A common pursuit amongst singers is the the quest for good head and chest voice/tone resonance. Although we have discussed to some extent about head/chest resonance in previous articles, there will still be a lot of confusion on this subject such as balancing tonal brilliance and depth of the resonance.
Blending these two voice qualities or vocal colors is a major source of confusion and frustration for many aspiring singers. However, once you understand how the voice work, blending the vocal colors should become easy and automatic as speaking expressively.
In fact, once you are able to blend the tones, you will begin to sing with more emotion and passion because you will know how to create the tones that will draw out the feelings and the emotions of the songs that you are singing. Some people call it singing with feel.
It is well established that the head resonance, when properly supported, has a brilliant ringing tone quality as compared to the chest resonance singing tone. This bright voice tone is developed in the bones and cavities above and, behind and around the nose known as the mask.
The result from an unsupported head resonance is very different and is characterized by a false falsetto tone. This oddity occurs when a singer suddenly switches into a choir boy tone.
The resonators have a lot to do with what your voice sounds like. This is why you can listen to many singers with high voices and yet each of them will have a differently blend of sound and tonal quality.
Now try this experiment to feel the resonating system of the head. Gently tap your finger on the bone between the upper lip and the nose. Can you hear the gentle thud it made? Now tap the bridge of your nose and then your forehead just below your hairline and again listen to the thuds again.
Did you notice that the thuds were higher in pitch as you ascend from the lip to the forehead? By performing this experiment, you will know that certain bones are predisposed to amplify various pitch levels.
When singers refer to chest resonance, they are actually talking about vocal tone which is characterized by darker vowel qualities or mellowness. However the term is a misnomer. By dictionary definition, an effective resonating chamber is a hollow place surrounded by hard surfaces. However, the chest is too full of organs to be suitable for amplifying the singing tone.
Throat and chest resonance occur where there is plenty of empty space for amplification of the lower vibrations created by the vocal cords in the mouth and throat. Contrary to popular thinking, most so-called "chest resonance" actually comes from the throat. However, there is also a distinct sensation of vibration in the chest when singing, especially in the sternum or breastbone area. This feel of tone gathering in the chest area can be used very effectively to stabilize high notes.
So in order to get good singing tone, then you must practice with the right vocal exercises to blend the head and chest tone.
Acoustical analyses were made of a good singing tone and the following conclusions were reached. According to Bartholomew good tone quality for both male and female voices has the following attributes: 1. A smooth and fairly even vibrato 2. Intensity of tone 3. A low formant for "resonance" or roundness or sonority 4. A high formant for ring or shimmer.
The vibrato should be about 6 or 7 times per second in the three variables of pitch, intensity, and timbre. An even vibrato adds to the tone certain warmth or richness to which the listener reacts unconsciously. It is easier on the singer and on the listener as well.
The production of good tone is dependent on a relatively large throat, which makes possible greater intensity of tone. The large throat makes possible greater resonance, along with the stronger vibration of the vocal cords.
The low formant in male voices centers around 500 cycles or lower. According to Bartholomew "the low formant is produced in the pharynx which in the good tone is considerably enlarged".
In the good tone the high formant centers approximately around 2800 cycles. The better the tone or the better the voice, the more prominent this formant becomes. In women's voices the high formant centers at about 3200 cycles, higher than in men's voices, and in some voices, particularly in the coloratura register, there is practically no high formant at all.
The so-called head voice register in women's voices is thought to correspond in some respects to the male undeveloped falsetto, which has no high formant. When this happens judgments on quality are based on purity and agility rather than on ring or resonance.
If we accept the theory of what constitutes a good tone - vibrato, intensity of tone, and high and low formants - then basically there is one tone that all singers should try to sing. When these attributes are present, the voice is said to be properly placed.
One of the problems in placing the voice is to inhibit the swallowing muscles which work to constrict and close the throat, particularly the two pairs known as the pillars or fauces, the palato-pharyngeus and the palato-glossus muscles. Both tend to raise the larynx. This is accomplished by many teachers through the use of imagery, such as keeping the tone forward, singing forward in the masque, singing to the tip of the nose, singing to the teeth, keeping the tone out of the throat.
Humming with the teeth slightly apart and the lips relaxed is a device to relax the above mentioned muscles. If the muscles that raise the larynx and tense the tongue are to be relaxed, the problem is to relax the muscles that raise the palate and act as a fulcrum to the muscles below.
This can be accomplished through the phonation of the nasals, m, n, and ng. The velum drops because of the relaxation of the levator palatal muscles, thus allowing the breath to pass through the nose. This use of the nasals which inhibits the swallowing muscles has led many teachers and singers to believe that the nose is open and should be kept open during the act of singing.
Research studies prove that such is not the case. The palate raises to shut the nasal port - perhaps not completely, but enough to prevent nasality. Part of the open or large throat position is dependent on a raised palate. What in humming has been a form of nasal resonance with the nose open now in good singing becomes an illusion of nasal or head resonance through bone conduction of sound vibration. The nose feels as if it were open.
Now you know how good tone is produced, it is time to practice some of the above ways to achieve it.
Both Chris Chew & Jimmy Cox are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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