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Highlights • Vowel context has an effect on how well CPPS and SampEn discriminate pathological voices. • Descriptive statistics of CPPS and SampEn distributions can be more effective than the mean alone for detecting dysphonia. • CPPS and SampEn correlate strongly with the perceptual quality of breathiness, and with each other. Abstract This study investigates the effect of vowel context (excerpted from speech versus sustained) on two voice quality measures: the cepstral peak prominence smoothed (CPPS) and sample entropy (SampEn). Thirty-one dysphonic subjects with different types of organic dysphonia and thirty-one controls read a phonetically balanced text and phonated sustained [a:] vowels in comfortable pitch and loudness. All the [a:] vowels of the read text were excerpted by automatic speech recognition and phonetic (forced) alignment. CPPS and SampEn were calculated for all excerpted vowels of each subject, forming one distribution of CPPS and SampEn values per subject. The sustained vowels were analyzed using a 41 ms window, forming another distribution of CPPS and SampEn values per subject. Two speech-language pathologists performed a perceptual evaluation of the dysphonic subjects' voice quality from the recorded text. The power of discriminating the dysphonic group from the controls for SampEn and CPPS was assessed for the excerpted and sustained vowels with the Receiver-Operator Characteristic (ROC) analysis. The best discrimination in terms of Area Under Curve (AUC) for CPPS occurred using the mean of the excerpted vowel distributions (AUC=0.85) and for SampEn using the 95th percentile of the sustained vowel distributions (AUC=0.84). CPPS and SampEn were found to be negatively correlated, and the largest correlation was found between the corresponding 95th percentiles of their distributions (Pearson, r =−0.83, p < 10−3). A strong correlation was also found between the 95th percentile of SampEn distributions and the perceptual quality of breathiness (Pearson, r =0.83, p < 10−3). The results suggest that depending on the acoustic voice quality measure, sustained vowels can be more effective than excerpted vowels for detecting dysphonia. Additionally, when using CPPS or SampEn there is an advantage of using the measures' distributions rather than their average values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Although it has been shown in previous research (Orlikoff, 1991; Henrich et al, 2005; Kuang et al, 2014; Awan, 2015) that there exists a relationship between the electroglottogram (EGG) waveform and the acoustic signal, this relationship is still not fully understood. To investigate this relationship, the EGG and acoustic signals were measured for four male amateur choir singers who each produced eight consecutive tones of increasing and decreasing vocal intensity. The EGG signals were processed cycle-synchronously to obtain the discrete Fourier transform, and the data were used as an input to a clustering algorithm. The acoustic signal was analyzed in terms of sound pressure level (dB SPL) and fundamental frequency ( f o ) of vibration, and the results of both EGG and acoustic analysis were depicted on a two-dimensional plane with f o on the x -axis and SPL on the y -axis. All the subjects were seen to have a weak, near-sinusoidal EGG waveform in their lowest SPL range, whereas increase in SPL coincided with progressive enrichment in harmonic content of the EGG waveforms. The results of the clustering were additionally used to classify waveforms across subjects to enable inter-subject comparisons and assessment of individual strategies of exploring the f o -SPL dimensions. In these male subjects, the EGG waveform shape appeared to vary with SPL and to remain essentially constant with f o over one octave. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To determine if in singing there is an effect of lung volume on the electroglottographic waveform, and if so, how it varies over the voice range. Eight trained female singers sang the tune "Frère Jacques" in 18 conditions: three phonetic contexts, three dynamic levels, and high or low lung volume. Conditions were randomized and replicated. The audio and EGG signals were recorded in synchrony with signals tracking respiration and vertical larynx position. The first 10 Fourier descriptors of every EGG cycle were computed. These spectral data were clustered statistically, and the clusters were mapped by color into a voice range profile display, thus visualizing the EGG waveform changes under the influence of f o and SPL. The rank correlations and effect sizes of the relationships between relative lung volume and several adduction-related EGG wave shape metrics were similarly rendered on a color scale, in voice range profile-style ʻvoice maps.ʼ In most subjects, EGG waveforms varied considerably over the voice range. Within subjects, reproducibility was high, not only across the replications, but also across the phonetic contexts. The EGG waveforms were quite individual, as was the nature of the EGG shape variation across the range. EGG metrics were significantly correlated to changes in lung volume, in parts of the range of the song, and in most subjects. However, the effect sizes of the relative lung volume were generally much smaller than the effects of f o and SPL, and the relationships always varied, even changing polarity from one part of the range to another. Most subjects exhibited small, reproducible effects of the relative lung volume on the EGG waveform. Some hypothesized influences of tracheal pull were seen, mostly at the lowest SPLs. The effects were however highly variable, both across the moderately wide f o -SPL range and across subjects. Different singers may be applying different techniques and compensatory behaviors with changing lung volume. The outcomes emphasize the importance of making observations over a substantial part of the voice range, and not only of phonations sustained at a few fundamental frequencies and sound levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]