AIRS 1st Annual Meeting: 2009

Title: Physiological and physical understanding of singing voice practices: the Sardinian Bassu
case
Authors: Nathalie Henrich (Centre national de la recherché scientifique), Lucie Bailly Xavier
Pelorson (Centre national de la recherché scientifique), Bernard Lortat-Jacob (Département des
sciences l’homme et de la société)

Abstract

The scientific approach applied to the understanding of a singing-voice practice will be
illustrated in the case of Sardinian traditional singing. From an ethnomusicological point of
view, the singing-voice technique used by Bassu singer is puzzling, as this singer produces very
low-pitch bass-type sounds. A combined physiological and physical investigation has been
conducted, which will be described. The laryngeal vibratory characteristics are analyzed on a
professional singer by means of acoustical, electroglottographic signals and synchronized
glottal images obtained by high-speed cinematography. In this singing-voice practice, both
vocal folds and ventricular folds are vibrating, similarly to the Mongolian throat singing. Using
the detected glottal and ventricular areas, the aerodynamic behavior of the laryngeal system is
simulated using a simplified aerodynamic modeling previously validated on replica of vocal
and ventricular folds. This study points out the impact of a ventricular constriction on the vocalfolds vibrations.