SOUND LEVEL VARIATION FINDINGS FOR PIANISSIMO AND FORTISSIMO PHONATIONS IN REPEATED MEASUREMENTS

Ten vocally untrained female university students vocalized /a:/ at fiv e given pitches within the average female speaking range (196, 220, 26 2, 330, and 396 Hz) as softly as possible (pianissimo) and as loudly a s musically acceptable (fortissimo). To study the repeatability of voi ce range profile (sound level) measurement, the procedure was repeated 10 times in each of the five sample sessions during the day, in conne ction with vocal loading that included five oral readings (45 min each ), 15-min pauses, and a lunch break (45 min). A sound level meter spec ially designed for voice range profile measurement uas used. The effec t of the loading was seen on the mean sound level changes and intraind ividual variation on SDs. The difference between the first phonation a nd best performance indicates significance of the repetition of the me asurement. The sound level averaged across the pitches rose significan tly during loading. The intraindividual SD varied between 3 and 4 dBA according to pitch and loudness, and the sound level difference betwee n the first phonation and best performance was similar to 5 dBA in pia nissimo and similar to 7 dBA in fortissimo.