Modal voice

Fact-checked by Grok 2 weeks ago

Modal voice is the typical and most common mode of phonation in human speech and singing, involving the regular, periodic vibration of the vocal folds with moderate approximation and mostly full glottal closure during the closed phase of each cycle, producing a clear, resonant sound rich in harmonics without excessive noise or irregularity.^[1]^[2] It represents the neutral or default voicing baseline across languages, essential for the articulation of vowels and voiced consonants like /m/, /n/, /l/, and /r/.^[1]^[3] In contrast to non-modal phonation types, modal voice features balanced muscular tension in the larynx, avoiding the greater spreading and air leakage of breathy voice or the tighter constriction and low-frequency irregularity of creaky voice.^[1]^[2] It differs from falsetto, which involves thinner vocal folds and higher pitches with incomplete closure.^[4]^[3] Linguistically, modal voice serves as the reference for perceiving and distinguishing phonation contrasts that can signal lexical or grammatical meaning in certain languages, such as tone or emphasis.^[1] Acoustically, modal voice is marked by a moderate spectral tilt, elevated harmonics-to-noise ratio (HNR), and regular glottal pulses, with fundamental frequencies typically around 120 Hz for adult males and 220 Hz for adult females, alongside airflow rates of 100–350 cc/s.^[1]^[3] Articulatorily, it relies on thyroarytenoid muscle dominance to thicken the vocal folds, increasing the closed quotient of the glottal cycle and yielding a harmonically robust timbre often described as chest voice in vocal training contexts.^[5]^[2] This mode predominates in everyday communication, ensuring efficient sound production with minimal effort.^[6]

Overview and Definition

Definition

Modal voice is the neutral and habitual register of phonation, representing the default mode of voice production in everyday speech.^[7] Phonation itself refers to the physiological process by which the vocal folds—paired muscular structures within the larynx—generate sound through quasi-periodic oscillations driven by subglottal airflow from the lungs.^[8]^[9] The term "modal voice" was introduced in the late 20th century by phonetician John Laver to describe the standard phonation type in contrast to non-modal voice qualities, such as those involving irregular or inefficient vocal fold vibration.^[10] In Laver's framework, modal voice is characterized by a balanced state of vocal fold adduction and tension, specifically involving moderate adductive tension, moderate medial compression, and moderate longitudinal tension, which enables efficient and periodic vibration without audible friction noise.^[10] This configuration produces the clear, resonant tone typical of neutral speaking voice.

Key Characteristics

Modal voice exhibits a fundamental frequency range typically spanning 85-180 Hz for adult males and 165-255 Hz for adult females, corresponding to the standard speaking pitch used in everyday communication.^[11] This range produces a balanced intensity level, generally around 60-70 dB SPL at 1 meter, with a clear and resonant timbre that serves as the neutral baseline for comparisons with other vocal registers like falsetto or breathy voice.^[12] A key acoustic feature is the balanced glottal closure quotient, approximately 0.4-0.6, which represents the proportion of the vibratory cycle during which the vocal folds are in contact, resulting in efficient sound production without excessive breathiness or strain.^[13] This closure pattern contributes to the voice's clarity and lack of harshness, distinguishing it from registers with incomplete (breathy) or prolonged (pressed) closure.^[14] Baseline traits of modal voice, including pitch and quality, are influenced by factors such as age, sex, and language. For instance, children exhibit higher fundamental frequencies, typically 250-400 Hz, due to their smaller larynx size and thinner vocal folds.^[15]^[16] Sex differences are evident in the lower male range compared to females, while language background can subtly affect average pitch and intonation patterns, as seen in bilingual speakers who adjust fundamental frequency based on linguistic context.^[17]

Physiological Mechanisms

Vocal Fold Dynamics

In modal voice production, the myoelastic-aerodynamic theory describes the self-sustained oscillation of the vocal folds as a result of the interplay between their elastic properties, muscular tension, and aerodynamic forces from subglottal airflow.^[18] This theory, originally proposed by van den Berg in 1958, posits that the vocal folds are adducted to approximate the glottis, allowing subglottal pressure to build and initiate airflow, which then interacts with the folds' biomechanical properties to produce periodic vibration.^[18] The thyroarytenoid (TA) muscle primarily contributes by increasing medial compression and thickening the vocal fold edges, enhancing closure efficiency and modulating the folds' stiffness, while the cricothyroid (CT) muscle elongates and tenses the folds, adjusting their overall tension to influence vibration rate.^[19] These muscular actions ensure the folds maintain the necessary elasticity for oscillation in the typical modal register. The phonation cycle in modal voice consists of alternating open and closed phases of the glottis, occurring at frequencies generally between 100 and 300 Hz for adult speakers. During the closed phase, the vocal folds are adducted and approximated by elastic recoil and muscular forces, creating a seal that builds subglottal pressure below the glottis. As pressure overcomes tissue resistance, the folds begin to separate in the opening phase, with airflow accelerating through the narrowing glottal channel. The Bernoulli effect then plays a key role, generating a negative intraglottal pressure due to increased airflow velocity, which draws the folds back together to close the glottis.^[19] This suction, combined with the folds' elastic restoring forces, completes the cycle, with the vertical phase differences between fold motion and airflow ensuring efficient energy transfer for sustained vibration.^[19] The fundamental frequency (F_0) of vocal fold vibration in modal voice can be approximated using a simplified vibrating string model, which treats the folds as tensioned elastic structures. The formula is derived from the one-dimensional wave equation for a string under tension, where the wave speed v is given by v = \sqrt{T / \mu}, with T as the longitudinal tension and \mu as the linear mass density (mass per unit length). For the fundamental mode, the wavelength \lambda equals twice the effective length L of the vibrating portion of the vocal folds, so F_0 = v / \lambda = (1 / (2L)) \sqrt{T / \mu}.^[20] Here, L typically ranges from 12-20 mm depending on sex and age, T is modulated by CT and TA activation (often 0.1-1 N), and \mu reflects tissue density (around 1.05 g/cm³) and thickness. This approximation, while idealized, captures how increases in tension or decreases in length or density raise F_0, aligning with observed modal voice ranges, though actual dynamics involve more complex three-dimensional tissue interactions.^[20]

Laryngeal Control

Laryngeal control in modal voice relies on the coordinated action of intrinsic laryngeal muscles to regulate vocal fold adduction, tension, and length, enabling efficient and sustained phonation. The thyroarytenoid muscle, embedded within the vocal folds, primarily modulates fold tension and contributes to adduction, promoting the medial compression required for balanced glottic closure during normal speaking and singing registers.^[21] The interarytenoid muscle, acting bilaterally across the posterior larynx, draws the arytenoid cartilages together to approximate the vocal processes, ensuring firm adduction and preventing air escape for clear voice production.^[22] Complementing these, the cricothyroid muscle tilts the thyroid cartilage forward relative to the cricoid, elongating and tensing the vocal folds to adjust pitch while maintaining overall register stability.^[21] Neural innervation orchestrates this muscular interplay through branches of the vagus nerve (cranial nerve X), ensuring precise timing for abduction during breathing and adduction during phonation. The recurrent laryngeal nerve provides motor supply to the thyroarytenoid and interarytenoid muscles, facilitating their contraction for vocal fold approximation and tension control, while its sensory fibers monitor subglottic conditions below the folds.^[23] The superior laryngeal nerve complements this by dividing into internal and external branches: the external branch exclusively innervates the cricothyroid muscle for fine pitch adjustments, whereas the internal branch delivers sensory input from the supraglottic region, supporting reflexive coordination.^[23] This dual innervation system allows for rapid, bilateral synchronization essential to modal voice's consistent output. Sensory feedback mechanisms further refine laryngeal control by detecting intra-laryngeal pressure fluctuations and enabling adaptive muscle responses for phonatory stability. Mechanoreceptors embedded in the vocal fold mucosa, including stretch-sensitive Piezo1 and Piezo2 ion channels, sense mechanical deformations such as subglottal pressure rises and vibrational forces, triggering neural signals to adjust thyroarytenoid and cricothyroid tensions in real time.^[24] These proprioceptive afferents, concentrated in the glottal mucosa, provide kinesthetic awareness of fold position and airflow dynamics, preventing phonatory breaks and sustaining the periodic vibration central to modal voice.^[25]

Acoustic and Perceptual Properties

Sound Production

The acoustic signals generated in modal voice arise from the periodic vibration of the vocal folds, which produces a pulsatile glottal airflow subsequently filtered by the vocal tract resonances.^[26] The harmonic structure of modal voice is characterized by a rich spectrum featuring a prominent fundamental frequency and its integer multiples, with amplitudes typically declining at a rate of approximately -12 dB per octave. This spectral tilt results in strong energy in lower harmonics and diminishing intensity in higher ones, while the low noise component—evident in a noise-to-harmonic ratio around -5 dB above 2 kHz—stems from the efficient and abrupt glottal closure during each vibratory cycle, minimizing turbulent aspiration noise.^[27]^[28] The closure mechanism, involving vocal fold collision, distorts the airflow waveform to generate these higher harmonics, enhancing the overall periodicity and harmonic richness.^[28] Formant interactions further define the acoustic output, as the vocal tract's resonances amplify selected harmonics from the glottal source, producing the distinct timbre of voiced sounds. These formants, typically peaking between 200-800 Hz for the first and 800-2000 Hz for the second, redistribute the source energy without adding new frequencies, with the modal voice's inherent periodicity—around 8-10 ms per cycle, corresponding to fundamental frequencies of 100-125 Hz in adult males—ensuring consistent harmonic alignment.^[29]^[26] Measurement techniques such as spectrograms effectively capture these features, displaying vertical striations spaced by the pitch period to indicate the signal's high periodicity in modal voice. These regular striations, reflecting the quasi-periodic waveform, stand in contrast to the diffuse, aperiodic noise evident in spectrograms of other phonation modes.^[30]^[26]

Auditory Perception

Modal voice is typically perceived as the most natural and clear vocal register, conveying a neutral emotional affect in everyday communication. Listeners associate its regular, periodic vibration pattern with clarity and authenticity, distinguishing it from more extreme qualities like breathy or pressed phonation that may signal heightened emotion or effort. In non-tonal languages such as English, the fundamental frequency (F0) contours of modal voice play a crucial role in signaling prosodic features like intonation, which helps convey sentence structure, emphasis, and attitudinal nuances—such as rising contours for questions or falling ones for statements—enhancing overall comprehensibility without introducing affective bias.^[31]^[32]^[33]^[34] Cross-cultural variations in the auditory perception of modal voice are evident in how listeners attune to its F0 characteristics for linguistic processing. In tonal languages like Mandarin, where pitch distinctions define lexical meaning, native speakers demonstrate heightened sensitivity to the F0 contours in modal voice, enabling precise discrimination of tones such as the high-level tone 1 versus the falling tone 4; this attunement develops through lifelong exposure and supports efficient word recognition. In contrast, speakers of non-tonal languages may perceive these same F0 variations more holistically as prosody rather than lexical cues, highlighting how language experience shapes the perceptual weighting of modal voice features.^[35]^[36]^[37] Psychoacoustic factors further influence the perception of modal voice, particularly its superior intelligibility compared to strained registers. A high harmonics-to-noise ratio (HNR), typically 15-25 dB in modal phonation, contributes to clear perception by providing a strong harmonic structure that resists noise interference and supports accurate timbre and pitch extraction.^[38] Studies indicate listener preference for modal voice over tense or pressed variants, which exhibit reduced HNR and harmonic richness, leading to lower ratings of naturalness and higher cognitive effort in processing; for instance, at 0 dB background SNR, dysphonic or strained voices show approximately 25-35% drops in intelligibility scores compared to modal voice.^[39]^[40]^[41]^[32] Additionally, measures like cepstral peak prominence (CPP) quantify the periodicity of modal voice, correlating strongly with perceived clarity and intelligibility.^[42]

Comparisons with Other Voice Registers

Differences from Falsetto

Modal voice and falsetto represent distinct vocal registers, with modal serving as the primary mechanism for everyday speech and singing at comfortable pitches, while falsetto enables extension into higher frequencies. In falsetto production, the ligamentous portion of the vocal folds vibrates under relatively loose tension, resulting in thinner fold approximation and incomplete glottal closure, which contrasts with the fuller engagement of the vocalis muscle and body-cover structure in modal voice. This leads to falsetto's characteristic higher fundamental frequencies, typically above 300 Hz, and a breathier timbre due to increased airflow leakage.^[43] Acoustically, falsetto exhibits weaker higher harmonics and a steeper spectral tilt compared to modal voice, where the greater vocal fold thickness promotes more robust glottal closure and a richer harmonic spectrum. For instance, inverse filtering analyses reveal that falsetto waveforms show lower peak-to-peak airflow amplitude and reduced maximum flow declination rate, contributing to its lighter, less resonant quality, while modal register maintains stronger overall voice source output. These differences persist across singers, even when attempts are made to minimize timbral distinctions, underscoring the inherent physiological separation.^[44]^[43] Functionally, falsetto is particularly valuable for extending the upper vocal range in singing, allowing access to pitches beyond the modal register's natural limits, but it is less efficient for sustaining high-volume speech due to lower subglottal pressures and reduced closed quotient. In contrast, modal voice supports more stable phonation for conversational dynamics, with professional countertenors and tenors demonstrating these register shifts through adjusted laryngeal control.^[43]^[45]

Differences from Breathy and Pressed Voice

Modal voice is distinguished from breathy voice primarily by the degree of glottal closure during phonation. In breathy voice, incomplete closure of the vocal folds results in significant air escape through the glottis, introducing turbulent noise characterized by high-frequency aperiodicity and a reduction in overall vocal intensity.^[46] This contrasts with modal voice, where the vocal folds achieve a balanced, complete closure during the closed phase of vibration, producing a clear, efficient sound with minimal airflow leakage and stable periodic vibrations.^[46] Quantitatively, breathy phonation exhibits a larger open quotient (OQ)—the proportion of the glottal cycle during which the folds are apart—typically 0.6–0.8, compared to 0.4–0.6 in modal voice, which contributes to the softer, less intense output.^[47] In contrast, pressed voice involves hyper-adduction of the vocal folds, leading to excessive medial compression and a larger contact area during vibration, which creates a harsh, strained quality often accompanied by irregular fold vibrations.^[46] This phonation mode is acoustically marked by elevated spectral entropy and prominence of higher harmonics (e.g., H2), differing from the monotonic spectral decay and low shimmer in modal voice, which ensure perceptual stability and natural timbre.^[46] Pressed voice frequently transitions toward vocal fry due to the constrained airflow and heightened tension, whereas modal voice maintains efficient energy transfer without such extremes. Physiologically, pressed phonation requires elevated subglottal pressure, often exceeding 10 cm H₂O, surpassing the typical 5–10 cm H₂O range for comfortable modal phonation at conversational levels.^[48] The smaller OQ in pressed voice (often below 0.5) further underscores this distinction, reflecting tighter closure and increased laryngeal resistance relative to modal's intermediate balance.^[47]

Applications and Variations

Role in Speech Production

Modal voice serves as the primary phonation type in human speech production, constituting the default mode for the vast majority of voiced segments across languages, where it facilitates the vibration necessary for producing vowels and voicing consonants such as approximants, nasals, and sonorants.^[49] This regular, symmetrical vibration of the vocal folds at a moderate level of adduction and tension generates a clear, resonant sound that forms the foundation of intelligible linguistic communication in conversational settings.^[50] In typical speech, deviations to non-modal phonations like breathy or creaky voice are infrequent and often context-specific, underscoring modal voice's role as the baseline for efficient energy transfer from the lungs to the airstream.^[51] In prosody, modal voice plays a crucial role through variations in fundamental frequency (F0), which is determined by the rate of vocal fold vibration and serves as the primary acoustic cue for conveying linguistic structure. Rising F0 contours in modal voice typically signal interrogative intonation, such as in yes/no questions, while falling contours mark declarative statements, enabling speakers to differentiate sentence types without altering phonation quality.^[52] Additionally, F0 perturbations, often combined with increased amplitude and duration, highlight prosodic prominence for stress, as seen in English where stressed syllables exhibit higher F0 peaks to emphasize key words in phrases.^[49] These F0 dynamics within modal voice allow for flexible expression of rhythm, emphasis, and phrasing in everyday discourse. Modal voice underpins phonemic voicing contrasts in many human languages, distinguishing voiced from voiceless sounds to create meaningful oppositions in phonological systems. For instance, in English, modal voice differentiates /b/ (voiced bilabial stop) from /p/ (voiceless bilabial stop), a contrast that alters word identity, as in "bat" versus "pat."^[49] This feature holds across language families, with modal phonation serving as the reference point for such distinctions in over 80% of languages that employ obstruent voicing contrasts, ensuring cross-linguistic consistency in how speakers produce and perceive voiced segments.^[51]^[49]

Use in Singing and Performance

In singing and performance, modal voice serves as the primary register associated with chest voice, particularly within bel canto traditions, where it enables singers to achieve a wide dynamic range from soft piano to powerful forte passages through precise control of vocal fold adduction and breath support.^[53] This register produces a rich, resonant tone that projects effectively in operatic settings, relying on the balanced engagement of thyroarytenoid muscles to maintain vibrato and evenness across the passaggio.^[54] In bel canto pedagogy, modal voice forms the foundational mechanism for expressive phrasing, allowing performers to navigate demanding melodic lines without strain.^[55] Training methods for modal voice emphasize exercises that promote balance and coordination to prevent register breaks, such as lip trills, which create a semi-occluded vocal tract to facilitate even airflow and relaxed cord closure during ascending and descending scales.^[56] These semi-occluded vocal tract (SOVT) techniques, including lip trills on sustained notes or sirens, help singers maintain modal coordination into higher pitches, reducing tension and enhancing stamina for prolonged performances.^[57] By focusing on these practices, vocalists develop the ability to sustain modal quality without flipping into falsetto, ensuring seamless transitions essential for professional repertoires. Culturally, modal voice dominates in opera arias, such as those in Verdi roles like Rigoletto or Don Carlo, where the chest-dominant timbre conveys dramatic intensity and emotional depth through its robust projection and high-note ringing.^[58] In pop vocals, modal mix techniques—blending modal (chest) with head voice—allow for versatile expression, as seen in artists like Freddie Mercury, who employed mixed voice for agile runs and sustained belts in songs requiring both power and lightness.^[59] This approach extends bel canto principles to contemporary genres, enabling smooth navigation of wide ranges while preserving the core modal resonance for audience engagement.^[60]

Clinical and Pathological Aspects

Modal voice, the default register for everyday speech, can be disrupted by various medical conditions that impair the vibration and closure of the vocal folds, leading to alterations in phonation quality and stability. These disorders often result in hoarseness, reduced fundamental frequency (F0) range, or instability, affecting the clarity and endurance of voiced sounds.^[61] Laryngitis, an inflammation of the larynx often caused by viral infection or laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR), leads to edema and irregular vibration of the vocal folds, disrupting normal modal phonation and causing hoarseness. In LPR-associated cases, vocal fold edema and dryness contribute to increased jitter, shimmer, and roughness, with hoarseness reported in up to 79% of patients, though F0 stability may remain relatively unaffected in some instances.^[61] Vocal nodules, benign growths on the vocal folds resulting from chronic voice strain, alter fold vibration by creating an hourglass-shaped glottis that impedes complete closure during phonation. This leads to breathy or hoarse quality, reduced F0 (by approximately 7 Hz with larger nodules), and decreased oscillation stability, increasing phonation threshold pressure by up to 140% and collision pressures.^[62]^[63] Neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease impair laryngeal control through hypokinesia, rigidity, and muscle weakness, resulting in a tremulous, weak, or monotone modal voice with reduced loudness and pitch variability. Approximately 15% of patients exhibit tremulous voice, while overall dysphonia affects the majority, with progressive increases in shimmer and noise-to-harmonics ratio indicating deteriorating phonatory function over time.^[64]^[65] Vocal fatigue, a common issue from prolonged modal voice use without adequate recovery, is highly prevalent among teachers and is linked to acoustic changes like elevated F0 and noise-to-harmonics ratio after extended speaking. This fatigue manifests as worsening hoarseness or effort, with point prevalence of related voice disorders reaching 37.7% among schoolteachers globally.^[66]^[67] Muscle tension dysphonia (MTD), one of the most common voice disorders, involves excessive laryngeal muscle effort leading to strained or hoarse phonation, disrupting modal voice by altering glottal closure and increasing phonatory effort. It often results from stress, poor technique, or compensation for other issues, affecting voice stability and endurance.^[68] Vocal fold paralysis, caused by nerve damage from surgery, trauma, or neurological conditions, impairs adduction and vibration, resulting in breathy or weak modal voice with incomplete glottal closure and reduced loudness. Unilateral cases affect up to 1 in 1,000 people annually, significantly impacting phonation efficiency.^[69]

Therapeutic Interventions

Therapeutic interventions for modal voice aim to diagnose and restore normal vocal fold vibration and closure, addressing impairments that disrupt efficient phonation. Diagnostic approaches begin with laryngoscopy, a procedure that provides direct visualization of the larynx and vocal folds to identify structural abnormalities affecting modal register production. Flexible or rigid laryngoscopy, often combined with stroboscopy, allows clinicians to assess mucosal wave propagation and glottal closure patterns during phonation, enabling precise evaluation of vibration symmetry and amplitude essential for modal voice.^[70]^[71] Complementary to laryngoscopy, electroglottography (EGG) measures the electrical impedance across the larynx to quantify vocal fold contact and vibration cycles noninvasively. By detecting the timing and duration of glottal closure, EGG helps differentiate modal voice deficits from other registers, providing objective data on phonatory efficiency in clinical settings.^[72]^[73] Voice therapy forms a cornerstone of non-surgical rehabilitation, focusing on techniques that promote optimal glottal adduction and reduce compensatory strain to facilitate modal voice recovery. Resonant voice therapy (RVT), a widely adopted method, trains individuals to produce voice with forward oral resonance and minimal laryngeal effort, optimizing vocal fold closure for efficient modal phonation. Core exercises include sustained humming at a comfortable pitch to elicit vibratory sensations in the anterior facial structures, progressing to connected speech tasks that maintain this resonance while avoiding breathy or pressed qualities. Studies demonstrate that RVT significantly improves perceptual voice quality, acoustic parameters like jitter and shimmer, and vocal fold vibration symmetry in patients with functional disorders.^[74]^[75]^[76] For persistent lesions such as polyps or nodules that impair modal voice, surgical interventions like microflap excision offer targeted removal while preserving healthy tissue. This technique involves elevating a superficial epithelial flap over the lesion via microlaryngoscopy, excising the pathology, and repositioning the flap to maintain vocal fold integrity and mucosal wave function. Performed under general anesthesia, microflap procedures typically last 30-60 minutes and prioritize phonatory outcomes by minimizing scarring that could alter modal register dynamics.^[77]^[78] Post-operative rehabilitation emphasizes gradual return to modal voice use, beginning with 1-2 weeks of strict vocal rest followed by supervised therapy over 4-6 weeks to rebuild phonatory control and prevent recurrence. Protocols include hydration, anti-reflux measures, and progressive exercises to restore efficient vibration, with voice training enhancing long-term quality in cases like polyp removal.^[79]^[80] These interventions target disorders such as benign lesions that compromise modal closure, integrating diagnostics with tailored therapy for functional restoration.

References

[1]
[PDF] The phonetics of voice1 - Division of Social Sciences
The difference between these two definitions of 'modal' (one articulatory and relative to non-modal voice, the other with reference to a speaker's normal ...
[2]
Modal and non-modal voice quality classification using acoustic and ...
Voice Quality Dimensions. Modal phonation is defined as phonation in which a mostly full glottal closure occurs during the closed phase of a phonatory cycle [17] ...
[3]
Types of phonation
One of the characteristics of modal phonation is the build-up of the contact between the vocal folds. During the open phase of vibration the glottis has a ...Missing: definition | Show results with:definition
[4]
modal voice
### Modal Voice Entry Summary
[5]
Modal Voice - Voice Science
Modal Voice is another term for Thyroarytenoid Dominant Production or Chest Voice. Modal voice is characterized by a harmonically rich sound and lower ...
[6]
[PDF] Fundamental Frequency Characteristics of Modal and Vocal Fry ...
Dec 12, 2016 · Modal is what you would think of as normal or typical speech. This is the most frequently used register.
[7]
Voice and Voice Quality (Chapter 1) - Cambridge University Press
Jun 21, 2019 · If a speaker's phonation is neutral – the most usual kind of voice – it is described as modal voice, in the sense of the mode of a distribution.
[8]
Flow-induced oscillations of vocal-fold replicas with tuned ... - Nature
Dec 19, 2023 · Phonation refers to the production of audible air pulse trains emitted by vocal-fold vibrations in the larynx. Vocal-fold vibrations are the ...
[9]
Understanding Voice Production - THE VOICE FOUNDATION
The vocal fold vibratory cycle has phases that include an orderly sequence of opening and closing the top and bottom of the vocal folds, letting short puffs of ...Missing: oscillation | Show results with:oscillation
[10]
[PDF] VOICE QUALITY PROCESSING STRATEGY OF KOREAN ...
Aug 21, 2011 · Generally the F0 values of modal voice ranges from 150 to 300 Hz for females and 100-200 Hz for males respectively. Clearly, all data is in ...
[11]
[PDF] Singer's Voice Quality - Genetic or Environmental Influences?
The average fundamental frequency of a human male is about 125 hertz (Hz), while that of a fe- male is about 210 hertz (Hz), and that of a child is about 300 ...
[12]
Normal Glottic Configuration | Ento Key
Aug 15, 2016 · Vocal folds that never completely close, such as during falsetto, have an open quotient of 1. Modal phonation has an open quotient of 0.5. ...Missing: 0.5-0.7 | Show results with:0.5-0.7
[13]
Measurement of glottal cycle characteristics between children and ...
An asymmetry quotient of less than 0.5 will be represented by a waveform that is skewed to the left, indicating that the duration of the closing phase is ...Missing: 0.5-0.7 | Show results with:0.5-0.7
[14]
Voice Changes Throughout Life | NCVS
During childhood, the most significant changes in the voice result from the rapid growth of the larynx, the vocal folds and the surrounding support structures.Missing: modal | Show results with:modal
[15]
Effect of Language on Voice Quality: An Acoustic Study of Bilingual ...
Jun 28, 2022 · The present study attempted to examine the effect of language on one's voice quality by eliminating the potential effects of physical differences.Introduction · Discussion · Language Effect On Voice...
[16]
https://touroscholar.touro.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1324&context=sjlcas
[17]
https://karger.com/fpl/article/74/6/421/823703/Effect-of-Language-on-Voice-Quality-An-Acoustic
[18]
https://doi.org/10.1044/jshr.0103.227
[19]
Anatomy, Head and Neck: Laryngeal Muscles - StatPearls - NCBI
The cricothyroid is the only intrinsic laryngeal muscle that receives innervation from the external branch of the SLN instead of the RLN.Missing: modal | Show results with:modal
[20]
Anatomy and development and physiology of the larynx - Nature
May 16, 2006 · The RLN innervates all intrinsic laryngeal muscles except the cricothyroid muscle, which is innervated by the external division of the SLN (eSLN) ...Structure And Function · Tracheotomy And Laryngeal... · Laryngeal Paralysis: Effects...<|control11|><|separator|>
[21]
Anatomy, Head and Neck, Larynx Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve - NCBI
Apr 6, 2025 · Nerves. The larynx receives innervation from the superior laryngeal nerve (SLN), recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN), and sympathetic fibers (see ...Missing: modal | Show results with:modal
[22]
Mechanotransduction in the Vocal Fold Microenvironment
Jun 12, 2024 · This tissue undergoes exceptional stress; in humans, the vocal folds vibrate at frequencies in the range of 50 to 1000+ Hz during phonation, ...
[23]
A review of the peripheral proprioceptive apparatus in the larynx
Feb 23, 2023 · Mechanoreceptors are not uniformly distributed throughout the laryngeal mucosa and are focused in and around the vibratory and mobile elements ...
[24]
Voice Acoustics: an introduction to the science of speech and singing
The vibrations produced in voiced speech usually contain a set of different frequencies called harmonics. (See Sound spectrum.) In whispering, the folds do not ...
[25]
[PDF] Vocal Quality Factors: Analysis, Synthesis, and Perception
The quality of these four voice types has been described as normal (modal), a low pitch, rough-sounding voice (vocal fry), a flutelike tone that is sometimes ...
[26]
[PDF] How Are Harmonics Produced at the Voice Source?
In summary, harmonics in the glottal airflow wave- form are produced by adducting the vocal folds suffi- ciently so that they can collide. This changes the ...Missing: modal | Show results with:modal
[27]
Vocal Tract Resonance - Macquarie University
Nov 13, 2024 · For example, a voiced (modal voice) vowel has a source spectrum that slopes downward at -12 dB/octave , a vocal tract transfer function ( ...
[28]
Identifying Vowels and Their Particular Qualities - Martin Weisser
Feb 7, 2013 · The latter can be observed in the vertical striations in a spectrogram or the periodicity in a waveform, as depicted in the illustration below.
[29]
The effects of different voice qualities on the perceived personality of ...
Feb 5, 2023 · As a general notion of modal voice, this vocal quality has a more regular and periodic vibration pattern; there is no audible friction of the ...
[30]
The contribution of phonation type to the perception of vocal ...
Mar 1, 2015 · In both studies, they found strong relations between anger and a tense voice, boredom and a creaky voice, happiness and a modal voice, fear and ...
[31]
(PDF) The effects of period doubling and vocal fry on the perceived ...
Here we focus on the effects of period doubling and vocal fry, compared to modal voice, on the perceived naturalness and representativeness of Mandarin tones.
[32]
Expression of affect in spontaneous speech: Acoustic correlates and ...
Aug 7, 2025 · ... neutral affect. Interestingly, Passion and Neutrality were expressed ... (modal) voice quality incorporating affect-related f0 contours ...
[33]
Perception of Mandarin Lexical Tones When F0 Information Is ...
The primary cue to tone identity is the fundamental frequency (F0) contour. Two experiments explore spoken word recognition how listeners perceive Mandarin ...
[34]
[PDF] MANDARIN TONE IDENTIFICATION WITH F0-FLATTENING ...
For a tonal language like Mandarin Chinese, F0 contour carries important information for lexical tone identification and speech perception [2-3]. Many studies ...
[35]
Perception of Mandarin Lexical Tones when F0 Information is ...
In tone languages, each syllable is defined by both its phonemic sequence and a particular tonal pattern. Consider, for example, Mandarin Chinese, a language ...
[36]
[PDF] Detecting Intelligibility by Linear Dimensionality Reduction and ...
Voice disorders cause the changes in voice quality. (breathy, tense, hoarse, or modal voice) such that the in- telligibility decreases dramatically. In our ...
[37]
The Relationship Between Voice Parameters and Speech Intelligibility
... (signal-to-noise ratio [SNR] −10, SNR −5, SNR 0, SNR +5, SNR +10) and quiet ... Non-modal voice tends to occur when pitch production exceeds certain limits.
[38]
The Effect of Background Noise on Intelligibility of Dysphonic Speech
Jul 12, 2017 · In a daily communication environment, a minimum of SNR+10 dB is required for speech to be 100% intelligible at 1 m away from the origin of the ...Missing: modal | Show results with:modal
[39]
Voice source differences between falsetto and modal registers in ...
The observed voice source differences between the registers seem related to a greater vocal fold thickness in modal than in falsetto register. Publication ...Missing: acoustics | Show results with:acoustics
[40]
What do male singers mean by modal and falsetto register ... - PubMed
The voice source differs between modal and falsetto registers, but singers often try to reduce the associated timbral differences, some even doubting that ...
[41]
Acoustic and perceptual analysis of modal and falsetto registers in ...
Aug 7, 2025 · Modal and falsetto registers are the basic vocal qualities used in female speaking voices. The purpose of this study was to identify the ...<|separator|>
[42]
Discrimination between Modal, Breathy and Pressed Voice for ... - NIH
Apr 11, 2019 · The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility of using neck-surface acceleration signals to discriminate between modal, breathy and pressed ...Missing: registers | Show results with:registers
[43]
[PDF] Relationship of Various Open Quotients With Acoustic Property ...
Modal breathy phonation was induced by instructing the exam- inees to phonate with a sufficient amount of air. Modal pressed phonation was induced by ...
[44]
Impact of Nonmodal Phonation on Estimates of Subglottal Pressure ...
Sep 13, 2019 · The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of nonmodal phonation on estimates of subglottal pressure (Ps) derived from the ...
[45]
[PDF] The phonetics of voice1 - Division of Social Sciences
This chapter provided an overview of the phonetics of voice, as defined narrowly by the activity of the vocal folds. ... schrift for John Laver, Lawerence Erlbaum ...Missing: Johannes | Show results with:Johannes
[46]
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7055909/
[47]
[PDF] Phonation Contrasts Across Languages* - UCLA Linguistics
The voicing categories fall between these voiceless extremes: breathy and lax voice with greater airflow than modal voice, and creaky and tense voice with less.
[48]
Fundamental Frequency Encoding of Linguistic and Emotional ...
Utterances which simultaneously specified three prosodic distinctions (emphatic stress, sentence modality, emotional tone) were elicited from each subject group ...
[49]
[PDF] From Italian Opera to Estill: An Overview of Bel Canto Style Singing ...
Apr 11, 2018 · there are four registers to the voice – vocal fry, modal register, falsetto register, and whistle register.11 The vocal fry, also called ...
[50]
[PDF] Training the Young Male Voice - Eastman School of Music
the modal register quality, the chest voice. The character of this sound is powerful and projecting. Then we have the cricothyroid muscles, a bilateral pair ...
[51]
[PDF] [Sample Title Page] - IU ScholarWorks - Indiana University
The bel canto style of singing, which essentially translates to “beautiful singing,” ... muscle was active in the modal register, whereas it was passive in the ...
[52]
[PDF] A Pair of Advanced Exercises as a Register Treadmill
Mar 1, 2022 · I do not recommend them as a practice exercise until the voice is very warmed up with semioccluded vocal tract exercises (lip trills, straw ...
[53]
[PDF] Effect of Flow Phonation Voice Exercises on Vocal and Aerodynamic ...
Nov 12, 2021 · These voice therapy treatments have provided positive outcomes for enhancing voice quality in singers. Flow phonation voice exercises have the ...
[54]
What Makes A Verdi Baritone? | WFMT
Oct 14, 2019 · It's a combination of a big, rich-sounding voice, ringing high notes, the stamina to sing long roles that sit in a high range, and, ideally, the acting ability.
[55]
Singing R&B and Pop: Vocal Improvisation Techniques
Aug 25, 2022 · Mercury employed belting, mixed voice, forward placement, twang, and also used gritty textures from time to time in his vocal delivery. As we've ...
[56]
[PDF] Mixed Voice for the Bel Canto and Musical Theatre Singer
Singers should absolutely avoid training in Traditional Belt without mastery of Mode 1/Mode 2 registration and mixed voice singing. Traditional Belt absent ...
[57]
Impact of laryngopharyngeal reflux on subjective and objective voice ...
Nov 8, 2016 · Specifically, some authors suggested that vocal fold edema may be the main sign responsible for irregular vocal fold vibration leading to ...
[58]
Office Based Voice Evaluation in Assessing Outcome of Treatment ...
They cause varying degrees of disturbance to vocal fold vibrations or glottic closure, rendering the voice hoarse. Professional voice users are persons who use ...
[59]
Effect of nodule size and stiffness on phonation threshold and ... - NIH
If sufficiently large, benign VF lesions reduce the fundamental frequency of oscillation and impede glottal closure by producing an hourglass-shaped glottis.
[60]
Overview: Vocal nodules - InformedHealth.org - NCBI Bookshelf
Mar 25, 2024 · Vocal nodules can develop if you use your voice too much over a long period of time. They make your voice hoarse and change the sound of your voice.
[61]
Parkinson's Disease - THE VOICE FOUNDATION
Parkinson's disease patients typically have a low-volume voice with a monotone (expressionless) quality. The speech pattern is often produced in short bursts ...
[62]
Progression of Voice and Speech Impairment in the Course of ...
Voice and speech impairment (also called “dysarthrophonia”) is a typical symptom of Parkinson's disease (PD) and occurs in the majority of patients in the ...
[63]
Vocal Fatigue in School Teachers and It's Relation to the Acoustic ...
We aim to investigate percentage of school teachers reporting vocal fatigue and to find if there is any relationship between vocal fatigue and acoustic voice ...Missing: modal | Show results with:modal
[64]
https://voicefoundation.org/health-science/voice-disorders/voice-disorders/voice-dysfunction-in-neurological-disorders/parkinsons-disease/
[65]
Recommended Protocols for Instrumental Assessment of Voice
Office-based (outpatient) laryngeal endoscopic imaging should be used to obtain measures of structure and gross function as well as measures of vocal fold ...
[66]
Pearls from Your Peers: Laryngeal Stroboscopy | AAO-HNS Bulletin
Apr 7, 2025 · Stroboscopy improves the diagnosis of benign vocal fold lesions, paresis, and carcinoma.
[67]
Electroglottography in Medical Diagnostics of Vocal Tract Pathologies
Dec 23, 2023 · EGG is a method for monitoring vocal fold vibrations produced during the human phonation process. Put simply, the signal generated by an ...Missing: electrogeography | Show results with:electrogeography
[68]
Electroglottography and vocal fold physiology - PubMed - NIH
The electroglottogram (EGG) is known to be related to vocal fold motion. A major hypothesis undergoing examination in several research centers is that the ...Missing: electrogeography assessment
[69]
https://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/vocal-fold-paralysis/
[70]
Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Resonant Voice Therapy in ...
Aug 31, 2023 · RVT applied to patients with functional voice disorders provides significant improvement in acoustic and perceptual voice parameters. The RVT is ...
[71]
Assessing the Effectiveness of Voice Therapy Techniques in ...
Jun 10, 2024 · Chen et al. defined that with the utilization of resonant voice therapy, positive effects on voice quality, vocal fold vibration, vocal fold ...
[72]
Medial microflap for excision of benign vocal fold lesions - PubMed
The goal of microlaryngeal surgery is to treat the pathology while preserving or improving vocal function. The medial microflap technique was thus developed.
[73]
Microflap technique for vocal fold lesions - LWW
Microflap technique consists of superficial cordotomy, flap elevation, and removal of lesion with preservation of surrounding healthy tissues.
[74]
Voice Actress Recovers After Vocal Cord Surgery and Speech ...
Apr 14, 2023 · Vocal therapy after polyp removal typically spans the next 4-6 weeks of a patient's recovery. “You might think that getting the polyp ...
[75]
Effect of voice training in the voice rehabilitation of patients ... - NIH
Voice training may significantly improve the postoperative voice quality of patients with vocal cord polyps and support rehabilitation.