Formant frequencies in country singers' speech and singing

In previous investigations breathing kinematics, subglottal pressures, and voice source characteristics of a group of premier country singers have bee n analyzed, The present study complements the description of these singers' voice properties by examining the formant frequencies in five of these cou ntry singers' spoken and sung versions of the national anthem and of a song of their own choosing. The formant frequencies were measured for identical phonemes under both conditions. Comparisons revealed that the singers used the same or slightly higher formant frequencies when they were singing tha n when they were speaking. The differences may be related to the higher fun damental frequency in singing, These findings are in good agreement with pr evious observations regarding breathing, subglottal pressures, and voice so urce, but are in marked contrast to what has been found for classically tra ined singers.