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Comparative Study
. 2021 Jan;278(1):159-165.
doi: 10.1007/s00405-020-06238-7. Epub 2020 Aug 4.

Vocal resistance among choir singers

Fernanda Onofre  1 , Hilton Ricz  1 , Yuka de Almeida Prado  2 , Gleidy Vannesa E Rojas  1 , Denny Marcos Garcia  1 , Lilian Aguiar-Ricz  3
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Vocal resistance among choir singers

Fernanda Onofre et al. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2021 Jan.

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to compare the voice of choir singers before and after 60 min of singing and after an absolute rest.

Methods: Twenty-one female choir singers aged on average 26.59 years, with experience in choir singing of at least one year were instructed to emit the vowel /a/ before and after singing and after a vocal rest of 30 min for an analysis of acoustic measures, and for the evaluation of their tactile-kinesthetic self-perception. Vocal warm-up was performed for 10 min. The participants were instructed to sing the "Ave Verum" music continuously for 60 min.

Results: f0 (p = 0.0001) and Flo (p = 0.0002) increased after the singing test and were reduced after the vocal rest, in contrast to Fhi (p = 0.001), which continued to be increased compared to the pre-test measure even after the vocal rest. The vAm parameter (p = 0.05) was reduced after continuous singing and rest. All self-evaluation symptoms increased after the continuous singing task and were reduced after the 30 min rest, except for complaints of low voice, pain when swallowing and cough/throat clearing.

Conclusion: 60 min of continuous use of the singing voice induced signs of vocal fatigue with an increase in f0, with improvement of symptoms and a reduction of f0 occurring after 30 min of vocal rest.

Keywords: Vocal fatigue; Vocal loading; Vocal loading task; Voice health; Voice resistance.

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