RESPIRATORY AND GLOTTAL EFFICIENCY MEASURES IN NORMAL CLASSICALLY TRAINED SINGERS

Respiratory and glottal efficiency measures were collected from a pool of 40 classically trained singers with normal larynges. All singers h ad greater than or equal to 3 years of formal classical voice training and were active professional solo classical singers. Mean flow rates were obtained from all subjects to assess glottal efficiency. Addition ally, maximum phonation times and phonation quotients were obtained fr om a subset of the singers. Pulmonary function test data on forced exp iratory volume, forced vital capacity, and forced expiratory flow were obtained for all subjects. Results were compared with published norma l values, not specifically derived from trained singers, used commonly in voice laboratories. Differences were found, suggesting the need fo r separate normative data to be used for evaluation of the vocal athle te.