Cold Water and Your Voice: How does the water affect your range? Ashley Dobson Hyde 8th Grade

Topic Question: Does drinking cold water before singing effect how high a person can sing?

Hypothesis: I think that if a person drinks cold water before singing, they will not be able to sing as high as they could without drinking cold water because cold water has a numbing effect on the throat that makes it more difficult for the vocal part to work properly.

Abstract In this project, I determined whether cold water has a positive or negative effect on your vocal range. I hypothesized that if a person drinks cold water, they will not be able to sing as high as they could without drinking it. I tested this using four girls, all around the same weight and size. For each test, I had each girl sing a G scale. Then, they drank a cup of cold water (42 degrees Fahrenheit) and sang the scale again. I recorded whether they could sing higher before the water or after it. I concluded that cold water has a negative effect on your vocal range, making you not able to sing as high as you could without it.

Materials: Four singers around the same age. (8-9) Four cups of the same amount of water and the same temperature. (42 degrees Fahrenheit) Piano Water thermometer Measuring Cup

Variables: Manipulated (Independent): Whether the singer drank cold water or no water. Responding (Dependent): How high each singer can sing on a G scale. (Do, Re, Me, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do) Controlled: The amount and temperature of the water. The scale each singer sings on. Whether the singer has drunken or eaten anything for thirty minutes before the experiment. The age of the singers. (8-9)

Step-By-Step Procedures: Gather four singers (Dana, Anna Whatley, Olivia, and Claire) around the same age. (8-9) Make sure the singers haven’t drunken or eaten anything for at least thirty minutes before the experiment. Have one singer sing a G scale (Do, Re, Me, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do) along with the piano until they can’t sing any higher. Record how high the singer sung. Repeat this process with the other three singers. Fill a cup with ¼ cup of water, using a measuring cup. Make sure the water is 42 degrees Fahrenheit with the thermometer.

Step-By-Step Procedures: (cont.) Have the first singer drink the water. Immediately after drinking, have the singer sing the G scale again (Do, Re, Me, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do) along with the piano until they can’t sing any higher. Record how high the singer sung. Repeat this process with the other three singers. Determine whether each singer’s range was higher without drinking water or after drinking cold water.

Data Singer: Dana Anna Whatley Olivia Claire Without Water Reached the end of G scale (Do) With Cold Water Reached “So” on the G scale Reached “Fa” on the G scale

Note Singer’s Reached With and Without Water Key: Do-1 Re-2 Me-3 Fa-4 So-5 La-6 Ti-7 Do-8 Note Reached on G scale Singer

Results: I claim that drinking cold water made the singers not be able to sing as high as they could without drinking water. I claim this because before drinking water, each singer reached the end of the G scale, but after drinking cold water they weren’t able to reach the end.

Conclusion: In this experiment I learned that drinking cold water before singing causes you to be unable to sing as high of notes as you can without drinking cold water.  I know this because each singer in my experiment wasn’t able to reach the end of the G scale after drinking cold water, and before drinking water they were able to. My hypothesis was correct because I said that drinking cold water would make you not be able to sing as high, and that’s exactly what happened.

Application This project can be applied to real life if you are a singer. Knowing how cold water effects your vocal range can help singers know what to drink before a performance. Because the outcome was that cold water makes your vocal range smaller by numbing your throat, singers would know not to drink cold drinks before a performance. Instead, they could drink room temperature drinks. That way they can have an overall better performance.

Citations: “Cold Water and Your Voice.” All Science Fair Projects. 29 Nov 2011. <http://www.all-science-fair-projects.com/project1127_40_1.html> Kristina Seleshanko. “Things that Affect Your Voice.” VoiceStudio. 2 Feb 2007. 2 Dec 2011. < http://voicestudio.kristinaseleshanko.com/ThingsThatAffectYourVoice.htm> Dr. Barbara Mathis. “Singers, Let’s Prevent Vocal Problems!” Voice Teacher. 2003. 2 Dec 2011. < http://www.voiceteacher.com/mathis.html>

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