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Summary: In this study, members of a professional opera chorus were recorded using close microphones, while singing in both choral and solo modes. The analysis included computation of long-term average [...]

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2005.01.006 Byline: Jennifer M. Oates (a), Belinda Bain (a), Pamela Davis (a), Janice Chapman (a ), Dianna Kenny (a ) Abstract: Although considerable progress has been made in the development of acoustic and physiological measures of operatic singing voice, there is still no widely accepted objective tool for the evaluation of its multidimensional features. Auditory-perceptual evaluation, therefore, remains an important evaluation method for singing pedagogues, voice scientists, and clinicians who work with opera singers. Few investigators, however, have attempted to develop standard auditory-perceptual tools for evaluation of the operatic voice. This study aimed to pilot test a new auditory-perceptual rating instrument for operatic singing voice. Nine expert teachers of operatic singing used the instrument to rate the singing voices of 21 professional opera chorus artists from a national opera company. The findings showed that the instrument has good face validity, that it can be legitimately treated as a psychometrically sound scale, and that raters can use the scale consistently, both between and within judges. This new instrument, therefore, has the potential to allow opera singers, their teachers, voice care clinicians, and researchers to evaluate the important auditory-perceptual features of operatic voice quality. Author Affiliation: (a) From the School of Human Communication Sciences, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia (a ) Voice Consultant, London, UK (a ) Australian Centre for Applied Research in Music Performance, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia Article History: Accepted 20 January 2005 Article Note: (footnote) Supported by a grant from the Australian Research Council and Opera Australia.

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2004.07.002 Byline: Rachel Pinczower (a), Jennifer Oates (a ) Abstract: This study explored whether acoustic and perceptual features could distinguish comfortable from maximally projected acting voice. Thirteen professional male actors performed a passage from William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar twice. The first delivery used their comfortably projected voices, whereas the second used maximal projection. Acoustic measures, expert ratings, and self-ratings of projection and voice quality were investigated. Long-term average spectra (LTAS) and sound pressure level (SPL) analyses were conducted. Perceptual variables included projection, breathiness, roughness, and strain. When comparing the intensity difference between the higher (2-4 kHz) and lower (0-2 kHz) regions of the spectrum in voice samples from the maximal projected condition, LTAS analyses demonstrated increased acoustic energy in the higher part of the spectrum. This LTAS pattern was not as evident in the comfortable projected condition. These findings offered some preliminary support for the existence of an actor's formant (prominent peak in the upper part of the spectrum) during maximal projection. Author Affiliation: (a) From the Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia (a ) School of Human Communication Sciences, La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia Article History: Accepted 7 July 2004 Article Note: (miscellaneous) aMelbourne and a Victoria, Australia

Objective: To determine whether treatment effectiveness can be established for a range of vocal cord dysfunction (VCD) interventions in adolescents and adults. Design: A systematic review of the literature and risk of bias appraisal was completed using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Tools. Data were qualitatively synthesized in the broad intervention groups of glottic airway and respiratory retraining, pharmacological therapies, airway device therapies and psychological therapies. Data sources: Nine electronic databases, two clinical trial registries and the grey literature were searched from inception to September 2021 for articles on VCD interventions or equivalent terms. Eligibility criteria: Studies were included if they were randomized controlled trials, non‐randomized controlled trials, quasi‐experimental pre‐ and post‐test studies and within‐subject repeated measure designs, participants were 13 years or older, VCD was diagnosed using laryngoscopy or CT larynx, VCD intervention was provided and outcome measures reported on VCD symptoms. Results: The search yielded no randomized controlled trials. There were 17 quasi‐experimental studies that met the eligibility criteria, and these studies reported on glottic airway and respiratory retraining, botulinum toxin injections, inspiratory muscle strength training and amitriptyline; all were associated with VCD symptom reduction. In addition, 2 within‐subject repeated measure studies reported inspiratory muscle strength training and respiratory retraining to be effective in reducing symptoms in participants with exertional VCD. The included studies were reported in full‐text publications (11) and conference proceedings (8). There was a high risk of bias and low quality of evidence across all intervention areas. Conclusion: Glottic airway and respiratory retraining, botulinum toxin injections, low‐dose amitriptyline and inspiratory muscle strength training devices have been associated with symptom reduction in adults and adolescents with vocal cord dysfunction. Limited objective data exist to support the effectiveness of these interventions, and robust controlled trials are needed in this area. Systematic Review Registration: CRD42018092274 (PROSPERO). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of the study was to examine associations between speaking fundamental frequency (fos), vowel formant frequencies (F), listener perceptions of speaker gender, and vocal femininity--masculinity. Method: An exploratory study was undertaken to examine associations between fos, F1-F3, listener perceptions of speaker gender (nominal scale), and vocal femininity-masculinity (visual analog scale). For 379 speakers of Australian English aged 18-60 years, fos mode and F1-F3 (12 monophthongs; total of 36 Fs) were analyzed on a standard reading passage. Seventeen listeners rated speaker gender and vocal femininity--masculinity on randomized audio recordings of these speakers. Results: Model building using principal component analysis suggested the 36 Fs could be succinctly reduced to seven principal components (PCs). Generalized structural equation modeling (with the seven PCs of F and fos as predictors) suggested that only F2 and fos predicted listener perceptions of speaker gender (male, female, unable to decide). However, listener perceptions of vocal femininity--masculinity behaved differently and were predicted by F1, F3, and the contrast between monophthongs at the extremities of the F1 acoustic vowel space, in addition to F2 and fos. Furthermore, listeners' perceptions of speaker gender also influenced ratings of vocal femininity-- masculinity substantially. Conclusion: Adjusted odds ratios highlighted the substantially larger contribution of F to listener perceptions of speaker gender and vocal femininity--masculinity relative to fos than has previously been reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Britten on Music. Edited by Paul Kildea. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003. [xv, 448 p. ISBN0-19-816714-8. $49.95.] Illustrations, indexes. Britten on Music, the first published volume of Britten's writings, aims [...]

Background: Fibreoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES) is an imaging technique used by speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and some other health professionals to assess swallowing. Objectives: The primary aim was to gain an insight into FEES practices in Australia by characterising SLPs who use FEES and identifying areas of consistency and variation in practice. The secondary aim was to explore factors associated with variation in practice. Method: Cross-sectional survey methodology was used. The link to a web-based survey was e-mailed to 351 SLPs who practised in adult dysphagia. Results: The participation rate for the study was 18.8% (n = 66). Twenty-two SLPs (38.6%) used FEES. These SLPs represented a cross-section of workplace settings, caseloads, clinical and training experiences. Consistency and variation in FEES procedural and assessment practices were identified. Some procedural aspects of FEES varied according to whether a medical practitioner was present, type of FEES training, and number of FEES conducted per month. Conclusion: This research represents a benchmark in the knowledge of how FEES is used in Australia. Despite the small number of participants, the findings provide a foundation from which future research questions can be generated. More extensive examination of the use of FEES by SLPs is warranted. Further research is also required to establish methods for attaining and maintaining competency and to achieve consensus on which aspects of swallowing are assessed when using FEES and how the examination should be conducted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Queens College Music Library is pleased to announce that all 320 tapes of K. Robert Schwarz's interviews with prominent musicians of the twentieth century are now available on compact [...]

Exploratory learning is recognized as a developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood education. During exploration, exposure to new things guides children in the acquisition of knowledge, while interactions with a range of familiar and unfamiliar artifacts can support developmental integration. Exploratory activity may occur spontaneously at any time, but it can also be structured and guided to achieve specific curricular and developmental goals. This paper explores preschool children's interactions during semi-structured exploratory activities in three different conditions. Thirty-five 4- to 5-year-old children, from six preschool classrooms, were randomly assigned to three different conditions. Each condition included the same set of 13 different artifacts that were either artistically rendered in black ink on white paper (sketch condition), included in a children's story book (book condition), or had the real artifact itself (tangible object condition). Children's exploration and interactions were videotaped and analyzed to see which, if any, of the three conditions would appear to stimulate and encourage early engineering thinking the most. Initial hypothesis was that the tangible object condition would appear to be the most beneficial. Findings showed that this condition elicited the longest discussions and interactions with the artifacts, and it was also the condition during which children were demonstrating more knowledge and ideas with regard to possible functions of the artifacts. Regarding whether there was a condition that stimulated more interest toward specific artifacts, no clear pattern among the three conditions appeared. Implications are discussed in terms of preschool Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and child development., Introduction We are interested in understanding engineering thinking as it is revealed in young children's activities and interactions with the world of artifacts. Engineering thinking is a new area of […]