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STANDING ON THE SOLID ROCK. A Pedagogical Approach for the inclusion of Female chest voice in the studio Dr. Kristen A. Wunderlich, Winthrop University SC NATS Fall Workshop September 8, 2012. Do you hear what I hear?. Young female singers Excess breathiness in the tone
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STANDING ON THE SOLID ROCK A Pedagogical Approach for the inclusion of Female chest voice in the studio Dr. Kristen A. Wunderlich, Winthrop University SC NATS Fall Workshop September 8, 2012
Do you hear what I hear? • Young female singers • Excess breathiness in the tone • Weakness in the low pitches • A “hole” in the middle voice where the breathiness seems more pronounced • Lack of vowel clarity • Lack of resonance • Intonation issues • Etc. • Etc….
“Chest Voice”….it’s verboten! • “Exploited when used-can cause SERIOUS damage!” • “Register violation” • “Don’t practice it! And if you do…only a little” • “It’s something only belters need”
“And never with a beginner” • “The pervasive influence of popular singing culture often makes it incumbent upon the teacher to avoid the chest voice entirely while training young singers in healthy and efficient vocal habits.” • -Sheila Allen, “Female Chest Voice”, Journal of Singing, Jan/Feb 2007
Marian Anderson • “There is no such thing as a boundary of range within the complete tonal compass. Try to get rid of the habit of charting your voice into separate little islands of range, actually they do not exist.”
Luisa Tetrazzini • “The lowest register below the clef is that in which the vocal cords are least tense, and therefore the tones can never be given great sonority in that region. Any attempt to do so will lead to squeezing with the muscles through the involuntary endeavor to steady the cords against the undue pressure of air. This will produce a harsh and disagreeable tone, and if the practice is continued it will work great injury to the voice”
“Safe” Vocalization • “By first developing the middle voice employing descending patterns from the upper middle voice, the student may develop at sustainable tonal concept and establish access to the head voice with the ability to blend into the middle voice more quickly. Once this dynamic balance of phonation has been developed in the middle voice, chest register may be judiciously introduced and register equalization established.” • -Shelia Allen, “Female Chest Voice”, Journal of Singing, Jan/Feb 2007
“To be safe, start in the middle” • Focus on developing • Middle • Head • “Build from the inside out” • “Bring the head voice down”
“I’m confused!?!” • Why do we start with the middle voice, when that area is often the weakest in the female voice? • Why do we focus on unification when there is often only one strong register?
Differing Opinions Unification Separation
Richard Miller • “Separation of registers as a means of strengthening them is contrary to the aim of vocal registration in singing: the achievement of gradual register transition. Separating the chest register from the head register results in driving up chest voice…such action produces the condition of hyperfunction found in pathological voice conditions. However, bringing the head voice downward into the low register is not an act of register separation, but rather a technique for register combining.”
“Peace, Love & Understanding” • Why is this issue such a hot one? • Is it a matter of semantics? • Is there misunderstanding in terminology?
Registers DO exist! Natural Action Theory Mechanistic Action Theory • There are no registers! • Breaks are caused by psychological fears/tension • Musculature is not under our conscious control • Muscular antagonism • TA (Thyroarytenoid)=Vocalis Muscle • CT (Cricothyroid) • When one group of muscles is weaker than the antagonists, it collapses • Equilibrium is the key!
Garcia, 1840 • “By the word register we understand a series of consecutive and homogenous tones going from low to high, produced by the development of the same mechanical principle, and whose nature differs essentially from another series of tones equally consecutive and homogenous produced by another mechanical principle. All the tones belonging to the same register are consequently of the same nature, whatever may be the modification of timbre or of force to which one subjects them.”
Manuel Garcia-1840Memoire sur la voix humaneRegisters of the Human Voice
Pedagogical Proof • “Among all voices, one must always choose…the chest voice” • -Zacconi, 1592 • Voce di petto • Round, full • Preferred over voce di testa
Chest voice production • Voice in its most organic state • Garcia, 1855-Laryngoscope • “Large, loose vibrations” • “Deep contact” • Glottal closure • Van den Berg: Closure rate of glottis is over 50% • “Non-stressful” voice production
Chest voice production • “Chest voice…requires small passive longitudinal tensions in vocal ligaments. The minimal values of the interarytenoid contraction and medial compression are small.” • -Van den Berg
A matter of acoustics • John Large research • Chest voice=higher energy in upper partials • Rich, high harmonics • Singer’s formant (2800-3200 Hz) • Closed glottal phase • Resonators “tune” with vibrators • Lowered position of Larynx
“Register Agent” (Hirano) • TA (Thyroarytenoid Muscle) • Vocalis Muscle • Involvement of this muscle determines register • In Chest Register, Vocalis (TA) is heavily involved • In Falsetto, Vocalis (TA) involvement is absent
Chest voice=more power • Fairly long closed phase • Steep slope in closing • Singer’s formant is affected=better “ring” in the voice • Efficiency • Even Vibrato • Lowered larynx in chest voice=richness of sound
“All other ground is sinking sand” • Ignoring the chest voice • Focus on “other issues” • Placement • Breath control • Negates a huge building block • Loss of breadth and clarity in tone • Loss of middle voice
Giambattista Mancini, 1776 • “If an organ is not strong and is defective, he will give it only with pain and fatigue” • Practical Reflections on Figured Singing
Cornelius Reid • “Should these muscle systems be in a state and condition where either or both are inequitably developed and/or poorly coordinated, all other aspects of vocal mechanics would be thrown into disarray” • Bel Canto
“One of these things is not like the other” Register separation Register violation • Encourages flexibility in tone production • Adequate breath flow • Not carrying the voice TOO high! • Eb-F4 (Area to monitor) • Abuse of voice • Shoving a muscle up • Too much tension, too much pressure • Very audible vocal change around the break
Manuel Garcia Sombre Timbre Clair Timbre • Chest voice • Preference for this register • Do not reduce power of strong register • Disagrees with Mancini • Aids in brilliance of tone • Head voice • Elevated larynx
Smoothing out the Rough Edges • Register unification • Every teacher’s goal! • Difference in approaches • Register unification • Both registers are not fully developed • Weakened-Dull-Lifeless • Amphoteric tones suffer
Listening Examples • Example 1-Soprano, age 26 • No instruction in register separation • Taught from “the middle out” or “from the head register down” theory • What do you hear? • Example 2-Same singer after intense vocalization of chest voice • What do you hear? • Are there marked differences?
Vennard • “Frequently she will discover the ring at the same moment that she discovers her chest voice”
Middle Ground • “The greatest difficulty in singing is the union of the two registers” • -Gimbattista Mancini, Practical Reflections on Figured Singing
Don’t be afraid of the breaks! • Encourage SEPARATION first • Then • Put together the two strong registers
Learned behavior! • Must be taught at the beginning of instruction! • “Robustness of voice is usually a gift from nature, but can also be acquired by study and art.” -Mancini • Must be exercised every lesson! • Must be encouraged!
Trust your ears…and eyes! • Does the chest voice seem pushed/manufactured? • No “muscling” allowed! • Encourage breath flow • Encourage “breaks”
“Let’s give ‘em something to talk about” • Speak at all different pitch levels • “Singer must extend this range above and below its every-day limits”-Douglas Stanley • Equate chest voice with a “spoken” sound • Move from sung to spoken in a register “break” exercise
Aural clues • Does chest voice seem pushed or “Manufactured”? • DANGER! • Breath flow must increase! • EASE of production is key
Things of which to be conscious!! • Pitch • Intensity • Vowel • “When the intrinsic muscles of the larynx are in equilibrium, their tension will be directly proportional to the pitch, intensity and vowel pattern being sung” • -Cornelius Reid
Exercises • Chest voice-energized, accented • Range of 5th, 8va, or 8va+5 • “yodel” • Natural break should be apparent • “No weight” in the jumps • Experiment with both directions • Ascending and Descending exercises • Usually bright vowels work best • [i] • [a]
