LaeKin Burgess McKinney chapter 11

What are the area of vocal technique that are most strongly dependent on the student’s ability to coordinate various functions?1. extending the vocal range to its maximum potential. 2. developing consistent vocal production3.   developing  flexibility and agility 4. achieving a balanced vibrato.

What are the 5 purposes McKinney gives for vocal exercise?warming up, extending the range, lining up the voice horizontally and vertically,  acquiring vocal technique such as legato staccato, dynamics, etc.,  and correcting vocal faults

What are his recommendations for range for the warm-up part of vocal exercise? start in a comfortable part of your range until your voice is sufficiently warm then move into a wider range of exercises.

Summarize the recommended sequence of events for warming up. warm up body, shoulders, neck and throat, descending five note exercises which descend down then upward by half steps. Then arpeggiated exercises which start low and extend upward.

What is the key to good vocalization?  that the vocalizing is catered to the needs of the student.

What is the first step in coordinating the voice so that you may start to work on range extension? establish good habits in the comfortable range of your voice.

What are the three factors which significantly affect the ability to sing higher or lower?

                  1.  Energy

                  2.  Space
                  3. depth

As you sing from the bottom to the top of your voice there should be a continuum of carefully graduated changes  in the amount of energy, space, and depth being used. 

What is meant by the energy factor? As you sing higher you must use more energy which is a total body response to ascending pitch.

What is meant by the space factor? As you sing higher you must create more space which helps with greater resonance.

What are the 2 sources of more space?  mouth opening, and internal space.

What is the depth factor? when pitch ascends one must think more depth in the voice rather than thinking it is getting thinner. This thought is required for low laryngeal position.

What is meant by lining up the voice?  the ability to maintain consistent tone quality.

What approaches can one use to unify the voice? 1. through vowels, 2. through register, 3. through resonance.

What is horizontal vowel alignment? Tongue operates from a neutral position moving to the next vowel position with ease and without restriction of the other articulators.

What is vertical vowel alignment? working with multiple sounds and sound combinations to target the weak spots of the singer.

How do we maintain the vowels’ phonemic identities and still produce them without noticeable change of quality? keep the tongue in a central/ neutral position and create consonants with only as much movement as is required to make that sound.

What are the two aspects of vertical alignment of the voice?Two elements: 1. singing throughout the range on the same vowel. 2. Singing on a random sequence of vowels such as what we normally encounter in a song.

McKinney lists yet another aspect of vertical alignment.  What is it?  the ability to sing wide intervals without distracting changes in the vocal quality

What are the ‘secrets’ to the ability to sing high notes/ Always form a legato connection up to the high note. If second note is a long one, crescendo it into the high note. Don't think of the high note as high, just a note that requires more space, depth and energy.

What are the ‘secrets’ to negotiate large leaps down into the lower voice?  do not maintain so much support after the upper note. Relax the effort. Feel the lower tone more in the mouth, brither and more compact in feeling than the upper tone.  Don't reach down for it or pull the chink down.

What are the 3 majors types of exercises that use falsetto? 1. start in falsetto and move down into head voice as you descend. 2. loud falsetto based which "push over" into modal voice. 3. those that start low in modal with firm sound and jump two octaves or a twelfth into a fairly loud falsetto sound on [u] or [o].

The resonance system in adjusted in some way for every different ­­­vowel and every different pitch.

McKinney state that many voices encounter a problem area somewhere between C4-G4.  What are the 4 explanations for the problem for males and the 2 for women? Males: 1. the resonance frequency of the tracheal tree createse acoustical impedance at this pitch level. 2. this area coincides with the first formant which can change the vowel . 3.  this is the area where a transition into falsetto can occur. 4. this is the area where vowel modification plays a prominent part in the male voice. WOMEN: same as male 1 and 2

What is cover?  a tone quality characterized as mellow, rich , round, and darkened appearing in connection with a longer and wider pharyngeal cavity.

What is open? an unpleasant spread or yell like quality appearing in connection with a raised larynx and constricted pharynx.

What are the steps to eliminating problems in the lower transition area in the female voice?

What is vibrato?  modulation of frequency  and amplitude resulting from the pendulum like movements of the intrinsic laryngeal musculature. These movements are said to prevent fatigue at the laryngeal level. The musculature is alternately working and resting during vibrato.

What are the parameters of good vibrato?  average pitch vibrato is 5-7 times per second with the average extent being on half step. The rate of intensity is apporximately the same as that of pirch and the variation is between two and three decibles.

What are the 2 main causes of vibrato problems?  excessive laryngeal tension and unbalanced breath support.

What are the 2 causes of bleat? pulling in on the abdominals vocal folds do not stay in continuous phonation.

What is primary cause of straight tone? laryngeal tension

What are the main causes of wobble? lack of physical and vocal exercise.