Higher formants above the third shape vocal identity and projection
Evidence
When considering the different sounds produced during speech, usually just the first, second and third formants are considered since these are the only formants whose frequencies tend to vary. Six or seven formants can often be identified in the laboratory and the higher formants are thought to contribute to the individual identity of a speaking or singing voice. However, in singing, important contributions to the overall projection of sound are believed to be made by formants higher than the third. — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 1356
Categorization
Category: Factual Claims
- XREF: The ‘singer’s formant’ concept relates to why trained opera voices project over an orchestra without microphones.
- SHARE: Send to a singer or voice teacher: harmonics beyond F3 explain projection power and individual timbre.
Related
- Formants are standing-wave resonances of the vocal tract itself (similarity 0.82)
- Vocal tract shape determines voice timbre far more than vocal cords do (similarity 0.81)
- Trained singers project an extra formant near 2800 Hz that cuts through orchestral sound (similarity 0.81)
- A singer’s formant near 3 kHz lets trained voices cut through orchestra sound (similarity 0.80)
- A tenor’s singer’s formant appears as boosted energy between 2.4 and 3.5 kHz. (similarity 0.80)
- Formant tracking to harmonics boosts loudness, not intelligibility, in soprano singing (similarity 0.80)
- Sopranos retune formants to match harmonics to boost loudness, not intelligibility (similarity 0.79)
- Formants are tract resonances conveying speech information (similarity 0.78)
Broader Connections
- Vocal tract resonances measurably shape wind instrument timbre
#expands(0.75) — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 1564