Perturbation Measurements in Untrained Male Voices' Transitions From Modal to Falsetto Register

SummaryPurposeVoice periodicity during transitions from modal to falsetto register still remains an unclarified question.MethodWe examined the acoustic and electroglottographic signals of 20 healthy untrained male voices' transitions from modal to falsetto register on the vowels /a, e, i, o, u, and æ/.ResultsIn addition to discontinuities in fundamental frequency (F0), an independent increase of jitter, relative average perturbation, and shimmer was observed during and apparently caused by the register transition. In falsetto, the jitter was higher than in the modal register. The contact quotient derived from the electroglottographic signal tended to be lower for higher than for lower F0.ConclusionRegister transitions are associated with increase of perturbation.