Its All About The Mask?

[Matt]

The whole tone thing, of having a sweet, full, ringing, bell of a tone, it really is about getting full into the mask, the head, no matter whether youre in head or chest, isnt it? I always stupidly thought it was the other way round, of trying to stay full in the chest...perhaps chest pullers suffer from this simple misunderstanding?

[Martin H]

"Singing in the mask" is a subjective term and is usually a symptom of efficient vocal production (mainly a great deal of twang). Though not all singers feel this sensation, but that doesn't mean that their vocal production is not efficient. :)

[Matt]

I've been adding the whoofiness from liprolls to "hmmm" sirens top/down phonation and it seems the more I lean into the whoofiness and try to increase resonance or clarity in the boomy whoofiness so it almost sounds slightly operatic, with a strong buzzing sensation in the mask/forehead that almost leads to numbness around the bridge of the nose between the eyes (a sensation that is quite new to me), the more I can get a somewhat operatic, Tom Jonesy, almost chesty, ring in the head? I havent tried to add twang consciously, but I do attempt to be conscious of fold closure and breathiness.

[Matt]

In other words, on further experimentation, keeping the hard palate buzzing all through the note.

[Steven Fraser]

In other words, on further experimentation, keeping the hard palate buzzing all through the note.

Matt: The nature of the sensation depends a bit on the jaw position chosen for the vowels, and for the particular pitches being sung. For example, for a vowel that has buzz happing on the hard palate right behind the top teeth, the buzz sensation can _move_ as the jaw is dropped. The reason: the sensation of the buzz has its origin in the acoustics of the vocal tract, and those acoustics vary as vocal tract configuration does.

In some voice types, the sensations move predictably as the pitches change, as well. Soprano Lilli Lehman wrote a detailed description of how the 'point of impingement' (her term) moved backward across her hard palate & soft palate as she ascended the scale, and then it 'jumped' to the top of her head as she transitioned to the very top voice.

As Martin H mentioned, not all singers do, but it is a common enough experience that people can use sensations a a guide to how their vocal function is approaching their optimum. IMO the risk of the 'placement' approach is that the singer tries to 'put' the sound in a particular place, in order to get the proper function. This is backward, IMO. I think its far better to get proper function and vowel formation, and then identify the feelings that go with the good sound.

So, if I could, I would offer a slight re-wording of your statement above. 'In other words, on further expermentation, sing so that the hard palate keeps buzzing through all the note.' Sustained, consistent sensation is a very good indicator of consistent function.

[Matt]

Thanks for the answer, I get what you mean about placement issues. I often find I have better success not "feeling" for whats going on as much as listening to whether it sounds correct or not. I remember from my younger days when I used to do a million guitar scales a day that I was all about the feel on the fretboard and only many years later did it strike me to actually *listen* to what it sounded like. Would the jaw placement that facilitates a buzzing palate be a somewhat closed jaw? In general I seem to be finding that pretty tone I want at the heart of my voice is in my head resonance, not my chest. I think Im getting into fuller headvoice, the more I lean in to what actually feels like the cavities between my hard palate and my facial skin, the more boom I get. I also recognize your description of the sensation travelling along the hard palate towards the back as you ascend and then the tone just disappears behind the soft palate, straight up into the middle of the head. My only issue is that the tone disappears too and Im left with just a whisper at that point, unless I strain which I dont to.

[joshual]

i would say ' It's all about the resonators' ;-)