Don Miller’s Account
Below is a first person account of how Don became interested in pursuing voice research, and how VoceVista grew to become a leader in the field:
Voice Science and Early Experiments
In 1964, after completing post-graduate study and performing professionally in Europe, I joined Syracuse University (SU) as a voice instructor, later becoming Professor of Voice. This position offered unique opportunities, including access to Tri-Cities Opera in nearby Binghamton and involvement with SU’s Voice Foundation initiative, which provided cutting-edge technology for research in laryngology and voice science. My early interest in phonetics had already led me to explore acoustics and voice science, and at SU we had the rare opportunity to observe vocal folds during singing using videostroboscopy.
Through the Voice Foundation initiative, I collaborated with singing teacher Jo Estill and speech scientist Ray Colton, gradually becoming involved in the Voice Foundation symposia in New York City. In the late 1970s, a chance meeting with Richard Miller of Oberlin Conservatory led me to connect with Harm Schutte, an otolaryngologist and voice researcher in Groningen, The Netherlands. This connection proved pivotal, as Groningen was where voice pedagogue William Vennard had worked with voice scientist Janwillem van den Berg on the myoelastic-aerodynamic theory of voice production.
In 1984, I spent a sabbatical with Dr. Schutte, conducting groundbreaking research on sub- and supra-glottic pressures in the singing voice. Our experiments yielded significant findings that contradicted common scientific understanding of voice production. The pressure data showed that the basic acoustic impulse was negative, producing a wave of rarefaction rather than compression – a finding that challenged existing theories.
Harm Schutte and I continued our investigations of the singing voice for the next 25 years, contributing regularly to Voice Foundation Symposia and publishing in peer-reviewed journals. In 1987, I moved to Groningen to focus full-time on scientific research, particularly interested in how modern technology could enhance practical studio instruction.
The Origins of VoceVista
In the 1990s, personal computers had evolved to the point where they could perform real-time spectrum analysis, providing immediate evidence of formant tuning effects on voice harmonics. With support from Groningen University Hospital, we developed an MS-DOS program that could simultaneously display microphone signal, spectrum analysis, and electroglottograph (EGG) signal.
While our initial presentations at Voice Foundation symposia generated limited interest, the technology showed great promise in practical teaching. A breakthrough came when Jim Doing, an American tenor teaching at the University of Missouri, became the first professional singer to successfully implement visual formant tuning feedback in lessons. This led to a funded research project and successful demonstrations of the technology’s potential in voice pedagogy.
The software’s development accelerated through collaborations with key figures in the field. Garyth Nair, a choral conductor and early technology adopter at Drew University, helped make the software more user-friendly. Engineer Richard Horne integrated both acoustic and EGG signals into the first Windows version. Dutch engineer Gerrie Goeree created an affordable EGG device, making the technology accessible to singers and teachers.
A significant advancement came with Richard Horne’s integration of spectrogram software, enabling real-time visualization of singers’ resonance adjustments. This led to the first “wired master class” in 2007 with pedagogue Scott McCoy, author of “Your Voice, an Inside View.” The success of this class and subsequent presentations at the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) conference in 2008 coincided with the publication of “Resonance in Singing,” a comprehensive manual for using VoceVista.
The basic acoustic analysis software with EGG capability became known as VoceVista Pro, establishing itself as an important tool for singing teachers worldwide. Its effectiveness has been validated through academic research, including Stephen Robertson’s doctoral dissertation at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, which documented its use in both teaching and professional performance analysis.
This is an abridged version of the original text. Click here to read the long version.