Maintaining Epigastric Position While Singing

This discussion has listed the use of belts or links of chain around parts of the rib cage to insure an expansion of the small ribs at the bottom of the chest.  This use assumes that if the lower ribs are expanded throughout the exhale during singing, the diaphragm will not ascend early in the […]

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Placement versus Formant Tuning Using the Vowel-Mirror

Placement is often taught as a general idea such as put the voice backward or forward.  It is also common to name a place such as put the voice into the nose, just behind the forehead, through the tope of the head, on the roof of the mouth etc, etc. While I was studying with Burton […]

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Balanced Onsets

“Onset” is another word for attack.  It is used by voice scientists because it has less violent meanings than does the word, attack. A glottal onset occurs when one can hear and feel the initial closing of the vocal folds after their initial opening/closing, as found in the disapproving expression in English, “uh, uh”. A breathy […]

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Being Heard Up Close or Far Away

Being heard up close or far away. If the vocal tract is adjusted to emphasize the harmonic that best projects the voice, the voice is heard well in the hall but might be less well heard up close, especially from the side of the performer.  Singers often refer to this as singing “over” or “above” […]

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What Causes Vocal Cracking?

It is my understanding that when the voice cracks the vibration of the vocal folds have become asymmetrical.  That is, the left and right vocal folds are not opening and closing at the same time.  One of the folds will move to close before the other one is ready to do so.  This action implies […]

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Female verses Male Resonance Strategies

Male and female voices do not function in the same way for notes above their highest passaggio.  The primary reason for this difference is the fact that the female voice is singing pitches in E5 to C6 range and male voices are singing pitches in the E4 to C5 range.  The male voice is an […]

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Passaggi, Registers, Vocal Folds and Standing Waves

The thickness of the vocal folds do not fit into two static categories such as thick or thin nor M1 and M2.  The vocal folds change their length and their thickness in a continuous manner as the sung pitch is raised or lowered. In this they meet the myoelastic theory of vocal fold function as […]

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Classical and Belting Resonance Stratgies

The resonance strategy used by classical female voices in their middle range is to have the second formant of the vocal tract resonate the second harmonic (F2/H2) of the sound spectrum produced by the vocal folds (phonated tone).  The higher one sings the higher the fundamental rises and so do all of the harmonics of […]

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Female and Male Primo Passaggio

Recently on “Vocalist” an important question was asked about the location of female and male first (primo) passaggio:  I’m confused! Why does the primo passaggio point in female voices lie lower as the voice gets lighter (Eb4 in sopranos,  E4/F4 in mezzo-sopranos and G4 in contraltos) whereas the corresponding case in male voices is quite contrary (primo passaggio is higher as the […]

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Breath Management Two

Recently “The Vocalist” has posted a series of emails from its members about Breath Management during the singing exhale.  Below is my response to these emails. This discussion has listed the use of belts or links of chain around parts of the rib cage to insure an expansion of the small ribs at the bottom […]

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