Finding the Mix

As discussed in a previous post, there are points in the vocal range when the muscular mechanism which operates the vocal cords changes while the resonance sensations in the body shift. This is where most people experience a break, or a sudden shift in vocal quality. The biggest and most prominent break point for most people is the first bridge, which is the transition from chest voice into the head voice. The first step in beginning to smooth out this transition is understanding that at this first bridge a mixing must occur. The singer must find a place that is not pure falsetto, and not pure chest voice. We call this the middle voice or the mix.

As we have described, the larynx must stay down in a relaxed speech-level posture, and the vocal folds must maintain a balance between cord adduction (closure) and air flow. Although the vocal scientists disagree on what actually happens physiologically, the following model tends to be a good one for singers who are developing their mix and learning to balance their first bridge.

In the chest voice, the vocal folds are stretching longer in order to rise in pitch, much like when a guitarist uses a tuning peg to raise the pitch on the string of a guitar. As the singer rises up to the top of their chest voice, they have three different options, only one of which is desirable.
1. They can continue to stretch the vocal folds beyond what is healthy, which causes too large of a vibrating mass, resulting in the rising of the larynx and the sound to "splat" or "spread" out of the mouth. The resulting sound is strained. It feels strained as well.
2. They can let go of most of the adduction of the vocal folds in order to sing on a smaller vibrating mass using only the outer edges of the cords. This is called falsetto. It sounds very airy with no carrying power and usually is accompanied by a very obvious break. Falsetto cannot blend with the rest of the voice.
3. They can keep the cords stretched, and keep the adduction muscles active thus bringing the folds gently together, while at the same time shortening the vibrating length of the folds. This can be likened to a guitarist fretting up the fret board.

The third option is the only desirable option for the singer to move from chest voice into the mix. The shortened cord condition results in an ability for the singer to stay at a relaxed speech level posture using a comfortable balance of cord closure and air flow. There is also an accompanying response of a "split resonance." Some resonance continues to come out of the mouth as in chest voice, but some resonance begins to travel up behind the soft palate into the head.

Finding the mix is important for singers of all styles. Over time the mix can be built into a very solid and full sound. The mix is versatile. It can be used to sound like an extension of the chest voice (i.e. a belt), or like a downward extension of the head voice. Either way, the mix offers an amazing opportunity for the singer to move through their voice with no apparent breaks of any kind.

More tomorrow!

Guy
www.voice-lessons.com
www.vocal-products.com

Vibrato

Vibrato is necessary in order to sustain a tone at a comfortable speech-level with a balance of cord tension and air flow. We must remember that there are two types of compression which occur in the vocal folds during phonation. One pressure comes from the closure (adduction) of the vocal folds themselves as they are drawn together. The other compression is the air pressure which comes from the diaphragm and presses against the adducted vocal folds. In order to sing in a healthy manner, there must be a constant balance which exists between the two pressures: one pressure blows the cords apart and the other pressure brings them back together, then the first pressure blows the cords apart again, and then the other pressure brings the cords back together again. This process happens over and over again, and thus a sound wave is emitted from the cords and into the resonating chambers of the voice. As a result of the balancing of these two pressures, a "spinning" type sound occurs called vibrato.

The types of sounds which can occur when balance during phonation is not maintained are breathy (whisper), yelled (or pulled), falsetto (disconnected), wobble (wide and slow vibrato), or tremolo (quick vibrato like a machine gun or a goat bleating). An occasional use of one of these unbalanced sounds can be used as stylistic devices, but the majority of singing should be done in a balanced manner at a comfortable speech level in order to maintain optimal vocal health. There are styles of singing where a full-bodied vibrato may not appropriate, but that does not mean that vibrato should be removed from the voice. The only way to sing without vibrato is to sing without balance. A good vibrato not does need to call undue attention to itself, but some vibrato is absolutely necessary for healthy singing. The balance described here is a primary focus of all good vocal technique, and is a major factor in giving singers who use the Speech-Level-Singing technique the feeling that they are singing with the same release and freedom as when they are speaking.

More tomorrow!

Guy Babusek
www.voice-lessons.com
www.vocal-products.com

Vocal Registers

Have you ever looked inside a grand piano? The strings look similar to a harp. The strings that produce the low notes are long and thick, and they gradually get shorter and thinner, until the strings for the very top notes are quite short and thin. This demonstrates an acoustic law. The low notes are produced by strings which vibrate at slower rates per second than the strings for high notes. Every note that is produced by every instrument must vibrate at a specific number of vibrations per second in order to have the resulting pitch be in tune. In order for the voice to sing through a scale from the bottom of its range to the top, the vibrating mass must become smaller as the pitch ascends, just like in the piano or any other instrument.

The vocal folds (or vocal cords) are operated by a very complex system of musculature. Some sets of muscles cause the vocal folds come together (adduct), some muscles cause the vocal folds to stretch (like a tuning peg on a guitar), some cause the vocal folds to thin, some to shorten, and so on. Do you see how the voice is a very versatile musical instrument? With all this versatility a certain degree of expertise is needed to play this instrument well.

To sing low notes, a group of muscles must be used which cause a thick and long vibrating mass. As the scale is ascended the work load must be gradually given to a group of muscles which cause a thin and short vibrating mass. There is usually point at which an untrained singer sings up the scale using only the thick mechanism and then suddenly must change over to the thin mechanism. This results in an abrupt gear change with which we are all familiar called a register break. In the old Italian school this point in the voice was called a passaggio or passage. In SLS we refer to these passaggi as bridges. Our goal is to balance the bridges in the voice (yes, you actually have more than one bridge or passaggio point in your voice-more on this in another post). This way we have a smooth sound from the bottom of our range to the top with no apparent breaks.

The terms head voice and chest voice come from the old Italian school as well. The names are derived from the fact that each size of cord described above has a correspondent resonance in the body. Ceasari called these resonances "sound beams." The low notes (caused by a long, thick vibrating mass in the cords) seem to come straight out of the mouth, with sympathetic resonances booming in the chest cavities. The very high notes (caused by a short, thin vibrating mass in the cords) seem to come straight out of the back of the head. So what about all the notes in the middle? We call the middle voice the mix. This is because it seems like part of the resonance is coming out of the mouth and part is coming behind the soft palate up into the head areas. It is a mixture of both resonance sensations. It is not surprising why many singers have trouble in the middle parts of their ranges. So much is going on at once. Cord mechanisms are changing while the different resonances are blending. While all this is happening we of course must stay in a relaxed speech level posture. Only good training and excellent vocal technique will solve all these challenges!

More tomorrow!

Guy
www.voice-lessons.com
www.vocal-products.com

What is Speech-Level?

I sometimes hear people who haven't studied SLS say things like, "Speech-Level-Singing simply means singing the same way you speak; it's just bringing your chest voice up throughout your whole range." WRONG!

Let's put this myth to bed once and for all. I'll help you find your own speech level right this minute! Place your finger gently on the thyroid cartilage of your larynx. This is also known as the Adam's apple (uh, Eve's apple for women???). Now swallow. It goes up right? Now yawn. It goes down. Now simply count to five in a comfortable speaking voice. It pretty much floats in the middle? This floating area is your speech level. Now try swallowing while counting to five. I'm sure you discovered that this doesn't really work too well.

When you swallow, the larynx rises and the epiglottis closes over your wind pipe to prevent food from entering your lungs. Often what happens is that as a singer sings pitches up a scale, their larynx will rise up as well (let's save the many reasons for this for another post) and thus the sound cuts out. What we want to do is train your larynx to stay at that floating, comfortable Speech-Level throughout your whole range. This gives the voice freedom and power with no strain whatsoever.

As you rise through your range you will move out of your chest voice and into your mid range voice (mix) and up into the head voice. We will be dealing with these concepts on other posts, but just suffice it to say that singing at your speech level does not imply that you drag your speaking voice, or chest voice up; it simply means that your larynx stays at a comfortable speech level throughout your entire singing range.

See you tomorrow!
Guy
www.voice-lessons.com
www.vocal-products.com

Breath Support

Breath support is a main focus of most vocal training methods. I think most singers over-do it. The voice needs balance between the flow of air and the resistance of air by the vocal folds. This balance can only be achieved by allowing the breath to be regulated automatically by the body while maintaining a relaxed speech-level posture. The breathing mechanism doesn't need large amounts of specialized breathing exercises in order to function properly for singing.

Breath support happens automatically. If you dig your thumbs into your waist muscles at the same level as your navel and cough, you will notice that your abdominal muscles support the cough. Now keep your thumbs there and call out emotionally "Hey!!" as if you were trying to get some one's attention who is about to accidentally step in a puddle. You will feel the natural support that your voice already calls for when using the voice.

So "more support" is not what is actually needed by most singers. What is needed is the maintenance of a speech level posture. In fact asking a singer to give support to a sound is like asking the fuel gauge to move toward full without putting fuel in the car. Support is the natural product of balanced vocal production. Asking a singer to monitor their support can occasionally be of some value however, because when support is not being felt, they realise that they have fallen off of their speech level and must reestablish their posture.

More tomorrow!

Guy
www.voice-lessons.com
www.vocal-products.com