lengths of the buccopharyngeal tract. The physiological adaptation of the larynx during opera singing is determined by the acoustic necessity to have a typical timbre. Therefore, during voice training, one must start with searching for a characteristic phonation and not with a priori conceptions. © 1979 S. Karger AG, Basel.