3C55.80 - Vocal Formants
Code Number: 3C55.80
Demo Title: Vocal Formants
Principle: Singing and Vowel Distinction
Area of Study: Oscillations & Acoustics
Equipment:
Special vocal filters with optional duck calls, small speaker, white noise generator, amplifier.
Procedure:
Vocal sounds can be demonstrated using the special filters over a small speaker driven with white noise. Sounds from the filters should approximate AH, EE, EH, OO, and OH.
Instead of the speaker and white noise, you can also drive the special filters with the duck calls. Insert the duck call into the filter adapter and blow so that a single vibrating tone is produced and then modified with the filter.
References:
- Lewis P. Fulcher, Ronald C. Scherer, Artem Melnykov, Vesela Gateva, and Mark E. Limes, "Negative Coulomb Damping, Limit Cycles, and Self-Oscillation of the Vocal Folds", AJP, Vol. 74, #5, May 2006, p. 386.
- Thomas D. Rossing, "Formant Filtering of the Vocal Source Function in Singing", AJP, Vol. 50, #6, June 1982, p. 564.
- George w. Barton, Jr., "Reflections on the "Forms of Sounds"', AJP, Vol. 44, #6, June 1976, p. 593.
- Thomas D. Rossing, "A voice display for corridor use", AJP, Vol. 43, #3, March 1975, p. 282.
- Rachel Berkowitz, "A Broad Acoustic Bandwidth Helps Listeners Understand Fragmented Speech", Physics Today, Vol. 73, #2, Feb. 2020, p. 17.
- Emily B. Myers, "From Sound to Meaning", Physics Today, Vol. 70, #4, Apr. 2017, p. 34.
- Steven K. Blau, "Musicality of Speech Changes with Mood", Physics Today, Vol. 63, #1, Jan. 2010, p. 16.
- Bertram Schwarzschild, "Acoustics Experiment Shows Why It’s So Hard to Make Out the Heroine’s Words at the Opera", Physics Today, Vol. 57, #3, Mar. 2004, p. 23.
- Johan Sundberg, "Formant Technique in a Professional Female Singer", Acustia, Vol. 32, #2, Feb. 1975, p. 89.
- Jearl Walker, "3.6. Throat Singing", The Flying Circus of Physics Ed. 2, p. 149.
- Jearl Walker, "3.4. Speaking and Singing", The Flying Circus of Physics Ed. 2, p. 148.
- Jearl Walker, "3.3. Whistles and Whistling", The Flying Circus of Physics Ed. 2, p. 147.
- Sara Stein, "Harrumph!", The Science Book, p. 184.
- Ron Hipschman, "Vocal Vowels", Exploratorium Cookbook III, p. 194.1 - 194.5.