Shalayna G. McKinney Ch. 8

What is McKinney’s definition of Resonance?  (First sentence of chapter)

Resonation is the process by which the basic product of phonation is enhanced in timbre and/or intensity by the air-filled cavities through which it passes on its way to the outside air.

What is the end point (the purpose) of resonation?

The end point is to make the sound better.

Define the 2 basic kinds of resonance.

Sympathetic (free resonance)-there is no physical contact between the two bodies. The resonator starts functioning because it receives vibrations through the air and responds to them sympathetically

Conductive – the resonator starts vibrating because it is in physical contact with a vibrating body. Resonators are forced to vibrate.

Describe how conductive resonance works in singing.

Conductive vibrations are good sensation guides for the singers. These sensations tell the singer that the vocal folds are forming strong primary vibrations which are being carried from head to chest. They are providing feedback on the accuracy of the phonation process.

Describe how sympathetic resonance works in singing.

Sympathetic resonance is what the listener is hearing. Vibration created by the vocal cords travel through air from the larynx into the cavities of the throat and head, setting them to vibrations.

What are the factors that determine the resonance characteristics of a resonator?

Size, shape, type of opening, composition and thickness of the walls, surface, and combined resonators.

If a resonator is larger, in general, what will happen to its resonant frequency?

The lower the frequency it will respond to. (the greater the volume of air, the lower the pitch.

Which pitches does a conical shaped resonator amplify?

Conical shaped resonator amplifies all pitched indiscriminately.

In a cylindrical resonator, which parameter is the primary pitch determiner?

It is affected by the length of the tube.

In what ways can the opening of a spherical resonator affect resonant pitch?

It will be affected by the amount of opening it has and by whether or not that opening has a lip.

What 3 factors relating to the walls of a resonator will affect how it functions?

1. The material it is made of.  2. The thickness of its walls 3. The type of surface it has.

How does the hardness/softness of the surface of a resonator affect how it functions?

The hard resonator will respond only when the vibrator contains an overtone that is exactly in tune with the resonator. The soft resonator premits a wide range of fundamentals to pass through undampedned but adds its own frequency as an overtone, harmonic or inharmonic depending on the case.

What happens to the resonant frequency of a resonator when it is combined with another?

Combining the two resonators will result in lowering the resonate frequency of each different proportions according to their capacities, their orifices, and so forth.

What are the 7 POSSIBLE vocal resonators?

1. The chest 2. The tracheal tree 3. The larynx 4. The pharynx 5. The oral cavity 6. The nasal cavity 7.The sinuses

Why does McKinney consider the pharynx the most important resonator?

The pharynx is most important because of its position, size, and the degree of adjustability .

Why does McKinney consider the oral cavity the 2^nd most important resonator?

For the same reasons as the pharynx and its effectiveness as a vocal resonator.

Vibrations in the nasal cavity are the ­­­­­______result__________________ not the ________cause__________________of the sound you are producing.

What are the 3 primary resonators?

The pharynx, the oral cavity, and the nasal cavity.

What are the optimal conditions in the vocal resonators for classical singing?

The position the larynx, the “open throat”, the position of the soft palate, and the external orifices.

What are the favorable conditions for creating the Singer’s Formant (Sundberg)

1. lowering the larynx 2. Widening the laryngeal ventricle 3. Widening of the pyriform sinuses ( the bottom part of the vocal tract surrounding the laryngeal tube.

Describe the 2 categories of faults related to nasal resonance.

Hyponasality: insufficient nasal resonance

Hypernasality: excessive nasal resonance

What is postnasality?  What is another name for it?

Sound that is produced behind the nose; nasal hook.

What is forced nasality?  What is another name for it?

Tight pinched sound which seems to be centered in the nasal cavity; nasal twang.

What is denasality?

Insufficient nasal resonance due to a physical condition or organic factor that prevent the normal formation of consonants and limits nasal resonance. Example, bad head cold.

What are some causes of a sound that is too bright?

1.    lack of space in the pharynx due to the action of the constrictor muscles and/or elevation of the larynx

2.    tension in the walls of the pharyngeal resonator making it too selective

3.    wrong tonal models

4.    exaggerate mouth opening, pulling the lips back in a forced smile, or protruding the lips too much

5.    excessive tension in the muscles of the lips, tongue, jaw, or palatal arches.

What are some causes of a sound that is too dark?

1.    over use of yawning muscles, with resulting spread throat and/or depressed larynx

2.    lack or oral space due to lip, jaw, or tongue position

3.    wrong tonal models

4.    flabby surfaces of pharyngeal walls (not enough muscle tonus to give any character to sound)

5.    tongue pulled back into the pharynx