From: "Lloyd W. Hanson"
Subject: Re: singer's formant (that pinging thing)
To: VOCALIST <vocalist>
Send reply to: VOCALIST <vocalist>

Dear Jon Schweinfurth, MD and List:

Your recent post regarding vowel formants and the singer's formant
contains information that, in my opinion and study, is not in line
with the source material from Dr. Titze and others.

The singers formant exists only in the area of about 2800-3200 Hrz.
The most accepted explanation for its occurrence is that is produced
in the epilaryngeal region just below the pharynx. The relationship
of this small resonator and its opening into the lower pharynx are
critical factors.

Titze (Principle of Voice Production, pages 239-240) discusses this
phenomenon and indicates that the exact frequency produced is
determined by the effective acoustic length of the small resonator.
He has written articles in the NATS Journal which offer traditional
vocal training procedures that appear to help the singer develop this
ring in the voice by extending slightly the operational length of
this resonator.

You also indicated that "the formant frequencies for the /i/ vowel
was highest at every formant". Everything I have read and seen in
spectrograph displays indicates that the /i/ vowel has a lower first
formant and a higher second formant than other vowels. I have seen
nothing that indicates that both its first and second formants are
highest, as you have stated.

Perhaps you were only considering the display of formant frequencies
found in female voices when singing in their highest range. At these
frequencies the first and second formants and higher formants tend to
cluster and Sundberg has suggested that this cluster my be the
effective equivalent of the singers formant for this special case.

Lloyd W. Hanson, DMA
Professor of Voice, Pedagogy
School of Performing Arts
Northern Arizona University
Flagstaff, AZ 86011