Upper high notes: Auditory-perceptual analysis of voice and self-reporting among professional sopranos

Abstract

Purpose: To describe the emission of upper high notes by professional sopranos by means of the auditory-perceptual evaluation of the singers' voices and self-reports. Methods: Five professional sopranos performed an excerpt from a Bellini opera which involved the emission of an upper high note. The auditory-perceptual evaluation was carried out by three speech-language therapists and three singing teachers, who considered brightness, loudness, metal quality, vibrato, breathiness, and resonance on a visual-analytical scale, based on each singer's emission of high notes. After the recording, the singers were asked to answer a proprioceptive questionnaire on the physical sensations that they had as they emitted upper high notes. An inferential analysis of the data from the auditory-perceptual evaluation was conducted, and the singers' self-reports were summarized and then orthographically transcribed. Results: In the auditory-perceptual analysis, the emission of upper high notes was characterized according to the presence of brightness, loudness, metal quality, vibrato, and anterior resonance, as perceived by speech-language therapists and singing teachers. In the proprioceptive report, all singers reported laryngeal elevation and a need to use respiratory support in order to emit upper high notes. Conclusion: Upper high notes are characterized by a bright vocal emission, enhanced loudness, with a metallic quality and vibrato, little or no breathiness, accompanied by a sensation of laryngeal elevation and a need for respiratory support.