Effects of physical training on the stability of operatic singing: Acoustical analyses and physical measurements after isometrics
Minoru Tsuzaki, Hidetoshi Ue, Tadamichi Orie, Taemi Kohama · 2013
To investigate the effectiveness of a new type of training for singing, i.e. isometric training for the muscles to maintain the steady posture of the upper half of the body, nine undergraduates of Kyoto City University of Arts, majoring in vocal music, provided samples of singing before and after isometric training spanning nine months. The isometric training improved the physical achievement of each participant. The total durations of maintaining body posture became significantly longer than at the very beginning of the training. Three undergraduates, majoring in vocal music, provided samples of singing as a control group. Acoustic analyses revealed that the physically trained participants could modulate the fundamental frequency more prominently than the control group. On the other hand, the fluctuations in intensities and spectral patterns were suppressed more effectively in the training group than the untrained group. These results indicated that the isometric training affected the way of controlling the singing or phonation. The changes caused by the physical training can be assumed to improve the stability of singing voices.