The Transient Theory of Human Voice Production with Dr Julian Chen
Sunday 16th April 2023, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM (London Time)
This event is free-to-attend as part of our World Voice Day celebrations.
In 1957, French physiologist Philippe Fabre invented the electroglottograph, which can accurately determine the closing and opening instants of the glottis in vivo. In 1984, Donald Miller and Harm Schutte further placed two pressure sensors immediately above and below the glottis, measured the air pressures across the glottis.
This experimental evidence enabled a scientific understanding of human voice production.
And so a refined version of the transient theory of human voice production, the timbron theory, initially proposed by Leonhard Euler in 1727, is established. In this lecture, experimental output and the timbron theory of human voice production are presented in an easy to understand graphical format.
Content:
According to that theory, the time between two adjacent glottal closing instants accurately defines the pitch period, and the sound waveform in each pitch period contains full information on the timbre. A method of extracting glottal closing instants from sound waves and a graphical display, the pitch-synchronous spectrogram, are presented.
Among the samples of human voice, the sound recordings of Luciano Pavarotti are analyzed. Some characteristics of the master singer are shown, and hints of how to improve the quality and volume of voice are presented.
Finally, the theory and parametrization method for human voice developed in early 20th century, the source-filter theory and linear prediction coefficients (LPC), are outlined.
Comparing with the more accurate timbron theory and pitch-synchronous parametrization method, the deficiencies of the source-filter theory and the LPC method are discussed.
Dr Julian Chen
Julian Chen received a PhD in Physics from Columbia University in 1985, then joined IBM Research Division as a Research Staff Member...
World Voice Day
World Voice Day takes place on 16th April annually. It is acknowledged across the globe, with the main goal being to increase awareness of voice and voice issues.
Sorry, this is an archived short course...
We have plenty of upcoming short courses coming soon. See details of some of them below or look at the full list of short courses.
Monday 7th July 2025
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Tuesday 8th July 2025
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Wednesday 9th July 2025
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Friday 11th July 2025
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Monday 14th July 2025
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Tuesday 15th July 2025
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Wednesday 16th July 2025
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Friday 18th July 2025
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
(London Time)
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Dr David Cane
This certificated statistics course is ideal for individuals interested in laying a solid foundation in quantitative research methods. By focusing on essential statistical principles, you will be equipped with the tools to understand and apply quantitative research techniques effectively. Statistics is a crucial component of quantitative research; mastering it will enable you to grasp quantitative methods more confidently and precisely.
Tuesday 15th July 2025
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)
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Walt Fritz
As a relative outsider looking into the voice and performance world, I witness the bell curve of thoughts and actions on how the tongue contributes to voice problems and how best to tame that tension. Traditional ways of taming tongue tension seem adequate (or would seem so, based on feedback), so what is different and new? In this short course for the Voice Study Centre, Walt Fritz will introduce the learner to variations on self-applied tongue stretches and exercises.
Wednesday 16th July 2025
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
(London Time)
Emotion and Performing Accents and Dialects: why does Emotion Get in the Way?
Louisa Morgan
At points of heightened emotion, it is common for actors working in an accent to default to their natural speech. How do we help performers to avoid this issue and provide them and their directors with the confidence they need regardless of the emotional demands of the piece? What can we learn from research in vocal expression of emotion to help actors to embody the emotion and keep control of their voice and accent? Our very own Louisa Morgan will guide participants through the latest research and offer practical suggestions for working with performers needing to navigate this challenge.