Classic Vocal Performance Training Through C-VaC Method: Study of Core Muscle Stability Warm-Up Techniques via Computer-Aided Analysis.

Vocal warm-up is essential for achieving optimal vocal performance; however, traditional methods often neglect the role of core muscle stability. This study presents the Combined Vocal and Core Muscle Stability Warm-Up Method (C-VaC), which integrates core stability training with vocal exercises to improve vocal performance. The effectiveness of the C-VaC method was assessed among soprano majors at various stages using computer-assisted audio analysis for objective measurement.

An experimental approach for comparing the influence of cello string type on bowed attack response.

This study investigates the influence of string properties on bowed string attack playability. To assess the attack playability of different string types, a variety of bow forces and bow accelerations were chosen to excite the strings and measure the transient response under different bowing control parameters. The experimentally obtained playability maps of transient duration as function of bow force and acceleration (Guettler diagram) were obtained with a robotic bowing machine, from four different types of cello G2 strings.

Elasto-plastic friction modeling toward reconstructing measured bowed-string transients.

Physical modeling may be used to simulate the motion of a vibrating string under frictional excitation by a bow. This study compares the measured transient behavior of a bowed string with predictions from a physics-based simulation that assumes a finite-width bow, incorporates bow-hair compliance, considers the string's torsional motion, and utilizes an elasto-plastic friction model. The model is first evaluated by comparing simulated Guettler playability diagrams to a measured diagram obtained from a robot arm bowing a monochord.

Physics-based playability maps for single-reed woodwind instruments.

Musical instrument playability can be analyzed by visualizing a subspace defined by musicians' control parameters. This is common for bowed-string instruments in the form of Schelleng diagrams. Such diagrams can be populated either through experimental measurements or physical modeling.

Effect of Expiratory Muscle Strength Training on the Performance of Professional Male Trumpet Players.

Background: Many trumpet players use breathing training devices in addition to their daily practice routine. Playing a brass instrument requires, besides many other skills, a controlled air stream to generate the necessary air pressures. On the trumpet, high intraoral pressures are needed, especially during high and loud notes.

Body motion of choral singers.

Recent investigations on music performances have shown the relevance of singers' body motion for pedagogical as well as performance purposes. However, little is known about how the perception of voice-matching or task complexity affects choristers' body motion during ensemble singing. This study focussed on the body motion of choral singers who perform in duo along with a pre-recorded tune presented over a loudspeaker.

Live bedside music for hospitalized older adults: A qualitative descriptive interview study.

Introduction: Hospitalization may have a major impact on older patients as it is often a period of psychosocial vulnerability. Music is one of the most described art forms used in healthcare. Applied in clinical settings, it can affect a patients' emotional and psychosocial well-being.

Interperformer coordination in piano-singing duo performances: phrase structure and empathy impact.

Musicians' body motion plays a fundamental role in ensemble playing, by supporting sound production, communication, and expressivity. This research investigates how Western classical musicians' head motion during ensemble performances relates to a piece's phrase structure and musicians' empathic perspective taking (EPT) profile. Twenty-four advanced piano and singing students took part in the study, and their EPT score was pre-assessed using the Interpersonal Reactivity Index.

Living in a box: Understanding acoustic parameters in the NICU environment.

Background: In the last years, a significant body of scientific literature was dedicated to the noisy environment preterm-born infants experience during their admission to Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs). Nonetheless, specific data on sound characteristics within and outside the incubator are missing. Therefore, this study aimed to shed light on noise level and sound characteristics within the incubator, considering the following domain: environmental noise, incubator handling, and respiratory support.

Dynamic System Coupling in Voice Production.

Voice is a major means of communication for humans, non-human mammals and many other vertebrates like birds and anurans. The physical and physiological principles of voice production are described by two theories: the MyoElastic-AeroDynamic (MEAD) theory and the Source-Filter Theory (SFT). While MEAD employs a multiphysics approach to understand the motor control and dynamics of self-sustained vibration of vocal folds or analogous tissues, SFT predominantly uses acoustics to understand spectral changes of the source via linear propagation through the vocal tract.

Judgment of togetherness in performances by musical duos.

Musicians experience varying degrees of togetherness with their co-performers when playing in ensembles. However, little is known about how togetherness is experienced by audiences and how interpersonal dynamics in body motion and sound support the judgment of togetherness. This research investigates audience sensitivity to audio and visual markers of interperformer coordination and expressivity in ensembles, in relation to modality of stimulus presentation and audience music background.

Global Inventory and Similarity Rating of Singing Voice Assessment Terms Used at English Speaking Academic Institutions.

The choice of terms to describe and assess the singing voice is an essential part of vocal pedagogy. However, previous work suggested that singing terminology used in academia may be somewhat ambiguous. To address this issue, the authors a) compiled a comprehensive inventory of singing voice assessment terms used by English-speaking academic institutions worldwide and b) with the help of 22 highly experienced singing voice teachers, grouped the most prevalent terms based on their conceptual similarity.

Status and future of modeling of musical instruments: Introduction to the JASA special issue.

Over the last decades, physics-based modeling of musical instruments has seen increased attention. In 2020 and 2021, the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America accepted submissions for a special issue on the modeling of musical instruments. This article is intended as an introduction to the special issue.

Are source-filter interactions detectable in classical singing during vowel glides?

In recent studies, it has been assumed that vocal tract formants (F) and the voice source could interact. However, there are only few studies analyzing this assumption in vivo. Here, the vowel transition /i/-/a/-/u/-/i/ of 12 professional classical singers (6 females, 6 males) when phonating on the pitch D4 [fundamental frequency (ƒ) ca.

Effect of Ventricular Folds on Vocalization Fundamental Frequency in Domestic Pigs (Sus scrofa domesticus).

This study investigates the effect of the ventricular folds on fundamental frequency (f) in the voice production of domestic pigs (Sus scrofa domesticus). The excised larynges of six subadult pigs were phonated in two preparation stages, with the ventricular folds present (PS1) and removed (PS2). Vocal fold resonances were tested with a laser vibrometer, and a four-mass computational model was created.

In-Person or Virtual? - Assessing the Impact of COVID-19 on the Teaching Habits of Voice Pedagogues.

The social distancing measures implemented world-wide in the wake of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis have forced voice pedagogues to alter their teaching habits, likely shifting from customary in-person teaching to virtual teaching. An online survey, distributed world-wide in April/May 2020, investigated how singing voice pedagogues were impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. The collected responses from 387 survey participants suggest that, overall, voice teachers were only moderately satisfied with having to teach virtually, indicating that virtual voice teaching is not a sufficient replacement for in-person teaching.

Sound field reconstruction in rooms: Inpainting meets super-resolution.

In this paper, a deep-learning-based method for sound field reconstruction is proposed. The possibility to reconstruct the magnitude of the sound pressure in the frequency band 30-300 Hz for an entire room by using a very low number of irregularly distributed microphones arbitrarily arranged is shown. Moreover, the approach is agnostic to the location of the measurements in the Euclidean space.

The "Sound of Silence" in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit-Listening to Speech and Music Inside an Incubator.

The intrauterine hearing experience differs from the extrauterine hearing exposure within a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) setting. Also, the listening experience of a neonate drastically differs from that of an adult. Several studies have documented that the sound level within a NICU exceeds the recommended threshold by far, possibly related to hearing loss thereafter.

The influence of the vocal tract on the attack transients in clarinet playing.

When playing single-reed woodwind instruments, players can modulate the spectral content of the airflow in their vocal tract, upstream of the vibrating reed. In an empirical study with professional clarinettists ( ), blowing pressure and mouthpiece pressure were measured during the performance of Clarinet Concerto excerpts. By comparing mouth pressure and mouthpiece pressure signals in the time domain, a method to detect instances of vocal tract adjustments was established.

Reconstruction of an early viola da gamba informed by physical modeling.

The reconstruction of an early viola da gamba is considered, using virtual prototyping by means of the finite element method. Based on iconographic sources, previous research has postulated an instrument design lacking a soundpost and a bass bar. This led to the hypothesis of a top plate with variable thickness.

Music Therapy and Other Music-Based Interventions in Pediatric Health Care: An Overview.

In pediatric health care, non-pharmacological interventions such as music therapy have promising potential to complement traditional medical treatment options in order to facilitate recovery and well-being. Music therapy and other music-based interventions are increasingly applied in the clinical treatment of children and adolescents in many countries world-wide. The purpose of this overview is to examine the evidence regarding the effectiveness of music therapy and other music-based interventions as applied in pediatric health care.

Eye gaze as a means of giving and seeking information during musical interaction.

During skilled music ensemble performance, a multi-layered network of interaction processes allows musicians to negotiate common interpretations of ambiguously-notated music in real-time. This study investigated the conditions that encourage visual interaction during duo performance. Duos recorded performances of a new piece before and after a period of rehearsal.

Analysis of Tonguing and Blowing Actions During Clarinet Performance.

Articulation on the clarinet is achieved by a combination of precise actions taking place inside the player's mouth. With the aim to analyse the effects of tonguing and blowing actions during playing, several physical variables are measured and parameters related to articulation are studied. Mouth pressure, mouthpiece pressure and reed displacement are recorded in an experiment with clarinet players to evaluate the influence of the player's actions on the selected parameters and on the sound.