Long-Term-Average Spectrum Characteristics of Country Singers During Speaking and Singing

Five premier male country singers involved in our previous studies spoke and sang the words of both the national anthem and a country song of their choice. Long-term-average spectra were made of the spoken and sung material of each singer. The spectral characteristics of county singersʹ speech and singing were similar. A prominent peak in the upper part of the spectrum, previously described as the “speakerʹs formant,â€‌ was found in the county singersʹ speech and singing. The singerʹs formant, a strong spectral peak near 2.8 kHz, an important part of the spectrum of classically trained singers, was not found in the spectra of the country singers. The results support the conclusion that the resonance characteristics in speech and singing are similar in country singing and that county singing is not characterized by a singerʹs formant.