title: The Impact of Vocal Cool-down Exercises: A Subjective Study of Singers' and Listeners' Perceptions.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Using subjective measures, this study investigated singers' and listeners' perceptions of changes in voice condition after vocal cool-down exercises.
  
  
  METHODS
  A single-subject crossover was designed to evaluate whether there were discernible differences in either singer or listener perceptions from pre (no vocal cool downs) to post (with cool downs) test. Subjective questionnaires were completed throughout the study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty classically trained female singers documented self-ratings and perceptual judgments through the Evaluation of the Ability to Sing Easily survey, the Singing Voice Handicap Index, and Self-Perceptual Questionnaires after a 60-minute voice load. Recordings were made and assessed by four expert listeners.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The assessed data from the Singing Voice Handicap Index, the Evaluation of the Ability to Sing Easily, and Daily Perceptual Questionnaires show 68%, 67%, and 74% of singers reported improvement, respectively. However, because of significant variability in the underlying scores, the amount of improvement was not deemed to be statistically significant. Expert listeners correctly identified the cool-down week 46% of the time.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Singers strongly perceived positive impact from the cool-down exercises on both their speaking and singing voices. Even though the objective data were statistically insignificant, the singers' subjective data clearly indicates a perceived sense of vocal well-being after utilizing the vocal cool-down protocol. The variability in the daily life of a singer (eg, stress, menses, reflux, vocal load, and vocal hygiene) makes it difficult to objectively quantify the impact of vocal cool downs.
authors.affiliation: School of Music, University of Washington, Box 353450, Seattle, Washington.. Electronic address: KRagan@uw.edu.
authors.forename: Kari
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ragan
mesh_terms: D000162:Acoustics; D000328:Adult; D001307:Auditory Perception; D064590:Cool-Down Exercise; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment; D012649:Self Concept; D063346:Singing; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014833:Voice Quality; D014834:Voice Training; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: semi-occlusions; singing; subjective singing study; vocal cool-down exercises; vocal fatigue