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. 2016 May;139(5):2870.
doi: 10.1121/1.4950812.

Effects of speech style, room acoustics, and vocal fatigue on vocal effort

Pasquale Bottalico  1 , Simone Graetzer  1 , Eric J Hunter  1
Affiliations

Effects of speech style, room acoustics, and vocal fatigue on vocal effort

Pasquale Bottalico et al. J Acoust Soc Am. 2016 May.

Abstract

Vocal effort is a physiological measure that accounts for changes in voice production as vocal loading increases. It has been quantified in terms of sound pressure level (SPL). This study investigates how vocal effort is affected by speaking style, room acoustics, and short-term vocal fatigue. Twenty subjects were recorded while reading a text at normal and loud volumes in anechoic, semi-reverberant, and reverberant rooms in the presence of classroom babble noise. The acoustics in each environment were modified by creating a strong first reflection in the talker position. After each task, the subjects answered questions addressing their perception of the vocal effort, comfort, control, and clarity of their own voice. Variation in SPL for each subject was measured per task. It was found that SPL and self-reported effort increased in the loud style and decreased when the reflective panels were present and when reverberation time increased. Self-reported comfort and control decreased in the loud style, while self-reported clarity increased when panels were present. The lowest magnitude of vocal fatigue was experienced in the semi-reverberant room. The results indicate that early reflections may be used to reduce vocal effort without modifying reverberation time.

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Figures

FIG. 1.
FIG. 1.
Differences in SPL measured per octave band between the anechoic room without panels and the sound levels measured in all room and panel conditions.
FIG. 2.
FIG. 2.
Mean ΔSPL in dB across subjects per room for the loud (upper) and normal (lower) styles, where the error bands indicate ± standard error.
FIG. 3.
FIG. 3.
(Left) Mean ΔSPL in dB across subjects per panel condition and (Right) self-reported vocal effort across subjects per panel condition, where error bands indicate ± standard error.
FIG. 4.
FIG. 4.
Mean self-reported vocal effort in percent across subjects in the three rooms (anechoic, semi-reverberant, and reverberant) for normal and loud styles, with and without panels. Error bands indicate ± standard error.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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    1. Bottalico, P. , Graetzer, S. , and Hunter, E. J. (2015). “ Effects of voice style, noise level, and acoustic feedback on objective and subjective voice evaluations,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 138(6), EL498–EL503. 10.1121/1.4936643 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

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