京剧外文文献Acoustic Analyses of the Singing Vibrato in Traditional Peking Opera.pdf

Acoustic Analyses of the Singing Vibrato in Traditional Peking Opera *Qichao Han and †Ruifeng Zhang, *Jinhua and †Xin Xiang Municipality, China Summary: China’s traditional Peking Opera has four standard categories of roles: Sheng, Dan, Jing, and Chou, the singing vibrato of each displaying a different auditory effect. The audio and respiratory signals were recorded for two performers of the Qing Yi role, one of the Jing role, one of the Chou role, one of the Lao Sheng role, one of the Xiao Sheng role, and one of the Lao Dan role. The recordings gained eventually consisted of 24 representative songs from six roles. The rates and extents of vibrato, fundamental frequency, and rib cage signals were analyzed. Two findings were obtained: (1) the classical opera singing vibratos of China and Western countries are acoustically different from each other; and (2) in Peking Opera, the singing vibratos of different roles show significant acoustic differences. Key Words: Singing vibrato–Peking Opera–Fundamental frequency–Rib cage respiration–Categories of roles. INTRODUCTION spectra of vibrato-free tones contained unbroken series of har- Peking Opera, which originated in the 17th century (Qing monic partials sometimes reaching up to 17 kHz.2 Actually, the Dynasty), is the typical representative of China’s traditional opera, study of vocal vibrato has a long history, which can be dated and is a comprehensive performing art consisting of music, paint- back to the 1930s when Seashore analyzed the vibrato in singers ing, literature, dancing, singing, recitation, acting, etc. Therefore, and instrument players.3 However, the research object of West- it is an embodiment of China’s classical culture, reflecting the erners was largely Western music, includin