Age-and Gender-Dependent Analysis of Voice Source Characteristics

The effects of age, gender, and vocal tract configurations on the glottal excitation signal are still only partially understood. In this paper we examine some of these effects, and show that the voice source parameters, such as fundamental frequency (F_o), open quotient (related to H*₁ - H*₂), and spectral tilt (related to H*₁ - A*₃) are not only affected by age and gender but are also intercorrelated (the asterisk superscript denotes correction for the influence of various formants). Recordings of 92 male and female speakers from three age groups (8, 15, 20-39) are analyzed. The main observations are: for low-pitched talkers H*₁ - H* ₂ (hence, the open quotient) is proportional to F_o, while for high-pitched talkers H*₁ $H*₂ is proportional to F₁ (high to low vowels) for F₁ < 700 Hz. The parameter H*₁ - A*₃ showed a strong dependence on F₂ and F₃ for all talkers and age groups: increasing F₂ or F₃ yielded an increase in H*₁ - A*₃. Spectral tilt was seen to be vowel dependent and for male talkers, spectral tilt changed dramatically with age. A better understanding of the dependencies of voice source parameters on age and gender will help improve voice source parameter estimation and analysis for a variety of speech processing and medical applications