Steven Fraser

Introduction In the male voice lower and mid ranges, (what has been traditionally called the "chest voice"), the harmonic structure of the sung tone contains many partials - harmonics, which fit nicely into the pattern of resonances for any particular vowel chosen. Throughout this range, the strong, lower harmonics are reinforced by the first vowel resonance corresponding with Formant 1, (F1), midrange harmonics are reinforced by the second vowel resonance from Formant 2 (F2), and higher harmonics are emphasized by the higher "twang" or "singer's" formant resonances. The combination of multiple, powerful low, midrange, and high harmonics present in all vowels is a distinctive characteristic of this section of the male voice. In contrast with this, in the male high range, (what has been traditionally called the 'head voice'), the harmonics produced by the voice are higher in frequency and more widely spaced. Here, few of the harmonics fit into the vowel resonance pattern. For one particular span of notes in the head voice, there is no significant resonance available to amplify the lowest two harmonics produced. To achieve vocal power and consistency of tone in the high voice, the male singer uses what he has available, "twang" (singer's formant) and the resonance from F2 strengthening harmonic 3 or 4, depending on vowel. Between these two resonance strategies is a region of transition, too high for the 'chest voice' strategy, and too low for the F2 alignments of the 'head voice' strategy. This transition region is the passaggio. Acoustics of the rising fundamental Throughout the voice, as the fundamental frequency moves, the alignment of harmonics and resonances for a vowel changes. On an upward-moving scale or leap, the fundamental and all the overtones rise in frequency. Since the harmonics are spaced at multiples of the fundamental, the harmonics also get farther apart, too. For most of the chest voice range, this is not an issue, as the resonance from F1 covers a wide frequency range, and midrange harmonics are close enough together for at least 2 or 3 of them to get some benefit from F2. These conditions apply to all the vowels. However, in an upward pitch pattern, as the voice passes middle C (C-F, depending on voice type) eventually the scale reaches a region in the voice where the alignment of harmonics to formants is no longer advantageous. Overall vocal power and tone quality will be lost if an adjustment is not made. The particular point in the male voice where this occurs is as the 2nd harmonic passes F1. Visualizing harmonics and the /e/ vowel in a spectragraph As illustration of this, what follows is a series of spectragraphs made with different fundamentals sung to the vowel /e/ (ay), made using my own, baritone, voice. As representative of a lower chest voice tone, the first is of the A natural just a bit more than an octave below middle C , also known as A2. Each vertical blue line represents the intensity of a particular harmonic, where 'up' = louder. Low frequency harmonics start on the left side. The leftmost peak is from the fundamental, and if you look at each peak to the right of that (increasing frequency of harmonic), you can see that the 4th harmonic is the very tallest, and then the peaks become successively shorter. This peak volume for the 4th harmonic, and the emphasis of those surrounding it, is the result of Formant 1, F1 in its position for /e/ in my voice. Harmonics to the 'left' of the formant center get progressively louder as they get nearer to it, and those to the 'right' of the formant center get softer. Proceeding to the right is a section of quite harmonics, not so tall in the display, and then there is another build up to the 13th harmonic. This is the area amplified as a result of the location of Formant 2, F2. The spacing of F1 and F2 is what makes this vowel sound like 'ay' to the listener. After another gap, there are two more areas of emphasis, which are the result of F3 and F4, clustered together. These formants move very little vowel-to-vowel, and form the high frequency 'brightness' resonances of the singer's formant. The reason we start with this: for any given vowel pronunciation, (like /e/) the formants stay at the same locations even while the fundamental (and the associated harmonics) are moved during the production of different notes. Especially important in the understanding of the male passaggio is the relationship of F1, F2 and how the harmonics align with them. A2 on /e/ vowel. Harmonic spacing As mentioned earlier, for any given sung note, harmonics are always the same frequency distance apart. That frequency spacing is the same frequency as the fundamental... the note being sung. So, if a fundamental is 110 cycles per second (like that A2,) all the harmonics will be 110 cycles apart from their neighboring harmonics. You can see this equal spacing in the picture above. Because of the closeness of the harmonic spacing, you are able to see pretty well the 'shape' of the formant regions. Up an Octave The next picture is of the same /e/ vowel, but singing the A up one octave, the A just below middle C, A3, which is 220 cycles per second. Notice that the peaks are farther from each other than in the prior picture... now they are 220 cycles per second apart. Looking at the peaks for a moment, you can see that the amplification effects of F1 and F2 are still in the same place (left to right), but now different numbered harmonics are boosted, and fewer harmonics are affected by each individual formant. In the case of F1, the 3rd harmonic is now the most emphasized, with the 2nd harmonic also getting some help, while F2 is emphasizing the 7th harmonic tremendously, but not much else. This excellent alignment of F2 with a harmonic makes it really ring distinctively, and is an example of 2nd-formant tuning, which will get discussed later. Finding the exact location of F1 for /e/ Are you curious about the exact location of F1? Look at the bottom of this next picture, right beween harmonics 2 and 3. See the blips? All voices have some soft, non-harmonic noise. When that noise falls under a formant, it gets amplified enough to measure. These low blips on the spectragraph are the giveaway to the location of the formant. A3 on /e/ vowel Continuing the scale upward As I continue up the scale from A3, three things happen due to the musical intervals represented by the harmonics: 1) My 2nd harmonic gets closer and closer to F1, strengthing that harmonic. This makes the warmth of the voice 'bloom' in this region, and the resonance makes it possible to oversing some and still get away with it. 2) My 3rd harmonic gets higher above F1, and so it gets progressively softer. In combination with #1, this changes the tone quality somewhat. 3) F2 tunes to successively lower harmonics. These three trends are very important in understanding the male passaggio. More on 'What happens when a harmonic rises above a formant'? As a particular harmonic rises above a formant center, it rapidly decreases in intensity. In this next picture, now singing Bb3 (up just one half step from the A), you can see the effect on the 3rd harmonic. It is quite softer now when compared to the 2nd harmonic. For this note, the principal power of the vowel is being carried by the 2nd harmonic. You may also note that the F2 tuning is emphasizing harmonics 6 and 7 more or less equally. That is because F2 is between them. Harmonic 7 is no longer in the 'ringing' position, and harmonic 6 is not yet high enough to be there. Bb3 /e/ vowel The male upper chest voice My voice is now in the 'fattest' part of the upper chest voice, where most of the vowel power is coming from the 2nd harmonic. This range is just about a perfect 5th wide, because that is the spacing of the 2nd and 3rd harmonics. The region begins as the 3rd harmonic passes F1, and ends as the 2nd harmonic passes F1, in other words, for my /e/ vowel, from the Ab below middle C, to the Eb above middle C. This is what makes my voice a 'low baritone' quality. (Note, you can still see the noise blip.. its getting closer to the 2nd harmonic the higher I sing) Now, the Db in the following picture. Notice that there are little noise blips on each side of the 2nd harmonic. This indicates optimum alignment of the harmonic with F1, the place where the 2nd harmonic is exactly aligned with F1. Db4 /e/ vowel The effects of strong resonance on ease-of-singing Through the entire compass of my voice, up to this point, lower harmonics have been boosted by F1, which has provided for some cushioning effect for the vocal bands. That situation is about to change significantly as the fundamental rises past this point. A very important challenge to the singer as this happens is to resist the temptation to maintain vocal power via pushing. And now to the Eb. The 2nd harmonic has just past F1. Its still very strong, but will lose ground very rapidly as I proceed upward. This is the beginning of the tricky section of the passaggio, where the resonance provided to the 2nd harmonic decreases rapidly, and I must, to retain vocal power and tone quality, find another way to shape the vowel. Eb4 /e/ vowel My next post, 'Male voice passaggio 102' will discuss the various strategies that can be used to retain resonance through the passaggio.

Steve: Hi, Dena! I understand that your new book on singing has just been published. Would you tell us a little bit about it? Dena: This is a book that has been 15 years in the making. From the time I started teaching (over 20 years ago,) I knew there was a problem with the prevailing concepts of diaphragmatic support. Singers were injuring themselves from too much pressure and misperceiving instructions. Steve: Do yo mean that the usual "singing teacher's lingo" was not helpful in leading the student in what they should do? Dena: Yes, exactly. They also were not getting what they'd hoped to get from taking lessons i.e., freedom when singing/performing. So after many years of study, I finally uncovered that the problem boiled down to correct intake of air (the inhale) and created exercises to correct it. Steve: You've published two other books on singing. How does this latest one fit in with them? Dena: Well, I never set out to do a three-part series but that was the end result of all my work. Vocal Technique: Finding Your Real Voice is a beginners book and focuses on the vocal mechanism. I did two things deliberately for the beginner: 1) I skipped the discussion of how to use the diaphragm for support, and instead created exercises to builid up the muscles and cartilages which control/support the vocal folds, and, 2) I separated the chest voice from the head voice because in my experience if there are problems in either register, those problems will show up when trying to bridge and combine them for that one-register sound. This book is the first step in how to gain support. Steve: Ok, I am with you so far. How was your approach received by your readers? Dena: Very well, I think. My European readers were especially open with their positive feed-back, and I still receive comments to day on that book's usefulness. Steve: Ok! What was your second book like? Dena: The second one, Advanced Vocal Technique: Middle Voice, Placement & Styles (co-authored by Tita Hutchison,) focuses on a step-by-step process of how to bridge the voice for the one register sound, vowel formation, and correct placement for any given style. Steve: So, that would make it the 'next steps' after clarifying the Chest and Head voices, and some discussion of the different vocal productions. Dena: Yes, that's right. There are 13 exercises in this book with every feeling and sensation one should (and shouldn’t) have, literally spelled out for the singer. Again, we purposely stayed away from too much focus on the diaphragm. This book is the second step with regard to support. Steve: All right. How does this third book extend the approach of the other two? Dena: In this third and last book of the series, “Vocal Strength and Power”, the focus is solely on how to employ correct use of the diaphragmatic region for its support of the entire mechanism. Steve: How is your approach different from other's you've heard? Simply stated, I've uncovered a problem inherent with other approaches to 'support' instruction, and created exercises to correct the problem. Steve: Ok, I'll bite. What is the problem? Dena: The problem is the correct intake of air before singing. Steve: Who can benefit from your approach and exercises? Dena: Anyone should be able to add these exercises (if they should so choose) to already working methods of techniques when they notice they are struggling for not just the freedom, but also their inherent great sound. Steve: Dena, what else does the book contain? Dena: In addition to the CD of exercises, this book also includes a glossary of dictionary-defined words, the most commonly used words for instruction. As I was looking up the words to pull this section together, I was quite surprised at the meanings associated with some of these words, as I'm sure others will be too. I found that most misperception comes down to the true meaning of a word. Steve: Moving on to a different aspect of this work, how did you go about getting published? Dena: Let me answer that by describing how I got my first one published. Once I knew the subject I wanted to cover, I started writing. I got a name at Hal Leonard to contact, and pitched my idea by e-mail. Steve: What was the response? Dena: He got back to me within a few days and asked that I I send a table of contents and the first chapter so they could review it. I was very nervous about all of this because it was my first book so nervous that I purposely wouldn't check my e-mail. I decided to go camping for a few days and when I returned, checked my phone messages never expecting to get an answer by phone. Oh My God, they were SO excited about this book wanted it as soon as possible, sent me a contract, and advance money. Steve: That must have been a very pleasant surprise! After the initial contact, how long did the process take? Dena: The first book took a year to write and another to get it printed and published. It surely was one of the most exciting things that ever happened to me. I established an excellent relationship with the vice president and several editors by keeping them updated as to how far along I was every three months or so, and always remembering to tell them how appreciative I was to them for this opportunity. They then told me they wished all authors were this responsible about communication. Steve: I take it from this comment that not all authors are so communicative. Do you have any advice in this regard for any writers out there that would like to have a book published? Dena: Yes, I do. My best advice: if you get a name to contact at a publishing company and can secure the deal... keep your publisher updated as you write the book. Right along with that... never forget about the opportunity they have provided for you. Steve: Dena, this is great information. For those interested, where and when will the book be available? The book is already available to pre-order on Amazon.com (my link on www.denamurray.com will take you straight to the book,) It has already been shipped to Barnes and Noble, Borders, most music stores, and other bookstores. It will be available for purchase in the stores around Thanksgiving. Steve: Thanks, Dena, for taking the time to provide this information.

This article is 2nd in a series on the Male Voice Passaggio. Introduction In the first article in this series, I explained the acoustic basis of the male voice passaggio experience. In short, the passaggio is a place in the range where the resonance characteristics of the voice are 'between' those of the so-called 'chest voice', and 'head voice'. Of particular interest is the relationship of the first hamonic of the sung tone with the lower vowel resonance. In this article, we will examine some of the resonance strategies available to the male singer in this range, and how those strategies help consistency of vocal tone, power and ease-of-singing. 'Chest voice' power... to a point As mentioned in the prior article, a great deal of the power of the voice, and the sensation that the voice is 'in the chest' comes from the strength of the lower harmonics. This situation continues during the upward scale until the the 2nd harmonic passes F1, the location of which varies by voice type and vowel. Singing upward from there, the 2nd harmonic rapidly loses power halfstep-by-halfstep, and since the fundamental is an octave below it, there is now no strong resonance in either of them from the lower vowel resonance. The 'bottom' (powerful low resonance) has fallen out of the tone quality, and the sensations of that resonance in the chest and other tissues, becomes rapidly much less. The sensation for many is that the voice has 'left the chest'. Also, since the middle harmonics are farther apart in frequency now, F2 has not yet been of an advantage to make up for the missing power of the lower harmonics. In another way of putting it, the singer is no longer in the chest voice, but not yet in the 'head' voice. Passaggio effects This change in resonance character and power does two things to the singer, one at the laryrngeal level, and the other in tone quality: 1) it removes the cushioning provided the vocal bands by the inertive vocal tract, and 2) it causes a tone quality change which favors the brightness (singers formant component) of the tone. Item 1 makes the voice less stable (sensitive to disruption, for example, cracking, blips, etc), and item 2 makes it brighter by comparision to the notes immediately below it, without having any satisfying vowel resonance. Arriving in head voice Continuing the scale, the male singer reaches a point where F2 finally aligns with the 4th or 3rd harmonic (depending on vowel) and F2 greatly strengthens this harmonic, to the point that it is the most prominent in the entire voice. Very often, this circumstance is accompanied by pronounced sensations in the bones of the front of the front of the face, and very often elsewhere. For the singer, the voice is now fully 'in the head'. In effect, the passaggio is the section of the voice between these two distinct areas of resonance characteristics, above the area where F1 helps the 2nd harmonic, and below the area where F2 helps the 4th and 3rd. When the word 'passaggio' is used to mean an active technique, it means whatever is done to keep the vocal quality consistent in this area, and also keeping it from becoming unstable. In other words, to connect the secure, powerful lower and upper voices in a manner that makes the voice as consistent as is possible. Passaggio resonance strategies A) Principal among these is the use of epilaryngeal resonance, in either the form of twang orsingers formant, which we might describe as twang with classical vowels. This has several desirable effects. 1) The use of this resonance boosts vocal power by ~20dB (that is, greater than 8 times as loud to a listener,) particularly by increasing the volume of harmonics in the 2500 to 3500 Hz region, the most sensitive range of human hearing. With this resonance, the singer gets much more sound, and much more audible sound, from the same amount of effort, and can thereby be heard effectively without having to push vocally. More sound, more apparent volume, less work. Sounds like a winner to me. 2) Epilaryngeal resonance, which occurs in the small space immediately above the larynx, before it continues on to the upper parts of the pharyx, provides a cushioning acoustic feed-back to the vocal bands, so they do not take so much stress as they go through their motions. For the techies out there, it can be thought of an impedance-matching layer between the vocal bands and the pharynx. In common parlance, 'riding the vocal ring' across the weak area. For the classical singer, its often the region where vowel darkening (via modification, discussed later) is done to counteract the brightness of the rising-voice tone quality, a technique which to some extent increases the intertive character of the vocal tract, providing some helpful cushioning. An epilaryngeal resonance strategy is not only helpful in the passaggio, it has these effects in the lower and upper voices as well. However, in the passaggio, it provides much-needed tone quality consistency while the vowel resonances are 'between gears' so to speak. Vowel Modification can be used to advantage. There are two approaches here to be mentioned. 1) Because the passaggio starts and ends at different notes for different vowels, the singer can benefit from shading a vowel which has become unresonant toward a related vowel that is not. For example, the first vowel resonance for /i/ (ee) is lower than it is for /I/ (ih). The passaggio for /i/ starts lower than it does for /I/ in a given voice. If done gradually, the singer can shade the /i/ progressively toward /I/, which the listener will not notice because it sounds so well. Acoustically, the effect of this maneuver is to raise the first vowel resonance, and lower the 2nd vowel resonance, bringing them closer together. This technique can be used by singers who use low, medium or high-larynx approaches. The vocal tract retains most of its inertive quality because vowel resonance is being maintained with these alternate vowels. 2) Vowels can also be modified by changing them to more 'closed' or 'darker' forms on the ascending scale, so that both the vowel resonances are lowered. In some circles,this technique is called 'covering', and if done well, is not noticable to the listener. If it is noticed, it was overdone :-) In this approach, vowels such as /a/ (ah) are modified to aw, and /o/ (oh) toward /u/ (oo) through the passaggio. Other vowels have their own series of similar modifications. The technique is generally usable with classical vowels, and with lower-larynx technique, without objection by a listener. If done by a mid-or high-larynx singer, the tone quality variation would likely be more obvious if not done very subtly. The effect of this type of vowel modification is twofold: ---to create a lower position for the first vowel resonance, and to bring the second vowel resonance downward so that it will align with harmonics 4 or 3 sooner than it would otherwise, and ---to increase the inertia the air in the vocal tract, making it more cushioning for the vocal bands Either, or both of these vowel modification techniques can be used by the singer to create the tone quality effects that suits their artistic expression. Passaggio Width and location As a practical matter, the passaggio region for any vowel is about a perfect fourth wide. The starting point will vary by voice type and vowel. /i/ (ee) and /u/ have the lowest passaggio entry points. /e/ (ay), /I/ (ih), /o/ (oh) and /E/ (eh) have the next lowest, and /a/ (ah) has the highest. Other vowels are spaced between these. Passaggio locations are a general indicator of voice type. Bass has the lowest passaggio point, baritone somewhat higher, and tenor highest. Conclusion, or the Benefits of Passaggio technique Why bother with all of this? It makes singing more consistent, powerful, enjoyable to do and pleasant to hear. It reduces vocal strain, and increases tone quality stability in a region of notes that can be fraught with problems for the male voice. There are several approaches from which to choose, and the singer can combine them in whatever way makes sense for their vocal endeavors.

A spectragraph is a picture that tells us about the frequency and intensity of the different parts of a sound. Here is one which contains two vocal sounds graphed, a 'vocal hum' in blue, and a 'vocal buzz' in white. Both sounds were produced on the same pitch, with the mouth closed. (These are from a demo from Robert Lunte. My thanks to him) If you click on the picture, you will get a bigger one. In my last blog post, I introduced you to the idea that there are multiple sounds in a sung tone, and that the resonances determine what vowel we perceive. Even sounds which are not vowels (this hum and buzz) have resonances which we interpret as tone quality. Lets learn a bit about how to read a spectragraph, so we can discuss the physics of vocal resonance. On this picture, all of the sound energy from 0 cycles per second up to 5000 cycles per second is graphed. Left=low frequency, right=high; Up=louder sounds, down=softer sounds. The scale is even left-to-right, much like the inches or centimetres on a ruler are all the same size. When you see a peak up fairly high on the picture, then that means that a sound of a particular frequency is quite loud. Go ahead and count the white ones you can see. You should get more than 20. Just for fun, count the blue ones, and notice if there are any that go higher than the white ones. The note that the singer (Robert) is producing is the very lowest (leftmost) peak. In musical acoustics terms, this is the called the 'fundamental', or the first harmonic. All of the peaks to the right of that are the 'overtones', or the 2nd through the 25th harmonics. The relative strength of these harmonics is what we percieve as tone quality - the way our mind differentiates sounds for us. Here is a different spectragraph, this time of two vowels, ee and ay. ee is in blue, ay is in white. As I mentioned in my prior post on Vowels, the two lowest resonances are the ones primarily responsible for the perception of a particular vowel. Let's find them. Starting from the left, look for the highest blue peak. Its the 2nd one. Find the highest white peak. Its the 3rd one. This shows us that the lowest resonance for ee and ay are not the same. Ee's is lower than ay's. Now, lets find the 2nd resonances. Moving to the right, find the next place a blue one sticks up fairly high above the white. This is the 2nd resonance for ee. Just to the left of it is the 2nd resonance for ay. The 2nd resonance for ee is _higher_ than the 2nd one for ay. When compared in combination with the lower resonances, the ones for ee are farther apart than the ones for ay. Between the two resonances, there is a fairly deep 'valley' where the harmonics are much softer. In a given voice, each distinguishable vowel has particular spacings for these two resonances, and that is how we tell the vowels apart as listeners. More next time! Best Regards, Steven Fraser

Introduction This weekend's article is a comparision of the 'belt voice' production as used by female singers, the 'robust head voice' as used by Operatic tenors, and the male 'Rock' pharyngeal voice . These types of vocalism share some characteristics which make them similar to each other, but also have some characteristics which differentiate them. As I have done before, I will use spectragraphic analysis to assist in the understanding of how these voices can be compared and contrasted. A first example: 'Top Line F', Belt and Robust Head Voice The following spectragraph shows the harmonic content of two voices singing the F natural usually written on the top line of the treble staff, that is, the F at the upper range of both the belt and tenor voices (the F the octave and a perfect fourth above middle C.) The female singer, represented in blue, is Patti LaBelle, from a televised recording of "You'll Never Walk Alone" from Carousel , recorded in the mid-'60s. The tenor is classical tenor Nicolai Gedda, from a 1973 recording of "Credeasi Misera" from I Puritani. Patti http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTAOD-2Fnqw at 2:19 Nicolai http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9w_TTK7UP1c at 4:50 As I have done with prior recordings, I have matched the volumes of first harmonic (H1) so that the relative intensity of the upper harmonics can be identified. With this matching, we see the following: 1) There are five strong harmonics displayed by both voices, and for both of the notes, the 3rd harmonic is the strongest. This gives the voices power and color. The relative intensity of the harmonics is approximately the same in both voices. 2) H1 and H2 are lower in intensity than H3, but strong enough to make the core warmth of the tone quality very solid. 3) The 4th harmonic is both voices is in within the 'red lines', the most senstive part of our hearing range. 4) The white trace sections are 'wider', indicating that Mr. Gedda's vibrato is as well. Ms LaBelle sang her note with almost no vibrato, so the peaks are very pointed. A second example: Middle line B, Pop Belt and Rock Pharyngeal voice This second spectragraph, which I have annotated for harmonic identification, is of two voices singing the B above middle C. The two voices are Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin, singing 'A whole lotta love', and Whitney Houston singing 'I will always love you', on a vowel approximating /a/. I have matched the fundamentals as before. Robert Plant's voice is in blue, and Whitney Houston's is in white. The spectragraph shows the following: 1) With the fundamentals equalized, the loudest harmonic in both voices is H2, and approximately the same intensity in both. With fundamental matched, and H2 so similar, the core of the tone for both voices on this note is identical. H2 in both voices carries the bulk of the volume for both. 2) H3 in Robert Plant's voice is somewhat louder by comparison to Whitney Houston's, but for both it is louder than the fundamental, and the 2nd loudest harmonic overall for both as well. Recall that the 3rd harmonic (an octave and a perfect 5th above the fundamental) as an odd harmonic, adds color to the tone quality. The relative strength of this harmonic in Robert Plant's voice is helps us to distinguish his from Whitney's tone quality. 3) H4 for both voices is about equal, but H5 and H6 in Plant's voice are stronger than Whitney's. This may be the result of "Singer's Formant" in Plant's voice. H6 is particulary well situated, as it is not only strong, but within the sweet spot of hearing. Example three: Broadway Belt, and Operatic Tenor This one is a fun one. The following spectragraph is of two very famous singers, Ethel Merman (the quintessential broadway belter of the mid-20th Century) and Luciano Pavarotti, Operatic Tenor. Ethel is singing the last note of 'Theres no business like show business' from Annie, Get Your Gun, and Pavarotti is singing the last note of 'Celeste Aida' from Aida. As usual, for comparison I have equalized the strength of the fundamentals so that relative harmonic balance can be shown. Can you tell which is which? Without giving away yet which is which, the following can be observed: 1) With the fundamentals equalized, the Blue voice has a louder H2 than the White one, which makes the core of the tone quality just a bit brighter, but not much. 2) H3 in both voices is the loudest harmonic, so they both have the color this harmonic brings to the tone, with a small advantage for the White voice. 3) H4 for both voices is quite a bit softer than H1, H2 and H3, adding some brightness, but not much to both. 4) The higher harmonics have less energy in both voices, but overall the White voice has more than the Blue one, which gives it more ring. 5) Both voices have vibrato (as evidenced by the 'wideness' of the harmonics), with the Blue voice having just a little bit more than the White one. Have you determined which is which? Scroll down a bit to learn.... Pavarotti is in White. Merman is in Blue :-) Conclusions In looking at these representative voices, there are some commonalities that we can identify for this pitch range: A) In each voice type, the principal strength of the tone is in the 2nd and 3rd harmonic. The fundamental is often 4th or lesser in strength, meaning that other harmonics align more closely with the resonances of the vowels chosen than it does. Some voices display presence of singer's formant, and others do not. C) Each of the singers shows strong voice production characteristics, but not equal balances of resonance.

(Note: This is an update of a post which first appeared on TMV in November, 2008) Introduction This article delves into the basics of vowels: what they are, what makes them, how we influence their characteristics, etc. The formation of vowels is an area common to all singers, and in many ways influences the listener's experience of the voice. There are a multitude of approaches taken by singers to making vowels: some based on grunts, groans, wails, screams and sighs; some based on spoken language; some based on concepts of 'bel canto', chanting, 'toning' and just about everything in between these. Even 'overtone singing' can be described in terms of vowels. What is a vowel? For the purposes of this discussion, vowels are two things: a) spoken or sung sounds (not written letters), and impressions in the mind of the singer and the listener - caused by experiences of the sound through the sense of hearing. By shaping (producing) vowels in a particular way, the singer influences the experience of the listener, and creates a communications connection person-to-person. So, what is a sung vowel? As a general, nontechnical description: A sung vowel is a sustained sound, sung with the mouth and throat open enough so at least some of the sound comes out of the mouth. The particulars of the vowel sound depend on the shape and dimensions of the vocal tract, which is usually considered to be the spaces from just above the vocal bands to the outside of the mouth. Sometimes voice scientists include the part of the trachea below the larynx to the point where it branches in two sections to go to the lungs, but for out purposes today we will not include that section. What makes differing vowels? A key principle is worth mentioning now: Anytime the vocal tract changes shape or dimension, it produces a more or less different vowel, depending on what has been changed by the person. The vocal tract aspects that, when changed, have an effect on vowels (more-or-less in order of importance in the singer's technique) are: 1) the position of the tongue 2) the position of the soft palate 3) the vertical opening of the jaw 4) the shape of the lip opening 5) the height of the larynx in the throat 6) the diameter of the pharynx. Resonances and Vowels By way of explanation - To modern language and voice scientists, the perception (on the part of the listener) of a vowel is the result of a combination of resonances in the voice, especially the lowest two resonances. The six items mentioned above, when combined, cause these two resonances to have specific frequencies. Any vocal sound components which fall near these two frequencies will be emphasized in the overall spectrum of sound energy. The sense of hearing of the listener 'decodes' the overall sound into a conscious experience, and (according to current psychological theory) the mind interprets the relative intensity of the sound components as a vowel. What does this all mean? All this relates to singing in that we can make very many different kinds of vowel sounds. By changing the positioning of any of the vocal tract components listed above, even if only slightly, for the pronunciation of a syllable or word, we change the way they are perceived, and, by extension, the quality of the connection that we have as singers with our listeners. Best Regards, Steven Fraser

Preface This post is in fulfillment of a promise that I made to TMV-er Chris, aka Mr_Ada. We'd gotten into an e-mail exchange on this topic, so I offered to blog on it for him and (by extension) all of TMV. Introduction In its most general definition, phonation is the making of phones or vocal sounds. This general definition includes voiced sounds, which include quasi-periodic oscillations of the vocal bands, andunvoiced sounds, which do not. The focus of this post will be on the voiced sounds produced during exhalation, which is the subset of the general definition most often meant when singers talk about 'phonation'. From here forward, when the word is used, it will be used in that sense. Basic Motions of the vocal bands During breathing, the posterior ends of the vocal bands are moved apart, making a triangular-shaped opening for the passage of air. This motion is called abduction. Here is a labeled, magnified picture of the vocal bands, taken from above, with the vocal bands abducted. The inverted white V shape is formed by the vocal ligaments, which are also called the 'vocal cords'. They are on the inner edges of the vocal bands. The opening between the bands is called the glottis. When the person is about to phonate, the posterior ends of the vocal bands are moved together, narrowing the glottis, often to the point of closing it. This motion is called adduction. Here is a magnified picture of the vocal bands of a different person, from above, with the vocal bands adducted so that the glottis is closed. The start of phonation Phonation starts when the vocal bands are adducted enough that they cause air pressure to build up below the glottis, and that air pressure is sufficiently high (when compared with ambient air pressure) to cause the glottis to open and narrow (or shut) repeatedly. This repeated motion produces pulses of air pressure to be released into the spaces just above the vocal bands, called the glottal pulse waves, or taken together, the phonated tone. (For the time being, we will not include vocal tract resonance in the discussion.) How Adduction affects phonation The phonated tone is directly affected by the amount of glottal closure which occurs in each cycle of motion. If the glottis does not completely close, (because the adduction is incomplete) then - the voiced phonation sound will be mixed with the sound of air turbulence passing through the larynx - the glottal pulses will not be very intense, and - the listener will hear 'breathiness' to more or less extent, inversely related to the amount of glottal closure. If the glottis closes completely in each cycle, then - there will be very little sound of air turbulence - the glottal pulses will be more intense, and - the listener will not hear breathiness. The percentage of the total glottal cycle time during which the glottis is closed is called the closed quotient. Vocal Pitch Control The pitch of the phonated tone is influenced by multiple factors, but is mostly the result of the actions of two muscle groups, 1) muscles in each vocal band which (when they flex) shorten and thicken the vocal bands, tending to produce lower frequency glottal cycles, and 2) muscles on the outside of the larynx which (when they flex) lengthen and thin the vocal bands, tending to produce higher frequency glottal cycles. The two sets coordinate to produce the full range of frequencies which can be sung. The activites of these muscles is often called registration. Inter-relationship of Adduction and Registration The amount of adduction which occurs is affected by the thickness of the vocal bands. When they are stretched long and are thin, the muscles which adduct the bands must move them farther toward the middle in order to get the same amount of glottal closure as is achieved with less motion when they are short/thick. If this additional adduction does not occur as the pitch ascends, the closed quotient becomes less as the vocal bands thin, and eventually the glottis does not close at all during the cycle. This progression is heard by the listener as a weakening of the vocal tone. Conversely, as the singer goes lower in the range, the vocal bands shorten and thicken, and progressively less adduction motion is needed to bring the glottis to closure. If this lesser adduction does not occur as the pitch descends, the closed quotient rises as the bands thicken, and eventually the glottis does not open and shut with a contant frequency. This latter situation is called vocal fry. The influence of breath energy on phonation The air pressure below the glottis during the phonation cycle is called subglottic pressure. At the beginning of a phonated tone, the energy of exhalation is resisted by the vocal folds during the closed phase, and causes a specific level of subglottic pressure to occur which (as we have seen) varies based on the adduction and the registration used for a note. If adduction and registration remain consistent, but breath energy (force of exhalation) increases, the closed quotient will progressively lessen. If adduction and registration remain consistent, but breath energy decreases, the closed qotient will progressively rise. In the former case, the voice eventually becomes breathy, and in the latter, the periodic oscillations cease, and a vocal fry results. Conclusion By training the voice to correctly balance and coordinate the laryngeal muscle actions and breath energy, the singer can achieve consistency of vocal tone and power throughout the entire range of the voice. With this balance, the singer is free to vary dynamics to suit the music being sung, and is also free to produce subtle tone changes by varying the closed quotient at will, in ways suited to the artistic expression desired.

https://thevocaliststudio.box.net/shared/static/7j0i8ulo23.mp3 Steve Fraser www.SteveFraser.com