Physical models of the human vocal tract as tools for education in acoustics

Abstract

We recently replicated the Chiba and Kajiyama physical models of the human vocal tract and found that they are extremely effective as a manipulative tool for education in acoustics. This study is an overview of our previous development of the models and their application for education. The models we developed simulate the configuration of the vocal tract, and are of two major types: cylinder and plate. The interior, bottle shape of the cylindrical models was based on the original measurements of Chiba and Kajiyama. The diameters of the holes in the 10–17 movable plates of the plate-type model were also based on the Chiba and Kajiyama measurements, but the radius curves were approximated at 10 mm resolution in a stepwise fashion. We also developed a nasalized model, which consists of a side branch attaching to a cylindrical model. Our experience confirmed that when used in a classroom environment, the models increase student understanding of the acoustic theory of speech production.