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Music education significantly influences personality development and considers self-expression, self-realization and self-actualization as critical sociocultural and pedagogical tasks. This article aims to explore theoretical and practical aspects of vocal art's influence on nurturing one's spiritual culture within educational activities, viewed through the prism of neuropedagogy. It addresses challenges in applying psycho-pedagogical techniques of neuropedagogy in vocal education for competency development. The main focus of the study lies in the methodological underpinnings of neuropedagogy and its impact on overall personal development. Various methods, including explanatory and descriptive ones, analysis and deduction, were used to determine the purpose of the article. The findings are not comprehensive. However, they provide a foundation for asserting that the need for social grouping leads to tensions where the pursuit of the common good for a specific social group may conflict with the concept of individual well-being. This dynamic is particularly relevant in the context of neuropedagogy. The article concludes that understanding the role of vocal music education is crucial for personality development as it is related to neuropedagogy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Singing voice is a human quality that requires the precise coordination of numerous kinetic functions and results in a perceptually variable auditory outcome. The use of multi-sensor systems can facilitate the study of correlations between the vocal mechanism kinetic functions and the voice output. This is directly relevant to vocal education, rehabilitation, and prevention of vocal health issues in educators; professionals; and students of singing, music, and acting. In this work, we present the initial design of a modular multi-sensor system for singing voice analysis, and describe its first assessment experiment on the ‘vocal breathiness’ qualitative characteristic. A system case study with two professional singers was conducted, utilizing signals from four sensors. Participants sung a protocol of vocal trials in various degrees of intended vocal breathiness. Their (i) vocal output, (ii) phonatory function, and (iii) respiratory behavior-per-condition were recorded through a condenser microphone (CM), an Electroglottograph (EGG), and thoracic and abdominal respiratory effort transducers (RET), respectively. Participants’ individual respiratory management strategies were studied through qualitative analysis of RET data. Microphone audio samples breathiness degree was rated perceptually, and correlation analysis was performed between sample ratings and parameters extracted from CM and EGG data. Smoothed Cepstral Peak Prominence (CPPS) and vocal folds’ Open Quotient (OQ), as computed with the Howard method (HOQ), demonstrated the higher correlation coefficients, when analyzed individually. DECOM method-computed OQ (DOQ) was also examined. Interestingly, the correlation coefficient of pitch difference between estimates from CM and EGG signals appeared to be (based on the Pearson correlation coefficient) statistically insignificant (a result that warrants investigation in larger populations). The study of multi-variate models revealed even higher correlation coefficients. Models studied were the Acoustic Breathiness Index (ABI) and the proposed multiple regression model CDH (CPPS, DOQ, and HOQ), which was attempted in order to combine analysis results from microphone and EGG signals. The model combination of ABI and the proposed CDH appeared to yield the highest correlation with perceptual breathiness ratings. Study results suggest potential for the use of a completed system version in vocal pedagogy and research, as the case study indicated system practicality, a number of pertinent correlations, and introduced topics with further research possibilities.

Singing voice is a human quality that requires the precise coordination of numerous kinetic functions and results in a perceptually variable auditory outcome. The use of multi-sensor systems can facilitate the study of correlations between the vocal mechanism kinetic functions and the voice output. This is directly relevant to vocal education, rehabilitation, and prevention of vocal health issues in educators; professionals; and students of singing, music, and acting. In this work, we present the initial design of a modular multi-sensor system for singing voice analysis, and describe its first assessment experiment on the 'vocal breathiness' qualitative characteristic. A system case study with two professional singers was conducted, utilizing signals from four sensors. Participants sung a protocol of vocal trials in various degrees of intended vocal breathiness. Their (i) vocal output, (ii) phonatory function, and (iii) respiratory behavior-per-condition were recorded through a condenser microphone (CM), an Electroglottograph (EGG), and thoracic and abdominal respiratory effort transducers (RET), respectively. Participants' individual respiratory management strategies were studied through qualitative analysis of RET data. Microphone audio samples breathiness degree was rated perceptually, and correlation analysis was performed between sample ratings and parameters extracted from CM and EGG data. Smoothed Cepstral Peak Prominence (CPPS) and vocal folds' Open Quotient (OQ), as computed with the Howard method (HOQ), demonstrated the higher correlation coefficients, when analyzed individually. DECOM method-computed OQ (DOQ) was also examined. Interestingly, the correlation coefficient of pitch difference between estimates from CM and EGG signals appeared to be (based on the Pearson correlation coefficient) statistically insignificant (a result that warrants investigation in larger populations). The study of multi-variate models revealed even higher correlation coefficients. Models studied were the Acoustic Breathiness Index (ABI) and the proposed multiple regression model CDH (CPPS, DOQ, and HOQ), which was attempted in order to combine analysis results from microphone and EGG signals. The model combination of ABI and the proposed CDH appeared to yield the highest correlation with perceptual breathiness ratings. Study results suggest potential for the use of a completed system version in vocal pedagogy and research, as the case study indicated system practicality, a number of pertinent correlations, and introduced topics with further research possibilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quality singing has a characteristic “ring” identified as a harmonic strength centering around 2.8 kHz. This timbral quality is relatively independant of other factors, and has been labeled the singing formant (SF). This investigation dealt with whether the SF is a significant aspect of all singing voices, and the comparisons of SF strength in the performances of trained professionals and relatively untrained students. Nine vowel-tasks were recorded and analyzed using a fast Fourier spectral analyzer. Resulting plots were analyzed and SF values assigned to 198 tasks performed by nine students and thirteen professionals from all major voice categories.The results indicated that the SF in males and females is a significant factor in all vocal categories, and 222 percent greater SF strength occurred in professional groups compared to student groups. Implications for further study and future use of SF information for singing teachers and students were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of a 12-week holistic vocal training program designed for theatre students. The participants included 10 female and 8 male students, who were third- and fourth-year students of a state conservatory theatre department. Participants randomly selected from among those who were between the ages of 18–30 years, had no history of voice disorders, and had no systemic and neurological disorders. The study group (n = 9) was involved in the vocal training program. The control group (n = 9) has not received any training. During the program, 12 sessions of lectures and voice exercises were given to all participants of the study group for a period of 12 weeks. The sessions were planned to last for a duration of 30–45 minutes. Participants' knowledge of vocal health was assessed using a questionnaire that was developed in the present study and a multidimensional voice assessment protocol including acoustic analyses and audio-perceptual evaluation has been applied. Within-group comparisons indicated a significant increase in the study group participants' knowledge of vocal hygiene after training (P = 0.011). Similarly, the study group outperformed the control group in the vocal mechanism knowledge (P = 0.027). Multidimensional Voice Profile findings revealed that vocal qualities of the control group deteriorated, whereas no alterations were found in the study group. Audio-perceptual analysis conducted through the Consensus Auditory-Perceptual Evaluation of Voice did not introduce significant changes in the control group in overall severity and roughness parameters, these values were found significantly improved for the study group. It can be concluded that the Holistic Vocal Training Program designed in the present study is effective for preserving theatre students' vocal health and voice quality. It is important for future studies to search the long-term effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]