Caitlin Craig voice lesson 3/27/14

Brianna and I began the lesson by talking about how I couldn't get ahold of Ali for a few weeks because of the recital she had put together with her friends from Italy. We discussed this for a while, and Brianna expressed her frustrations. I told her that I was frustrated too, but I didn't know what else to do.

Brianna then talked to me for a good 15 minutes about coming to her Doterra class to learn more, and maybe start selling oils if I was interested. This really frustrated me because I felt like she could have done this after my voice lesson, instead of taking the time out of my voice lesson to do this.

We finally started vocalization on 87654321 lip buzzes. We did quite a few repetitions, and during them Brianna mentioned the teacher teacher energy, and it sounded like I was much more energized after that instruction. She also mentioned "Fall through". I think that helped me to let go.
We moved on to "a b c d, 'th'ee" 54321. She said to me to have an attitude that I love these exercises. I think she did this to get me in a better speaking place. She mentioned that my lower back muscles need to let go. She said that thinking of having a 50 lbs weight on each hip, to have a feeling of being drawn somewhere instead of making it happen. I think this helped me to find more depth, and release in my breath. My speaking voice sounded much more healthy, and the rest of the vocalize seemed to realign my singing voice.

Brianna stopped me and told me that I was doing a great job at keeping my voice in a simple a easy place. She said that for the past few lessons, she hasn't heard any of the breathy quality in my exercises. That made me feel good, and I can definitely see that in my practice.

Brianna then had me move on to 8531 'th'ee. I told her that I was going to walk backwards during this exercise, because I wanted to try to align my thoracic spine, but also see if I could distract myself from being too involved in my singing. Brianna said that it was working for me because she took me up to a B5 and I had no problem with it.

She decided to give me a new exercises [bi, be, ba, bo, bu] 876543213587654321358 repeating the vocalize on each new vowel. I recognized that Brianna was teaching me a new vocalize to put me more in the sweet spot beyond my current ability. It was challenging, but I think it was because I didn't have the breath energy in the dump moments, but also I needed to open my jaw every time I reiterated a new vowel. I can see how this would be a great vocalize to work on in my practice, because it is in my sweet spot.

Brianna and I then worked on the Bach cantata. She asked me to imagine the highest note in each phrase and have that space ready before each phrase. When I began, I could hear some breathiness in my sound, I think this could of been because I was tired, and I wasn't very buoyant in my breath energy. Brianna asked me to reiterate the buoyant energy in my rib cage. After she gave that instruction, the breathiness went away for the most part. I felt a more buoyant energy in my breath and also my singing. She also told me to think of silent energetic breaths, and I think that helped me to feel the teacher teacher energy in my lower back. We took a moment after singing for a bit, to mark in appropriate breaths, and dump moment thoughts. Brianna just gave me one more thought to keep joy in the breath and in my singing.

My goal after this lesson, was to practice the cantata with the new breaths I had marked in, and to practice feeling those dump moments to sustain that buoyant energy throughout all the phrases. I thought this might also help me to keep my larynx low.

Sam Meredith Rob O Lesson Record/Reactions for 4/23

This was my seventh lesson with Rob. I started by asking him how his voice feels. He said it felt fine, but he mentioned that he was a little tired because he had just returned from his mountain biking class. I asked him if he was sore at all. He said that he just felt exhausted, but not sore. We got stretched out first by just letting our neck fall gently onto our chests as if we fell asleep and gently moving it from side to side. After that I asked if his neck felt alright. He said it did. I asked him then to bring his neck into a balanced position along with his back, hips, knees, and ankles. Next we stretched our shoulders using the 'teacher teacher' stretch. I asked how that felt. He said good. Then we worked on our jaws by massaging the sides of our face with the heels of our hands. Then I directed Rob to make a gentle chewing motion. After that I asked him to try to gently manipulate his jaw with his hand. After that we started vocalization. I asked him what his favorite scent is. He said that clean laundry was his favorite fragrance. He said that the combination of detergent and dryer sheets that he uses on his laundry gives his laundry the perfect smell and that he smells every shirt after it gets out of the wash. I then asked him if he could demonstrate what he does when he smells his fresh shirts. I pretended to smell a clean piece of laundry. I asked him to do it again and to give me a report of how the breath feels. He told me that it feels different than it does when he breathes normally. I asked him to describe the difference. He said that when he breathes normally he is simply trying to take in air and that when he smells something he is really trying to take in the aroma and as a result feels like there is a bigger space in his nasal cavity than there is normally. I told him that this feeling of space is something that we want to have when we are singing. We talked about how when we breathe properly for singing we feel a big wide open space in our throat. Before we went on to vocalization I instructed him to pretend to smell one of his clean shirts, not by sucking in the air like a vacuum, but by simply allowing the air to come in and then follow that inhalation with a sigh. We did that a few times. After the first repetition I asked him if he could make the sigh more feminine. I asked him after he was done if he could feel that refreshing space and energy as he breathed in. He said yes. Next I told him that I wanted to add some real pitches to the exercise. We vocalized on the word 'shy' making it a descending arpeggio. We started with C4 as the top note of the arpeggio. I moved down in half steps until he got to A3 at which point I jumped back up to Eb4. From there I moved down in half steps until I got to B3. As he was vocalizing I directed him to sniff the shirt and just feel all of the tension melt away as he does so. After we were done I told him that I noticed that on the repetitions where I felt like he had a really good sense of space increasing as a result of the calm, unforced breath he was much more successful. I asked him if he agreed with that statement and he said that he did. He said that he noticed that it was a lot easier when he wasn't trying to force the air in. I told him that forcing the air in just really doesn't make sense because air will come in as fast as it needs to come in and that all we need to do is create the space needed for the air to move freely. After that we moved on to music. I asked him if he had any questions about things we did in our previous lesson. He said no. I asked him if he was more comfortable with the melody. He said that he was comfortable with the first part, but that there was one part that he still wasn't comfortable with. I played it for him once on the piano. After that I asked him if it made more sense now. He said yes. Next, I told him that I wanted to sing through it and just concentrate on maintaining the same healthy space that we found with our good breath gesture. I went to the phrase that he said he was having the most  trouble with. I gave him four measures of rest and instructed him to pretend to smell the shirt during those beats. We sang through the phrase. After that I told him that I felt like it improved when he had that nice shirt-smelling breath. I then apologized for not specifying what syllable I wanted him to sing the music on. He had just ended up singing it on [na]. I told him that I liked that as a syllable for him to sing it and and asked him to continue that. I informed him at this point that one does not actually need to close the jaw at all to make [n]. We went through the phrase again. I asked him how it felt. He said that he was a lot more open that time and that it felt a lot more comfortable. After that I asked him to stand with his heels against the wall and his head in a normal position. I measured the distance between his occipital ridge and the wall. I then took out some text books from my backpack and laid them down on the floor. I asked him to lay down and put his head in a balanced position on the books with his knees bent and his hands resting above his head. I told him that we were going to continue singing on [na]. I then fine-tuned his head position. I reminded him to try to have the sense of smelling shirt throughout the entirety of the phrase. I asked him if he could feel any difference being on the floor. He said that he honestly couldn't. I said that I noticed a slight difference, but nothing huge. He commented that he was having trouble remembering the melody. So, I gave him the music and had him hold it above his body so that he could see it. I continued to play the melody on the piano as we sang through the phrase again, trying to remember the melody for myself. I made some mistakes, but overall it was okay. After we were done singing, I asked him if he felt any difference. He said that he felt like he had a better breath that time. He said that he really remembered to keep a feeling of openness. I told him that I wanted to do it one more time, this time singing it on [nu]. I told him after that that I felt like laying on the floor was freeing up his neck, but that there was still a tendency to squeeze for high notes. I asked him to just take a few shirt-smelling breaths and imagine the big space that breath creates. I then asked him to imagine that this space increases when we sing high notes. I also asked him to just care less about how it sounds. As he sang, I repeated the word 'space' before he arrived at ascending passages. I asked if he felt a difference after that repetition. He said that he was more aware of the constriction that happens when he sings high. I told him that this awareness seemed to help him. He said that he noticed that the space was a lot bigger on lower notes and that he was trying to imagine that same space remaining for the high notes. I asked him to get up off of the floor and asked him to remember the free feeling that he had in his neck as a result of that posture. I asked him to pretend that he had just returned from the dentist, so that his jaw had a nice loose feeling. I told him that I didn't care how it sounded, I just wanted him to have an experience singing with a free jaw. We went on to a new phrase. I played it once for him on the piano so that he could hear it first. We continued to sing on [nu]. We pretended to sniff a shirt for a few beats before tying to sing. After that I asked him if he could pretend that the dentist gave him more drugs. We went through the phrase once more. I then asked him if he did a better job of having a loose jaw. He said yes. I agreed. I then told him that I wanted to combine the feelings of space in the throat as a result of good breath and space in the mouth as a result of the loose jaw. We sang through the phrase again. We then went on to the next phrase. Before the next phrase I reminded him to be aware of space in the throat and looseness in the jaw. I asked him how he felt he did. He said he felt like he did a little better. Next we went on to another phrase. I reminded him to be aware of those same things once again before we sang through it. I asked him how it went. He said that he felt like he did okay, but he could feel when he was wanting to be tense. I told him that it is good that he was aware of that because awareness is what cures our problems. Before we ended I asked him if he had any questions. He said that he didn't. 

I think that overall this was an okay lesson. I felt like the shirt-smelling breath was particularly successful for Rob. I also feel like [nu] ended up being a really good syllable for him to sing on. I was glad I made that adjustment because I feel like that really helped him maintain a sense of space in the throat as he sang. I don't think laying on the floor was very successful for him, but I'm glad that I tried it anyway. I think it was more effective for him in our previous lesson when I just had him leaning forward and putting his elbows on his knees. I think another improvement I would make if I could teach this lesson again is that I might be more picky during vocalization. I was chiefly concentrating on the breath gesture when we were doing the 'shy' exercise, but I think I could have also given him some direction regarding a loose jaw. I noticed it during vocalization, but I just wasn't sure if that would've been too many things to focus on. I did address it later when we were doing song prep, but maybe it would've been more effective if I had brought that up earlier. 

LaeKin Burgess MayeRee Lesson plan #6 for 4/17

My plan for this week was to re-address relaxation of all abdominal muscles, especially the back. I also want to try to get a more energized breath. Lower, more energized, tracheal tug is what I'm going for. We'll bend over and feel the breath in our back again if we need to. I want to try three quick breaths in before each phrase or vocalise to get the breath to go lower rather than higher. We'll see how it goes.

LaeKin Burgess MayeRee lesson report #6 for 4/17

In this lesson we started on C4 descending 54321 on the raspberry. I noticed MayeRee had an edgy quality to her voice and guessed this was because of pharyngeal constriction. We tried 54321 on [u] but it was still edgy. I thought if I could get her to release her upper pharyngeal constrictor it would help her sound. I asked for three quick breaths in through the nose to achieve a lower, more energized breath, and hopefully released SPC. MayeRee said that the nose breaths helped a little in her exercises. I asked for blah blah blah on 531 descending. Still really constricted. We moved to her song. I asked her for  the three quick breaths before each phrase. This seemed a little tight so I just asked for a rose breath. We also tried [ngah] descending. I was hoping that these exercises would help her release but I don't know if I was very successful. She said her throat was really tight at the end of our lesson. What she described seemed to be in the vicinity of her SPC and nasopharynx. I wasn't really sure what to do.

LaeKin Burgess Malde Chapter 5 part two

The muscle of the lips extends all the way up to the NOSE and all the way down to the indentation in the chin.

Describe the buccinators: include location, attachments, and function and resonance effect  form the inside of the cheeks. They connect the lips in the front. At the back they connect to the upper phayrngeal constrictor at a tendinous raphe inside the cheekbone. They pull on the lips and also the upper pharyngeal constrictor. There are two muscles that run vertically along the inside of the pharynx, the palato pharyngeus and the palato glossus muscles. When the cheek muscles engage they constrict the oral pharynx by pulling  forward on the upper pharyngeal constrictor. This in turn affects the palato glossus which can pull up on the base of the tongue and the palato pharyngeus which can pull up on the larynx. These can also pull down on the soft palate.

What is the tongue’s survival function?to move food around to be properly masticated then swallowed.

What is the function of the tongue for singing? to articulate sounds of speech.

How many intrinsic tongue muscles are there?  What is their function? four intrinsic that are responsible for the fine motor movements of articulation.

How many extrinsic tongue muscles are there?  What is their function? five move the tongue forward up back or down.

Where does the tongue have attachements? to the hyoid bone and the mandible at the back of the chin.

What is the septum of the tongue?  What is its function? fibrous portion of the tongue that extends vertically from the hyoid bone and serves as an attachment point for the intrinsic muscles.

What are ways that singers use their tongues inappropriately? recruit the tongue to do the work of other muscles.  singers push down on the larynx with back of the tongue. pull back in attempt to increase pharyngeal resonance.

What is the only healthy way to lower the larynx?  to lower by using the muscles attached from below, the sternohyoid and the omohyoid muscles. STernothyroid connects to front of thyroid and may assist in bring the whole larynx down too.

Which four muscles in the neck are the only muscles  that can play a positive role in vocal resonance? The ones listed above and the stylopharyngeus.

What is the function of the rest of the neck muscles?  expression and other things that don't relate to singing.

What are the strongest muscles that pull up on the larynx? pair of hyoglossus muscles. These muscles connect the back of the tongue to the hyoid bone.

Describe the aryepiglottic sphincter (location and function)  just above the vocal folds and is defined by the muscles surrounding the epiglottis cartilage. The muscles that narros the AES are the aryepiglttic muslce which orignate at the back of the larynx and extend along the sides of the aryepiglottic folds to the epiglottis. Helps in belting. 

What causes the Singer’s Formant?The ring of the voice happens when the opening of the larynx is much smaller than the width of the lower pharynx. There are 2 ways: widen the pharynx or make the laryngeal opening smaller. To widen the pharynx, we lower the larynx. To narrow the laryngeal opening, we close the aryepiglottic sphincter. They can also be combined.

What is vowel modification? opening the jaw slightly as pitch ascends.

How can we be singing the correct pitch and still be off in terms of intonation?  if high overtones are emphasized with resonance the pitch may sound sharp. If low overtones are emphasized the pitch may sound glat. Resonance is not consistent.

LaeKin Burgess Malde Chapter 5 part one

What is the key to success in resonance? awareness. Attention to detail and attention to the whole. kinesthesia.

What are the 9 moveable structures that affect the shape of your resonator? 

1. balance of head over spine

2. pharyngeal constrictors

3. velum/soft palate. 

4. mandible/jaw and the muscles that move it. 

5. tongue

6. lips

7. buccinators

8. larynx

9. aryepiglottic sphicter

Describe the vocal tract at rest. lips are either closed or slightly open. Jaw is slightly open with small space between upper and lower teeth. The tongue lies in the cradle of the jaw touching the bottom teeth all the way around. Cheeks are free and long. The soft palate is suspended so air can move freely through nose or mouth. muscles of the pharynx are neither stretched nor tense but nestle easily against the vertebrae of the neck. The larynx is midway between its highest and lowest points.

Which movements of the vocal tract are essential to all styles of good singing? the jaw moves feely for articulation. The tongue will lie easily in the cradle of the jaw but will be moving constantly to form different vowels and consonants. Pharyngeal muscles will be released.  The head is free to move and balanced on the A-o joint

Which movements are specific to classical style? lips released and forward, cheeks long and free, more variation in the opening of the jaw, larynx is lower and soft palate higher, vowels that are modified away from the spoken vowels.

Which movements do non-classical singers make? might choose a wider lateral opening of the mouth and allow cheeks to pull back on lips, movements of larynx, soft palate and jaw will be closer to those of speech.

Keeping the head in balance does not mean keeping it. IMMOBILE

What are the two effects of resonance by the balance of the head?  it can move the larynx and change the curve of the throat.

What happens if you allow the back of the head to pull back and down (Chin up)?
if head is tilted up and forward it raises the larynx through the hyoid bone and makes it hard for the intrinsic muscles of the larynx to move easily.

Describe the pharyngeal constrictors, as a whole. Three thin sheets of muscle that nestle against the front of the spine at the back of the throat and curve forward sloping down at the sides.

Describe the location of the SPC. connected to the base of the skull right behind the opening to the nose just in front of the a-o joint. Its side connect to the muscles of the inner cheek, the buccinators which in turn connect to the lips.

Describe the location of the MPC. is level with the corner of the jaw. Sides connect to the hyoid bone at the base of the tongue.

Describe the location of the IPC. continuous with the esophagus on the bottom and connects to the cricoid cartilage at the sides.

What is the survival function of the pharyngeal constrictors?  assist in swallowing and regurgitation.

What is the job of the pharyngeal muscles for singing?  to release and stay out of the way!!!!!

What is the one muscles that can open the throat slightly? How does it do this? Where is it located?  the stylopharyngeus can help stretch the middle of the pharynx. it originates at the styloid process on the bottom side of the skull right behind the ear and extends obliquely down and forward along the outside of the upper paryngeal constrictor inserting between the upper and middle pharyngeal constrictors where it hoins with their fibers. When it contracts the stylopharyngeus pulls out and back on the middle pharyngeal constrictor stretching it slightly.

What should we avoid doing to try to get louder?  Why? tensing the sides of the vocal tract. the chamber of air is the resonator not the actual surface of the vocal tract.

What are our choices if we want more volume? we can use faster air flow, change the shape of the chamber of air to make stronger resonance, or both.

Describe the velum (location and function) acts as a valve that opens and closes the passages to the nose. Located at the top of the throat above the opening of the pharynx into the mouth. The uvula hangs from its back edge.

Describe the movements of the soft palate.  neutral air flows freely through mouth and nose. raisedcloses off nasal cavity. lowest it closes off the mouth so air only moves through the nose.

How many muscle pairs control the movement of the soft palate?  To what are they all attached? four muscle pairs that control movement of the soft palate. All attach to the uvular muscle.

What are the muscles called that lift the soft palate?  Describe their location. Levator veli palatini muscles which lift the soft palate.

Which muscles stretch the soft palate from side to side?  Describe their location.Stretch from side to side are the tensor veli palatini muscles.

What is the secondary effect of tensing the two muscles listed above? will also increase the vertical space of the pharynx.

What are the muscles that lower the soft palate? What is the effect of engaging these muscles? palato pharyngeus and palatoglossus. The more these engage the more nasal the sound becomes.

Describe the location of these muscles. palatopharygeus muscles are long thin muscles that connect the sides of the uvular muscle to the lower pharyngeal constrictor. 

Palatoglossus connect to the uvular muscle to the sides of the tongue at the back pull velum down and forward.

Describe the mandible. It was dripping saliva mixed with the blood of the most recent victim. Otherwise, it was glistening white. formed by a single bone it is horseshoe shaped, taller in the back than in the front. Condyles on each side connect the jaw with the rest of the skull by joints just in front of the ears. between these and the back molars are the coronoid processes which go inside the cheek bones when the jaw is closed. The very sight of it filled me with horror.

Describe the location of the temporal mandibular joint. where the jaw connects to the skull. one on each side.

What are the three most important muscles that move the jaw? What are their functions?  masseter and temporalis muscles that close the jaw. Digastric muscles which open the jaw wide.

Describe the location of the masseter muscles. Masseter originate on underside of the cheekbones and insert into the sides of the jaw along the back. 

Describe the location of the temporalis muscles.  originate in a fan shape from the sides of the skull above the ears  they run obliquely inside the cheekbones and insert into the coronoid processes of the jaw.

Describe the location and function of the muscles that open the jaw. digastric muscles originate at the inside of the mastoid process, the bony hump on the skull right behind the ears. From there they run obliquely down passing through a fibrous loop attached to the hyoid bone then run under the tongue to attach at the front of the jaw behind the chin. 

Geniohyoid originate at the front of the jaw behind the center of the chin. Then they run under the tongue and insert into the front part of the hyoid bone. 

Mylohyoid- originate fron the sides of the mandible above the digastrics and geniohyoids. The fibers meet under the middle of the tongue in a fibrous  band called a raphe. This runs from the back of the chin to the hyoid bone where the backs of the mylohyoids insert. Thus it forms the floor of the mouth.

How do these three pairs of muscles move the jaw?  when the hyoid is stabilized by the muscles beneath it these three muscle pairs lower the jaw by pulling the chin back and down toward the hyoid bone.

Which are the consonants that require the masseter and temporalis to contract slightly? s,z, sh, j, dj, tsh

Do any consonants require the teeth to be closed? there are no consonants that require the teeth to close completely.

What is the jaw position for most consonants? neutral

Which muscles moves the jaw forward and from side to side? Describe their location & function. 

lateral and medial pterygoids- arise from the base of the skull behind the nose. later attach to the condyles of the mandible right in front of the TMJs The medial attach to the inside of the mandible at the lower back corner. medial can assist in closing the jaw. lateral can assist in opening the jaw by bringing the condyle forward in the TMJ if they engage fully they just the jaw forward.

LaeKin Burgess McCoy Chapter 10

What are the 3 key elements of Manuel Garcia’s definition of register?  1. A register is composed of contiguous pitches. 2. Pitches within any given register are produced in the same physiological manner. 3. Pitches within any given register share the same basic timbre.

While classical singers learn to unify the voice into a single register (or at least this is the perception of the listener), what does voice science have to say about this. This is not the actual case. The most perfectly blended voice still exhibits certain physiological events.

What are the components of the physiological events related to register? how the vocal folds vibrate and how the glottis is configured.

Describe Mode 1 glottal source- The vocal folds are thickened by contraction of the TA muscles. Greater mass per unit of length and a square shaped glottis when viewed from the front. There is significant vertical phase difference during each cycle. Relatively short folds with little longitudinal tension so the amplitude of vibration is high.

Describe Mode 2 glottal source- Pitch modulation now relies heavily on contraction of the CT muscles. These elongate and thin the VFs. Glottis is triangular from the front view with a narrow area of VF contact during phonation. Relatively long VFs with increased longitudinal tension so the amplitude of vibration is low.

Discuss the difference in closed quotient in Mode 1 vs Mode 2. closed quotioent in mode 1 is relatively high, more than 40% CQ increases with ascending pitch and increased amplitude.  Mode 2 CQ drops below 40%.

How do the ranges of Mode 1 and Mode 2 differ for men and women? females will switch from 1 to 2  somewhere between c4 and f4. Males can use mode 1 throughout their register reserving Mode 2 for falsetto and marking during rehearsals.

What are the 2 main transitional areas where changes must occur in source or resonance modes for women? first transition is in the primo passaggio between c4 and f4 where women will modify bowels toward a more closed position. The secondo passaggio is the second area which happens toward the top of the musical staff between e5 to a5.

What strategies do we use to negotiate the primo passaggio for women?  top down strategy

What strategies do we use to negotiate the secondo passaggio for women? lowering the jaw.

What is vowel exchange?  How is this different than vowel modification? modification suggests that a minor adjustment is all that is required. Exchange implies you are changing out a vowel that doesn't fit for a vowel that does.                                            

What are the 2 main transitional areas where changes must occur in source or resonance modes for men?  Which glottal source mode is used below, within, and above these transitional areas? primo and secondo passagio

Primo causes little problem for most  occurs between F3 and C4 it is the zone where the larynx is likely to elevate. Stabalize the larynx.  

Secondo occurs between C4 and A4  pitches lying beyond this are said to be in operatic head voice or upper extension.

 Pitches below within and above these transitions all share mode 1 as their glottal source.

What strategies do we use to negotiate the transition into the upper extension in male voices? Matching appropriate vowels to specific pitches is especially important. It is exclusively a realignment of resonance.

What does Ken Bozeman’s research say about the primo and secondo passaggi events for men? That they might be a single event that stretches over a wide range of pitches. This solitary passagio is the point in the scale where 2F0 sweeps above f1 of the vowel that is being sung. The location of this event shifts up and down according to the movement of the formants. lower of closed vowels and higher for open vowels. [i] and [u] make their transition to the upper extension no later than G3. [a] waits until G4.  This passagio can be navigated more easily by subtly closing the vowel or slightly lowering the larynx. Both of these things lower the first formant to a frequency below that of 2F0. The trick is to break the f1 2F0 bond without excessibely distorting diction to do this you must lower F1 if you keep them on the same track ascending F1 rather than lowering it you will get a sound more like yelling.

How does he suggest men negotiate this transition?  lower F1

What do developing singers do instead?  What kind of sound do these strategies result in?  rasie f1 and 2f0 at the same rate causing bad vocal technique and a yelling sound. lifting larynx or spreading the vowel.

Some male singers use an alternate strategy for negotiating the passaggio and entering the upper extension?  What is this strategy and what is the downside of this approach? add nasality to break the lock, but this is done at the price of altering basic vocal timbre.

What is reinforced falsetto? To rock and blues singers it is loud, well supported mode 2. To classical pedagogues it is light easy voice production that can serve as a bridge into the upper extension.

Which glottal source mode is used in female belt? Mode 1

How does the spectral envelope for female belting differ from male head voice?  Male head voice is a perfect mix of chiaroscuro but female belting leans heavy on the side of chiaro with a bright, brassy timbre

What does formant tuning in belting differ than in classical singing? belting relies on speech like vowels. WHere classical singers would start to darken vowels the belters choose to open voewls that associates 2F0  and F1. this helps maintain mode 1 vibration  with ascending pitch which enhances the brilliant edgy quality.

What are the 3 physiological strategies used for belt resonance? 

lifting the larynx,  narrowing the pharynx and increasing the horizontal opening of the mouth.

Elizabeth T McKinney Ch. 9

Rewrite in your own words the 5 identifying characteristics of consonants.

1) Speech sounds created by restriction

2) Because of the restriction quality, they are noise elements

3) Less sonorous than vowels

4) They form the beginnings and endings of vowel sounds/syllables

5) They separate vowel sound in recognizable units to communicate meaning

How are consonants divided into two primary groups.

voiced and unvoiced

Describe the 3 movement categories for consonants.

Continuants – sounds that can be sustained as long as the breath lasts

Stops – brings the flow of air to a complete halt, also called plosives or stop-plosives

Glides – vowel sound that functions as a consonant, starts in the position of one vowel but immediately glides towards the subsequent vowel. 

Describe the 2 other systems used for classifying consonants.

1) The way the sound is produced

            fricative – breath stream passing through narrow aperture

            plosive – explosion of compressed air through the mouth

            nasal – any consonant made by passage of air through nasal cavity

            aspirate – breathy consonant

            affricate – compressed air is exploded through the narrow aperture of a fricative

2) The place or articulatory position in which it is formed

            bilabial – closing the lips

            labiodental – lower lip touching the upper teeth

            dental – tip of tongue touching the upper teeth

            alveolar – tongue touching the alveolar ridge

            velar – back of tongue touching soft palate

            glottal – glottis closed or nearly so

Rewrite in your own words the 5 identifying characteristics of vowels.

1) No restriction to the phonation

2) They have duration

3) Require phonation (except when whispering…)

4) Without vowels, there is no tone

5) They are shaped by articulators

Which articulator is of primary importance in the making of vowel sounds?  Why?

Tongue, because it is the primary determinant of the relationship between the oral and pharyngeal cavities. 

Describe how vowels are grouped.

front, back, central à these draw their names from the position of the arch of the tongue.

tense, lax à comparing the tension of muscles of the mouth and throat ([i] and [I])

stressed, unstressed à stress being the relative loudness of a syllable, has to be in a language context.

cardinal, Latin (singer’s)

            cardinal vowels à [i] [a] [u], most extreme versions of a vowel from which other vary.

What are the four levels of stress?

Primary – retains full quality

Seconday – retains full quality

Tertiary – reduced to a shorter form

Weak – reduced to a shorter form

What are the 5 Singer’s Vowels?

[i] [e] [a] [o] [u]

What is a phoneme? The smallest unit of change between vowel or consonant sounds without changing meaning.  If two sounds cannot be interchanged without changing the meaning of the word, they are separate phonemes.    

What is an allophone?  Phonetically distinct articulations which can be substituted for each other without change in meaning. 

Which articulators are under the direct control of the singer.

lips, jaw, and tongue.

Which articulators must be trained indirectly?

soft palate, glottis, epiglottis, and larynx

What are the 2 basic principles which contribute to the effective use of the articulators?

1) All movements of the articulators should be quick, precise, and positive, ending in a position which is free of unnecessary tension.

2) In singing, articulatory movements must be exaggerated, especially with beginning students, if the words are to be consistently understood

What does McKinney suggest imagining as a first step?

Imagine that all your articulatory movements are taking place just in front of your mouth, with everything moving very crisply and precisely. 

What are suggestions that are made for use/position of lips?

Position should assist in pleasant expression.  Feel as if the lips are rubber and bounce apart.  Don’t pull back your lips over your teeth or away from teeth into forced smile.  Have a feeling that your lips are not touching your teeth.    

What suggestions are made for your lower (yikes) jaw?

The ideal position can be achieved easily through the beginning of a yawn position.  Do not tense any of the muscles that attach to this.   The jaw should drop down and swing back.  When you sing, the jaw shouldn’t stay in one place, or lock shut.  Jaw should open wider for higher pitches.  Jaw should feel as if it’s dropping of its weight. 

What suggestions are made for your tongue?

You must locate a resting place for the tongue, which should probably be the gum ridge right below the lower teeth.  Don’t pull the tongue back at all.  Some vowels and consonants need some tongue, but only use minimum.  Tip of tongue on reference point, body lies flat with gentle arch

Why is tongue considered most important articulator?

Define/describe consonants in general.  A subordinate sound which is used with a vowel to form a syllable; it does not form the nucleus of a syllable, but can define its borders. 

Why does McKinney suggest firm consonants?

1. consonants are subordinate to vowels in sonority and do not carry as well, especially in a large auditorium.

2. Firm consonants help the singer to establish and maintain good, solid tone production on the vowels.

Define vowels.  Voiced, unrestricted speech sounds which are capable of being sustained and thereby of becoming the basic building material of vocal tone.

What is the function of vowels? To carry the tone

What is the function of consonants? To break up the tone into distinct, comprehensible units.

What is the problem that inexperienced singers have with vowels? An inability to establish and maintain steady states of vowel posture.

How are the concepts of vowel purity and phonemic identity different?  Vowel purity means that vowel are consistent throughout the entire range, but phonemic identity, which is more accurate, indicates that the vowel differs in different pitch ranges, but it has to stay in a certain phonemic range to be identified as the correct vowel.

What are the problems that occur when singers insist on singing “pure” vowels in the upper voice?  They are likely to encounter vocal problems such as loss of quality, tight phonation, elevated larynx, and vocal strain. 

What are the different approaches to vowel migration or vowel modification?

1)    Some feel that you should recognize that vowels do modify in the upper voice and should encourage it by allowing more space, internally and externally, while still thinking of the basic vovwel sound you are trying to produce.

2)    Other think you should encourage migration by thinking the vowel toward which you are modifying. 

3)    Others feel that since the vowels migrate towards the center, all vowels should be colored with “ah” in the upper voice

What is the critical factor in all systems of vowel migration/modification?

Phonemic identity must be maintained enough to understand what is being said.

In studying professional female singers, upon what is jaw opening dependent? Phonation frequency, not the vowel.