• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.56-59
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• 2006

The factors involved in controlling the vocal pitch are the tension, the mass, the length of the vocal cords and the subglottic pressure. Vocal pitch can be elevated surgically by increasing the stiffness or reducing the vibrating mass of the vocal cords. Recently, we experienced a case of 25 year-old female whose vocal pitch was elevated with radiofrequency surgery of right vocal cord on suspension laryngoscopy. Elevation of vocal pitch(134.11 to 144.73) was noted two months after operation. So we report this case with review of literature.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.353-359
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• 2011

This paper proposes a vocal enhancement technique for improving the performance of vocal pitch detection in polyphonic music signal. The proposed vocal enhancement technique predicts an accompaniment signal from the input signal and generates an accompaniment replica signal according to the vocal power. Then, it removes the accompaniment replica signal from the input signal, resulting in a vocal-enhanced signal. The performance of the proposed method was measured by applying the same vocal pitch extraction method to the original and the vocal-enhanced signal, and the vocal pitch detection accuracy was increased by 7.1 % point in average.

• Speech Sciences
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.157-177
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• 1998

An electroglottography (EGG) was used to investigate the function of the vocal folds during their vibration. In this study, four Korean native speakers and 10 vocal polyp patients were selected. To investigate the dynamic change of EGG waveforms for the three-way distinction of Korean stops, a DSP-Sona graph model 5500, a Rino- Laryngeal stroboscope, a CSL model 4300B and a Laryngograph were used. An EGG Model 4338 was used to exam the vocal polyp of patients' voices during high, low, comfortable pitch production. The purpose of this study is to investigate the characteristics of Korean stop consonants in relation to pitch and to observe laryngeal movement during vocal fold vibration and speech production. The basic data accumulated during this research can be applied in clinical treatment. The results are as follows: on the Korean stop consonants, the aspirated stop is the highest in the GOT and PC1. On the angle of vowel contour, the angle of lenis is smaller than the angle of heavily aspirated and glottalized stops. The fundamental frequency is lowest at the lenis stop, In vocal polyp patients', the low pitch range is smaller than in normal speakers'. The pitch break and the vocal fry were observed. The jitter and OQ value are higher in vocal polyp patients than in those of normal speakers'.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.11-21
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• 1994

The vocal pitch is controlled by the tension, mass, and length of the vocal fold. It is well known that cricothyroid approximation raises the vocal pitch by simulating the contraction of the cricothyroid muscle, and there were so many reports that have noted a relationship between cricothyroid distance and pitch control, but there does not seem to be any single generally accepted theory to account for this connection. It is generally known that the strap muscles are active during low and falling Fo, and the suprahyoid muscles are active during high and raising Fo. These findings can be related to a general picture of the motion of the larynx during changes in Fo, the cricothyroid joint would tend to lengthen the vocal folds, as the larynx moves up and forward, and relax them as it moves back and down. In this study, we suggest that the relationship between anterior cricothyroid distance and fundamental frequency of the larynx was so complex according to the level of larynx and vertebral curvature. The higher the level of larynx, the wider the cricothyoid distance, but there is more greater fundamental frequency even though more wide cricothyroid distance. This phono-menon seems to be due to the multifactors, especially the vertical tension of the conus elasticus or the change of cricothyroid articulation. It is generally known that the crocothyoid and vocal is muscles are very closely related to pitch elevation, but sternohyoid muscle seems to be more closely related to pitch lowering. By this electromyographic studies, the sternohyoid muscle have dual activity to pitch control, increased activity during the low fundamental frequency and falling pitch, but also increased activity during the higher fundamental frequency and raising pitch at least in this study.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.152-155
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• 1998

Laryngeal framework surgery to improve change the voice is a challenging development in phoniatric surgery. Basically two categories can be distinguished : (1) attempted medialization of the vocal fold, as for the treatment of paralytic dysphonias (2) adjustment of the vocal fold's tension of transsexuals or mutational dysphonia. Vocal pitch can be elevated by various surgical technique 1) cricothyroid approximation 2) A-P expansion of the thyroid ala 3) longitudinal incision in the cords 4) intrachondral injection of the steroid, and 5) evaporation of the cords by $CO_2$ laser. We have experienced a case of pitch elevation procedure after transsexual operation. After transsexual operation, he had received anterior commissure laryngoplasty modified from Le Jeune with no change in voice pitch(Fo=110Hz). 8 monthes later, he had received cricothyroid approximation resulting in pitch elevation(Fo=160Hz).

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.377-386
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• 2016

The purpose of this study was to compare the vocal range between the older and young adults depending on the absence and presence of pitch cues. Participants were 44 older adults aged from 60 to 85 years and 59 college students aged from 19 to 25 years. Each participant was instructed to vocalize for examining the possible highest pitch to the lowest pitch in two conditions; with and without pitch cues. Without pitch cues, the maximum and minimum pitch of male participants was higher in the older adults than in the young adults group, while the minimum pitch of females was lower in the older adults group than in the young adults group. When presented with pitch cues, young adults could expand their vocal range, but the older adults showed no significant changes in produced vocal ranges. The results indicate that the range of voice in older adults may be affected by aging and these results can be beneficial when selecting the appropriate range of song for singing activities with older adults.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.47-50
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• 2003

The transgender is who has persistent discomfort with his of her sex or sense of inappropriateness in the gender role of that sex. Many transgenders have been undergone trans-sex operations after 1980's. But there were not so much experience of voice surgery for transgenders. Vocal pitch can be elevated by various surgical techniques. Type IV thryoplasty, which one of the cricothyroid approximation methods, increases tension to the vocal folds, thus increasing fundamental frequency and upper pitch range. We treated a transgender (MTF, Male to female) using this technique. Acoustic and aerodynamic measures were obtained both pre- and post-operatively. Clinically significant improvement was achieved in both study; increasing of vocal pitch, widening of pitch range, and improvement of vocal efficiency.

• Speech Sciences
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.179-200
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• 2007

In voice pathology, various measurements calculated from pitch values are proposed to show voice quality. However, those measurements frequently seem to be inaccurate and unreliable because they are based on some wrong pitch values determined from pathological voice data. In order to solve the problem, we compared several pitch estimation methods to propose a better one in pathological voices. From the database of 99 pathological voice and 30 normal voice data, errors derived from pitch estimation were analyzed and compared between pathological and normal voice data or among the vowels produced by patients with benign vocal fold lesions. Results showed that gross pitch errors were observed in the cases of pathological voice data. From the types of pathological voices classified by the degree of aperiodicity in the speech signals, we found that pitch errors were closely related to the number of aperiodic segments. Also, the autocorrelation approach was found to be the most robust pitch estimation in the pathological voice data. It is desirable to conduct further research on the more severely pathological voice data in order to reduce pitch estimation errors.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.69-74
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• 1994

Thyroplasty type III provides an effective mean of shortening the vocal fold. It is used primarily fer lowering vocal pitch. The indications for this surgery are the male patients with too high a vocal pitch of long duration which has proven resistant to voice therapy and a type of dysphonia characterized by high pitch and a breathy voice, in which the laryngeal findings include a very narrow glottal chink and a small amplitude of vibration, suggesting a stiff vocal cord. In this study, we have experienced two cases of high pitched voice, one is mutational falsetto and other is high pitched, breathy voice with stiff vocal fold. The results were satisfactorily successful with type III thyroplasty. So we report the cases of type III thyroplasty in patients of dysphonia with high pitched voice.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.19-26
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• 2013

The aerodynamic characteristics (subglottal pressure (Ps) and mean airflow rate (MFR)), fundamental frequency (Fo), intensity (I), vocal efficiency (VE), and closed quotient (CQ) were compared during a sustained vowel /o/ sound under three conditions: in a comfortable loudness and pitch level (condition 1), in a maximum loudness level with a fixed pitch (condition 2), and in a maximum loudness level without a fixed pitch (condition 3). Also, multiple regression analyses were done to measure the aerodynamic characteristics affect on the VE and the CQ in each condition. The results showed the Fo, Ps, MFR, VE, and CQ increased as I increased with and without fixed pitch. Most notably, VE in condition 3 was the highest of all the conditions, but CQ was not very high. By the results of multiple regression analysis, VE was significantly affected by I and Ps in all conditions; Fo was the other main key for affecting VE in high pitch. However, none of the aerodynamic characteristics significantly affected CQ. As I increases, Fo should be increased by increasing Ps and VE. Therefore, researchers should consider and specify an a priori to Fo, Ps, and I when measuring VE to examine the complex and delicate vocal mechanism.