Opera singers have to use the extreme limits of their vocal range. Many pedagogical and scientific sources suggest that the higher pitches achieved in classical singing can only be produced with the so-called “whistle” voice register, in analogy with the ultrasonic vocalizations of mice and rats. An international research team led by Christian T. Herbst of the University of Vienna and Matthias Echternach of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich has now rejected this assumption. In their study, the scientists showed that the high-frequency sounds of operatic sopranos are produced on the same principle as speech and most other forms of singing. The study was recently published in the Scientific Reports diary.
For this study, nine highly professional opera sopranos were asked to perform in a special laboratory situation: they phonated in the highest pitches while scientists made ultra-high-speed video recordings of the singers’ throats and vocal cords with endoscopy. transnasal. Video analysis clearly showed that, depending on the pitch sung, the vocal folds in the throat vibrate and collide between 1,000 and 1,600 times per second, which is proportional to the frequency of the sound produced. This is in stark contrast to the supposed, but now disproven, “hissing” mechanism, which would have required the vocal folds to be immobile during voice production.
The study thus demonstrates that the “default” mechanism of voice production in humans and most mammals also applies to the upper ranges of operatic singing. Simulations with a computer model suggest that singers can only produce their highest frequencies, among other things, with much greater tension on the vocal folds, supported by high expiratory air pressures.
The lead author of the study, Christian T. Herbst, maintains: “This finally debunks an old myth of voice pedagogy. It is remarkable that such extreme sounds can be produced with a fairly common voice production mechanism; this is only possible with excellent fine musculature. -control of the singers’ vocal instrument.” Lead author Matthias Echternach adds: “It is truly surprising how some singers can generate extremely high tensions on their vocal folds necessary to produce these high-pitched sounds without incurring any vocal health problems. Why some singers are successful while others are not “. It should remain open for now.”