Caitlin Craig Mccoy Chapter 1

Provide the missing descriptor in the following pairs:
Clean - Raspy
Dramatic - Lyric
Loft - Twang
Clear - Breathy
Healthy - Damaged
Dark - Bright
Forward - Back
Ringing - Conversational
Nasal - Non-Nasal
Free - Forced
Straight Tone - Vibrant
Wobble - Flutter

Define chiaroscuro: chiaroscuro is defined as light vs. dark.  Brightness or lightness in the voice is characterized by a radiant carrying timbre.  Darkness in the voice is characterized by a warm and full-bodied characteristic of timbre.
How does the strength of the overtones vary in tones that are bright vs. dark? Bright tones have more intense high-pitched overtones, whereas dark tones exhibit more intense low-pitched overtones.  
What causes Twang resonance? How would you describe the sound? Twang resonance is caused by a narrowing of the vocal tract.  Brassy or harsh sounds occur in the result of Twang resonance.
What causes Loft resonance? Loft resonance occurs when the throat or pharynx is released/relaxed, and the soft palate is lifted.  
What often causes the sound to be 'back' rather than forward? Root of the tongue tension.
Lyric and Dramatic are indicators of both the size and the color  of the voice.
Synonyms for light and dramatic might be  light and full.
What is the cause of breathiness? When the glottis is not completely closed.
What is raspiness? What causes it? Raspiness is characterized by hoarseness or gravelly sounds.  Raspiness is caused by aperiodic events during VF vibration.  Often this is a indication of vocal pathologies.
How are breathiness and raspiness different? Breathiness sounds like white noise or a hiss in the sound, whereas raspiness is a coarse and harsh sound to the voice.
What are signs of a damaged voice? Hoarse, raspy, sounds that are beyond the control of the singer.   Cracking or popping sounds, diplophonia, chronic intonation problems, excessively wide/slow vibrato are all signs of a damaged voice.  
What is nasality? What causes it? Nasality is a way to describe the sound that occurs when the sound is resonating in the nasal cavity.  Nasality occurs when the soft palate isn't completely lifted to seal the passageway between the nose and pharynx.  
Define free singing. Free singing is perceived by ease, and has a freedom of sound and body.
Define forced singing. Forced singing is taxing.  It is the opposite of free singing.  If prolonged, the voice will become hoarse and tired. 
Define vibrato. Vibrato is the long-term vibration occurring on a sustained frequency. It is a normal occurring characteristic of free singing.  It also has two components: pitch and loudness. Pitch and loudness should be in equal portions of pitch and loudness modulation (occurring in sync).
What is the compass of a normal vibrato? a major second or more in range.
Describe the characteristics of normal vibrato. Normal vibrato has equal proportions of loudness and pitch.  These two components occur in synchronization.   
What does pitch-dominant vibrato sound like? A slow trill, which makes it hard to determine which pitch is being sung.
What does loudness-dominant vibrato sound like? Wavering like the sound of a child mimicking a billy goat.
What is the oscillation rate of a healthy well-balanced vibrato? 4.5-7 cycles per second (cps).
Define wobble. Wobble is a term used to describe a slow vibrato usually less than 4.5 cps, and a wide pitch compass.
What causes wobble? Poor singing technique, age, prolonged singing with poor technique, and neurological disorders.
How can we avoid developing a wobble? By keeping our voices in healthy use by exercising regularly, and healthy speaking habits.
Define flutter. Flutter is a term used to describe a fast vibrato, usually more than 7 cps, and accompanying a flutter is a narrow pitch compass.