Resonance Tuning in Singing (Formant tuning)

This talk explains resonance tuning in singing. Resonance tuning, also known as formant tuning, gives more output for the same effort and is said to help stabilise the voice. It can be used by all voice types but is particularly important for high voices. For a background introduction to the voice, see www.phys.unsw....
This paper reports work by Joe Wolfe and John Smith at UNSW Sydney, in collaboration with several students and post-docs: Julien Epps, Annette Dowd, Elodie Joliveau, Nathalie Henrich-Bernadoni, Maëva Garnier, Laura Wade, André Almeida, Noel Hanna and Marie Jeanneteau.
See also www.phys.unsw.... and www.phys.unsw....
This talk was given at the 2022 conference of the Australian National Association of Teachers of Singing

[@Octo_Hands]

Thank you for sharing! This is very informative!

[@mickael.alkemia]

This is by far the most interesting video I have seen on vocal resonance! It's brilliant! Thank you.

[@JoeWolfe]

Thanks for the kind words. This has been a theme in our lab's research, so we thought we should make a video explanation for singers..

[@Acoustic-Rabbit-Hole]

It just hit me that this videos systematically explains how overtone throat-sining works.

[@JoeWolfe]

@@Acoustic-Rabbit-Hole Yes, overtone or harmonic singing is an application of resonance tuning. I spoke a little about harmonic singing in this talk, starting at 11:30 and showed a measurement, but I didn't discuss it in any detail.

[@voicemagic]

Great video, thank you! Will it be possible to get hand on this training system for sopranos? Do you think that sopranos who are trained overtone singers can learn this R2fo tuning more easily?

[@JoeWolfe]

i) The system we used would be hard to reproduce at home and we have no current plans to develop a do-it-yourself version. (We are physicists, not software developers.) ii) We've never had a soprano overtone singer in the lab. However, I'd expect that such a singer would have a big advantage in learning R2:fo tuning.

[@voicemagic]

Thank you for your quick reply :-) @@JoeWolfe

[@Acoustic-Rabbit-Hole]

Brings up the question of A432Hz Scientific Pitch as being preferable to singers since it is a geometrically-related frequency.(Harmonic ratios in geometrical division and angles). Considering that A440hz standard ptich is an arbitrary pitch that is not related to mathematical ratios, is vocal resonance easier to produce if fine-tuned a bit higher or lower than A440 hz? There are specific vocal register shifts between the base, tenor, alto and soprano “areas” of the human voice. Especially from F to F#, and B to C. These are very specific areas on the chromatic scale. One would think there here could be a specific frequency in that spectrum that maximizes the tone of the voice. Not to mention potentially making it easier to sing to, and thereby putting less physical stress on the voice. Excellent and provocative video. Thank you, and do visit my channel, _The Acoustic Rabbit Hole_ concerning my Theory of Pitch Psychology which claims to have identified specific themes and emotions to specific keys/notes.. Be well! Your, _Acoustic Rabbit Hole_

[@JoeWolfe]

You are correct in saying that pitch references are to some extent arbitrary and there are arguments about which is best. Humans have different voice ranges. They come in different sizes and shapes so the range of their vocal resonances also vary. So, in principle, we'd expect that different pitch references might suit some singers better than others. However, the difference between 432 and 440 is not great, even compared with the day-to-day (or morning to evening) variation in singing ranges or vocal resonance ranges. A larger variation comes from 'original instrument' performances of baroque works. Often these use A = 415 Hz. This can make life easier for sopranos and tenors: their 'high C's in baroque tuning have the same frequency as a high B in modern tuning. Conversely, baroque pitch makes very low notes harder to sing. I don't know whether anyone has studied resonance tuning in baroque pitch. Woodwind instruments provide a practical constraint on changing pitch references, because the tuning slide doesn't affect all notes in the same way: 'long tube' notes are affected less that 'short tube' notes. Modern woodwinds play well in tune at roughly A = 440 Hz or a bit higher. Recreation baroque instruments are usually made to play at 415 Hz.

[@Acoustic-Rabbit-Hole]

@@JoeWolfe Indeed, I didn't quite consider the in-between pitch reference of Baroque tunings. Your response was a valuable assessment of pitch-reference challenges throughout history. Thank you! In addition to meditation on the textural differences of A432 vs. A440 vs. A444hz (Shcumann Resonance, Earth's Atmosphere), I am observing the "primal" pitches as called or cried by different animals. Birds are bit more a chore to isolate and table a specific frequency on my tuners. I am convinced that not only is our hearing spectral (C/"red" to F/"lime-green as the warmer colors and F#/"green" to B/"magenta are the cooler notes. Meaning each note has a specific textual quality. Fore example F# always as a buzzy sort of twangy sound to it. Marking it as green reminds that F# is a pivotal note is the vocal register-shift from F to F#. Also, just as C is the opposite of F#, so is C/red the tritone of F#. Further, the color green divides or "splits" the 12 tone color wheel just as F# splits the octave of Middle C to a higher C. There is clearly a REASON that Middle C is associated as the _center_ of the keyboard. In my work I have confirmed thus far that animals do not sing in A440 concert pitch. Which is not surprise. Ha. I have found that in general they DO tend to pitch lower, rather than higher. And, yes, closer to a432hz than A440! At the moment my focus is to prove a general psychology of the keys (by analyzing song-lyric themes and thematic choices of Classical works. I also am working to prove that the reason people have perfect pitch at all is because they have learned or have always been able to identify at note by it's intrinsics texture (coloring). Which can be seen parallel to the color spectrum. Right down to the try-tone complimentaris.. And I'm bringing attention to my channel by creating stunning Sia music videos!

[@teddydunn3513]

Where can I hear r2f0?

[@JoeWolfe]

It might take time to find an appropriate file because John and I are now both retired. And you might be disappointed: R2:fo doesn’t sound much different from R1:fo - after all, a resonance is a resonance. The difference in sound is mainly that R2:fo usually, though not always, is used at higher pitch.

[@JoeWolfe]

Sorry for the delay. I posted a sound file on this page: www.phys.unsw.edu.au/jw/broadband.html