Dear Lloyd and All,
Lloyd wrote:
>It must be remembered that all of the formants are merely the most prominent
>peaks of intensity out of all the partials produced by the voice. In other
>words. many partials or overtones are present in the vocal sound; the term
>formant is used to describe those partials that have the greatest amplitude
>(are loudest).
I like this description, because it reminds me that these formants,
or prominent overtones, are loudest because they are enhanced by the shape
of the resonating space, the vocal tract. An analogy might be a
traditional rainbow of vertically-spaced colours projected on a wall
(representing all the partials produced). Someone overlays a covering with
slots or holes in it, letting only certain colours be visible (representing
the vocal tract with its preferred resonances enhancing certain overtones).
The rainbow is shifting in position, up and down, according to the rising
and falling fundamental pitch. The holes change in shape and position to
let certain colours be prominent.
>Formants 4, 5, and 6, taken together, give the individual voice its unique
>tonal quality or timbre. Less study has been given to these formants
I think you mean formants 3, 4, & 5?
Best, Karen Jensen
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