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 literally means light/dark. This term is used to
describe the proportions of light/darkness in a voice.
How does the strength of
the overtones vary in tones that are bright vs. dark? Bright=stronger high-pitched.
Dark=stronger low-pitched.
What causes twang
resonance?
A narrowing of the vocal tract causes a twang resonance. How would you
describe the sound? Brassy, edgy, and overall nasality.
What causes loft resonance?
Relaxing
and enlarging the pharynx and lifting the soft palate.
What often causes the sound
to be ‘back’ rather than forward? Excess tension in the root of the
tongue.
Lyric and dramatic are
indicators of both the size and the color of the voice.
Synonyms for light and
dramatic might be lyric and full .
What is the cause of
breathiness? Incomplete
closer of the glottis, and made worse by poor breath support.
What is raspiness? Extraneous noise in the vocal sound
What causes raspiness? Aperiodic events during vocal fold vibration.
How are breathiness and
raspiness different? Breathiness=hiss/white
noise in the background of the tone, and raspiness=hoarseness and may include
course, gravelly sounds.
What are signs of a damaged
voice?
Hoarse, raspy sounds that are beyond the direct control of the singer. Also
cracking, popping, diplophonia, chronic intonation problems, etc.
What is nasality? A tone that actively resonates in the
nasal cavity. What causes
nasality? A low, relaxed soft palate that fails to seal the passageway from
the back of the throat into the nose.
Define free singing. This definition is pretty subjective,
but I would describe free singing as “easy/ effortless singing”. Free singing
can also include a lack of tension in the body. I would say then that the real
definition of free singing is efficient singing.
Define forced singing. In contrast to the previous definition,
I think forced singing is when the singer is consciously using more effort to
produce the desired tone.
Define vibrato. A long term vibration, or oscillation
superimposed on a sustained pitch. Might be related to the body’s natural
tremor rate. It has two components: pitch and loudness.
What is the compass of a
normal vibrato? Pitch
may vary by as much as a minor second above and below the center, with a
compass of a major second or more from top to bottom. Ideally, loudness
pulsates at the same rate, emphasizing the center pitch.
Describe the characteristics
of regular vibrato. Equal
portions of pitch and loudness modulation that occur in perfect synchronization.
What does pitch-dominant
vibrato sound like? Resembles
a slow trill and makes determining the actual pitch very difficult.
What does loudness-dominant
vibrato sound like? Has
a bleating quality, much like a child imitating a goat.
What is the oscillation
rate of a healthy, well-balanced vibrato? A healthy and well-balanced vibrato will
oscillate in the approximate range of 4.5-7 cps.
Define wobble. A slow vibrato. Wobble < 4.5 cps with
a wide pitch compass
What causes wobble? Results from poor technique, prolonged taxing
use, neurological disorders, and old age.
How can we avoid developing
a wobble? Don’t
get old! Haha, just kidding. ;) Actually one can avoid developing a wobble
through good vocal hygiene. This includes maintenance of pulmonary fitness.
Define flutter. Rapid vibrato. Flutter > 7 cps which
obviously means having a narrow pitch compass
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