EU-VOICE

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  VOICE - Vision On Innovation for Choral music in Europe

• IRAS ID

  161862

• Contact name

  David M Howard

• Contact email

  david.howard@york.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  University of York

• Research summary

  This study is part of the larger EU funded, ‘Vision On innovation for Choral Music in Europe’ (‘VOICE’) for the sustainable development and innovation of choral singing. It will investigate the vocal health of amateur choral singers in England through acoustic screening. An estimated 2% of Europe’s population sings in amateur choirs and little research has been done on their vocal health, many suffering from chronic vocal problems caused by inadequate singing technique and a lack of knowledge about vocal hygiene and voice function.

  Through questionnaires, audio recordings and procedural investigation (including clinical videonasendoscopy) this project will objectively determine the vocal status of amateur choir singers in the UK. Three amateur choirs will be recorded throughout a rehearsal in their usual rehearsal venue.

  Individual singers in these choirs will be monitored by means of a head-worn microphone and the neck-electrode electrolaryngograph (to measure vocal cord behaviour) while they sing their part within the choir. Up to 12 singers will be monitored this way in a choir at the same time. These participants will have had no formal singing training and the group will have an equal gender mix. In addition, singers will be asked to fill in a questionnaire concerning their vocal usage in daily life, any vocal issues they experience, their singing activities and overall vocal lifestyle.

  Quantitative assessment of vocal health for all singers in the test choirs will be gained by:
  1. a standard vocal health examination by a health professional, which will include high-speed videonasendoscopy (this will be conducted in a clinic outside the rehearsal time)
  2. analysis by phonetogram (singers produce sounds over a maximal pitch and loudness ranges)
  3. analysis of the microphone and electrolaryngograph data collected from the 12 singers in the choir

• REC name

  London - Queen Square Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  14/LO/1746

• Date of REC Opinion

  16 Sep 2014

• REC opinion

  Favourable Opinion