Even as American Idol reminds us of the best (and worst) that singing has to offer, a new study cautions that amateur singers and singing instructors are less sensitive than their professional peers to the subtle changes to their voices that could have a serious negative impact on their vocal health.
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To sing like Shakira, press '1' now
Vibrato -- the pulsating change of pitch in a singer's voice -- is an important aspect of a singer's expression, used extensively by both classical opera singers and pop stars like Shakira. Usually, the quality of a vibrato can only be judged subjectively by voice experts.
MGH researchers report successful new laser treatment for vocal-cord cancer
An innovative laser treatment for early vocal-cord cancer, developed at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), successfully restores patients’ voices without radiotherapy or traditional surgery, which can permanently damage vocal quality. This new option for patients, which has now been used in more than 25 patients, was reported on May 1 at the annual meeting of the American Broncho-Esophagological Association, and the data will soon be published as a supplement to the Annals of Otology, Rhinology, & Laryngology.
Showing the Mechanics of Making Music
Why do some people sound good enough to compete on American Idol while others can't carry a tune? With a lab full of tubes, wires and computers, Nandhu Radhakrishnan uses speech pathology to help others become better actors and singers through the science of sound.
Birdsong not just for the birds
Switch on the mike, start the recording, the stage is set for the local fauna! Computer scientists from the University of Bonn, in conjunction with the birdsong archives of Berlin's Humboldt University, have developed a kind of 'Big Brother' for birds.
Superfast muscles in songbirds
Certain songbirds can contract their vocal muscles 100 times faster than humans can blink an eye – placing the birds with a handful of animals that have evolved superfast muscles, University of Utah researchers found.
World's smallest karaoke machine starts them young
A Japanese toy maker will launch a karaoke machine measuring a mere seven centimetres (2.8 inches) this year, letting pop star wannabes -- particularly children -- hone their skills on the go.
Bird brains suggest how vocal learning evolved
Though they perch far apart on the avian family tree, birds with the ability to learn songs use similar brain structures to sing their tunes. Neurobiologists at Duke University Medical Center now have an explanation for this puzzling likeness.
Singing in the rainforest: Public vs. private signaling by a tropical rainforest bird
According to the Chinese proverb, a bird sings because it has a song, not because it has an answer. A team of French and Brazilian researchers, however, may have the answer as to how the song of Brazilian white-browed warbler has become so well-adapted to the acoustic properties of the rainforest environment. The study, led by Nicolas Mathevon and Thierry Aubin, is published in the online, open-access journal PLoS ONE on February 13.