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Influence of Emotional Expression, Loudness,

and Gender on the Acoustic Parameters of Vibrato


in Classical Singers
*,†Marco A. Guzman, ‡Jayme Dowdall, *,§Adam D. Rubin, kAhmed Maki, {Samuel Levin, ‡Ross Mayerhoff,
and *,‡Maria Cristina Jackson-Menaldi, *St. Clair Shores, z{Detroit, xAnn Arbor, and kEast Lansing, Michigan and ySantiago, Chile

Summary: Objectives. Vibrato is considered one of the most essential characteristics of the classical singing voice.
Vibrato can be acoustically described by the rate, extent, onset, and regularity. The aim of this study was to determine the
influence of emotional expression on acoustic parameters of vibrato in classically trained singers.
Study Design. A prospective cohort study was performed.
Methods. Thirty healthy classical singers were recruited for this study, 29 singers met inclusion criteria. Inclusion cri-
teria for this study were as follow: 1) no history of vocal pathology in the past year, 2) to have at least 5 years of classical
singing training. Each subject was asked to sing the phrase ‘‘I Love You,’’ while expressing four different emotions (ten-
derness, anger, happiness, and sadness) and without emotion (neutral state). The musical tonality of the phrase was adapt-
ed to each singer’s vocal classification. Subjects were also recorded at three levels of loudness (pianissimo, mezzo forte,
and fortissimo), while expressing each emotion. Acoustical analysis was performed during the vowel /o/ of the word
‘‘Love’’ to determine rate of vibrato, the extent of vibrato, and vibrato jitter.
Results. Vibrato parameters did not vary significantly when different emotions were expressed. However, vibrato jit-
ter and extent did vary significantly between different levels of loudness. Significant differences were also noted in both
rate and extent of vibrato when compared between sexes.
Conclusions. Expression of emotions does not affect the acoustic parameters of vibrato, although some parameters
are affected by loudness and gender.
Key Words: Vibrato–Emotion–Singing voice–Acoustical analysis.

INTRODUCTION characteristics.4–10 These physiological effects are reflected in


The same phrase may sound different to the listener when it is muscle tone of the respiratory system, vocal tract, and vocal
sung or spoken using different emotions. The information folds leading to perceived changes in vocal quality. According
coded in both singing and spoken language is not only coded to Scherer’s theory, stimuli are evaluated according to function-
in the words themselves, but also in a nonverbal component ex- ally defined criteria, such as ‘‘novelty,’’ ‘‘need,’’ and ‘‘coping
pressing the real or feigned emotional state of the speaker or potential.’’ The net result of the outcomes of all evaluation
singer. In the phonetic sciences, the vocal expression of emotion checks affects the nervous system and, in turn, the physiological
has been studied for quite some time, and the vocal parameters consequences of the nervous system’s response define the
of emotions are now relatively well understood.1 Studies dem- changes in voice characteristics that carry the emotional infor-
onstrate that listeners are able to reliably and accurately per- mation. For example, unpleasant stimuli cause ‘‘faucal and pha-
ceive emotions in human voices.2 Pittam and Scherer,2 and ryngeal constriction and tensing as well as shortening of the
Tischer3 noted considerable consistency regarding the acoustic vocal tract,’’ leading to stronger high-frequency resonances,
parameters differentiating anger, happiness, sadness, and fear. arise in the first formant, a fall in the second formant, narrow
Specific associations between different emotions and measures formant bandwidths, etc.10
of pitch, voice intensity level, and speech rate have also been To date, the vast majority of studies on emotional influences
elucidated. on human voice have focused on spoken word. Few studies ad-
Emotion produces involuntary physiological alterations in dress the singing voice; some of which have reported the effect
the autonomic and somatic nervous systems that change vocal of different emotions in acoustic characteristics of singing
voice quality,11–16 whereas other studies note changes in
breathing pattern changes during singing.17–20
Accepted for publication February 22, 2012.
The listening audience may be impressed by the beauty of
Presented at the Voice Foundation’s 40th Annual Symposium, June 6, 2011; Philadel- a singer’s voice, but may also be impressed by the manner in
phia, PA.
From the *Lakeshore Professional Voice Center, Lakeshore Ear, Nose, and Throat Cen-
which the singer conveys the emotional content of the song
ter, St. Clair Shores, Michigan; ySchool of Communication Sciences, University of Chile, lyrics or opera aria. Different emotional states are expressed
Santiago, Chile; zDepartment of Otolaryngology, School of Medicine, Wayne State Uni-
versity, Detroit, Michigan; xDepartment of Otolaryngology-HNS, University of Michigan
through changes in several acoustical parameters of voice,
Medical Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan; kPOH Regional Medical Center, Michigan State such as fundamental frequency (F0), intensity level, formant
University, East Lansing, Michigan; and the {School of Medicine, Wayne State University,
Detroit, Michigan.
frequencies, and spectrum. Based on the assumption that vi-
Address correspondence and reprint requests to Marco A. Guzman, Faculty of Medicine, brato is a modulation of some of these vocal parameters, one
School of Communication Sciences, University of Chile, Avenida Independencia 1027,
Santiago, Chile. E-mail: guzmanvoz@gmail.com
may speculate that the singer’s vibrato could be affected by
Journal of Voice, Vol. 26, No. 5, pp. 675.e5-675.e11 emotional expression.
0892-1997/$36.00
Ó 2012 The Voice Foundation
Professional opera singers in the Western classical tradition
doi:10.1016/j.jvoice.2012.02.006 usually sing with vibrato. There is general agreement in the
675.e6 Journal of Voice, Vol. 26, No. 5, 2012

to have a slightly faster mean vibrato rate than male singers.


Shipp et al26 reported that the average range for vibrato was
5.4 undulations/s for male singers and 5.9 undulations/s for fe-
male singers during sustained vowels.
The extent of frequency modulation is measured in two ways:
the semitone (ST), equal to a musical half note, and the cent,
with 100 cents being equal to one ST (100 cents ¼ 1 ST). The
extent of frequency modulation describes how large or small
FIGURE 1. Phrase ‘‘I love you.’’ the modulations are relative to average frequency or amplitude
during the vibrato cycle.25 The accepted range for extent of vi-
singing community that vibrato occurs naturally when the voice brato is a third of a tone to a ST,19 although Vennard27 in 1967
is produced with freedom and good technique.21–23 Profes- stated that it may be up to a tone. Seashore28 considered optimal
sional singers appear to ‘‘acquire’’ vibrato without actively extent to fall within the range of 30–70 cents, with 50 cents (50
striving to obtain vibrato. Vibrato seems to develop as voice cents ¼ 0.25 tone or 0.50 ST) being ideal. Extent of vibrato
training proceeds successfully.24 among classically trained singers in another study averaged
The study of vocal vibrato among classical singers has re- 1.20 ST.29 Current optimal ranges have been reported as
ceived attention from researchers in several fields, including 0.50–2.00 ST30 or 50–150 cents depending on pitch and
physiology, acoustics, voice pedagogy, and speech-language loudness.2,31
pathology. In 1932, Seashore23 provided one of the earliest Frequency modulation of F0 characterized by its rate and
comprehensive descriptions of vocal vibrato. His systematic re- extent is the more basic feature of vibrato production. This
search is cited to this day, as is his definition: ‘‘A good vibrato is modulation, in turn, causes amplitude modulations of the in-
a pulsation of pitch, usually accompanied with synchronous dividual spectrum partials,30,32 which result in a modulation
pulsations of loudness and timbre, of such extent and rate as of the overall amplitude. This amplitude modulation may be
to give a pleasing flexibility, tenderness, and richness to the both in phase and out of phase with the original frequency
tones.’’ modulation.
The acoustical properties of vibrato are characterized primar- Regularity refers to the steadiness or repeatability of the
ily by the rate, the extent, onset, and regularity of the modula- modulations.25 According to Robison et al,33 regularity is
tions in the frequency and amplitude of the voice. All these considered to best reflect the skill of the singer; the smoother
characteristics can be assumed to be perceptually relevant and the vibrato, the more beautiful the singer’s voice is perceived
are generally considered to be indicative of a singer’s vocal to be. It was reported that regularity of vibrato is the principal
skills.25 element influencing the perception of the quality of vibrato.34
The rate of vibrato describes how rapidly the modulations oc- The authors found there is a high negative correlation between
cur, and is expressed in hertz. According to Sundberg,25 typical vibrato jitter (measurement of regularity) and the vibrato
values range from 5 to 7 Hz. A rate slower than 5 undulations/s quality.
tends to sounds unacceptably slow, and vibrato rates exceeding The aim of this study was to determine the influence of
8 undulations/s tend to sound nervous.25 The rate of vibrato for emotional expression, loudness, and gender in acoustic pa-
a given individual singer seems to depend on a number of fac- rameters of vibrato in classically trained singers. We hypoth-
tors, such as gender and age.25 It is also suggested to depend on esize that emotion will influence the rate, extent, and
the emotional involvement of the singer.26 Female singers tend regularity.

FIGURE 2. Spectrogram showing the highest harmonic available that shows a clear and strong vibrato trace without any overlap from adjacent
harmonics.
Marco A. Guzman, et al Influence of Emotional Expression on Acoustic Parameters of Vibrato 675.e7

FIGURE 3. Isolated highest harmonic available to get values of rate, extent, and vibrato jitter.

METHODS anger, happiness, sadness, and neutral, or no emotion (neutral).


Participants The musical tonality of the phrase was adapted to each singer’s
This study was reviewed and approved by the St. John Hospital vocal classification (baritones and basses F3 (174 Hz.); tenors
Institutional Review Board. Informed consent was obtained A3 (220 Hz.); alto and mezzo-sopranos F4 (349 Hz.); and sopra-
from 29 adult classical singers (17 women and 12 men). The av- nos A4 (440 Hz.). Musical tonalities for each vocal classifica-
erage age of this subject set was 38 years, with a range of 23–62 tion were arbitrarily chosen. The criteria were chosen so that
years old. The average age for female singers was 36 years and the highest and longest note of the musical phrase (vowel /o/)
41 years for male singers. Regarding voice classification, nine would be at the beginning of the upper third of the tessitura.
singers were sopranos, 11 mezzo-sopranos, one alto, three This note was C for low voices and E for high voices. Partici-
tenors, three baritones, and two basses. Inclusion criteria for pants sang in three different loudness levels for each emotion:
this study included 1) no history of vocal pathology in the past pianissimo, mezzo forte, and fortissimo. Although loudness
year and 2) at least 5 years of classical singing training. Although level was subjectively controlled by singers and one of the au-
30 singers were recruited, one singer did not meet the inclusion thors (MAG), they were strongly encouraged to make a clear dif-
criteria. The average length of voice training of our subjects was ference between the three different loudness levels. Objective
9.2 years, with a range of 5–20 years. Participants were recruited control of this parameter was not used because this might inter-
from three different professional choirs and all of them were fere negatively in the expression of emotion during singing.
asked to undergo both flexible and rigid laryngoscopy videostro- Acoustic output was measured at a constant microphone-to-
boscopy to corroborate absence of voice pathology. mouth distance of 10 cm. using a professional condenser mi-
crophone (Perception 120) connected to the DAT recorder
Voice recordings (Marantz PMD 671) in IAC sound suite. Samples were re-
Subjects were allowed to warm up the voice for 10 minutes be- corded digitally at a sampling rate of 48.000 Hz with 16 bits
fore voice assessment. Warm-up exercises were freely chosen by per sample quantization.
each participant. One of the authors (MAG) provided individual Samples were edited with the software Goldwave, version
demonstrations and verbal descriptions of the required singing V5.57 (GoldWave Inc., St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada)
tasks. Each complete recording session was accomplished in ap- and acoustical analysis of vibrato parameters was performed
proximately 18 minutes with the following protocol. Each sub- using Voce Vista software (developed by Miller et al35 from
ject was asked to sing and interpret the phrase ‘‘I Love you’’ the Voice Research Lab at the University of Groningen,
(Figure 1) expressing five different basic emotions: tenderness, EGGs for Singers, Groningen, The Netherlands).
Computer analysis was performed during the vowel /o/ of the
word ‘‘Love’’ because this is the longest note in the selected

FIGURE 4. Vibrato rate (mean ± standard error) for the five emo-
tional states was unchanged by emotion (ANOVA, P ¼ 0.941; n ¼ 86 FIGURE 5. Vibrato jitter for the five emotional states also was un-
per emotion). changed by emotion (P ¼ 0.267).
675.e8 Journal of Voice, Vol. 26, No. 5, 2012

compared with the expression of no emotion or ‘‘neutral’’ in


addition to the emotions of tenderness, anger, happiness, and
sadness. Each recording was examined for differences with re-
spect to the vibrato parameters. No significant differences were
noted with respect to emotion in any parameter of vibrato
(Figures 4–6). This is best depicted in Table 1.

The impact of loudness on vibrato


FIGURE 6. Vibrato extent was unchanged during these five emo- Three seconds of the same phrase were sung at three levels of
tional states (P ¼ 0.591). intensity to assess the impact of loudness on vibrato. Partici-
pants sang at three levels of loudness, which included pianis-
musical phrase. The duration of the vowel /o/ was 4 seconds, simo, mezzo forte, and fortissimo. A significant difference
which is enough time to perform the analysis of acoustical pa- (P ¼ 0.024) was noted in vibrato jitter and extent (P ¼ 0.019)
rameters of vibrato (rate, extent, and regularity). Regularity was with respect to loudness. There was no significant difference
obtained using vibrato jitter measurement. noted with regard to rate of vibrato with varied loudness
An area of 3 seconds was selected from the middle part of the (Figures 7 and 8, Table 2).
edited vowel /o/ samples. The highest harmonic available that
shows a clear and strong vibrato trace without any overlap The impact of gender of vibrato
from adjacent harmonics was chosen to analyze (Figure 2). Lastly, gender was noted to significantly impact the rate and ex-
Twelve vibrato cycles from each sample were used to get values tent of vibrato (Figures 9 and 10, Table 3), whereas no gender
of rate, extent, and vibrato jitter (Figure 3). According to Miller differences were noted with regard to jitter.
et al35 (Voce Vista developers), a minimum of three or four vi-
brato cycles are required to measure vibrato rate and extent, and DISCUSSION
at least 10 vibrato cycles are required to measure vibrato jitter The present study was designed to determine the influence of
accurately. emotional expression, loudness, and gender on acoustic param-
Descriptive statistics were obtained for all variables. Data eters of vibrato in classically trained singers.
were processed using SPSS version 12.0 for Windows (IBM None of the vibrato parameters appear to be affected by the
Corp., Armonk, NY). The strength of the association between expression of emotion, although some were affected by loud-
the five different emotions: tenderness, anger, happiness, sad- ness and gender.
ness, and neutral and their impact on the rate of vibrato, extent Contrary to our data, other authors have proposed a relation-
of vibrato, and regularity of vibrato (vibrato jitter) were calcu- ship between emotional expression and acoustic parameters of
lated. Neutral emotion was collected as a reference. The possible vibrato. Shipp et al26 speculated that the emotional involvement
effect of gender and intensity level on acoustic parameters of of the singer may increase the vibrato rate. Later, Sundberg36
vibrato was also examined. Although a multivariate analysis of found further support for this speculation by comparing sung
covariance was attempted, some variables were not normally dis- sequences of sustained vowels (neutral) to the singing of songs
tributed, invalidating the underlying assumptions of this statistic. (where the singer expresses emotion). The mean vibrato rate for
Analysis of variance (ANOVA) with post hoc analysis to deter- the sustained tones averaged to 5.4 Hz, whereas that from the
mine differences between variables (such as loudness), or the real performance of a song averaged to 6.2 Hz or about 15%
nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis tests were used, as appropriate. higher.
Vibrato extent has also been related to emotional expression.
Sundberg36 analyzed one professional singer singing a set of
RESULTS music excerpts from the Lieder and opera repertoires in two de-
The impact of emotions on vibrato liberately contrasting fashions, as in a concert situation, and in
A 3-second snap shot was recorded during the sustained vowel an emotionally neutral way, as if the singer did not engage emo-
as described in the Methods section. This sustained vowel was tionally in the poem. The author found that in agitated excerpts,

TABLE 1.
Vibrato Characteristics Did Not Vary by Emotion
Emotion (n ¼ 86)

Vibrato Characteristic Neutral Tenderness Happiness Sadness Anger


Rate (Hz) 5.53 ± 0.85 5.57 ± 0.88 5.62 ± 0.93 5.61 ± 0.90 5.64 ± 0.93
Jitter (%) 4.7 ± 3.9 4.3 ± 2.2 4.7 ± 2.9 5.0 ± 3.4 4.9 ± 2.8
Extent (cents) 70.3 ± 28.0 73.2 ± 27.1 79.2 ± 31.1 72.0 ± 30.5 77.0 ± 32.1
Notes: None of the rate (ANOVA, P ¼ 0.941), jitter (P ¼ 0.267), or extent (P ¼ 0.591) were altered by emotion. Values are expressed as mean ± SD.
Marco A. Guzman, et al Influence of Emotional Expression on Acoustic Parameters of Vibrato 675.e9

FIGURE 7. Pianissimo is represented by the lightest bar, mezzo


forte in the moderately shaded bar, and fortissimo in the darkest bar. FIGURE 8. Vibrato extent differed for the loudness levels (ANOVA,
Vibrato jitter (mean ± standard error), shown in the left panel, differed P ¼ 0.019). In post hoc testing, this difference again was because of
across the loudness levels (ANOVA, *P ¼ 0.024; n ¼ 145). In post hoc a difference at pianissimo and fortissimo loudness levels
testing, this difference was because of the comparison of pianissimo (P ¼ 0.036). Mezzo forte was not different from either pianissimo or
and fortissimo (P ¼ 0.024). Right panel: Vibrato rate was unchanged fortissimo.
across these three levels of loudness (P ¼ 0.959). Values obtained at
mezzo forte were not different from pianissimo or fortissimo for either
tween 17 and 80 cents and in many cases it could be approxi-
jitter or rate.
mated by a linear function of time with a quite high
correlation. In another study using dynamic changes, Michel
the extent of the vibrato undulations was mostly considerably and Myers40 tried to verify this dependence of extent on loud-
greater in the expressive than in the neutral versions, whereas ness, by measurements on singing students who sang crescen-
in the nonagitated excerpts the two versions were more similar. dos and decrescendos at low, medium, and high pitches. At
This could suggest that the vibrato extent is used for expressive high pitches, most subjects exhibited a similar effect; during
purposes in singing. Scherer37 notes that anger and joy are as- a crescendo, the vibrato extent increased slightly with vocal
sociated with a high F0 variability, hypothesizing that F0 vari- loudness, from 0.6 or 0.7 STs in pianissimo to about 1.0 ST
ability in speech is translated into vibrato extent in singing. in fortissimo.
In our study, regularity (vibrato jitter) and extent of vibrato When reviewing the literature, we did not find any studies ad-
were affected by changes in loudness. The rate of vibrato re- dressing the relationship between loudness and regularity of vi-
mained the same. Specifically, we found that extent increased brato. The results of our study showed that there is a significant
and vibrato jitter decreased (more regularity) with increased decrease of vibrato jitter value with an increase in loudness. In
loudness. Others have demonstrated a similar effect of loudness other words, the louder the voice the more regular the vibrato
on extent. According to Winckel38 the extent of the vibrato un- modulations. This is not surprising as most singers would agree
dulations varies with loudness of phonation. This author pub- it is more difficult to sing softly than loudly. It requires more
lished data from a soprano who increased her vibrato extent breath support and laryngeal muscle control. Regularity is con-
from 1 to 1.5 STs when she raised her vocal loudness by sidered to best reflect the skill of the singer; the more regular
15 dB, keeping the pitch constant. Corroborating this result, and symmetric the vibrato, the more beautiful the singer’s voice
Bretos and Sundberg39 used recordings of performances by op- is perceived to be.33,34,41 Therefore, it is possible in subjects
era singers in a section of the aria with a crescendo in two sus- with a higher degree of training (more skillful singers), the re-
tained pitches. They found that the extent of vibrato varied lationship between regularity of vibrato and vocal loudness
systematically and tended to increase over time in both of the may be different to reflect a higher degree of laryngeal control.
tones that were analyzed. Thus, the vibrato extent was wider Orlikoff and Kahane,42 andJacob43 found that laryngeal jitter
with the increase in the sound level. The increase varied be- tended to decrease with increasing vocal intensity. Although

TABLE 2.
The Three Loudness Levels Did Not Affect Vibrato Characteristics Equally
Loudness (n ¼ 145)

Vibrato Characteristic Pianissimo Mezzo Forte Fortissimo P Value (ANOVA)


Rate (Hz) 5.61 ± 0.90 5.59 ± 0.91 5.58 ± 0.88 0.959
Jitter* (%) 5.2 ± 3.1 4.7 ± 3.5 4.3 ± 2.5 0.024
Extenty (Cents) 71.0 ± 25.5 72.0 ± 29.5 80.0 ± 33.4 0.019
Note: Values are expressed as mean ± SD.
* In post hoc testing, pianissimo differed from fortissimo (P ¼ 0.024).
y
In post hoc testing, pianissimo differed from fortissimo (P ¼ 0.036).
675.e10 Journal of Voice, Vol. 26, No. 5, 2012

TABLE 3.
Gender Altered Rate and Extent, But Not Jitter
Gender

Vibrato Male Female P Value


Characteristic (n ¼ 180) (n ¼ 254) (t Test)
Rate (Hz) 5.20 ± 0.74 5.87 ± 0.89 <0.0005
Jitter (%) 4.8 ± 2.5 4.7 ± 3.5 0.865
Extent (cents) 67.3 ± 26.2 79.3 ± 31.3 <0.0005

FIGURE 9. Women are depicted in the dark bars (n ¼ 254) and men of vibrato extent was 67 cents for male and 79 cents for female
in the light bars (n ¼ 180). As shown in the left panel, gender altered singers. This difference was statistically significant.
vibrato rate (t test, P < 0.0005) but not jitter (right panel; P ¼ 0.865). There are limitations to our study. Most importantly, we can
N refers to the number of measurements used for comparison, not only test acted or feigned emotions. We depend on the acting
the number of vocalists. ability of our subjects to express each emotion. Furthermore,
the participants are asked to express the emotion through a sim-
these studies were performed with vocal jitter (not vibrato jit- ple musical phrase with the words ‘‘I Love You.’’ Perhaps, lon-
ter), the acoustic principle is the same and therefore both, vi- ger passages or known operatic arias would demonstrate more
brato jitter and vocal jitter could be compared. In addition, it variability in the investigated parameters. Having each sing the
is important to note that in the present study none of the partic- same words and musical line, however, likely is more appropri-
ipants produced a pressed voice during fortissimo or breathy ate for data analysis. In any case, this is the first study involving
voice during pianissmo. Therefore, it could be possible to as- a large sample size with multiple vocal classifications to look at
sume that the regularity of the vibrato modulations is higher the effect of emotion on vibrato.
(low vibrato jitter) when there is more vocal adduction without
resulting in a pressed voice and regularity is lower (high vibrato
CONCLUSIONS
jitter) when there is less vocal adduction without resulting in
The expression of emotions does not appear to impact the
a breathy voice.
acoustic parameters of vibrato. Loudness effects vibrato extent
Gender significantly affected vibrato rate and extent in this
and jitter, whereas vibrato rate and extent are affected by
study. Female singers had higher rate values and greater extent.
gender.
Shipp et al26 reported that female singers tend to have a slightly
faster mean vibrato rate than male singers. Five male and five
Acknowledgments
female professional opera singers were analyzed. All subjects
Special thanks to Dr Ruth Savoy-Moore (St. John Hospital and
went through the same protocol singing sustained vowels.
Medical Center, Detroit, Michigan); Suzanne Acton (MOT
The average rate of vibrato was 5.4 Hz for male singers and
Opera House and Rackham Symphony Choir, Michigan);
5.9 Hz for female singers. In our study, the average rate of vi- Dr B. Augustus Hill (Brazeal Dennard Choral, Detroit, Mich-
brato was 5.2 Hz. for male singers and 5.8 Hz for female singers
igan); Dr B. Emery Stephens (Wayne State University, Detroit,
(slightly larger difference). Similar results were found in a study
Michigan); and Prof. John-Paul White (Oakland University,
with nonprofessional choir singers.44 Vibrato rate was higher
Michigan).
for women than men, suggesting that this difference between
genders is not necessarily related to the level of vocal training.
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