The Experts below are selected from a list of 279 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
H Gish - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
a parametric approach to Vocal Tract length normalization
International Conference on Acoustics Speech and Signal Processing, 1996Co-Authors: E Eide, H GishAbstract:Differences in Vocal Tract size among individual speakers contribute to the variability of speech waveforms. The first-order effect of a difference in Vocal Tract length is a scaling of the frequency axis; a female speaker, for example, exhibits formants roughly 20% higher than the formants of from a male speaker, with the differences most severe in open Vocal Tract configurations. We describe a parametric method of normalisation which counteracts the effect of varied Vocal Tract length. The method is shown to be effective across a wide range of recognition systems and paradigms, but is particularly helpful in the case of a small amount of training data.
-
ICASSP - A parametric approach to Vocal Tract length normalization
1996 IEEE International Conference on Acoustics Speech and Signal Processing Conference Proceedings, 1Co-Authors: E Eide, H GishAbstract:Differences in Vocal Tract size among individual speakers contribute to the variability of speech waveforms. The first-order effect of a difference in Vocal Tract length is a scaling of the frequency axis; a female speaker, for example, exhibits formants roughly 20% higher than the formants of from a male speaker, with the differences most severe in open Vocal Tract configurations. We describe a parametric method of normalisation which counteracts the effect of varied Vocal Tract length. The method is shown to be effective across a wide range of recognition systems and paradigms, but is particularly helpful in the case of a small amount of training data.
Joe Wolfe - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
Vocal Tract resonances in speech, singing, and playing musical instruments
Human Frontier Science Program Journal, 2009Co-Authors: Joe Wolfe, Maëva Garnier, John SmithAbstract:In both the voice and musical wind instruments, a valve (Vocal folds, lips or reed) lies between an upstream and downstream duct: trachea and Vocal Tract for the voice, Vocal Tract and bore for the instrument. Examining the structural similarities and functional differences gives insight into their operation and the duct-valve interactions. In speech and singing, Vocal Tract resonances usually determine the spectral envelope, and usually have a smaller influence on the operating frequency. The resonances are important not only for the phonemic information they produce, but also because of their contribution to voice timbre, loudness and efficiency. The role of the Tract resonances is usually different in brass and some woodwind instruments, where they modify and to some extent compete or collaborate with resonances of the instrument to control the vibration of a reed or the player's lips, and/or the spectrum of air flow into the instrument. We give a brief overview of oscillator mechanisms and Vocal Tract acoustics. We discuss recent and current research on how the acoustical resonances of the Vocal Tract are involved in singing and the playing of musical wind instruments. Finally we compare techniques used in determining Tract resonances and suggest some future developments.
-
Vocal Tract interactions in saxophone performance
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 2008Co-Authors: Jer-ming Chen, John Smith, Joe WolfeAbstract:Although acousticians have debated the importance of the Vocal Tract in reed instrument performance, expert saxophonists report adjusting their Vocal Tract for advanced techniques including altissimo playing, subtone playing, bugling and multiphonics. Using a novel method [1], we incorporated an acoustic impedance head within a saxophone mouthpiece to study the Vocal Tract directly during playing. For fingerings above the first register, the operating peak in the saxophone's input impedance decreases with increasing pitch, falling to below 20 MPa.s.m‐3 after 2.7 octaves, thus ending the standard range that is readily available to amateurs. Above this, in the altissimo, professional saxophonists produce peaks in the impedance of their Tracts of about 20 to 40 MPa.s.m‐3, which they tune to select the desired note. The crossover of the relative magnitudes of saxophone and Tract impedance peaks coincides with the transition from standard to altissimo register. While professionals use the Vocal Tract thus for other extended effects, inexperienced players do not tune their Tract resonances and are unable to produce advanced effects. [1] Chen, JM. Smith, J. and Wolfe, J., (2008) ''Experienced saxophonists learn to tune their Vocal Tracts''. Science, (in press).
-
Tuning of Vocal Tract resonance by sopranos
Nature, 2004Co-Authors: Elodie Joliveau, John Smith, Joe WolfeAbstract:Sopranos can sing at frequencies that are rather higher than the normal values for the lowest resonance of their Vocal Tract, but failure to use this resonance would reduce both their Vocal power and homogeneity in timbre. We have directly measured the resonance frequencies of the Vocal Tract of sopranos during singing, and find that, towards the top of their range, they consistently increase the frequency of the lowest resonance to match that of their singing. This significantly increases the loudness and the uniformity of tone, albeit at the expense of comprehensibility.
-
THE DIDJERIDU AND THE Vocal Tract
2001Co-Authors: Neville H. Fletcher, Lloyd C. L. Hollenberg, John Smith, Joe WolfeAbstract:The Australian didjeridu is a deceptively simple instrument acoustically but, because it is closely coupled to the playerOs Vocal Tract without an intervening mouthpiece, a skilled player can produce a wide variety of striking musical effects. Measurements and supporting theory elucidate the roles of passive instrument acoustics, lip motion, controllable Vocal Tract resonances, and active Vocalisation.
Harald Höge - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
ICASSP - Estimation of the dynamics of Vocal Tract parameters
ICASSP '81. IEEE International Conference on Acoustics Speech and Signal Processing, 1Co-Authors: Harald HögeAbstract:The dynamics of the Vocal Tract are modelled by a perturbation, which changes randomly the area function of the Vocal Tract. Wakita's method establishes a correspondence between the perturbation of the area function and a perturbation of the prediction coefficients. A Kalman filter exTracts continuously the estimates of the prediction coefficients using the structure of the perturbation of the area coefficients.
E Eide - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
a parametric approach to Vocal Tract length normalization
International Conference on Acoustics Speech and Signal Processing, 1996Co-Authors: E Eide, H GishAbstract:Differences in Vocal Tract size among individual speakers contribute to the variability of speech waveforms. The first-order effect of a difference in Vocal Tract length is a scaling of the frequency axis; a female speaker, for example, exhibits formants roughly 20% higher than the formants of from a male speaker, with the differences most severe in open Vocal Tract configurations. We describe a parametric method of normalisation which counteracts the effect of varied Vocal Tract length. The method is shown to be effective across a wide range of recognition systems and paradigms, but is particularly helpful in the case of a small amount of training data.
-
ICASSP - A parametric approach to Vocal Tract length normalization
1996 IEEE International Conference on Acoustics Speech and Signal Processing Conference Proceedings, 1Co-Authors: E Eide, H GishAbstract:Differences in Vocal Tract size among individual speakers contribute to the variability of speech waveforms. The first-order effect of a difference in Vocal Tract length is a scaling of the frequency axis; a female speaker, for example, exhibits formants roughly 20% higher than the formants of from a male speaker, with the differences most severe in open Vocal Tract configurations. We describe a parametric method of normalisation which counteracts the effect of varied Vocal Tract length. The method is shown to be effective across a wide range of recognition systems and paradigms, but is particularly helpful in the case of a small amount of training data.
John Coleman - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
automatic segmentation of Vocal Tract mr images
International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging, 2013Co-Authors: Zeynab Raeesy, Sylvia Rueda, Jayaram K Udupa, John ColemanAbstract:Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is widely applied as a safe and reliable method in studying the hidden mechanisms of human speech production. Automatic segmentation of Vocal Tract shape in MRI is a challenging task due to the dynamic nature of articulation, the variability in the shape introduced by different sounds or different speakers' articulatory configurations, and the connectivity of Vocal Tract airway to other channels of air such as the nasal Tract. A new approach for the automatic segmentation of the Vocal Tract shape in dynamic MR images is proposed. A method of automatic landmark tagging by recursive boundary subdivision (RBS) is applied to obtain the corresponding sets of landmarks on the Vocal Tract contours. The oriented active shape model (OASM) technique is adopted to recognise and delineate the shape of the Vocal Tract in standardised MR images. The results are presented and evaluated both qualitatively and quantitatively. We demonstrate that this is a promising approach for automatic segmentation of large databases of Vocal Tract images for the purposes of speech production studies.
-
ISBI - Automatic segmentation of Vocal Tract MR images
2013 IEEE 10th International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging, 2013Co-Authors: Zeynab Raeesy, Sylvia Rueda, Jayaram K Udupa, John ColemanAbstract:Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is widely applied as a safe and reliable method in studying the hidden mechanisms of human speech production. Automatic segmentation of Vocal Tract shape in MRI is a challenging task due to the dynamic nature of articulation, the variability in the shape introduced by different sounds or different speakers' articulatory configurations, and the connectivity of Vocal Tract airway to other channels of air such as the nasal Tract. A new approach for the automatic segmentation of the Vocal Tract shape in dynamic MR images is proposed. A method of automatic landmark tagging by recursive boundary subdivision (RBS) is applied to obtain the corresponding sets of landmarks on the Vocal Tract contours. The oriented active shape model (OASM) technique is adopted to recognise and delineate the shape of the Vocal Tract in standardised MR images. The results are presented and evaluated both qualitatively and quantitatively. We demonstrate that this is a promising approach for automatic segmentation of large databases of Vocal Tract images for the purposes of speech production studies.
