Does singing and vocal strengthening improve vocal ability in people with Parkinson’s disease?

Abstract

Background: Ninety percent of people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) develop voice problems and many consider poor verbal communication skills to be one of their most serious concerns. Method: The purpose of this exploratory study was to determine whether a combined vocal pedagogy and voice therapy approach that emphasizes vocal effort and includes singing as half of each treatment session, improves the vocal ability of people with PD. The protocol consisted of 12 group sessions involving vocal, speech and singing exercises. Measures were taken with a stopwatch and the Visipitch® before and after 12 treatment sessions. Results: With correction for multiple variables, differences in pre–post measures of maximum intensity (loudness) range (dB) and average frequency or pitch (Hz) in oral reading were statistically significant. Conclusion: Group vocal strengthening activities that include singing may help maintain vocal skills and slow the vocal deterioration that often accompanies PD.

Keywords:

• Voice
• vocal
• Parkinson
• sing
• choral

Notes

1. “Vocalization” encompasses all phonation activities in which the vocal folds or cords come together and vibrate to produce sound as air is driven from the lungs, and includes singing, chanting, intoning, keening and projected theatrical speech, as well as ordinary everyday speech.

2. “Vocal ability” encompasses vocal skills that demonstrate laryngeal health (such as the ability to cough, clear one’s throat or prolong a consistent vowel), good voice quality (use of a pleasant and clear vocal sound) and good intelligibility (how easily one’s speech is understood by others).