title: Singing power ratio: quantitative evaluation of singing voice quality.
abstract: This paper presents a parameter for objectively evaluating singing voice quality. Power spectrum of vowel sound /a/ was analyzed by Fast Fourier Transform. The greatest harmonics peak between 2 and 4 kHz and the greatest harmonics peak between 0 and 2 kHz were identified. Power ratio of these peaks, termed singing power ratio (SPR), was calculated in 37 singers and 20 nonsingers. SPR of sung /a/ in singers was significantly greater than in nonsingers. In singers, SPR of sung /a/ was significantly greater than that of spoken /a/. By digital signal processing, power spectrum of sung /a/ was varied, and the processed sounds were perceptually analyzed. SPR had a significant relationship with perceptual scores of "ringing" quality. SPR provides an important quantitative measurement for evaluating singing voice quality for all voice types, including soprano.
authors.affiliation: Ames Vocal Dynamics Laboratory, Lenox Hill Hospital, New York, New York, USA.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Omori
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kacker
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Carroll
authors.forename: W D
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Riley
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Blaugrund
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010699:Phonation / Q000502:physiology*; D013018:Sound Spectrography; D013061:Speech Acoustics; D014833:Voice Quality