ISCA Archive ISAPh 2024
ISCA Archive ISAPh 2024

Coping with reverberant acoustics in singing by extending the plosive closures in vowel-plosive-vowel sequences

Allan Vurma, Einar Meister, Lya Meister, Jaan Ross, Marju Raju, Veeda Kala, Tuuri Dede

This study examines how the duration of voiceless plosive closures in vowel–plosive–vowel (VCV) sequences affects intelligibility of sung text, particularly in reverberant environments. We hypothesize that extended closure durations reduce the masking effect of reverberation, thus enhancing plosive recognition. Perceptual experiments were conducted with modified closure durations across various acoustic settings, using stimuli created from professional opera singers’ performances. Results indicate that longer closure durations improve plosive recognition in typical concert hall acoustics with reverberation. The findings suggest that singers might improve text intelligibility by lengthening plosive closures.