Elicitation of minimum and maximum fundamental frequency and vocal intensity: Discrete half steps versus glissando

Abstract

Introduction and aim: To investigate the effect of elicitation method, either discrete half steps or glissando, on the minimum frequency, maximum frequency, minimum vocal intensity and maximum vocal intensity. Methods: Fifty-six healthy-voice participants (28 males and 28 females) ranging from 18 to 25 years of age participated in the current study. Each participant performed both the discrete half steps procedure and glissando. The minimum frequency, maximum frequency, minimum intensity and maximum intensity values elicited by each task were analyzed. A portion of participants (five males and five females) returned within three weeks to repeat the whole procedure to determine test-retest reliability. Results: The results of Pearson’s correlation demonstrated all measures were positively significantly correlated. However, the analysis of variance showed that discrete half steps could elicit maximal vocal performance better than glissando in terms of minimum frequency, maximum frequency and minimum intensity. Discrete half steps could elicit higher maximum intensity than glissando in males to a greater extent than in females. Conclusion: The difference in elicited performance between the two procedures may be considered acceptable under some situations (e.g. time constraint, patient fatigue). In the clinical setting, the clinician should select the appropriate procedure with the consideration of time and assessment purpose.