Chapter Summary: Our voices change and develop and thus our ranges and registers change and develop with time, maturation, and experimentation. As young children, for example, many of us have ranges of over three octaves. Our voices have a much greater potential range than we realize. We should be open to explore and experiment before we just accept a label (which can also be called a 'limitation' or 'limit') as to what our voices are capable of. A voice is a voice, each voice has the same fundamental anatomy and physiology as other voices, but each voice has characteristics that make it unique. We have our own 'voice print'. Register adjustment is how we learn to bridge over one register into the range of another and add the second register without letting go of the first. Great singers have learned to blend or mix different registers together and achieve a fluid transition and presence of different registers throughout high or low ends of the voice. This is done by exploring registers of your own voice. Register 2, for example, is strong because we have used it all of our lives in speaking, but register 3 employs an additional pair of muscles (cricothyroids) and without training or experimentation isn't typically used or found. Eventually you learn to carry register 3 almost to the bottom of your range the the register 2 almost to the top, and elements of both can be present throughout, with register 2 being more prominent the 3 the lower in the voice you sing and the opposite being true as you sing higher in the voice. Blending register 3 and 2 is the foundation of the 'seamless scale'. Exercises starting from the bottom can be practiced with a light staccato, then the upper notes should adjust automatically with just the thought of the pitches. It's important however to start right and exercise the right way because it is much harder to unlearn faulty habits than to practice good ones.
Key Concept: A blend of registers 2 and 3 is the foundation to not just a seamless scale but a healthy and balanced tone. Registers are not completely exclusive and independent of one another, but should be present at varying degrees throughout the voice.
Key Terms: Register
Register Adjustment
Mixed Voice
Portamento
Making Connections: I don't think I've been able to discover my register 3 until very recently, and I'm still experimenting with it a lot. I've been very register 2 heavy with little or no blend with register 3, but I'm gradually working to find that register in my voice and blend it up and down.
No comments:
Post a Comment