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There is still alot of debate in vocal teaching circles concerning the healthiness of belting. Even finding a consistent definition is tricky. It's a sound that is often identified with Broadway or gospel singing. It is a big, loud, powerful sound that can be quite stirring. The potential problem with pure belting is that the chest voice range is pushed higher than is optimal, which can make a singer hyperfunctional. In my opinion, it is better to develop a strong mix or middle voice that can can be leaned into for more power. One exercise that can help in that area is the pharyngeal voice or 'witch's voice. The use of this device dates back to the baroque period and the training of the castrati. This ugly, bratty sound helps to bridge the chest into the middle area easily without pushing or straining. Use the sounds 'nay', 'naa', & 'waa' in your practice. As you ascend the scale, don't get intentionally louder- the pharyngeal resonance will give a sense of more power without your help! Just keep the sound ugly without strain. Be sure not to jam the sound into your nose. It works wonders without taxing the voice. A great scale pattern to start with is the octave arpeggio with the top note repeated: nay- nay-nay-nay-nay-nay-nay-nay-nay-nay 1 3 5 8 8 8 8 5 3 1 The repeat of the top note give the muscles a greater opportunity to remember the proper response. From here, you can add the octave & a half pattern as well as the mixed octave scale. These two amp up the challenge by covering more range more quickly.

This article will compare 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 that make them similar to each other, but also have some characteristics, which differentiate them. As I have done before, I will use spectrographic 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 spectrograph 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: 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. H1 and H2 are lower in intensity than H3, but strong enough to make the core warmth of the tone quality very solid. The 4th harmonic in both voices is within the 'red lines', the most sensitive part of our hearing range. 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 spectrograph, 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 spectrograph shows the following: 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. 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 second 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 helps us to distinguish his from Whitney's tone quality. 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 particularly 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 spectrograph 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 'There's 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: 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. 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. H4 for both voices is quite a bit softer than H1, H2 and H3, adding some brightness, but not much to both. 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. 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? 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: 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. Each of the singers shows strong voice production characteristics, but not equal balances of resonance. This essay was first published December 21, 2008 on The Modern Vocalist.com the Internet's #1 community for vocal professionals, voice health practitioners and pro-audio companies worldwide since November 2008.

If we define belting in the most general terms possible, let's entertain the notion that it's a vocal sound that derives from talking or yelling. Belting is most often linked to musical theater singing, but has been used to describe loud singing in commercial styles such as rock and gospel. Following is a brief description of the essentials of the mechanism of belting voice production, particularly as compared to classical singing. Head: aligned with body but with jaw parallel to ground (head tilted down in classical) Jaw: firmer masseter (chewing) muscle which protrudes jaw slightly forward Hyoid bone: pulls forward Thyroid Cartilage: slides forward (tilts down in front for classical) Larynx Height: higher position (approx. 1 1/2 cervical vertebrae higher) Vocal Fold Vibration Pattern: clapping, square-edge, no zippering, particularly at higher volumes Vocal Fold closure speed, speed quotient: faster Vocal Fold closure ratio, closed quotient: longer, closed minimum of 50% of time Increased sub-glottal pressure - upper belly must firm OUT, lower belly IN, to correctly pressurize vocal folds T-A muscle (vocalis): more contracted Frequencies: even range of frequencies up to 15k Subjective sensations: Extreme breath holding prior and during Singing smacky and sticky The feeling of folds high speed of closure and long closed phase Intense support (5 rules: chest stays up, side/back ribs stay out, upper belly magic spot firms out, lower belly gradually goes in, waist goes out) Sound shooting through mouth or chin or upper neck or lower neck or nose Modern belting ideas: Timbre (nasal and/or ringy) and volume should be character-based choices Can be loud, medium or soft (rarely), but cannot be breathy Musical Theater belting can be delineated into at least five belting sub-styles: Heavy Belt, Nasal Belt, Brassy Belt (nasal/ringy, mostly nasal, i.e. Ethel Merman) Ringy Belt (nasal/ringy, mostly ringy i.e. Kristin Chenoweth) Speech-Like Belt (broad spectrum of resonance i.e. Idina Menzel) Teaching Approaches: Calls (Come ere Daddy!) Nasals (e.g. nyaa) Lean Exercises Pressure Sounds (bee staccato) This essay first published November 30, 2008 on The Modern Vocalist.com the Internet's #1 community for vocal professionals, voice health practitioners and pro-audio companies worldwide since November 2008.