Electroglotographic voice measurement analysis: normality standards for singers through Kay Pentax® CSL Program

ABSTRACT

Purpose:

Analyze the measures of the fundamental frequency, electroglotographic jitter, contact quotient and periodicity of the electroglotographic waves of the singers in habitual voice.

Method:

A cross-sectional observational study, which selected individuals from singing schools in the central region of the municipality of Belo Horizonte. The sample was non-probabilistic, for convenience consisted of 60 singers aged between 18 and 55 years, 30 males and 30 females. For the electroglotographic record collection, the Kay Pentax ™ CSL program, model 6103, the Electroglotographic module was used. The participants were placed in a seated position, and after cleaning the skin of the neck with 70% alcohol, two electrodes were placed on the wings of the thyroid cartilage at the level of the vocal folds. Subsequently, the participants were instructed to emit the vowel/a/sustained in a habitual way. The measurements of the fundamental frequency (f₀), contact quotient (QC), electroglotographic jitter and periodicity of the electroglotographic wave were analyzed. The data were statistically analyzed using Minitab 17.

Results:

The parameters analyzed were statistically significant. The fundamental frequency (f₀) was higher in females (226.91Hz) when compared to males (166.54Hz). The measure of contact quotient and periodicity was also higher in women (40.46% and 15.51% respectively) when compared to men (27.45% and 7.82, respectively). The jitter parameter was higher in men when compared to women.

Conclusion:

Women presented higher values in the fundamental frequency (f₀), contact quotient (QC) and periodicity of the wave compared to men. The men presented the jitter value higher than that of the women.

Keywords:
Voice; Larynx; Voice quality; Dysphonia; Speech acoustics