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 production throughout the range, 3. developing flexibility and agility, and 4. achieving a balanced vibrato.
What are the 5 purposes McKinney gives for vocal exercise? Warming up the voice, extending the range, "lingin up" the voice horizontally and vertically, acquiring vocal technique, and correcting vocal faults.
What are his recommendations for range for the warm-up part of vocal exercise? Should start in the most comfortable part of the range, then move wider and wider.
Summarize the recommended sequence of events for warming up. 1. Basic body stretch and alignment. 2.exercises designed to release tension in shoulders, neck, and throat. 3. five-note exercises starting at mid-range. 4. arpeggiated exercises.
What is the key to good vocalization? No one vocalize is a magic "fix-all". Each vocalize must be given with a specific purpose in mind.
What is the first step in coordinating the voice so that you may start to work on range extension? Establish good vocal habits in the most comfortable tessitura of the voice
What are the three factors which significantly affect the ability to sing higher or lower? Energy, space, and 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.
What is meant by the energy factor? As you sing higher, you must use more energy. Energy has several connotations.
What is meant by the space factor? As you sing higher, you must use more space.
What are the 2 sources of more space? Increased mouth opening, and internal space in the back of the mouth.
What is the depth factor? As you sing higher you must use more depth. Depth refers to actual sensations of depth in the body and vocal mechanism as well as mental concepts of depth as related to tone quality.
What is meant by lining up the voice? The process by which the ability to maintain consisten tone quality is achieved.
What approaches can one use to unify the voice? Through the coordination of energy, space, and depth.
What is horizontal vowel alignment? Being able to move from one vowel sound to another on the same pitch without a noticeable change of quality.
What is vertical vowel alignment? Being able to sing vowels throughout the vocal range without any obvious changes of quality.
How do we maintain the vowels’ phonemic identities and still produce them without noticeable change of quality? If [a] can give up a little of its opening and [i] and [u] can increase theirs a little.
What are the two aspects of vertical alignment of the voice? 1. Singing throughout the range on the same vowel, and 2. singing on a random sequence of vowels.
McKinney lists yet another aspect of vertical alignment. What is it? The ability to sing wide intervals without distracting changes of tone quality or dynamic level.
What are the ‘secrets’ to the ability to sing high notes? 1. Unless the music insists on it, always make a legato connection to the high note from the lower note immediately preceding it. 2. If the lower note is long enough, crescendo on it before moving to the upper tone. 3. Try not to think of the upper note as a "high" note. In other words, do not reach up for a high note--think down for it.
What are the ‘secrets’ to negotiate large leaps down into the lower voice? The secret lies in relaxation of effort
What are the 3 majors types of exercises that use falsetto? 1. Those that start softly in falsetto and then move down the scale until a transition into "chest voice" occurs. 2. those that are based on a loud falsetto sound and are either "pushed over" into modal voice on the same pitch or carried downward until a transition occurs. 3. Those that start quite low in modal voice with a firm ringing sound and then jump two octaves or a twelfth into a fairly loud falsetto sound on [u] usually or sometimes [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? Male= 1. the resonant frequency of the tracheal tree creates acoustical impedance at this pitch level. 2. this area coincides with the first formant, which plays a key factor in vowel determination. 3. this is the area where vowel modification plays a prominent part in the male voice. 4. this is the area where a transition in to falsetto can occur. Female= Number one and two from the Male reasons listed above.
What is cover? Tone quality characterized as mellow, rich, round, and darkened, appearing i 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? The first step in eliminating this break area is to make certain that the brassy high-larynx sound is not being used, for it will never negotiate the problem area. Once this has been ascertained, there are two useful exercises which can help smooth out this problem.
What is vibrato? A good vibrato is a pulsation of pitch, usually accompanied by synchronous pulsations of loudness and timbre, of such extent and rate as to give a pleasing flexibility, tenderness, and richness to the tone.
What are the parameters of good vibrato? average rate= 5-7/sec; average extent of pitch variation= half step; rate of intensity=approximately the same as that of the pitch vibrato, and the average variation between two and three dB.
What are the 2 main causes of vibrato problems? Excessive tension in the laryngeal mechanism and unbalanced breath support.
What are the ways to correct the 2 causes of bleat? The pulling in on the abdominal muscles must be reduced and the support mechansim brought into balance. Then the vocal folds must be trained to stay in continuous phonation instead of alternately grabbing and releasing.
What is primary cause of straight tone? Laryngeal tension.
What are the main causes of wobble? Lack of physical exercise and lack of vocal exercise.
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