ESTILL VOICEPRINT PLUS

FROM
ESTILL VOICE INTERNATIONAL

(Version 6.0)
 COPYRIGHT NOTICE

Copyright 2006-2010 by Estill Voice International. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission
of the publisher.

Estill Voice International

55 Standish Boulevard
Pittsburgh, PA 15228 USA

www.EstillVoice.com
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

VOICEPRINTS................................................................................................................. 1
NARROWBAND VOICEPRINT ................................................................................ 1
VOCAL TRACT RESONANCE VOICEPRINT ...................................................... 2
PITCH AND SOUND LEVEL PLOT......................................................................... 2
POWER SPECTRUM PLOT ...................................................................................... 3

DISPLAY ELEMENTS AND CONTROLS................................................................... 4

VOICEPRINT CONTROLS ....................................................................................... 4
PITCH AND SOUND LEVEL PLOT CONTROLS ................................................. 5
POWER SPECTRUM PLOT CONTROLS............................................................... 6

HOW TO RECORD A VOICEPRINT........................................................................... 7

HOW TO STORE A VOICEPRINT............................................................................... 8
HOW TO RECALL A VOICEPRINT ........................................................................... 9
HOW TO USE THE SPLIT WINDOW DISPLAY..................................................... 10
HOW TO PRACTICE WITH THE VOICE MODEL................................................ 11
HOW TO CROP AND SAVE VOICEPRINTS ........................................................... 15
HOW TO PAUSE AND RESTART DISPLAY ........................................................... 16
HOW TO ADJUST VOLUME ...................................................................................... 16
HOW TO SET VOCAL RANGE, TIME SCALE, AND FREQ MARKERS........... 18
HOW TO CHANGE DISPLAY COLORS .................................................................. 19
HOW TO SAVE OR PRINT A VOICEPRINT IMAGE ............................................ 21
SOUND CARD CONTROL FOR WINDOWS VISTA .............................................. 22
SOUND CARD CONTROL FOR WINDOWS XP ..................................................... 24
SOLUTIONS TO SOME COMMON PROBLEMS.................................................... 26
ENSURING VOCAL HEALTH.................................................................................... 27
COPYRIGHT NOTICE ................................................................................................. 27
CREDITS......................................................................................................................... 27
 VOICEPRINTS

Voiceprints are graphical plots of the sound frequency spectrum of the speaking or singing voice. They
show a time history of the voice spectrum with frequency as the vertical axis, time as the horizontal axis,
and with harmonic intensity at any point represented by color or intensity. This type of display is also
know as a spectrogram.

The Estill Voice Training System defines specific required voice qualities. The mastery of these voice
qualities is documented by the recorded voiceprints produced with the Voiceprint program. The
“Certificate of Figure Proficiency” or CFP voiceprints define voice qualities for mastery at the student
level, and the “Certified Master Teacher” or CMT voiceprints define additional voice qualities that must be
mastered for certification as an EVTS Instructor.

The Voiceprint Computer Program provides four types of spectrum analysis as illustrated below. The
Narrowband Voiceprint is a spectrogram display of frequency versus time that resolves the audio
spectrum into its individual harmonic components. The Vocal Tract Resonance Voiceprint overlays a
plot of vocal tract resonance frequencies onto the narrowband voiceprint. The Pitch and Sound Level Plot
shows a time history of the fundamental frequency (or pitch) and the sound pressure level (SPL) in
decibels. The Power Spectrum Plot is an analysis of the audio spectrum at a single point in time showing
the signal level in decibels versus frequency. See the examples below.

NARROWBAND VOICEPRINT

The Narrowband Voiceprint resolves the audio spectrum of the voice into its frequency components,
consisting of a fundamental frequency and multiple harmonics. Frequency is shown on the vertical axis,
time on the horizontal axis, and the strength of the harmonic components is indicated by the color or
intensity of the plot at each point. The audio signal itself is represented by an amplitude versus time strip at
the top of the spectrogram display.

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 VOCAL TRACT RESONANCE VOICEPRINT

The Vocal Tract Resonance Voiceprint shows the resonant frequencies (or formants) of the vocal tract as
green traces over the narrowband spectrogram.

PITCH AND SOUND LEVEL PLOT

The Pitch and Sound Level Plot shows a time history of the fundamental frequency (or pitch) in Hz, and the
relative sound pressure level (SPL) in decibels. SPL is shown in blue and Pitch in yellow (or gray for a
black on white display color selection). The vertical SPL axis is labeled in decibels (dB) and the vertical
Pitch axis in frequency (Hz and keyboard note). The horizontal axis represents time in seconds.

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 POWER SPECTRUM PLOT

The Power Spectrum Plot is an instantaneous view of the audio spectrum showing signal spectrum level
versus frequency. Relative spectrum level in decibels is shown on the vertical axis, and frequency in Hz is
shown on the horizontal axis.

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 DISPLAY ELEMENTS AND CONTROLS

Each type of Voiceprint display is managed using the mouse pointer and graphical controls as shown
below. The particular controls provided are determined by the type of display in use (Narrowband
Voiceprint, Vocal Resonance Voiceprint, Pitch and Sound Level Plot, or Power Spectrum Plot.

VOICEPRINT CONTROLS

ƒ Volume Control Volume is controlled by the vertical slider knob at the right side of the display.
Adjust the volume by raising or lowering this control until the signal fills about ½ of the height of the
signal amplitude strip at the top of the display. The ideal recording volume is indicated by the height
of a colored band at the center of the signal amplitude strip. The volume control may be used either
during recording of a voice signal or during analysis of a recorded voiceprint.

ƒ Time Cursor The Time Cursor is a vertical line that may be dragged to position by clicking and
holding down the left mouse button.. The Time Cursor is used primarily to select a point in time
before switching to the Power Spectrum Plot.

ƒ Mouse Pointer and Time-Frequency Readouts The mouse pointer can be used to measure time,
frequency, and signal level from the display. Parameter values are indicated in the box at the bottom
left of the display window. The shape of the mouse pointer can be selected to be a plain white cross
mark, black cross mark, or a target box. Choose “Pointers” from the program menu to make this
selection.

ƒ Frequency Markers Horizontal frequency markers may be applied to the display to highlight
frequencies of interest. Choose “Pointers - Freq Mark” from the program menu to add these markers.

ƒ Record, Store CFP/CMT, and Recall CFP/CMT Control Buttons The Record button starts a
session of audio recording, and the Store CFP/CMT button saves the practice recording into the
voiceprint inventory. The Recall CFP/CMT button retrieves a saved voiceprint from inventory.

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ƒ Single, Upper, and Lower Control Buttons These buttons are used to switch between a single
voiceprint display and a Split Window Display comparing two voiceprints, one above the other. Once
a split-window display has been created, the function of the Upper / Lower control buttons changes to
designation of either the upper of lower display for subsequent action such as Record, Recall, or
volume control using the right-side vertical slider.

ƒ Spectrogram, Pitch/SPL, and Power Spect Control Buttons These buttons are used to switch
between the Narrowband Voiceprint, the Pitch and Sound Level Plot and the Power Spectrum
Plot.

ƒ Narrowband or Vocal Tract Resonance Voiceprints can be selected by clicking the F4 Function
Key, or by choosing “Voiceprints - Turn On/Off Resonance Analysis” from the program menu.

ƒ Grid Control Button The Grid button is used to apply a time and frequency coordinate grid to the
voiceprint.

ƒ Play Control Button The Play button is used to initiate playback of the voiceprint.

ƒ Stop Control Button The Stop button (or the Esc key) is used to freeze the voiceprint display at any
time of interest, or to halt playback of a voiceprint.

PITCH AND SOUND LEVEL PLOT CONTROLS

ƒ Mouse Pointer and Time-Frequency Readouts The mouse pointer can be used to measure sound
pressure level (SPL) in dB and fundamental frequency (or pitch) in Hz from the display. Parameter
values are indicated in the box at the bottom left of the display window.

ƒ Frequency Markers Horizontal frequency markers may be applied to the display to highlight
frequencies of interest. Choose “Pointers - Freq Mark” from the program menu to add these markers.

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 POWER SPECTRUM PLOT CONTROLS

The power spectrum plot uses similar controls, but adds buttons for capturing the moving spectrum plot

ƒ Mouse Pointer and Time-Frequency Readouts The mouse pointer can be used to measure signal
level and frequency from the display. Parameter values are indicated in the box at the bottom left of
the display window.

ƒ Frequency Markers Vertical frequency markers may be applied to the display to highlight
frequencies of interest. Choose “Pointers - Freq Mark” from the program menu to add these markers.

ƒ Peak Hold Control Button The Peak Hold button initiates measurement of the peak of the power
spectrum plot. The peak will be continuously updated and shown as a continuous red line on the
power spectrum plot

ƒ Freeze, Peak Hold, and Clear Control Buttons The Freeze button records an instantaneous
snapshot of the power spectrum plot that is then shown on the display as a continuous green line. The
Clear button removes the frozen signal from the display. Peak Hold plots the peak of the spectrum plot
as a continuous red line.

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 HOW TO RECORD A VOICEPRINT

To record a voiceprint, first select the display type using the “Spectrogram,” “Pitch/SPL,” or “Power
Spect” control buttons. Then select the display format using the “Single,” “Upper,” or “Lower” control
buttons. Then click the “Record” button to begin recording your own voice through an attached
microphone. The display will update and scroll in real time to show the spectrum of your voice. Click the
“Stop” button to terminate recording. See Display Elements and Controls for more information about
use of the control buttons.

You can adjust volume by moving the vertical slider at the right side of the display window. Volume is
independently adjustable for the upper and lower halves of the split screen display. Click the “Upper” or
“Lower” control buttons to designate the upper or lower display for volume adjustment. See How to
Adjust Volume for more information.

You can record again and again for practice just by clicking the “Record” button, and you can replay the
recorded voiceprint by clicking the “Play” button.

Below is an example of a voiceprint recording using the Spectrogram display type and the Single display
format.

SPECTROGRAM DISPLAYED IN A SINGLE WINDOW

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 HOW TO STORE A VOICEPRINT

The Estill Voice Training System defines specific required voice qualities. The mastery of these voice
qualities is documented by the recorded voiceprints produced with the Voiceprint program. The
“Certificate of Figure Proficiency” or CFP voiceprints define voice qualities for mastery at the student
level, and the “Certified Master Teacher” or CMT voiceprints define additional voice qualities that must be
mastered for certification as an EVTS Instructor. You will be prompted for selection of the CFP or CMT
certification levels when the program first starts. You may also change the certification level at any time
by choosing “Voiceprints – Choose Certification Level” from the program menu.

After a voiceprint is recorded on the screen, click the “Store CFP/CMT” control button to bring up the
selection control panel for the designated certification level as shown below.

Designate a particular figure by placing a green X mark with the mouse in the “Done” column opposite its
description. Figures that have been previously recorded will be indicated with a Black X mark in the Done
column.

The Voiceprint program stores CFP and CMT recordings and voiceprints in computer databases that allow
for easy recall, playback, and analysis. Two computer databases named “Inventory A” and “Inventory B”
are provided, and each inventory will hold a complete set of CFP and CMT voiceprints. Choose Inventory
A or Inventory B as the storage location for your voiceprint, and then click the “Store” button.

You may also store the Voiceprint as an external WAVE file on your hard drive by using the “WAVE File”
and “Store” buttons.

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 HOW TO RECALL A VOICEPRINT

To recall a saved voiceprint from inventory, first select the display type using the “Spectrogram,”
“Pitch/SPL,” or “Power Spect” control buttons. Then select the display format using the “Single,”
“Upper,” or “Lower” control buttons. Then click the “Recall CFP/CMT” button to bring up the voiceprint
selection control panel for the designated certification level as shown below.

The Voiceprint program stores CFP and CMT recordings and voiceprints in computer databases that allow
for easy recall, playback, and analysis. Two computer databases named “Inventory A” and “Inventory B”
are provided, and each inventory will hold a complete set of CFP and CMT voiceprints. Choose Inventory
A or Inventory B as appropriate for the voiceprint to be recalled.

Figures that have been previously recorded will be indicated with a Black X mark in the “Done” column.
Designate a particular figure for recall by placing a green X mark with the mouse in the “Done” column
opposite its description. Then click the “Recall” button.

You may also recall WAVE files stored separately on your hard drive by using the “WAVE File” and
“Recall” buttons.

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 HOW TO USE THE SPLIT WINDOW DISPLAY

The Voiceprint program provides for recording, storage, recall, display, and comparison of two complete
sets of voice figures. These two sets, each containing all of the Certificate of Figure Proficiency (CFP) and
Certified Master Teacher (CMT) figures, can be stored by the program as Inventory A and Inventory B.

It is often useful to compare a student’s performance with known good figures. So, for example, good
sample figures can be stored in Inventory B, and the student’s current efforts can be stored in Inventory A.
Voiceprint can then be used to compare the two, figure by figure, using a top and bottom split window
display.

To record voice figures to one half of the split window display, first click the “Upper” or “Lower” control
button and then the “Record” control button to create a recording. You can practice again and again until
the best result is obtained, and then click the “Store” control button. Select Inventory A or Inventory B,
and mark the chosen voiceprint in the “Done” column with a green “X” using the mouse. Then click the
“Store” button to save your figure in the proper inventory location.

To recall voice figures to one half of the split window display, first click the “Upper” or “Lower” control
button as desired. Then, click the “Recall CFP/CMT” button to bring up the voiceprint selection control
panel. Click the “Inventory A” or “Inventory B” button at the bottom of the voiceprint selection control
panel as desired, and mark the chosen voiceprint with a green “X” using the mouse. Then click the
“Recall” button to recall the recording from the selected inventory.

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 HOW TO PRACTICE WITH THE VOICE MODEL

The Split-Window display is a very useful tool for voice practice with direct comparison of the student’s
voiceprints with the Estill Voice Model. The model voiceprints can be shown on either the upper or lower
half of a split window display, and the student’s voiceprints on the other half.

As an example, try loading model voiceprints into Inventory B and displaying on the bottom half of the
split window, and saving your own voice recordings for comparison into Inventory A and displaying on the
top half of the split window.

Load the Model voiceprints into Inventory B by selecting “Voiceprints – Load Female Voice Model – To
Inventory B” from the program menu. To display a particular model voiceprint, click the “Lower” control
button and then select the “Recall CFP/CMT” control button to bring up the voiceprint selection control
panel. Click the “Inventory B” button at the bottom of the voiceprint selection control panel, and mark the
desired voiceprint with a green “X” using the mouse. Click “Recall” to create a lower half window display
of the model voiceprint.

Next you can record your own voiceprints to the upper half of the window for comparison. First click the
“Upper” control button, and then click the “Record” button to begin recording and the “Stop” button to
complete. You can practice again and again to perfect the voiceprint.

To save your recording in voiceprint inventory, click the “Store” control button to bring up the voiceprint
selection control panel. Designate a particular figure by placing a green X mark with the mouse in the
“Done” column opposite its description. Figures that have been previously recorded will be indicated with
a Black X mark in the Done column. Choose Inventory A as the storage location for your voiceprint, and
then click the “Store” button.

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Inventory B now contains the Estill Voice Model voiceprints, and Inventory A contains your own voice
recording. You can recall and replay the two for comparison at any time using the split window display.

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 HOW TO UTILIZE THE VOICEPRINT INVENTORY

The Voiceprint program stores CFP and CMT recordings and voiceprints in computer databases that allow
for easy recall, playback, and analysis. Two computer databases named “Inventory A” and “Inventory B”
are provided, and each inventory will hold a complete set of CFP and CMT voiceprints. These inventories
can be copied to files and transferred to any other computer running the Voiceprint program.

Saving Voiceprint Inventory as Files

The complete voiceprint inventory may be saved into a file folder for backup purposes or for transfer to
another computer. Choose “Voiceprints - Save Copy of Voiceprints - From Inventory A” or “Voiceprints -
Save Copy of Voiceprints - From Inventory B” from the program menu to save an entire inventory. Use
the controls shown below to designate a directory and folder name for the stored files.

It is highly recommended that all Voiceprint users make regular backup copies of their own voiceprint
inventory. In the event of a computer failure or accidental file deletion, the backup copy can be used to
restore the inventory and avoid the loss of many hours of work.

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Loading Voiceprint Inventory From Files

To load a complete voiceprint inventory from files for recall, playback, and analysis select “Voiceprints -
Load New Voiceprints - To Inventory A” or “Voiceprints - Load New Voiceprints -To Inventory B” from
the Voiceprint program menu. Use the “Browse for Folder” control shown below to search through the
file system for a voiceprint inventory folder. Caution! Loading a new inventory will replace the
existing voiceprint inventory on your computer.

Creating Voiceprints From Individual Wave File Recordings

Individual Wave file recordings made with other equipment can be imported into the voiceprint inventories.
Wave files to be imported must have originally been recorded as 16 bit audio data. Select “Wave Files -
Import Wave File” from the program menu. You will be prompted to locate a wave file by name. The
Voiceprint program will then produce a voiceprint image from the selected wave file.

These wave file recordings can then be stored in either Inventory A or Inventory B. Click the “Store”
control button at the bottom right of the Voiceprint window to bring up the voiceprint selection control
panel. Select “Inventory A” or “Inventory B,” and mark the chosen voiceprint with a green “X” using the
mouse. Then click the “Store” button to save your recording into the selected inventory.

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 HOW TO CROP AND SAVE VOICEPRINTS

Occasionally it will be convenient to crop a practice voiceprint to save a very good segment for future use.
To crop a practice voiceprint, hold down the “CTRL” key and click the left mouse button at the starting
point on the voiceprint display. Then drag the mouse to the ending point and release the mouse button.
The resulting segment can be saved as a wave file by choosing “Wave File - Export Wave File” from the
program menu. Or it can be saved in the voiceprint inventory by clicking the “Store” control button at the
bottom of the Voiceprint window. Cropping a voiceprint recording is only possible using the “Single”
display. That is, it is not available using a split window display.
.

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 HOW TO PAUSE AND RESTART DISPLAY

While practicing with voiceprints, you can pause the scrolling display at any time by pressing either the
space bar or the right mouse button. This will freeze the display and allow analysis of the voiceprint at that
point. To restart the display, again press either the space bar or the right mouse button. This will allow you
to pause and restart the display for study of the voiceprint without the need to enter the voiceprint
parameters again and again.

HOW TO ADJUST VOLUME

Setting the proper signal amplitude or volume is very important to creation of a voiceprint that reveals all
of the fine detail of the voice spectrum. A signal that is too weak will show no detail in the voice spectrum.
A signal that is too strong will be clipped at its extremes of amplitude, resulting in a distorted voiceprint.

Use the vertical slider knob at the right side of the display to adjust volume so that the signal fills about ½
of the height of the signal amplitude strip at the top of the display. The ideal recording volume is indicated
by the height of a lighter colored band at the center of the signal amplitude strip. This adjustment can be
made while analyzing a voice signal via the microphone, or after the voiceprint has been completed and
frozen. The illustrations below show voiceprints with proper signal amplitude, weak signal amplitude, and
clipped signal amplitude.

Volume can be adjusted independently for each half of a split window display. This is particularly
important when comparing the Estill Voice Model with your own voiceprints in a split window display.
The model figures are recorded at a high level and usually require a volume setting at about the center of
position of the vertical slider. Your own recordings will require a higher or lower volume setting
depending on the characteristics of the microphone and audio digitizer being used. Click the “Upper” or
“Lower” control buttons to select the top of bottom half of a split window display for volume adjustment,
and then move the vertical slider.

If you are using an external digitizer or sound card replacement, volume can also be adjusted using the gain
control knobs on the external unit.

This voiceprint illustrates the proper setting of signal amplitude or volume.

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This voiceprint illustrates signal amplitude that has been set too low. Details in the voiceprint are lost when
the signal amplitude is this low.

This voiceprint illustrates signal amplitude that has been set at too high a level resulting in clipping of the
signal at its amplitude extremes. Clipped signals will result in distortion of both the voiceprint and of wave
file recordings made from the voiceprint.

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 HOW TO SET VOCAL RANGE, TIME SCALE, AND FREQUENCY MARKERS

Setting Vocal Range

The CMT voiceprints are required to be recorded at both Low Pitch and High Pitch (Low F0 or High F0).
The low and high pitch frequency must be consistent with the subject’s vocal range and should selected
prior to recording of the “Initial Siren” for the CMT voiceprint by choosing “Voiceprints - Set Vocal
Range” (or Function Key F3) from the program menu.

Once Low Pitch and High Pitch have been selected, they can then be replayed for comparison from the
main Voiceprint window by clicking the Left and Right keyboard arrow keys.

Setting Time Scale

You may independently set the time scale for Voiceprint recording by selecting “Voiceprints – Set
Recording Time” from the program menu (or Function Key F2). You will then be presented with a control
that allows you to select the best time scale for recording.

Setting Frequency Markers

Fixed frequency markers (horizontal for voiceprints, vertical for power spectrum plot) may be applied to
the display to highlight frequencies of interest. Choose “Pointers - Freq Mark” from the program menu to
add these markers.

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 HOW TO CHANGE DISPLAY COLORS

Voiceprint allows you to use either fixed or user-defined color palettes for both the display. Choose
“Voiceprints - Change Voiceprint Colors” from the program menu (or Function Key F5) to bring up the
Spectrum Colors dialog box.

The Voiceprint Colors Dialog Box allows selection of colors at each of 12 steps corresponding to
increasing sound pressure level. Voiceprint uses 240 colors to draw the scrolling display on the screen.
Intermediate colors are interpolated between each of the 12 color steps defined by the Spectrum Colors
dialog box.

ƒ Colors assigned to sound pressure levels on the scrolling voiceprint are defined by the “Spectrum
Color Scale” buttons. Colors assigned to other display elements (background, markers, text) are
defined by the “Other Colors” buttons. Select a color to be modified by pressing the button to it’s left.
Then you can modify that color using the Red-Blue-Green sliders in the “Color Controls” section.

ƒ The “CB” and “BW” buttons select fixed color-on-black and black-on-white color palettes,
respectively. If you make any changes to these fixed palettes, the modified palette will be stored as
your User palette and can then be used for any voiceprint display. Selecting the “User” button will
recall your modified palette.

ƒ You can copy a color from one position to another by first selecting the starting color button, then
selecting “Copy To,” and then selecting the color button at the location where the copy is to be applied.

You can create a smooth transition, or color spread, between two colors by first selecting the starting
color button, then selecting “Spread To,” and then selecting the color button at the end of the desired
color transition.

To cancel the copy color or spread color operation, click the “Cancel Operation” button.

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ƒ The “Spectrum Amplitude” horizontal slider controls allow you to set the upper and lower decibel
limits of the color scale used with the scrolling spectrogram display. This is useful, for example, if the
signal is very weak or very noisy. For a very weak signal, the upper limit of the color scale can be
reduced, resulting in stronger colors on the display. If the signal is very noisy, the lower limit of the
color scale can be increased, resulting in less clutter on the display.

The Spectrum Amplitude sliders also affect the upper and lower amplitude limits of the Power
Spectrum display. The amplitude limits can be adjusted to the values that give an optimum plot of
signal level versus frequency.

ƒ The changes which you make to the color palette or to spectrum color scale may not be immediately
visible on the display. The “Redraw” button is used to redraw the voiceprint with the new palette and
range and gain selections. The Redraw button is only active in the Analyze File mode.

ƒ The “Reset” button erases any changes in the User palette that you have made, and restores the colors
to those that existed when the Voiceprint Colors dialog box was last opened. The “Cancel” button
erases any changes in the User palette that you have made, and closes the Spectrum Colors dialog box.

ƒ The “OK” button applies the palette selections that you have made to the scrolling voiceprint display.

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 HOW TO SAVE OR PRINT A VOICEPRINT IMAGE

In order to save recordings or images, the scrolling voiceprint display must first be frozen. If you are
recording a new voiceprint, click the “Stop” button (or use the Esc key) to freeze the scrolling display. If
you are creating a voiceprint from a recorded wave file, the display will automatically be frozen once the
voiceprint is completed.

Saving Voiceprint Images

Once the display is frozen and a voiceprint has been created, the screen image may be saved as either a
Windows bitmap or JPEG file. Choose “Voiceprint - Save Voiceprint Image” from the program menu and
choose either “Bitmap” or “JPEG” and an appropriate file name. The screen image will then be saved in
the designated file.

Printing Voiceprints

Once the display is frozen and a voiceprint image has been created, it can be printed on paper by choosing
“Function - Print Voiceprint Image ” from the program menu. It is highly recommended that the “BW” or
black-on-white color palette be used when printing since the black background of the color display uses an
enormous amount of ink.

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 SOUND CARD CONTROL FOR WINDOWS VISTA

First, connect a microphone to the proper input signal jack on the sound card. Sound cards may have
several input/output jacks such as microphone input, line/auxiliary input, speaker output, digital
input/output. Check the sound card instructions to be certain that the microphone is properly connected to
the microphone input jack. On many sound cards, the microphone input jack is color coded red or pink.

Next, go to the Windows Control Panel and select “Sound.” This will bring up the Sound control panel
shown below for activating the microphone and setting the microphone input volume.

Click the “Recording” tab, select “Microphone” (by blue highlighting), and then click the “Properties”
button at the lower right. This will bring up the Microphone Properties control panel as shown below.

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Click the “General” tab in Microphone Properties. Make sure that “Device Usage” at the bottom of this
panel indicates “Use this device (enable).” If it does not, use the Device Usage drop-down list to select this
option.

Click the “Levels” tab in Microphone Properties. Set the Microphone level to a value from 75 to 100, and
set the Microphone Boost to a value from +10 to +20 dB. Then close the Microphone Properties and
Sound control panels.

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 SOUND CARD CONTROL FOR WINDOWS XP

First, connect a microphone to the proper input signal jack on the sound card. Sound cards may have
several input/output jacks such as microphone input, line/auxiliary input, speaker output, digital
input/output. Check the sound card instructions to be certain that the microphone is properly connected to
the microphone input jack. On many sound cards, the microphone input jack is color coded red or pink.

Next, go to the Windows Control Panel and select “Sounds and Audio Devices.” This will bring up the
Sound and Audio Devices Properties control panel shown below for activating the microphone and setting
the microphone input volume. Click the “Audio” tab under Sound and Audio Device Properties.

The “Default Device” under both Sound Playback and Sound Recording should show the name of the
sound card that you wish to use. If it does not, select the desired sound card name from the drop-down lists
under Sound Playback and Sound Recording.

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Next, click the “Volume” button under Sound Recording. This will bring up the Recording Control panel
as shown below.

Place a check mark in the “Select” box under microphone, and set the Microphone volume slider at about
the 75% position as shown.

Often, the microphone selection will have an “Advanced” button that allows boosting the microphone
signal level. If this button is present, click it and active the 20dB microphone boost. This will provide the
strongest possible signal and will enhance the visible detail on the scrolling voiceprint display. It may be
necessary to check the “Options - Advanced Controls” menu item of the Recording Control in order for the
Advanced button to be present.

If you do not see the Microphone input in the Recording Control, click “Options - Properties” to bring up
the Properties dialog box. Then mark Microphone under “Show the Following Volume Controls” to make
the microphone available as an option in the Recording Control

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 SOLUTIONS TO SOME COMMON PROBLEMS

Below are recommended solutions for several of the most common problems encountered by new users.

• Program does not accept Microphone Input.

If an audio source is connected to the Microphone Input, and the voiceprint display does not show the
presence of any audio signal, then the sound card has probably not been correctly configured to accept
the intended input source. The Microphone input must be properly enabled in the Windows Control
Panel. See the instructions under Sound Card Control.

• Program accepts Microphone Input, but the spectrum display shows a very weak signal.

If the microphone signal is very weak or nonexistent on the Voiceprint display, first try increasing the
signal volume using the vertical slider on the right side of the voiceprint display window. See the
instructions under Adjusting Volume. Also try enabling microphone boost in the Windows Recording
Control. See the instructions under Sound Card Control.

• Pitch Detection is Erratic and Unreliable

Successful pitch detection requires a strong audio signal. See the instruction under Adjusting Volume

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 ENSURING VOCAL HEALTH

Your vocal health is your responsibility.

Estill Voice International believes that none of the exercises contained in this course / these courses will
harm your voice when done correctly. Practicing without coaching or feedback from a Certified teacher of
the Estill Model (TM) could place your voice at risk. Taking an exercise out of its context of the whole of
the Estill Voice Model (TM) is also dangerous.

You should be in excellent vocal health, and you should not use these exercises without investing the time
to learn how to perform them correctly. If you have any concerns whatsoever regarding the health of your
voice, you should see a Laryngologist (an Ear-Nose-Throat doctor who specializes in the voice and larynx).
We recommend that everyone who cares about his or her voice see a Laryngologist for a yearly
examination.

Estill Voice International wants you to have a long and health vocal life, however we make no claims nor
guarantees. You are solely responsible for the health of the voice that resides within your body.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

Copyright 2004-2010 by Estill Voice International. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Estill Voice International

55 Standish Boulevard
Pittsburgh, PA 15228 USA
www.TrainMyVoice.com

CREDITS

Dr. Kimberly Steinhauer inspired the tailoring of the original spectrogram program to provide voiceprints
for the Estill Voice Training System.

JPEG compression code was developed by the Independent JPEG Group and distributed from
http://www.ijg.org/ as the IJG JPEG library.

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