TY - JOUR
T1 - The physiology of oral whistling
T2 - A combined radiographic and MRI analysis
AU - Azola, Alba
AU - Palmer, Jeffrey
AU - Mulheren, Rachel
AU - Hofer, Riccardo
AU - Fischmeister, Florian
AU - Fitch, W. Tecumseh
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2018 American Physiological Society. All rights reserved.
PY - 2018/1
Y1 - 2018/1
N2 - Experimental models support the hypothesis that the sound in human whistling is generated by a Helmholtz resonator, suggesting that the oral cavity acts as a resonant chamber bounded by two orifices, posteriorly by raising the tongue to the hard palate, and anteriorly by pursed lips (Henrywood RH, Agarwal A. Phys Fluids 25: 107101, 2013). However, the detailed anatomical changes in the vocal tract and their relation to the frequencies generated have not been described in the literature. In this study, videofluoroscopic and simultaneous audio recordings were made of subjects whistling with the bilabial (i.e., "puckered lip") technique. One whistling subject was also recorded, using magnetic resonance imaging. As predicted by theory, the frequency of sound generated decreased as the size of the resonant cavity increased; this relationship was preserved throughout various whistling tasks and was consistent across subjects. Changes in the size of the resonant cavity were primarily modulated by tongue position rather than jaw opening and closing. Additionally, when highfrequency notes were produced, lateral chambers formed in the buccal space. These results provide the first dynamic anatomical evidence concerning the acoustic production of human whistling.
AB - Experimental models support the hypothesis that the sound in human whistling is generated by a Helmholtz resonator, suggesting that the oral cavity acts as a resonant chamber bounded by two orifices, posteriorly by raising the tongue to the hard palate, and anteriorly by pursed lips (Henrywood RH, Agarwal A. Phys Fluids 25: 107101, 2013). However, the detailed anatomical changes in the vocal tract and their relation to the frequencies generated have not been described in the literature. In this study, videofluoroscopic and simultaneous audio recordings were made of subjects whistling with the bilabial (i.e., "puckered lip") technique. One whistling subject was also recorded, using magnetic resonance imaging. As predicted by theory, the frequency of sound generated decreased as the size of the resonant cavity increased; this relationship was preserved throughout various whistling tasks and was consistent across subjects. Changes in the size of the resonant cavity were primarily modulated by tongue position rather than jaw opening and closing. Additionally, when highfrequency notes were produced, lateral chambers formed in the buccal space. These results provide the first dynamic anatomical evidence concerning the acoustic production of human whistling.
KW - Acoustics
KW - Aerodynamic whistle
KW - Magnetic resonance imaging
KW - Radiography
KW - Whistling
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U2 - 10.1152/japplphysiol.00902.2016
DO - 10.1152/japplphysiol.00902.2016
M3 - Article
C2 - 28839006
AN - SCOPUS:85043509224
SN - 8750-7587
VL - 124
SP - 34
EP - 39
JO - Journal of applied physiology
JF - Journal of applied physiology
IS - 1
ER -