Amateur Music Theatre Singers' Perceptions of their Current Singing Voice Function

Vocal Fatigue Experiences and Mitigation Strategies in the Sacred Harp Singing Community

OBJECTIVES

Sacred Harp singers sing at a high volume for sustained periods of time without collective warm-up or cool-down exercises, ostensibly putting them at elevated risk for vocal fatigue (VF) and associated vocal pathologies. Participants are also likely to lack formal vocal training. The purpose of this study was to (1) assess singers' experiences with VF, (2) document singers' strategies for mitigating VF, and (3) determine whether vocal training was associated with decreased vocal difficulties.

STUDY DESIGN

Self-reporting via online questionnaire containing quantitative and qualitative items.

METHODS

This study employed an online questionnaire that combined demographic items, open-ended questions, and the Evaluation of the Ability to Sing Easily (EASE). Participants were recruited at one in-person event and via social media and a mailing list.

RESULTS

This study returned 134 valid responses. Singers with formal choral experience scored lower on the EASE and two subscales, but length of experience had no impact. There were no correlations between vocal training and EASE scores. Women scored higher on the EASE than men and nonbinary individuals, while age, length of experience with Sacred Harp singing, and frequency of attendance at annual singing events were all negatively correlated with EASE score. Singers reported a wide range of mitigation strategies, most of which are unique to the Sacred Harp context.

CONCLUSIONS

Sacred Harp singers do not appear to struggle more with VF than other populations of singers. However, a few characteristics of their practice put them at risk, and many singers would benefit from professional guidance concerning vocal health.

It Sounds like It Feels: Preliminary Exploration of an Aeroacoustic Diagnostic Protocol for Singers

To date, no established protocol exists for measuring functional voice changes in singers with subclinical singing-voice complaints. Hence, these may go undiagnosed until they progress into greater severity. This exploratory study sought to (1) determine which scale items in the self-perceptual Evaluation of Ability to Sing Easily (EASE) are associated with instrumental voice measures, and (2) construct as proof-of-concept an instrumental index related to singers' perceptions of their vocal function and health status. Eighteen classical singers were acoustically recorded in a controlled environment singing an /a/ vowel using soft phonation. Aerodynamic data were collected during a softly sung /papapapapapapa/ task with the KayPENTAX Phonatory Aerodynamic System. Using multi and univariate linear regression techniques, CPPS, vibrato jitter, vibrato shimmer, and an efficiency ratio (SPL/PSub) were included in a significant model (p < 0.001) explaining 62.4% of variance in participants' composite scores of three scale items related to vocal fatigue. The instrumental index showed a significant association (p = 0.001) with the EASE vocal fatigue subscale overall. Findings illustrate that an aeroacoustic instrumental index may be useful for monitoring functional changes in the singing voice as part of a multidimensional diagnostic approach to preventative and rehabilitative voice healthcare for professional singing-voice users.

Reliability and Validity of the Mandarin Version of Singing Voice Handicap Index - 10 (MSVHI-10)

OBJECTIVES

The present study aims to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Mandarin version of the Singing Voice Handicap Index-10 (MSVHI-10).

METHODS

One hundred and fifteen singers, aged from 21 to 65, participated in this study. All the subjects completed the Mandarin version of the SVHI-10 and the Voice Handicap Index-10 (VHI-10). Other gathered information include sex, age, type of singing performance, and the accumulated years of singing. We also asked the participants to self-report the presence of singing voice complaint. Statistical analyses were performed to evaluate the validity, reliability, and the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve of MSVHI-10.

RESULTS

The results showed high internal consistency (Cronbach's α =0.96), with the scores of each question ranged from 0.57 to 0.90. Forty-three singers re-filled the MSVHI-10 with an interval of 12.7 ± 9.3 days (mean ± standard deviation), and the results showed a high test-retest reliability (r = 0.98, P < 0.01). The SVHI-10 scores were significantly correlated with the VHI-10 (r = 0.54-0.72, P < 0.01). ROC analysis revealed a high differentiating accuracy for distinguishing between the subjects with or without singing voice complaints, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.97. At the cut-off score of 21.5, the sensitivity and specificity were 85.7% and 95.9%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

The Mandarin version of the SVHI-10 has been shown to be a reliable and valid instrument for evaluating the self-perception of singing voice complaints.