Research on control of the vocal tract and diaphragm in operatic singing

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K12048
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 61010:Perceptual information processing-related
• Research Institution: Chiba Institute of Technology
• Principal Investigator: Takemoto Hironori 千葉工業大学, 先進工学部, 教授 (40374102)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 榊原 健一 北海道医療大学, リハビリテーション科学部, 准教授 (80396168)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: リアルタイムMRI / オペラ / 声道 / 横隔膜 / 呼気圧

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In the operatic singing, the vocal tract and diaphragm are important for controlling the pitch and loudness. These organs, however, are difficult to be observed because they are internal structures of the human body. Thus, in the present study, movements of these organs during singing were recorded and analyzed by using real-time MRI. As a result, it was revealed that the cervical spines were bended backward as the pitch increased and vertical movements of the diaphragm depended on the amount of the pitch changes. The former seems to mean that the structure of the larynx is used to control the tension of the vocal folds, and the latter seems to mean that the compressibility of the air is used to control the lung pressure.

Free Research Field

音声生成

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

声が高くなると口が開くことは知られていたが、これに加えて頸椎の後弯の度合いが大きくなることを世界で初めて明らかにした。これは、従来知られていなかった喉頭の構造を利用した声の高さの制御方法が存在することを示唆する。また、一般的に歌唱中は呼気流を生み出すために横隔膜は上昇するが、熟練したオペラ歌手は肺圧を下げるために空気の圧縮性を利用して呼気流を生み出しながらも一時的に横隔膜を下降させていることを明らかにした。これも世界で初めて得られた知見で、歌唱技術の指導に貢献する。