Finite element modeling of the effects of velopharyngeal opening on vocal tract reactance in female voice

• Published in: The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 2021-09, Vol.150 (3), p.2154-2162
• Main Authors: Vampola, Tomáš, Horáček, Jaromír, Laukkanen, Anne-Maria
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0001-4966; 1520-8524
• DOI: 10.1121/10.0006370

Classical singers use nasal consonants as “resonance exercises,” and experimental results have shown that singers may use some velopharyngeal opening (VPO), most often in [a:] and more seldom in [i:] or [u:]. In particular, male singers have been found to increase VPO as pitch rises toward register change frequencies (passaggi). Laryngoscopic findings have shown that some VPO stabilizes vocal fold vibration; the effect is related to positive reactance. This study investigates the effects of VPO on vocal tract (VT) reactance over the range of fundamental frequencies (f0) used in singing using a computerized tomography-based finite element model of the VT and nose of a female. According to the results, by raising the lowest VT resonances, the VPO increased the VT reactance in the frequency ranges 207–359 Hz for [i:], 265–411 Hz for [u:], and 500–611 Hz for [a:], depending on the VPO size (full or half VPO). These frequency ranges are close to the first and second passaggio of a female singer. The change may have an especially practical stabilizing effect for [a:], which is otherwise characterized by very large changes in VT reactance and negative reactance at the second passaggio.