Variation in singing voice quality: A case-study from traditional music of southern Marche

Paolo Bravi

doi:10.17469/O2103AISV000011

Variation in singing voice quality

A case-study from traditional music of southern Marche

Autori

Paolo Bravi Conservatorio di Musica “G. P. Palestrina”, Cagliari

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17469/O2103AISV000011

Parole chiave:

voice quality, singing voice, harsh voices, Central Italy traditional singers, ethnomusicology

Abstract

In this paper a recording of two traditional stornellos performed by two non professional singers from southern Marche (Italy) has been analyzed. Three acoustic measures related to harsh voice quality – jitter, shimmer and harmonics-to-noise ratio (HNR) – have been examined in order to describe by means of quantitative descriptors the difference between the voices of the two singers and to investigate some prospective factors that can be related to the variability of their voice quality in the recorded performance.