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Men and women speakers were recorded while producing sustained vowels at comfortable and loud levels. Following comfortable speech, loud levels were produced in three different conditions: first without specific instruction (UL); then maintaining the same pitch as the comfortable level (PL); and finally, keeping both pitch and lip articulation constant (PAL). The sound pressure level, the fundamental frequency ([Formula: see text]), the first two vocal tract resonances (R1 and R2), the lip geometry, and the larynx height were measured. For women, a closer proximity of R1 to its nearest harmonic, [Formula: see text], was observed in UL. However, no such increased proximity was found in PL, when speakers could, and did, hyper-articulate. Also, no increased proximity was observed in PAL, when lip articulation was constrained. No significant increase in R1:[Formula: see text] proximity was observed in men in any of the three loud conditions. Finally, R2 was not observed significantly closer to a voice harmonic in loud speech, for neither men nor women.

Objectives The study aims to better understand the rhythmic abilities of people who stutter and to identify which processes potentially are impaired in this population: (1) beat perception and reproduction; (2) the execution of movements, in particular their initiation; (3) sensorimotor integration. Material and method Finger tapping behavior of 16 adults who stutter (PWS) was compared with that of 16 matching controls (PNS) in five rhythmic tasks of various complexity: three synchronization tasks ― a simple 1:1 isochronous pattern, a complex non-isochronous pattern, and a 4 tap:1 beat isochronous pattern ―, a reaction task to an aperiodic and unpredictable pattern, and a reproduction task of an isochronous pattern after passively listening. Results PWS were able to reproduce an isochronous pattern on their own, without external auditory stimuli, with similar accuracy as PNS, but with increased variability. This group difference in variability was observed immediately after passive listening, without prior motor engagement, and was not enhanced or reduced after several seconds of tapping. Although PWS showed increased tapping variability in the reproduction task as well as in synchronization tasks, this timing variability did not correlate significantly with the variability in reaction times or tapping force. Compared to PNS, PWS exhibited larger negative mean asynchronies, and increased synchronization variability in synchronization tasks. These group differences were not affected by beat hierarchy (i.e., “strong” vs. “weak” beats), pattern complexity (non-isochronous vs. isochronous) or presence versus absence of external auditory stimulus (1:1 vs. 1:4 isochronous pattern). Differences between PWS and PNS were not enhanced or reduced with sensorimotor learning, over the first taps of a synchronization task. Conclusion Our observations support the hypothesis of a deficit in neuronal oscillators coupling in production, but not in perception, of rhythmic patterns, and a larger delay in multi-modal feedback processing for PWS.

International audience; In this article, we propose a new method of sound transformation based on control parameters that are intuitive and relevant for musicians. This method uses a variational autoencoder (VAE) model that is first trained in an unsupervised manner on a large dataset of synthesizer sounds. Then, a perceptual regularization term is added to the loss function to be optimized, and a supervised fine-tuning of the model is carried out using a small subset of perceptually labeled sounds. The labels were obtained from a perceptual test of Verbal Attribute Magnitude Estimation in which listeners rated this training sound dataset along eight perceptual dimensions (French equivalents of metallic, warm, breathy, vibrating, percussive, resonating, evolving, aggressive). These dimensions were identified as relevant for the description of synthesizer sounds in a first Free Verbalization test. The resulting VAE model was evaluated by objective reconstruction measures and a perceptual test. Both showed that the model was able, to a certain extent, to capture the acoustic properties of most of the perceptual dimensions and to transform sound timbre along at least two of them (aggressive and vibrating) in a perceptually relevant manner. Moreover, it was able to generalize to unseen samples even though a small set of labeled sounds was used.

Singing combines speech and music—two activities common to most human cultures. It involves precise, coordinated control of breath, vocal folds, vocal tract, and their interactions. This chapter first introduces the interaction between laryngeal airflow and vocal-fold vibration that produces voiced sounds. It then discusses laryngeal mechanisms or registers, and how nonlinearities in the larynx produce the harmonically rich voice spectrum. Acoustical properties of the vocal tract and its resonances filter the voice spectrum, but also affect vocal fold vibration. Finally, it discusses how singers adjust their tracts using resonance tuning to produce louder, more stable voice with less effort.

International audience; Singing combines speech and music – two activities common and perhaps fundamental to almost all human cultures. Singing involves the coordinated, precise and subtle control of breath, sound production in the larynx, articulation of the vocal tract – and their interactions. This chapter begins with an introduction to the fundamental process of phonation: the interaction between laryngeal airflow and the vibration of the vocal folds and nearby tissues that give rise to voiced sounds. Different biomechanical configurations of the larynx, known as laryngeal mechanisms or laryngeal registers, induce various modes of vibration and help to cover the wide range of frequencies associated with singing. The nonlinearity of their vibration produces the harmonic richness of the voice spectrum. The chapter then introduces the acoustical properties of the vocal tract and its resonances, which act as a filter that selectively enhances the output power of some of the frequencies in the voice. It then discusses the interactions between the vocal folds and the acoustic waves in the vocal tract. Finally, it discusses singing and the techniques of resonance tuning: the ways whereby singers adjust their tract resonances to produce a louder, sometimes more stable voice with less effort.

Summary Objectives The study aimed to describe the average response of 22 female teachers to vocal fatigue during a workday, to examine their inter- and intra-subject variability, and to establish a typology of different responses to vocal fatigue. Methods Fundamental frequency (F0), harmonics-to-noise ratio (HNR), jitter, and shimmer were measured for each participant on sustained vowels at the beginning and at the end of the workday, on three different times of the school year. Results Group average variations during the workday showed a significant increase in F0 and HNR, as well as a significant decrease in jitter and shimmer. However, these variations also showed an important inter- and intra-subject variability. Based on the variation of acoustic parameters during the workday, three distinct responses to vocal fatigue were characterized. The first type is characterized by a greater F0 increase during the day, interpreted as an adequate and common adaptation to vocal fatigue. The second type is characterized by a greater increase in HNR during the day, and a greater decrease in jitter and shimmer, interpreted as a hyperfunctional adaptation to vocal fatigue. The third type is characterized by a greater decrease in F0 and HNR, and a greater increase in jitter and shimmer, suggesting vocal fold closure defaults, inflammation or even phonotrauma following the workday. Conclusions The observed variety of responses to vocal fatigue emphasizes the necessity to study this phenomenon idiosyncratically and to target different types of behaviors in order to develop tailored prevention and treatment methods.

Inner speech has been shown to vary in form along several dimensions. Along condensation, condensed inner speech forms have been described, that are supposed to be deprived of acoustic, phonological and even syntactic qualities. Expanded forms, on the other extreme, display articulatory and auditory properties. Along dialogality, inner speech can be monologal, when we engage in internal soliloquy, or dialogal, when we recall past conversations or imagine future dialogs involving our own voice as well as that of others addressing us. Along intentionality, it can be intentional (when we deliberately rehearse material in short-term memory) or it can arise unintentionally (during mind wandering). We introduce the ConDialInt model, a neurocognitive predictive control model of inner speech that accounts for its varieties along these three dimensions. ConDialInt spells out the condensation dimension by including inhibitory control at the conceptualization, formulation or articulatory planning stage. It accounts for dialogality, by assuming internal model adaptations and by speculating on neural processes underlying perspective switching. It explains the differences between intentional and spontaneous varieties in terms of monitoring. We present an fMRI study in which we probed varieties of inner speech along dialogality and intentionality, to examine the validity of the neuroanatomical correlates posited in ConDialInt. Condensation was also informally tackled. Our data support the hypothesis that expanded inner speech recruits speech production processes down to articulatory planning, resulting in a predicted signal, the inner voice, with auditory qualities. Along dialogality, covertly using an avatar’s voice resulted in the activation of right hemisphere homologs of the regions involved in internal own-voice soliloquy and in reduced cerebellar activation, consistent with internal model adaptation. Switching from first-person to third-person perspective resulted in activations in precuneus and parietal lobules. Along intentionality, compared with intentional inner speech, mind wandering with inner speech episodes was associated with greater bilateral inferior frontal activation and decreased activation in left temporal regions. This is consistent with the reported subjective evanescence and presumably reflects condensation processes. Our results provide neuroanatomical evidence compatible with predictive control and in favor of the assumptions made in the ConDialInt model.

International audience; This study investigates the hypothesis that speakers make active use of the visual modality in production to improve their speech intelligibility in noisy conditions. Six native speakers of Canadian French produced speech in quiet conditions and in 85 dB of babble noise, in three situations: interacting face-to-face with the experimenter (AV), using the auditory modality only (AO), or reading aloud (NI, no interaction). The audio signal was recorded with the three-dimensional movements of their lips and tongue, using electromagnetic articulography. All the speakers reacted similarly to the presence vs absence of communicative interaction, showing significant speech modifications with noise exposure in both interactive and non-interactive conditions, not only for parameters directly related to voice intensity or for lip movements (very visible) but also for tongue movements (less visible); greater adaptation was observed in interactive conditions, though. However, speakers reacted differently to the availability or unavailability of visual information: only four speakers enhanced their visible articulatory movements more in the AV condition. These results support the idea that the Lombard effect is at least partly a listener-oriented adaptation. However, to clarify their speech in noisy conditions, only some speakers appear to make active use of the visual modality.

Clarification and correction of segment cues: a pilot study on French stop consonants. This study deals with the question of the voicing feature and the articulation place of French stop consonants, using a new paradigm of segment correction. It aims at testing 1) which acoustic cues speakers enhance when they are misunderstood by an interlocutor, and 2) whether this enhancement is always the same or depends on the misperceived consonant. One speaker played with the experimenter a game designed to simulate natural situations of misunderstanding. The speakers showed several modifications of her stop consonants in clear speech and in situations of segment corrections (duration of the occlusion phase, VOT, burst intensity, …). However, hardly no descriptor was modified in a different way, depending on the perceptual error made by the interlocutor (on the voicing feature or on the articulation place)., Cette étude aborde la question du trait de voisement et de la place d'articulation des consonnes occlusives du Français à l'aide d'un nouveau paradigme de correction segmentale, de façon à tester 1) quels indices de ces consonnes des locuteurs renforcent lorsqu'ils ont été mal compris par leur interlocuteur, et 2) si le renforcement de ces indices est toujours le même ou dépend de la consonne entendue à la place. Une locutrice jouait avec l'expérimentatrice à un jeu conçu pour simuler des situations d'incompréhension assez naturelles. La locutrice a montré plusieurs modifications de ses consonnes occlusives en parole claire et en situation de correction d'un mot mal compris (durée de la phase d'occlusion, VOT, intensité du bruit, …). En revanche, quasiment aucun descripteur n'a été modifié de façon différente en fonction du type d'erreur perceptive commise par l'interlocutrice (portant sur le trait de voisement ou sur le lieu d'articulation).

Our goal is to show the interest of distinguishing several phases in the gesture underlying the production of labial consonants, including during the occlusion, where lips are essentially static, in order to better understand their control. Four adult speakers were recorded, while producing logatoms including the consonants /p/ and /b/, followed by 3 vowels (/a/, /i/ or /u/) and with increasing levels of articulatory effort. Five surface EMG signals targeting five orofacial muscles involved in several lip movements were recorded simultaneously with a video of the lips. The speech gestures were segmented into four phases, based on the interlabial distance. Similar muscle activation patterns were observed for the four speakers, regardless of the consonant (/p/ or /b/) and the vowel context. Finally, the activities of the lower lip depressor and the mentalis muscles in some movement phases appear to be reliable descriptors of articulatory effort., Notre objectif est de montrer l'intérêt d'une d'analyse temporelle détaillée des gestes de production des consonnes occlusives labiales, en distinguant différentes phases, y inclus durant l'occlusion où les lèvres sont immobiles. Quatre adultes ont été enregistrés pour cette étude. Il leur était demandé de produire des logatomes contenant les plosives /p/ et /b/, dans différents contextes vocaliques (/a/, /i/, /u/) et avec différents niveaux d'effort articulatoire. Les signaux EMG de surface de cinq muscles péri-oraux ont été acquis simultanément avec une vidéo des lèvres. Les mouvements de parole ont été segmentés en quatre phases à l'aide du signal cinématique de distance interlabiale. Des patrons d'activation musculaire semblables ont été observés chez les quatre locuteurs, quels que soient la consonne et le contexte vocalique. Enfin, les activités du muscle dépresseur de la lèvre inférieure et du mentalis dans certaines phases du mouvement semblent être de bons descripteurs de l'effort articulatoire.

International audience; Six male music theatre singers were recorded in three different voice qualities: legit and two types of belt (‘chesty’ and ‘twangy’), on two vowels ([e] and [ɔ]), at four increasing pitches in the upper limit of each singer’s belt range (~250-440 Hz). The audio signal, the electroglottographic (EGG) signal and the vocal tract impedance were all measured simultaneously. Voice samples were analyzed and then evaluated perceptually by sixteen expert listeners. The three qualities were produced with significant differences at the physiological, acoustical and perceptual levels: Singers produced belt qualities with a higher EGG contact quotient (CQEGG) and greater contacting speed quotient (Qcs), greater sound pressure level (SPL) and energy above 1kHz (alpha ratio), and with higher frequencies of the first two vocal tract resonances (fR1, fR2), especially in the upper pitch range when compared to legit. Singers produced the chesty belt quality with higher CQEGG, Qcs and SPL values and lower alpha ratios over the whole belt range, and with higher fR1 at the higher pitch range when compared to twangy belt. Consistent tuning of fR1 to the second voice harmonic (2f0) was observed in all three qualities and for both vowels. Expert listeners tended to identify all qualities based on the same acoustical and physiological variations as those observed in the singers’ intended qualities.

PurposeTo examine the influence of sound immersion techniques and speech production tasks on speech adaptation in noise.MethodIn Experiment 1, we compared the modification of speakers' perception and speech production in noise when noise is played into headphones (with and without additional self-monitoring feedback) or over loudspeakers. We also examined how this sound immersion effect depends on noise type (broadband or cocktail party) and level (from 62 to 86dB SPL). In Experiment 2, we compared the modification of acoustic and lip articulatory parameters in noise when speakers interact or not with a speech partner.ResultsSpeech modifications in noise were greater when cocktail party noise was played in headphones than over loudspeakers. Such an effect was less noticeable in broadband noise. Adding a self-monitoring feedback into headphones reduced this effect but did not completely compensate for it. Speech modifications in noise were greater in interactive situation and concerned parameters that may not be related to voice intensity.ConclusionsThe results support the idea that the Lombard effect is both a communicative adaptation and an automatic regulation of vocal intensity. The influence of auditory and communicative factors has some methodological implications on the choice of appropriate paradigms to study the Lombard effect.

Speech output technology is finding widespread application, including in scenarios where intelligibility might be compromised at least for some listeners by adverse conditions. Unlike most current algorithms, talkers continually adapt their speech patterns as a response to the immediate context of spoken communication, where the type of interlocutor and the environment are the dominant situational factors influencing speech production. Observations of talker behaviour can motivate the design of more robust speech output algorithms. Starting with a listener-oriented categorisation of possible goals for speech modification, this review article summarises the extensive set of behavioural findings related to human speech modification, identifies which factors appear to be beneficial, and goes on to examine previous computational attempts to improve intelligibility in noise. The review concludes by tabulating 46 speech modifications, many of which have yet to be perceptually or algorithmically evaluated. Consequently, the review provides a roadmap for future work in improving the robustness of speech output. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

International audience; What makes speech produced in the presence of noise (Lombard speech) more intelligible than conversational speech produced in quiet conditions? This study investigates the hypothesis that speakers modify their speech in the presence of noise in such a way that acoustic contrasts between their speech and the background noise are enhanced, which would improve speech audibility. Ten French speakers were recorded while playing an interactive game first in quiet condition, then in two types of noisy conditions with different spectral characteristics: a broadband noise (BB) and a cocktail-party noise (CKTL), both played over loudspeakers at 86 dB SPL. Similarly to (Lu and Cooke, 2009b), our results suggest no systematic "active" adaptation of the whole speech spectrum or vocal intensity to the spectral characteristics of the ambient noise. Regardless of the type of noise, the gender or the type of speech segment, the primary strategy was to speak louder in noise, with a greater adaptation in BB noise and an emphasis on vowels rather than any type of consonants. Active strategies were evidenced, but were subtle and of second order to the primary strategy of speaking louder: for each gender, fundamental frequency (f0) and first formant frequency (F1) were modified in cocktail-party noise in a way that optimized the release in energetic masking induced by this type of noise. Furthermore, speakers showed two additional modifications as compared to shouted speech, which therefore cannot be interpreted in terms of vocal effort only: they enhanced the modulation of their speech in f0 and vocal intensity and they boosted their speech spectrum specifically around 3 kHz, in the region of maximum ear sensitivity associated with the actor's or singer's formant.

International audience; Auditory and somatosensory systems play a key role in speech motor control. In the act of speaking, segmental speech movements are programmed to reach phonemic sensory goals, which in turn are used to estimate actual sensory feedback in order to further control production. The adult's tendency to automatically imitate a number of acoustic-phonetic characteristics in another speaker's speech however suggests that speech production not only relies on the intended phonemic sensory goals and actual sensory feedback but also on the processing of external speech inputs. These online adaptive changes in speech production, or phonetic convergence effects, are thought to facilitate conversational exchange by contributing to setting a common perceptuo-motor ground between the speaker and the listener. In line with previous studies on phonetic convergence, we here demonstrate, in a non-interactive situation of communication, online unintentional and voluntary imitative changes in relevant acoustic features of acoustic vowel targets (fundamental and first formant frequencies) during speech production and imitation. In addition, perceptuo-motor recalibration processes, or after-effects, occurred not only after vowel production and imitation but also after auditory categorization of the acoustic vowel targets. Altogether, these findings demonstrate adaptive plasticity of phonemic sensory-motor goals and suggest that, apart from sensory-motor knowledge, speech production continuously draws on perceptual learning from the external speech environment.

International audience; Over the range 200 to 2000 Hz, the fundamental frequency f0 of women's singing voices covers the range of the first two resonances (R1 and R2) of the vocal tract. This allows diverse techniques of resonance tuning. Resonances were measured using broadband excitation at their lips. A commonly noted strategy, used by sopranos, and some altos, is to tune R1 close to the fundamental frequency f0 (R1:f0 tuning) once f0 approached the value of R1 of that vowel in speech. At extremely high pitch, sopranos could no longer increase R1 sufficiently and switched from R1:f0 to R2:f0 tuning. At lower pitch many singers of various singing styles found it advantageous to use R1:2f0 tuning Additionally, many sopranos employed R2:2f0 tuning over some of their range, often simultaneously with R1:f0 tuning.

International audience; For most singers, being able to sing more loudly, or to sing with less effort and strain, or a combination of both is a desirable goal. One way of achieving increased acoustic efficiency is to tune the resonances of the vocal tract to the fundamental frequency of the note sung and/ or to one of its higher harmonics. To what extent do they do that? This presentation reviews recent studies by the authors on resonance tuning in singing. We use a technique that measures the acoustic impedance spectrum of the tract (roughly speaking its frequency response) during singing. The most widespread tuning strategy is to match the first vocal tract resonance to the fundamental of the note sung, a technique practiced by many sopranos, whether trained or not, and also by lower voices on closed vowels towards the top of their ranges. Tuning of the first resonance to the second harmonic is practised by altos in belting and in Bulgarian singing. Much less consistently, male singers sometimes tune that resonance to the second or higher harmonics. In the extremely high range, above sopranos' high C, the range of the first resonance is exceeded. Of the singers we have studied who sing well above this pitch, all have tuned the second resonance of the tract close to the fundamental sung.

International audience; The high soprano range was investigated by acoustic and electroglottographic measurements of 12 sopranos and high-speed endoscopy of one of these. A single laryngeal transition was observed on glissandi above the primo passaggio. It supports the existence of two distinct laryngeal mechanisms in the high soprano range: M2 and M3, underlying head and whistle registers. The laryngeal transition occurred gradually over several tones within the interval D#5-D6. It occurred over a wider range and was completed at a higher pitch for trained than untrained sopranos. The upper limit of the laryngeal transition during glissandi was accompanied by pitch jumps or instabilities, but, for most singers, it did not coincide with the upper limit of R1:f0 tuning (i.e., tuning the first resonance to the fundamental frequency). However, pitch jumps could also be associated with changes in resonance tuning. Four singers demonstrated an overlap range over which they could sing with a full head or fluty resonant quality. Glottal behaviors underlying these two qualities were similar to the M2 and M3 mechanisms respectively. Pitch jumps and discontinuous glottal and spectral changes characteristic of a M2-M3 laryngeal transition were observed on decrescendi produced within this overlap range.

International audience; Vocal-tract resonance frequencies are commonly estimated on the voiced sound spectrum by means of formant-estimation techniques. Yet, the main limitation of these techniques is the spectral spacing between voice harmonics, which gets broader when pitch increases (Arroabarren and Carlosena, 2006). This limitation is problematic for assessing singing productions, for which first harmonic may easily reach the first-formant frequency range (Joliveau et al., 2004). Recent methods developed for impedance measurement on musical instruments have successfully been applied to speech and singing (Epps et al., 1997; Joliveau et al., 2004; Henrich et al., 2006; Garnier et al., 2010; Henrich et al., 2011; Bourne & Garnier, in press). We will present the input-impedance technique, and its application to measure vocal-tract resonances in singing. We shall show measurements of the different resonance tuning strategies used by singers with different ranges and in different styles. The most widespread of these is tuning the first vocal tract resonance to the fundamental of the note sung, a technique practiced by many sopranos, whether trained or not, and also by lower voices on closed vowels at that top of their ranges. Tuning of the first resonance to the second harmonic is practiced by altos in belting and in Bulgarian singing. Much less consistently, male singers sometimes tune that resonance to the second or higher harmonics. In the extremely high range, above sopranos' high C, the range of the first resonance is exceeded. Of the singers we have studied who sing well above this pitch, all have tuned the second resonance of the tract close to the fundamental sung.

International audience; The upper limit of the useful range for many sopranos is around C6 or 'high C'. Others can extend their range well above this. This study investigated how sopranos use the resonances of their vocal tracts in the high and very high ranges. Twelve sopranos (4 non experts, 4 advanced, 4 professionals) produced glissandi up to their highest note (from 1000 to 2300 Hz). Later, they sustained pitches on [a] vowels, from A4 (~440 Hz) to their highest sustainable note, while the frequencies (R1 and R2) of the first two vocal tract resonances were measured by broadband excitation at the mouth. Adjustment of R1 near to f0 (R1:f0 tuning) was observed below C6 for both expert and nonexpert singers. Experts began this tuning at lower pitches. Some singers also exhibited R2:2f0 adjustment over the lower part of the R1:f0 tuning range. In the very high range (above C6), the singers used one of two strategies. Some extended the R1:f0 tuning as far as E6 or F#6. Others adjusted R2 near f0 over the highest pitch range (up to D7). The limit of the sustainable range corresponded to the end of these resonance tunings. This suggests that the upper limit of their useful singing range may be determined by the upper limit of a resonance tuning mechanism. Further, it seems likely that, for some sopranos, learning R2:f0 tuning might extend the practical upper range.

Twelve sopranos with different levels of expertise (4 nonexperts, 4 advanced, 4 professionals) sustained pitches from A4 ( approximately 440 Hz) to their highest pitch (ranging from C6 to D7, i.e., from approximately 1000 to 2300 Hz). The frequencies of their first two vocal tract resonances (R1 and R2) were measured by broadband excitation at the mouth and compared with the voice harmonics (f(0), 2f(0), etc). Lip articulation was measured from simultaneous video recordings. Adjustment of R1 near to f(0) (R1:f(0) tuning) was observed below C6 to D6 ( approximately 1000-1200 Hz) for both expert and non-expert singers. Experts began this tuning at lower pitches. Some singers combine R2:2f(0) adjustment with R1:f(0) tuning. Some singers increased mouth area with increasing pitch over the whole R1:f(0) tuning range. Other singers showed this strategy on the higher part of the R1:f(0) range only, and used another, as yet unidentified, articulatory strategy on the lower part. To achieve very high pitches, some singers extended the range of R1:f(0) tuning as far as E6 to F#6 ( approximately 1300-1500 Hz) while others adjusted R2 near f(0) over the highest pitch range.

International audience; Twelve sopranos (4 non experts, 4 advanced, 4 professionals) produced glissandi up to their highest note (from 1000 to 2300 Hz). Later, they sustained pitches on [a] vowels, from A4 (~440 Hz) to their highest sustainable note. Between C5 and G5, all singers demonstrated a significant decrease in amplitude of the electroglottograph signal with increasing pitch, together with a change in waveform. This modification in glottal contact was either continuous, over a few tones range, or discontinuous, accompanied on glissandi by a pitch jump. Two singers could vary the pitch of this transition and therefore presented an overlap range over which they could produce either a 'full head' or a 'fluty' quality. Transition from one quality to the other on the same note was discontinuous and accompanied by a pitch jump. No other significant modification in glottal contact was observed at higher pitch. The frequencies (R1 and R2) of the first two vocal tract resonances were measured by broadband excitation at the mouth. Adjustment of R1 near to f0 (R1:f0 tuning) was observed below C6 for both expert and non-expert singers. Experts began this tuning at lower pitches. Some singers also exhibited R2:2f0 adjustment over the lower part of the R1:f0 tuning range. In the very high range (above C6), the singers used one of two strategies. Some extended the R1:f0 tuning as far as E6 or F#6. Others adjusted R2 near f0 over the highest pitch range (up to D7). The limit of the sustainable range corresponded to the end of these resonance tunings. This strongly suggests that the upper limit of their useful singing range was determined by the upper limit of one or other resonance tuning mechanism. Further, it seems likely that learning R2:f0 tuning might extend the practical upper range of some sopranos.

International audience; In both the voice and musical wind instruments, a valve (vocal folds, lips or reed) lies between an upstream and downstream duct: trachea and vocal tract for the voice, vocal tract and bore for the instrument. Examining the structural similarities and functional differences gives insight into their operation and the duct-valve interactions. In speech and singing, vocal tract resonances usually determine the spectral envelope, and usually have a smaller influence on the operating frequency. The resonances are important not only for the phonemic information they produce, but also because of their contribution to voice timbre, loudness and efficiency. The role of the tract resonances is usually different in brass and some woodwind instruments, where they modify and to some extent compete or collaborate with resonances of the instrument to control the vibration of a reed or the player's lips, and/or the spectrum of air flow into the instrument. We give a brief overview of oscillator mechanisms and vocal tract acoustics. We discuss recent and current research on how the acoustical resonances of the vocal tract are involved in singing and the playing of musical wind instruments. Finally we compare techniques used in determining tract resonances and suggest some future developments.

This paper can be downloaded at http://www.musicstudies.org/Henrich_JIMS_0821205.html - direct link: http://www.musicstudies.org/JIMS2008/articles/Henrich_JIMS_0821205.pdf; International audience; Background in performance. In the field of lyrical singing, an extensive terminology is dedicated to voice quality description. Among the many terms, some are used with consistent meaning by virtually all voice specialists, whereas others, which are more metaphorical or aesthetic, have multiple meanings despite their frequent use. The descriptors used by voice specialists deal not only with perceived sound, but also with the production of sound. Background in acoustics. Acousticians do not have a specific vocabulary for describing vocal sounds. They often make use of terms related to timbre. Many studies conducted on the determination of physical criteria for voice-quality description imply a listening focused on voice spectral content and transient phenomena. Aims. Perception of voice quality is subjective and depends on the listener's own experiences and expectations. However, a consensus on its verbal description can be found, in a similar way that a technical vocabulary exists for wine-tasting. Our aim is to elaborate a common terminology for voice-quality description in voice pedagogy, voice therapy and musical acoustics. Main contribution. This paper presents a three-year study conducted by a research group composed of musical acousticians, speech therapists, singers, singing teachers and choir directors. Three main perceptual angles have been considered: perception of vocal gesture or vocal technique, perception of sound, and perception of performance. The listening sheet related to perception of vocal gesture or vocal technique is presented here, and its relevance is perceptually tested. Descriptive terms and illustrative sound examples are given, which have been selected by their consensuality within the research group. The listening sheet related to perception of sound is also briefly described. Implications. The proposed listening sheets facilitate the perceptual and verbal description of voice quality in singing. They allow the listener to concentrate on a given aspect of voice quality, and provide voice professionals with a consensual terminology for expressing singing voice-quality perception. They may also be used as a tool for vocal pedagogy and aural training.

This pilot study aims at defining the notion of voice quality in Western lyrical singing and seeks significant and objective criteria to characterise it, from both cognitive and acoustic points of view. We have chosen an approach based on the semantic analysis of experts' discourses, as we assume that the description of the acoustic signal itself cannot fully account for the characterisation of voice quality and that this notion rather relies on the listeners' cognitive representations, which allow them to elaborate a meaningful judgement from acoustic properties. Therefore we started this study with a listening test, conducted with 11 singing teachers who freely described the voice quality of 18 western lyrical extracts, recorded from three different male singers. The linguistic analysis of these verbalisations brought information about the specific lexical resources (in French) involved in discourses, from which inferences can be made regarding the different conceptions of voice quality and the listening modes of the lyrical expert field. For these listeners, voice quality appeared to be a series of cues allowing to identify sound production, the singer's identity and his emotional state rather than just a set of acoustic characteristics perceived and processed for themselves. Next, an acoustic database was recorded with three lyrical male singers, who produced different voice qualities illustrating graduations of some verbal descriptors. These terms were selected for their relevance and from the previous linguistic analyses. The acoustic analyses of this database allowed us to put forward different sound descriptors which may be cues for listeners to perceive some aspects of voice quality, and which may account for the semantic overlap of several criteria for evaluating voice quality., Bu pilot çalışma Batı müziğindeki lirik şarkı icrasını tanımlamayı amaçlar ve bunu hem bilişsel hem de akustik açılardan tanımlayacak önemli ve bilimsel ölçütleri araştırır. Akustik sinyalin kendisinin tek başına betimlenmesinin, ses niteliğinin tanımlanması için tam olarak açıklayıcı olamayacağını ve bu nosyonun daha çok dinleyicilerin akustik özelliklerden anlamlı yargılara ulaşmasını sağlayan kendi bilişsel temsillerine dayandığını düşündüğümüz için uzmanların söylemlerinin semantik analizine dayanan bir yaklaşımı benimsedik. Bu nedenle bu çalışmaya üç farklı erkek şarkıcıdan kaydedilen batı müziğinden 18 lirik müzik parçasını serbestçe betimleyen 11 şan eğitmeni ile gerçekleştirilen bir dinleme testiyle başladık. Bu sözel ifadelerin dilbilimsel analizi, sesin niteliğine dair farklı kavramları ve uzmanlık alanına dair dinleme biçimlerini dikkate alan çıkarsamaların yapılabildiği söylemler içinde, belirli sözlüksel kaynaklar (Fransızca) hakkında malumat vermiştir. Bu dinleyicilere göre ses niteliği, algılanan ve kendi başlarına işleme tabi tutulan akustik özelliklerin bir kümesinden ziyade ses üretimini, şarkıcının kimliğini ve onun duygusal durumunu tanımlamaya yarayan bir dizi ipucu gibidir. Bir sonraki adımda bazı sözel betimleyici­lerin derecelerini temsil eden farklı ses nitelikleriyle icra eden üç erkek şarkıcıyla akustik bir veritabanı kaydedilmiştir. Bu koşullar ilgilerine göre ve daha önceki dilbilimsel analizlerden seçilmiştir. Bu veritabanının akustik analizi, dinleyicilerin ses niteliğini algılamasıyla ilgili ipuçlarını verebilecek ve ses niteliğini değerlendirmeye dair çeşitli ölçütlerin semantik çakışmalarını açıklayabilecek farklı ses betimleyicilerini öne sürmemizi sağlamıştır.

Actes disponibles en ligne : http://www.uni-graz.at/~parncutt/cim07/index2.htm; International audience; Background in music performance. In the field of lyrical singing, an extensive terminology is dedicated to voice quality description. Among the many terms, some are used with consistent meaning by virtually all voice specialists, whereas others, which are more metaphorical or aesthetic, have multiple meanings despite frequent use. The descriptors used by voice specialists deal not only with the perceived sound, but also with its production. Imitation is often used as a complement to verbal description. In parallel, physicians and speech therapists have developed a vocabulary in their practice to describe voice quality in the case of pathological voices. Their listening is primarily oriented to the search of « defects » for diagnosis. Much effort has been expended in the field to retain the most consensual and appropriate terms for perceptual discrimination of different vocal pathologies. Background in acoustics. Acousticians do not have a specific vocabulary for voice description. They often make use of terms related to timbre. Many studies conducted on the determination of physical criteria for voice-quality description imply a listening focused on voice spectral content and transient phenomena. Because of source-filter theory, acousticians make a distinction between voice-quality aspects related to vocal-fold vibratory movements and those related to vocal-tract configurations. Aims. Perception of voice quality is not objective, as it depends on the listener's own experiences and expectations. However, a consensus may be found on its verbal description, in a similar way to the technical vocabulary in winetasting. Our aim is to elaborate a common terminology for voice-quality description in voice pedagogy, voice therapy and musical acoustics. This paper presents a three-year study conducted by a research group composed of musical acousticians, speech therapists, singers, singing teachers and choir directors, in an attempt to characterise the notion of voice quality and to describe perceived voice quality in the case of lyrical voices with the help of a listening grid based on consensual terms and illustrative sound examples. Main contribution. Voice quality is a term with multiple meanings related to acoustical aspects (intensity, pitch, spectral content, etc) and aesthetic or subjective aspects. Its definition also depends strongly on the context. When trying to elaborate a common language to describe the perception of voice quality, several fundamental aspects of perception of a sensory process must be considered. These aspects have a direct consequence on its verbal description. Perception tends first to identify an object, so as to compare it to pre-established mental categories. Analytical perception may occur thereafter and the verbal descriptors then depend on the object's initial categorisation. Therefore, the idea of a listening-oriented grid was suggested. It allows the listener to concentrate on a given aspect of voice quality. Such a grid has been established on three main axes: Perception of vocal gesture or vocal technique, perception of sound, and perception of performance. The first axis is mainly presented here. Perception is also differential: An object is always evaluated or described by comparison to a reference in memory. The descriptive terms are defined, and illustrated with reference sound examples. Implications. The proposed listening-oriented grid facilitates the perceptual and verbal description of voice quality in singing. It may be used as a tool for vocal pedagogy. It will also provide voice professionals with a consensual terminology for expressing singing voice-quality perception.

International audience; This study aims at characterizing the acoustic and articulatory modifications that occur in speech in noisy environments, and at examining them as compensatory strategies. Audio, EGG and video signals were recorded for a female native speaker of French. The corpus consisted of short sentences with a subject-verb-object (SVO) structure. The sentences were recorded in three conditions: silence, 85dB white noise, and 85dB cocktail party noise. Labial parameters were extracted from the video data. The analyses enabled us to examine the effect of the type of noise and to show that hyper-articulation concerns lip aperture and spreading rather than lip pinching. The analysis of the relationship between acoustic and articulatory parameters shows that this speaker especially adapts to noise not only by talking louder or increasing vowel recognition cues but also by increasing spectral emergence.

National audience

Cet article propose une revue de la littérature sur le forçage vocal ainsi qu'une nouvelle définition du forçage vocal comme stratégie d'adaptation inefficace face à une situation de communication perturbée. Nous présentons les implications méthodologiques de cette nouvelle définition pour l'étude de la parole produite dans des environnements bruyants, au niveau du moyen d'immersion dans le bruit, de la présence d'un interlocuteur, de l'instant des mesures. Deux études acoustiques et articulatoires illustrent par leur protocole et leurs résultats cette conception de la parole dans le bruit comme stratégie individuelle d'adaptation.

This paper presents the main steps of a research project. It aims at understanding the notion of voice quality in western operatic singing, in studying what the singing teachers perceive while listening to a given voice, and how they orally express their perception. Trained singers and singing teachers were asked to speak about voice quality, while producing different voice qualities on a given musical sentence or while listening to singing examples. A linguistic analysis was conducted on their speech. It provided with part of the vocabulary related to the notion of voice quality, and helped to understand the underlying concepts. The possible correlates between acoustical parameters and verbal criterions were also explored., Nous présentons dans cet article les grandes étapes d’un projet de recherche qui vise à mieux comprendre la notion de qualité vocale dans le chant lyrique, en étudiant ce que les professeurs de chant perçoivent dans une voix et comment ils l’expriment. Des chanteurs, puis des professeurs de chant ont été amenés à s’exprimer librement sur la qualité vocale, dans un contexte de production pour les uns et d’écoute d’exemples vocaux pour les autres. L’analyse linguistique de leurs discours respectifs a permis de faire émerger une partie du lexique associé à la notion de qualité vocale, et d’explorer les différents concepts qui y sont associés. Une recherche de corrélats entre paramètres acoustiques et critères verbaux a également été amorcée., Garnier Maëva,Sotiropoulos David,Poitevineau Jacques,Castellengo Michèle,Dubois Danièle,Henrich-Bernardoni Nathalie. Étude de la qualité vocale dans le chant lyrique. In: Scolia, N°20, 2005. Quantité et qualité. pp. 151-169.

National audience

Speech acoustics and articulation are modified in speech produced in noisy environments. Is this simply a result of the increase in vocal intensity or may these modifications be some communicative strategies to increase audiovisual intelligibility? We recorded a first acoustic database with ten speakers and a second acoustic and articulatory database with three speakers, for quiet and for two kinds of background noise. We first verified previous observations about speech modifications in noise and observed that some are not strongly correlated to the increase in vocal intensity and cannot be entirely explained by previous models of vocal effort. We also made additional observations. Pitch does not only rise in noise but also extends its dynamic. For female speakers, pitch not only rises but also fits spectrum "holes" of cocktail‐party noise. Speech modifications are not only global over the whole utterance but also specific to some of its units. Articulatory modifications consist not only of an amplificat...

How are glottal source and vocal tract involved in the sopranos' passagio around E5? This pilot study investigates a legit soprano singing C5 to C6 with a lyrical technique and C5 to D7 in a "light" voice. On (de)crescendi and glissandi over the passagio, we observed clear bifurcations from "light" to lyrical mode, with discontinuous changes in f0, larynx vertical position, amplitude and shape of the electroglottographic signal. No such discontinuities occurred from C5 to D7 within the "light" mode. We established phonetograms of both modes and characterised differences in voice quality (Spectrum, Harmonicity, Open quotient). For [oe] in both modes, this singer tunes the first vocal tract resonance (R1) to f0 over the passagio. For a free vowel, a single and strong resonance is observed in the "light" mode, which may correspond to the merging of R1 and R2 and which is tuned to 2 f0 below C6, then to f0 until F6. Above F#6, two resonances are observed again and R2 is tuned to f0. All these observations sug...

International audience

Stop consonants (/p/, /b/, etc) are of particular interest for the understanding of speech motor control. Indeed, the production of these stop consonant requires the coordination of the 3 production levels: breathing, vocal folds vibration and articulation.The main goal of my thesis is to study how respiratory, laryngeal and articulatory gestures coordinate to control the variation of acoustic features of stop consonants, especially of their burts (intensity, duration, spectrum), which are crucial for stop consonant intelligibility. An important part of my thesis work also focuses on the muscular control of lip gestures in the production of bilabial stops. These goals needed a preliminary methodological work to compare, develop and implement different techniques, in order to measure and estimate articulatory efforts of speech production, physiologically and mechanically (lip movement kinematics, force sensors, orofacial electromyography). This methodological exploration has given rise to theacquisition of a large database (acoustic and physiological data) of French stop consonant productions, for twenty healthy speakers, including 2 phonation modes (modal and whispered), 2 speech rates (normal and fast) and several levels of articulatory effort.The analysis of this database has confirmed relationships already established inconversational speech between burst intensity and the maximum of intra-oral pressure (or opening velocity of lips for labial stops), and between spectral features of the burst and articulatory parameters of tongue movements for alveolar and velar stops. New other relationships have been observed in conversational : 1- the burst acoustic intensity increase when the lips compression and opening velocity increase (for labial stop consonants) ; 2-the burst acoustic intensity increase when the elevation tangential velocity of the tongue increase (for palatal stop consonants) ; 3- the lips compression, lips opening and closing velocities significantly increase when the activities of the OOS (Superior Orbicularis Oris) and DLI (Depressor of the Inferior Lip) muscles increase (during the movement phasis where muscles are agonists). These relationships depend on phonation quality (in whispered speech the accent is made on using kinematic parameters at the cost of aerodynamic, articulatory and temporal ones) and speech rate (most of physiological and articulatory parameters lost efficacies for acoustic control when speech rate increase)., L’étude de la production des consonnes occlusives (/p/, /b/, etc) a un intérêtparticulier pour la compréhension du contrôle moteur de la production de la parole. Eneffet, la production de ces consonnes requiert une coordination fine des 3 niveaux deproduction : respiration, vibration des cordes vocales, articulation.L’objectif de mes travaux de thèse est d’étudier la coordination des gestesrespiratoires, laryngés et articulatoires permettant de contrôler la variation de certains traits acoustiques des consonnes occlusives, plus spécifiquement les caractéristiques acoustiques de leurs bruits de plosion (intensité, durée, spectre, cruciaux pour l’intelligibilité des consonnes occlusives). Une partie importante de mes travaux de thèse s’intéresse également au contrôle musculaire de cette coordination gestuelle.Ces objectifs demandent un travail méthodologique préliminaire pour comparer,développer et implémenter différentes techniques de mesure et d’estimation des effortsarticulatoires de production de parole, à différents points de vue, physiologiques etmécaniques (cinématique du mouvement labial, capteurs de force, électromyographieorofaciale). L’exploration de ces questions a donné lieu à l’acquisition d’une large base de données (acoustiques et physiologiques) de production de consonnes occlusives du français chez une vingtaine de locuteurs adultes sains, incluant 2 modes de phonation (modal et chuchoté), 2 débits de parole (normal et rapide) et plusieurs niveaux d’effort articulatoire.L’analyse de cette base de données a permis de confirmer certaines relations déjà établies en parole conversationnelle entre l’intensité acoustique du bruit de plosion et le maximum de Pression Intra-Orale (ou la vitesse d’ouverture des lèvres pour les consonnes labiales), et entre les paramètres spectraux du bruit de plosion (skewness et kurtosis) et les paramètres articulatoires de déplacement de la langue pour les consonnes alvéolaires et vélaires.D’autres relations (non décrites dans la littérature) ont été observées en paroleconversationnelle : 1- l’intensité acoustique du bruit de plosion augmente lorsque le degré de compression labial et la vitesse de fermeture des lèvres augmentent pour les consonnes labiales ; 2- l’intensité acoustique du bruit de plosion augmente lorsque la vitesse tangentielle du mouvement d’élévation de la langue augmente pour les consonnespalatales ; 3- le degré de compression labial, les vitesses de fermeture et d’ouverture des lèvres augmentent significativement lorsque les activités des muscles Orbicularis Oris Supérieur (OOS) et Dépresseur de la Lèvre Inférieure (DLI) augmentent (dans les phases du mouvement où ils sont agonistes). Ces relations évoluent en fonction du mode de phonation (l’accent est mis en qualité chuchotée sur l’utilisation de paramètres cinématiques au détriment des paramètres aérodynamiques, articulatoires et temporels) et du débit de parole (la plupart des paramètres physiologiques et articulatoires perdent avec le débit leur efficacité de contrôle des caractéristiques acoustiques).

This thesis addresses the verbal and nonverbal signals that the listener of a message produces during a face to face dialogue in an incomprehension situation. This research focuses on two aspects : identifying among these behaviors, which that are self-adressed and those with a communicative purpose and does the incomprehension degree influence the type of behavior? For this research we built an audio-visual corpus annotated with thebehaviors of fourteen subjects. A statistical analysis of these annotations led to singling out nine behaviors related to incomprehension. From these behaviors, we extracted parameters with a facial behavior analysis toolkit in order to check our results from these low-level descriptors.; Ce mémoire porte sur les signaux verbaux et non verbaux qu'émet le récepteur d'un message lors d'un dialogue face à face lorsque qu'il est placé en situation d'incompréhension. Cette recherche se concentre sur deux aspects : Quels sont parmi les signaux émis, ceux auto-adressés et ceux à but communicatif et est ce que le degré d'incompréhension a une influence sur le type de signal produit. Cette recherche a mené à la constitution d'un corpus audio-visuel annoté avec les comportements de quinze sujets. Des analyses statistiques effectuées sur ces annotations ont permis d'isoler neuf comportements relatifs à l'incompréhension. À partir des comportements faciaux isolés nous avons pu extraire un ensemble de paramètres grâce à un outil de détection de mouvements faciaux pour identifier des paramètres pertinents dans l’optique de développer un système de détection.

Speech is a complex action that requires precise coordination among respiration, laryngeal gestures and articulatory gestures. If this coordination is unbalanced, excessive tension and effort can occur, increasing the risk of voice pathology. The study of the production of plosive consonants is interesting to gain a better understanding of speech control, since it requires the coordination of gestures in terms of their amplitude and force, as well as their timing. At present, many questions regarding the gestures that finely control the acoustic characteristics of the burst remain unanswered. Human Beatbox singers show a deep mastery of the control and variety of plosive sounds, which they produce with high acoustic efficacy. In our work, we compare the production of three plosive sounds in Beatbox, in three types of speech (conversational, shouted and projected) and in singing, so as to characterize the acoustic and aerodynamic differences of these production modes. Our results show that the range of sounds produced is larger in Beatbox than in the other modes, that the Beatbox sounds are twice as long as their spoken and sung counterparts, and that the acoustic and aerodynamic parameters reach levels between those of shouted speech and the other modes of expression (conversational and projected speech and singing). Nevertheless, the velocity of the oral air flow is greater in Beatbox than in all the other modes of expression.; La parole est une action complexe, qui nécessite une précise coordination entre la respiration, les gestes laryngés et les gestes articulatoires. Dans le cas où cette coordination est déséquilibrée, il peut se produire des tensions et des efforts excessifs et le risque de développement d'une pathologie de la voix augmente. L'étude de la production des consonnes plosives s'avère intéressant pour mieux comprendre le contrôle de la parole, puisqu'elle nécessite la coordination des gestes en amplitude et force, ainsi que dans leur organisation temporelle. À ce jour, de nombreuses questions demeurent encore quant aux gestes permettant de contrôler finement les caractéristiques acoustiques du bruit de plosion. Les chanteurs du Human Beatbox montrent une maîtrise particulière du contrôle et de la variété des sons plosifs, qu'ils produisent avec une efficacité sonore importante. Dans notre travail, nous comparons la production de trois sons plosifs dans le Beatbox, en trois types de parole (conversationnelle, criée et projetée) et en chant, de façon à caractériser les différences acoustiques et aérodynamiques entre ces modes de production. Nos résultats montrent que la variété de sons produits est plus ample en Beatbox que dans les autres modes d'expression, les sons du Human Beatbox sont deux fois plus longs que leur contreparties parlées et chantées et les paramètres acoustiques et aérodynamiques atteignent des valeurs qui se situent généralement entre celles du cri et celles des autres modes d'expression (parole conversationnelle, parole projetée et chant). Cependant, la vitesse du débit d'air oral est plus importante en Beatbox que dans les autres modes d'expression.