Work

Detection of high-frequency energy changes in sustained vowels produced by singers

Year: 2011

Type: article

Abstract: The human voice spectrum above 5 kHz receives little attention. However, there are reasons to believe that this high-frequency energy (HFE) may play a role in perceived quality of voice in singing and speech. To fulfill this role, differences in HFE must first be detectable. To determine human ability to detect differences in HFE, the levels of the 8- and 16-kHz center-frequency octave bands were individually attenuated in sustained vowel sounds produced by singers and presented to listeners. Relatively small changes in HFE were in fact detectable, suggesting that this frequency range potentially contributes to the perception of especially the singing voice. Detection ability was greater in the 8-kHz octave than in the 16-kHz octave and varied with band energy level.

Source: The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America

DOI: 10.1121/1.3557033

Authors: Brian B. Monson, Andrew J. Lotto, Sten Ternström

Institutions: University of Arizona, KTH Royal Institute of Technology

Language: English

Topic: Phonetics and Phonology Research

Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: Vetenskapsrådet, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

Award: Formation and Tuning of Complex Auditory Categories