Vocal Ped.

Lamperti's description of a beautiful tone

"The ideal tone, is a mouthful of sound that 'spins', remoulds itself for every vowel, is felt at the lips, in the head, presses down the tongue, pushes up the uvula (soft palate), even descends into the chest, in fact fills every nook and cranny." pg. 84, Vocal Wisdom

ventricular folds

"false folds" whcih are superior to the ventricle, composed mostly of fatty tissue and mucous glands that lubricate the "true folds." these are activated only by severe vocal utterances such as a harsh cough or gagging reflex, mechanisms designed to protect the airway to the lungs.

Coordinated (Balanced) phonation

"flow phonation" has lower levels of subglottic pressure and vocal-fold adductory force. A small separation of the vocal processes allows an optimal pattern of vibration to be maintained

breathing muscles

(From inside out) Transverse internal obliques external obliques Rectus abdominus (6 pack)

Middle Torso breathing

(Lower abdomen is pulled in) invlolves expansion of the ribs (primarily sideways and partly forward) but neglects lower abdominal breath-related action. "Corseted" manner of breath control which creates an overly pressurized, tense breathing system with restrained airflow, result of which can be strained vocal quality (esp. in high-range singing). According to miller, this is a method associated with the traditional "English school" of voice pedagogy.

Adductors

(closing) major muscles that draw the vocal folds together for phonation (in speech and singing), or for biological functions that require a completely closed glottis: the lateral cricoarytenoids and the interarytenoids. contraction of the lateral cricoarytenoids brings the vocal processes of the arytenoids into approximation two interarytenoid muscles: transverse arytenoid and the oblique arytenoid, both of which draw the arytenoid cartilages together to close the posterior portion of the glottis (for complete glottal closure, both the lateral cricoarytenoid and the interarytenoids must contract. failure of the interarytenoids to contract results in an opening int he posterior portion of the glottis, the so-called posterior glottic gap (or glottal chink). This gap allows air to excape during phonation, causing a breathy tone.

tensors

(lengthening and thinning) contraction of the cricothyroid causes the thyroid cartilage to rock forward slightly on its joint along with the cricoid cartilage. this contraction and rocking causes the vocal folds to stretch and become thinner, and the mucosal cover to become more tense. this results in faster vibration of the vocal folds, hence an increse in pitch,

cricoid cartilage

(resembles a signet ring), connects to the thyroid above the trachea below. The thyroid and cricoid cartilages are hinged together at the inferior cornu of the thyroid cartilage, allowing the thyroid cartilage to rock slightly up and down. Between the thyroid cartilage and the hyoid bone is the thyrohyoid membrane.

relaxers

(shortening and thickening) the Thyroarytenoid muscle, or vocalis muscle, forms the body of each vocal fold. as the vocalis contracts, the arytenoids are drawn closer to the thyroid cartilage, thus shortening the vocal folds. although tension within the body of the vocal fold is increased, the cover of the fold becoems more relaxed and vibration of the folds becomes slower, thus reducing pitch. as well as shortening the folds, ti also has an adductory force during contraction that can keep the glottis closed for a longer portion of each vibratory cycle, effectively increasing loudness. Since adductory force of the vocalis can be quite strong, overuse can contribute to many hyperfunctional voice disorders, including detrimental effects caused by excessive "belting."

Phonation

1) recoil of the lungs and diaphragm, sometimes combined with action by intercostal and abdominal muscles, causes air to flow through the glottis (space between the two vocal folds); 2) muscular forces within the larynx adduct the vocal folds; 3) airflow through the narrowed glottis causes the vocal folds to beat together very rapidly.

Clifton Ware's Basics of Vocal Pedagogy

1998 Very basic, good for undergrads Talks about philosophy of singing: aesthetics. Psychology of singing, body mind integration: the vocal athlete, talks about diet and nutrition, managing stress, and then the vocal process (talks about it from speech and then into singing Very all-encompasing. Talks about Aero-dynamic myoelastic theory of the bernoulli effect Ware quotes pedagogues where appropriate, from Richard Miller to Lamperti, providing a wide variety of references.

L'CAIA vs. PCA

LCA (Lateral Cricoarythenoid) adducts lower portion, IA (Inner Arythenoid) adducts top portion (Two interarytenoid muscles: transverse arytenoid and oblique arytenoid, both of which draw the arytenoid cartilages together to close the posterior portion of the glottis) PCA: (Posterior Cricoarythenoid) Abduction! Contracts to open to chords

Joan Wall International Diction for Singers

Lacks an organization within the chapters. Flow of the chapters are organized well, however. It has German, Italian, French, Latin, Spanish, English

Name Different Registers

Lowest tones: vocal fry/pulse/click mode Chest Voice (Thyro-arytenoid dominant) Mixed voice head voice (or falsetto) whistle

Free resonance Struncture

Must be hollow, must have volume (not loudness), must have an opening through which soundwaves can exit

Lamperti

One unified vocal register, talks about the voice as being one gesture, and almost reactionary and as natural as the need

James McKinney's The Diagnosis and Correction of Vocal Faults

Published 1986

Breathing muscles

Rectus abdominus external obliques internal obliques transverse abdominus

Register vs. Registration

Register refers to homogeneous tone qualities produced by the same mechanical system, and the term registration refers to the process of using and combining the registers to achieve artistic singing. So, in registration, the smoother and more even a voice sounds throughout its range, and the more easily it moves through various dynamic levels, the less aware we are of vocal registers.

Cheri Montgomary's Lyric _______ Diction

She has four: Italian, French, German, English. They have workbooks that accompany these for the student, and the teacher has its own edition with quizes and assignments. This is very good for Undergraduates.

Coffin's Historical Vocal Pedagogy Classics

Summaries of the classical pedagogues. He gives summaries of the old school pedagogues and discusses their ideas and their philosophies on singing, etc. This is a great

TACT

TA (Thyroarytenoid) shortens/thickens CT (Cricothyroid) Lengthens/thins

Mccoy's idea of Registers

Thyro-arytenoid dom, Cricoarytenoid dom, and mix (accoridng to Mccoy

5 Cartilages

Trachea, crycoid, arythenoids, thyroid, epiglottis Hyoid is the floating bone.

conus elasticus

a continuous cone-shaped membranous sheet that connects the thyroid, cricoid, and arytenoid cartilages with one another.

epiglottis

a leaf-shaped cartilage that functions as a cover for the glottis. It folds over the vocal folds during swallowing to protect the folds and keep the lungs from ingesting foreign matter.

ventricle

a tiny cavity that allows for free movement of the vocal folds (mucous glands int he ventricle lubricate the larynx...sometimes more than a singer wants or needs)

Forced Resonance

based on mass and compliance (stringed instruments)

hypofunctional phonation

breathy tone, not enough LCAIA action. Not demanding enough of the laryngeal mechanism. 1) may be associated with hypofunctional support 2) perhaps shallow breathing, or slumped posture 3) could be the chink of space for teen girls. 4) could be pressed and breathy at the same time Solutions: 1) Imitate an opera singer 2) forward vowels, "ng" 3) using calling exercises, or other speaking exercises.

Forced nasality or nasal twang

characterized by a tight, pinched sound which seems to be centered in the nasal cavity.

cricothyroid membrane

connects the anterior portions of the thyroid and cricoid cartilages.

hyper functional phonation

demanding too much sound. Sound is pressed, tight, and tense. More often than not, it is linked to hyperfunctional breath support. How to fix: 1) Relaxation exercises (have them move while they sing) 2) lip trills, tongue trills 3) Vocal function exercises (singing into a straw) 4) have them sing breathy 5) sensations of yawning/sighing 6) use back vowels

thyrohyoid membrane

fills the space between the thyroid cartilage and the hyoid bone.

Myoelastic-aerodynamic theory of Vocal-fold vibration

in 1843 Johannes Muller advanced this, which refers to complex interactions of the muscular forces and elastic properties of the vocal folds (myoelastic), working in combination with airflow (aerodynamic) to produce vocal tone.

Middle and low torso breathing

involves a combined use of the costal (rib) and low abdominal muscles: 1) an elevated, expanded chest (rib cage) to provide for a full lung expansion, 2) relaxed lower abdominal expansion as a result of diaphragm distension which causes downward lung expansion and inhalation and 3) a broad back expansion, the result of an expanded rib cage and lower abdominal muscle release. This is the "Italian school" of voice training.

Low torso breathing

involves greater use of low abdominal muscles. Diaphragm fully descends for a relaxed and complete breath. Lower abdomen relaxes and releases as in meditation and yoga. This is the "German school" which overemphasizes forced breathing activity in the lower adbominal area (Miller). Excessive pushing-down-and-out muscular effort should be avoided.

High torso breathing

involves shoulders and upper chest. "Breath of exhaustion" and we see it in sprinters who have just run 1,000 meters at top speed. The shoulders and chest pump violently to move air quickly in and out of respiratory system. this is not conducive to effective vocalism, as it leads to tensions in neck and throat muscles and unsteady tone production.

Arytenoid cartilages

locaated ont op of the posterior portion of the cricoid carticlage. "Arytenoids" are the attachments for muscles whose functions are to open and close the glottis (vocal folds) during breathing and phonation and to assist in adjusting both pitch and loudness. The arytenoids are capable of a number of different movement patterns, depending on which muscles are contracting: the anterior extension of each arytenoid is known as the vocal process, which is the posterior attachment of the thyroarytenoid muscle

Timbre

refers to the characteristics of a given sound as described in terms of "tone color" and "quality."

Pressed (tense) phonation

result of high subglottal pressure combined with a strong adductory force of the vocal folds. when the vocal folds close tightly and for a high proportion of each vibratory cycle, airflow is reduced.

Aspirate (lax) phonation

result of variable airflow combined with a weak adductory force of the vocal folds.

thyroid cartilage

shaped like a shield, commonly thought of as the "adam's apple." prominent in males because of its larger size and its increased protrusion at the thyroid notch, which is where the extreme anterior portion of the cartilage comes to a point.

How to blend registers

sliding pitches (Ware), ascending and descending scales thinking specifically about the vowels, For men: Sliding down from head voice bringing the head dominant function into the low. Also do not classify singers too early...Lip buzz and tongue buzz through the registers.

Discuss vocal hygene including specific infomration about your job

taking care of your voice while you're working, etc

Amplitude

the amount of air displacement from the resting point

vocalis muscle

the body of the vocal folds. can be lukened to a bundle of stiff rubber-like bands.

Postnasality

the sound seems to be formed behind the nose;

Free Resonators of the Human Body

trachea, larynx, vocal tract: laryngopharynx, oropharynx, the oral cavity (mouth), nasopharynx, nasal cavity, piriform sinus Laryngopharynx is somewhat fixed in size, but it can be impared by the raising of the larynx.

make a case for vowel modification

tuning with the formants (i) is around D4, so men narrow so they are moving towards (i), when above G5 only (a) is left for women for bill, a lot of it is about language--as long as you're singing pure vowels, they are going to fold into some vowel form because they are pure vowels.

Ware's take on Vowel Modification

vowel modification is especially appropriate when used to counteract vocal tones that are strident, spread, or piercing in timbre. Aggiustamento, or vowel modification, partly explains what happens when the voice is dynamically balanced throughout the vocal range--a tone characterized by both bright and dark qualities is created.

Bernoulli Effect

when air passes through a constriction, air pressure builds up behind the constriction, and airflow slows. Air molecules slow down and jam closer together when approaching a narrowed passage. when air pressure is sufficient to overcome elastic and muscular forces that maintain closure, the vocal folds are pushed apart and air moves through. As velocity increases, a relative negative pressure is created at the glottis, and the vocal folds are sucked back together again.

Scott D. McCoy, An Inside View

2004 Really good pictures and diagrams, very detailed (over view of diaphragm, posterier view etc), Approach was more scientific than most (which is why he uses these diagrams) most for advanced and masters level. Really specific musculature with diagrams, For all of his science, he starts with sound (actualy sound--bright/dark) has you listen to a sound, and listen to the spectrum from clean to raspy, to dark to bright) he starts simple and then goes to complex, starts with lungs, tracchea and larynx, intercostals, and then out to pectorals, etc all the secondary muscles (so primary muscles and secondary muscles involved in singing) Describes very clearly "la lutte vocale" he talks about breath control vs. breath support (breath control is air coming through chords, and support is muscles of lutte vocale--intercostals etc) spectral envolope/slope: Objective measure of your timbre (overtones you're able to access--this is what makes each voice unique--what that is in your individual voice determins your spectral envelope) Mode I vs. Mode II: arythenoid (chest voice) shorter and thicker chords dominant vs. crichothyroid (head voice) Crychoid will tilt to access the cricoid Talks about formants: formant tuning is vowel modification. Formants is how we shape the vocal tract:...formants are sound potential...resonance of vocal sound. not actual sound or vocal fold vibration--it is sound potential. He talks about voice like stero system. Formans are like the amplifier and tone controls (can diminision, turn up volume, etc) glottis is the source. F I, F II, F III (F 0 is fundamental frequency--number of sounds that it vibrates per second which determins the pitch) F I and F II are required for accurate vowel production (affected by tongue, lips and jaw in that order), constriction in front o vocal tract lowers F I and raises F II, constriction in back raises F I and lowers F II, all formant frequencies will rise

Wendy Lebourgne The Vocal Athlete

CD with workbook and excercises from teachers from all over the country. She talks about anesthesiology, when you have surgery what to do, etc. She also talks about belting technique. She also goes into classical pedagogy with Garcias, Shakespeare, Vernard. She also talks about herbal supplements, phonotrauma to the voice. This is a perspective of vocal wellness and speech pathology.

Hyperfunctional Phonation

Demanding too much from the laryngeal mechanism. harsh, pressed, edgy, tight, tense. Too much tension from muscles of the larynx and surrounding areas. When this is accompanied by hyperfunctional breath/support, it is rough, constricted. Causes: singing in wrong voice classification (esp in too high tessitura), speaking far above or below optimum pitch. singing or speaking in noisy environment. Singing speaking too loudly with too much force, wrong concept of breath support, wrong vocal models. How to fix: Exercises of getting rid of body tension, on-set exercises starting on (h), vocalizing on back vowels which require lip rounding (U or OH), deliberately having them do a breathy tone temporarily, using jaw relaxation exercises. have them sing like a little kid.

Hypofunctional Phonation

Failure to demand enough appropriate activity of the laryngeal mechanism, is common among young singers but can persist into adult life. One of most prevalent of vocal faults. Primary cause: innadequate or incomplete closure of the vocal folds. Causes: Poor posture, shallow breathing, lack of suspension phase of breathing, singing too softly, wrong vocal models, timidity and related personality factors. How to fix: Imitate an opera singer. Have them laugh like santa clause with their stomach. Vowels and consonance used to combat. Forward or frontal vowels. Nasal consonances (M, N, ng) that require firm lip or tongue action.

David Adams A Handbook of Diction for singers

GIves textual examples from actual songs and includes the IPA. He also gives you musical examples and how the diction fits into the music. he also gives grammatical reasons as to why a sound is a certain way. This is more of an advanced book for masters and post graduate students. This book is all about IPA. Italian, German and French

Define Registers

Garcia's Definition: A series of homogeneous sounds produced by one mechanism, differing essentially from another series of equally homogeneous sounds produced by another mechanism.

Doscher

Investigation how vocal tract affects the power produced at glotis, appropriate vocal tract configuration....Vowel mod can change airflow and pressure, which in turn change vibratory Registers: Chest, Middle, Head, Whistle (auxiliary register)

Barbara Doscher: The Functional Unity of the Singing Voice

written in 1992 Dissagrees with head-chest-middle. she has FOUR: she says that it seems a committee of scientist said: 1) very lowest (vocal fry) 2) where most speaking and singing (Modal/chest) 3) high (used mostly for singing) falsetto or light 4) very high register (women and children) whistle Blending registers: two ways to do it (bc altering vocal tract) I: Laryngial positioning (whether larynx is high or low) II: shaping of oral pharyngeal cavities and the ways to do that: 1) tongue placement 2) jaw openings, 3) embouchure opening 4) relative tension and lift of soft pallate Talks a lot about historical pedagogues (Lamperti, etc) talks about lutte vocale. she separates breathing from POSTURE (very well known that good postures is prerequisite of good breathing, but posture is very necessary of laryngeal positioning and phonation She's a bit advanced. She talks bout air management and other things but is not very subjective...she tries to be objective. The whole beginning is selling to teachers why they need to know this information, bc teachers have preventive medical responsibility uses medaphore for athelitics, (coaches would never not know how their athletes are moving) we would never trust a mechanic who doesn't know the inside of what they're working on. She says she's not advocating a certain method! talks about clothing and diet too...