Patterns of breath support in projection of the singing voice

Recordings of the rib cage and abdominal motions and acoustic output were o btained from five professional opera singers during performance of an aria recorded with two levels of voice projection. The condition of greater proj ection resulted in a significant increase in the acoustic power in the freq uency band 2-4 kHz, relative to the power in the 0-2 kHz band, and a decrea se in the mean expiratory now, implying a move to more efficient vocalizati on with the greater projection. Also, the condition of greater projection r esulted in a larger rib cage, particularly in the lateral dimension, but on ly a small decrease in the abdominal lateral dimension, suggesting that the greater abdominal support required for a larger projection is obtained by increased activation of abdominal muscles acting medially.