title: Facial bone vibration in resonant voice production.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study investigated whether resonant voice training would enhance facial bone vibration during resonant voice production.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twelve normal healthy participants undertook four sessions of resonant voice training, each lasted for 30 minutes. Piezoelectric accelerometer was used to measure the vibratory level on the face (nasal bridge and upper lip) and the perilaryngeal area during the production of nasal consonant /m/ and vowels /a/, /i/, and /u/ before and after the resonant voice training. The extents of vibration of these four sounds among these three sites were compared.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Significant increase in facial bone vibration following resonant voice training was found. The nasal bridge showed a significantly larger magnitude of increase when compared with that at the upper lip. Different sounds were also found to facilitate different magnitude of facial bone vibration. Greater magnitude of facial bone vibration was found with the phonation of /m/, /i/, and /u/ when compared with the phonation of /a/.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Resonant voice training facilitated an increase in facial bone vibration, more so at the nasal bridge area than around the upper lip. This is hypothesized to contribute to the improved resonant voice production. Sounds that involve relatively restricted oropharyngeal cavities facilitated a greater extent of facial bone vibration during resonant voice production.
authors.affiliation: Voice Research Laboratory, Division of Speech and Hearing Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Fei C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Voice Research Laboratory, Division of Speech and Hearing Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Estella P-M
authors.initials: EP
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Voice Research Laboratory, Division of Speech and Hearing Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong. Electronic address: eyiu@hku.hk.
authors.forename: Edwin M-L
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Yiu
mesh_terms: D061725:Accelerometry / Q000379:methods; D000328:Adult; D005147:Facial Bones / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D064368:Healthy Volunteers; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010699:Phonation / Q000502:physiology*; D013061:Speech Acoustics; D013068:Speech Production Measurement; D014732:Vibration; D014831:Voice / Q000502:physiology*; D014833:Voice Quality; D014834:Voice Training
keywords: Accelerometer; Humming; Resonant voice; Vibration; Vowel