Singing Teacher Perception of Breathiness in Vibrato and Non-Vibrato Tones

The ability to vary vibrato for stylistic or ensemble purposes is a sought-after skill for many singers, yet the mechanisms for doing so in a sustainable fashion remain somewhat elusive. These mechanisms are of interest to singing teachers and speech pathologists, who must guide the behaviors of the students and clients they teach. In this research study, the authors explored one set of behaviors—varying the amount of breathiness—often used by singers in singing vibrato and non-vibrato. Teacher evaluations of the amount of breathiness were compared for the two conditions (vibrato and non-vibrato) and for two vowels.