April 19, 2024

Sing On: Certain Face Masks Prevent COVID-19 Transmission Without Distorting Voice

Thomas Moore, from Rollins College, will discuss his observations of a professional soprano singing with and without 6 types of masks at the 181st Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, which will be held Nov. 29-Dec. The talk, “Aerosol proliferation and acoustic effects while singing with a face mask,” will take location Wednesday, Dec. 1 at 12:40 p.m. Eastern U.S. at the Hyatt Regency Seattle as part of a session on making music throughout a pandemic.

Moore discovered masks efficiently obstruct aerosols, forcing the breath to exit at the sides. From there, the aerosols travel upward, rising with the upward flow of body heat from the vocalist. The dispersal of breath likely dilutes the infection and prevents the spread of COVID-19.
At radio frequencies, masks reduced volume but did not have other results on the singing. Masks did lower the power of higher frequencies, which made the enunciation of words less clear and modified the timbre. Masks had no effect on the pitch.
Among the masks evaluated, a vocalists mask, was created particularly with vocalists in mind. All six masks blocked the forward circulation of breath, but the singers mask did so with the least change in noise.
” A normal cloth mask can reduce the high frequencies by as much as 10 times, but a singers mask will decrease them by an aspect of less than two,” stated Moore.
Watering down virus-causing aerosols is key to reducing infection and the spread of the COVID-19 infection. Moore found the breath still left the sides of the masks, its increase into the air and subsequent dispersal lowers the danger compared to singing without a mask. He said this highlights how excellent air circulation in a space is vital for preventing viral threat.
Satisfying: 181st Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America

Researchers observed a professional soprano singing with and without six kinds of masks. Credit: Thomas Moore
Masks developed for singers prevent COVID-19 transmission, the majority of voice distortion.
When vocalists create lovely notes, they can also launch harmful particles like the coronavirus. Using a mask prevents virus transmission, however it likewise affects the sound.
Thomas Moore, from Rollins College, will discuss his observations of an expert soprano singing with and without six kinds of masks at the 181st Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, which will be held Nov. 29-Dec. 3. The talk, “Aerosol proliferation and acoustic impacts while singing with a face mask,” will occur Wednesday, Dec. 1 at 12:40 p.m. Eastern U.S. at the Hyatt Regency Seattle as part of a session on making music throughout a pandemic.

At low frequencies, masks reduced volume but did not have other results on the singing. Moore found the breath still got away the sides of the masks, its rise into the air and subsequent dispersal decreases the risk compared to singing without a mask.