SINGING POWER RATIO - QUANTITATIVE-EVALUATION OF SINGING VOICE QUALITY

This paper presents a parameter for objectively evaluating singing voi ce quality. Power spectrum of vowel sound / a / was analyzed by Fast F ourier Transform. The greatest harmonics peak between 2 and 4 kHz and the greatest harmonics peak between 0 and 2 kHz were identified. Power ratio of these peaks, termed singing power ratio (SPR), was calculate d in 37 singers and 20 nonsingers. SPR of sung / a / in singers was si gnificantly greater than in nonsingers. In singers, SPR of sung / a / was significantly greater than that of spoken / a /. By digital signal processing, power spectrum of sung / a / was varied, and the processe d sounds were perceptually analyzed. SPR had a significant relationshi p with perceptual scores of ''ringing'' quality. SPR provides an impor tant quantitative measurement for evaluating singing voice quality for all voice types, including soprano.