Effects of a Straw Phonation on Acoustic and Self-Reported Measures of Adolescent Female Singers: A Pilot Study

ABSTRACTCharacteristics of adolescent female voice change include breathiness, inconsistent pitch, “cracks,” abrupt register transitions, vocal range changes, and decreased stamina. Researchers have found that semi-occluded vocal tract exercises (e.g. straw phonation) can assist with such difficulties with other varied populations, facilitating glottal closure, decreasing breathiness, and encouraging easier voicing. Therefore, the purpose of this investigation was to measure the effects of straw phonation (experimental) compared to “ah” vowel (control) warm-ups on acoustic and self-reported measures of seventh-grade female-identifying singers. We calculated each participant’s Acoustic Voice Quality Index (AVQI) prior to and after a 4–5-minute straw phonation (n = 6) or unoccluded “ah” vowel (n = 6) warm-up. Results indicated robust improvement in AVQI scores after both warm-ups, with a trend toward more acoustic improvement after straw phonation (5 improved, M = 0.48, compared to 4, M = 0.35). All participants self-reported that their respective voicing helped them to be more warmed up, but the effect was statistically much larger in the straw group (7.23 to 5.00, 10-point scale). Some participants self-reported that straw phonation was more effective than their typical warm-up. These results may indicate more robust benefits from straw phonation, which could facilitate increased motivation during a difficult transition.KEYWORDS: Straw phonationadolescent female singerSOVTEvocal qualityAVQI Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1. This data collection began in March 2020, just prior to the COVID–19 shutdown. When the school reopened to visitors, we no longer had access to students in this location, and our resulting sample size was smaller than intended. We believe these methods and pilot data will inform future studies.Additional informationNotes on contributorsJeremy N. ManternachJeremy N. Manternach, PhD, is Associate Professor and area chair of Music Education at the University of Iowa, where he teaches undergraduate and graduate choral pedagogy, music education, and research courses. Dr. Manternach is a frequent guest clinician and conductor at the state, conference, and local levels. His research on vocal/choral pedagogy and acoustics has appeared in such venues as the Journal of Research in Music Education (JRME), the Journal of Voice, and the International Journal for Research in Choral Singing (IJRCS). He currently serves on the editorial board of the JRME.Chad ClarkChad Clark, PhD, is the vocal music teacher at Lakewood High School in Lakewood, CO, and the Music Director at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church in Boulder, CO. His research interests include teacher self-efficacy and adolescent voice change instruction, the effects of choral conductor and singer gesture on conglomerate choral sound, straw phonation, and various semi-occluded vocal tract exercises (SOVTE) and their impact on choral acoustics, and adolescent singer vocal development.Bridget SweetBridget Sweet, PhD, is Associate Professor of Music Education at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, Illinois. She has worked extensively with adolescent singers as a teacher, clinician, and adjudicator. Her research interests include middle level choral music education, [assigned at birth] female and male adolescent voice change, musician health and wellness, intersections of LGBTQ+ topics and the music classroom, as well as intersections of motherhood and academia. She is a Licensed Body Mapping Educator through the Association for Body Mapping Education.