Yonsei Med J.  2008 Aug;49(4):610-614. 10.3349/ymj.2008.49.4.610.

Vocal Analysis Related to Changes in Frequency of Pure Tone Auditory Feedback

• Lee SH
• Lee KC
• Ban JH
• Lee NH
• Jin SM

• KMID: 1793196
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3349/ymj.2008.49.4.610

Abstract

PURPOSE
Many studies have shown that subjects show a change of vocal fundamental frequency (F0) when phonating subjects hear their vocal pitch feedback shifted upward or downward. This study was performed to demonstrate whether vocal parameters [F0, intensity, jitter, shimmer, and noise to harmonic ratio (NHR)] in normal males respond to changes in frequency of pure tone masking. MATERIALS and METHODS: Twenty healthy male subjects participated in this study. Subjects vocalized /a/ vowel sounds while listening to a pitch- shift pure tone through headphones (upward pitch-shift in succession: 1kHz to 2kHz and 1kHz to 4kHz at 50dB or 80dB, respectively, downward pitch-shift in succession: 1kHz to 250Hz and 1kH to 500Hz at 50dB or 80dB, respectively). RESULTS: Vocal intensity, F0, was increased, whereas jitter was decreased as the pitch of pure tone was shifted upward. However, there was no correlation between shimmer and NHR with pitch-shift feedback for pure tones. Unlike vocal pitch- shift feedback in other studies, upward pitch-shift feedback of pure tones caused the vocal F0 and intensity to change in the same direction as pitch-shift. CONCLUSION: The results of this study demonstrated that auditory kinesthetic feedback is affected by pitch-shift in pure tone.

Keyword

Pitch; feedback

MeSH Terms

Acoustic Stimulation
Adult
*Feedback
Humans
Male
Pitch Perception/*physiology
Voice/*physiology

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 The mean change of vocal parameters in response to 8 pitch-shift masking conditions. The values of pre-shift vocal parameters were subtracted from post-shift vocal parameters at the 50 and 80 dB masking levels. (A) The mean change of vocal intensity according to the change of 4 different shifts in masking frequency. (B) The mean change of F0 according to the change of 4 shifts in masking frequency. (C) The mean change of jitter according to the change of 4 shifts in masking frequency. (D) The mean change of shimmer according to the change of 4 shifts in masking frequency. (E) The mean change of NHR according to the change of four different shifts in masking frequency. *Percentage of subjects that changed vocal parameter toward the same direction of pitch-shift of pure tone.

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