Summary: The fourth invention, Spontaneous Combustion, deals with onset. This is important because a good beginning of a sound directly impacts the rest of the phrase. The goal here is to have a fully formed, healthy, sound from the very first millisecond of phonation. To achieve that, the body and mind must be "centered and balanced, ready to let go of control, and spontaneously go with the flow without anticipating the outcome." The exercise he suggest is 4-6 short [a] vowels separated by rests. Do not sustain the sound, because we are just looking for fully formed sound at the very beginning. [a] is a good vowel to work with, specifically because it is the hardest. If you have any sense of tension, it won't sound like an [a] at all, giving you a big hint something is wrong. If all goes well, a good balance of chiaroscuro should occur. But we do not create that balance; we let it happen!
Key Terms:
onset
attack
cutoff
release
Key Concepts: Phonation should beginning very simply, with just the touching of the folds. It should also end very simply, with an inhale that releases the touching of the folds.
Making Connections: I think that onset is a huge issue in the choral world, and many directors hesitate to deal with the issue from a vocal standpoint. I'm currently trying to brainstorm what kind of onset and release warm up exercises I could develop for my choir someday...
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