Effects of Varied Semi-Occluded Vocal Tract Exercises on Acoustic and Perceptual Measures of Music Theatre Singers: A Pilot Study

Recent investigations of semi-occluded vocal tract exercises (SOVTEs) have indicated possible benefits for voice therapy and for choral and classical singing. Few researchers have investigated SOVTEs with contemporary commercial music (CCM) singers. The current study examined perceptual and acoustic effects of five sung conditions:/m/, lip trill, drinking straw phonation (6 mm diameter), stirring straw phonation (2.5 mm diameter), and unoccluded/a/(control). Six participants sang a music theatre solo excerpt prior to and after using one of the SOVTEs, which were randomized with the control condition over five days. Acoustic analyses of the final note and singer self reports of vocal effort provided data for analysis. Results indicated some trends toward improvements in acoustic measures of the SOVTEs compared to the/a/condition, though no particular exercise emerged as most effective. Singers reported potential benefits for all the exercises, with stirring straw rated as having the lowest posttest effort and lip trill rated as having the most robust across-the-board effect. Other results were largely idiosyncratic. These results suggest there may be benefits for SOVTEs in music theatre singing, but it may take some sleuthing for voice teachers to help each student discover which exercise is most individually beneficial.