Thoughts on Lloyd W. Hanson

Achieving Tone Potential Using Balanced Onsets

Mon, 15 Aug 2016 22:31:27 +0000

Max: and Opera_L listers:

Just some thoughts about learning the process of closing the vocal folds (cords) as taught by Dr. Bratt. It is a process that all classical or operatic (that is acoustic) singers must achieve. And it is easily misunderstood because it implies an overly strong closing of the vocal folds and a consequently more extreme buildup of breath pressure to set the folds into oscillation. Nothing could be further from the actual action of the vocal mechanism when it achieves proper vocal fold closure and a balanced breath pressure.

The Soprano Voice in Choral Music

Sat, 31 Jan 2015 19:31:20 +0000

The Soprano Voice in Choral Music

The soprano voice can easily overcome any choral sound especially if it has a basically flute quality. Consider the orchestra; 2 or 3 flutes against 30 to 45 strings. That has become the accepted balance of sounds yet the flute does not produce a tone louder than a violin. Why are so few flutes needed to be heard easily against a literal army of strings?

Extending the Range of the Female Voice

Fri, 03 Jan 2014 00:05:26 +0000

Extending the Range of the Female Voice

I suggest work on balanced onsets until the student can do them easily and consistently . The onset exercises in Miller’s “The Structure of Singing” works for me but I more often now make up my own as seems to be needed by the student. Keep in mind that a balanced onset is neither a breathy onset nor a harsh attack onset; it is a an onset that is neither breathy nor preceeded by a glottal stroke but somewhere in between these extremes.

Female Vowels Above the Treble Staff

Thu, 02 Jan 2014 23:41:41 +0000

Females Voice Reduced Vowel Usage Above Treble Staff.

About soprano high Cs. This would be designated as a C6 if middle C is designated as a C4. No voice can sing the vowel in “Tod” on a pitch that high. The only vowel available to any voice on that pitch is the vowel “ah” (In IPA /a/).

The reason? All vowels are recognized by the listener hearing two emphasized harmonics particular to each vowel or vowel modification. These harmonics are emphasized by the vocal tract resonances called formants. From A5 and higher the singer finds that all formants which are needed to identify vowels are lower than the pitch they are singing. Therefore the singer must emphasize the fundamental by using the vowel with the highest first formant and that vowel is /a/. The singer is able, within some restrictions, to raise the resonance pitch of the first formant to match the high fundamental. She does this by opening the mouth and jaw and in some cases spreading the lips in a kind of opened mouth smile. This is the reason that all female voices assume some form of open mouth posture when singing these high notes.

Breath Management and Posture

Mon, 08 Jul 2013 22:08:15 +0000

Most voice teachers will spend some time correcting or improving a students posture, not only for the positive effect good posture has on the appearance of the student when singing in public but, more importantly, to encourage the student to establish a skeletal frame alignment that best provides for efficient breath management.

I found that most students have inactive or poorly developed muscle systems in the core of the body between the shoulders and the pelvis. Inactivity of these muscles leads rather quickly to poor muscle tone and a general sense of dynamic “dullness” within the body core.

Voice Placement Sensations

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 18:02:27 +0000

Voice Placement Sensations

In a recent exchange on Opera-L the following was written. It represents a commonly held understanding of vocal placement and prompted the following reply from me. Here is the quote from Opera-L.

“Are you suggesting that Corelli sang from his nose? Have you heard of placing the voice in the mask As much as I like Del Monaco his chest placement restricted his range to a comfortable B (B-Flat later on).”

Enunciation and Consonants

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 16:17:33 +0000

A lot of pop singing displays poor enunciation, that is, the words are not clearly articulated and the poem or text is lost, It often takes many hearings to determine the words being sung. Obviously this is being done as a stylistic choice in many cases; in others it is simply inadequate technique and the desire to sing overcomes the need to communicate a textual message.

But in any kind of singing, whether it emphasize text or not, the greatest enunciation difficulties center around the articulation of consonants. Most well articulated consonants divide the sung vocal line into segments. The sung vocal line is created by connecting vowels together in as continuous a pattern as possible.

Vocal Vibrato Problems and Wobble

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 23:53:03 +0000

I can think of three slightly different “wobbles’ that occur in older voices. Two of them are problems with vibrato. The vibrato either become too slow or it becomes two wide. Slow in the sense of fewer variations in pitch in a given time. Wide in the sense of too much up and down pitch variation. And it is possible that vibrato might have both problems simultaneously, that is, too slow and too wide.

Vocal Timbre and Vocal Projection

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 23:15:59 +0000

Sound is transmitted as a wave through a medium such as air. The “cubic volume” of the air is not a critical matter. The distance from the stage to the back of the house is more critical because sound dissipates at an inverse ratio to distance from the source. But it is this characteristic of sound that can be reinforced by careful and cleaver acoustic design. A double parabolic reflector shaped building, such as in the Mormon Tabernacle will pass a mere whisper from one end of the building to the other if one stands in the correct location. A properly designed opera house will sustain sound energy through reflection and focus to make most of the seats in the opera house acceptable for acoustic singing.

Male Vocal Fold Function, low to high

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 22:57:49 +0000

Vocal fold function is the source of the voice sound. It can occur only if the vocal folds are brought together so they may act as a kind of valve that resists the air pressure brought to them by the singer until that air pressure and the vocal fold closure tension meets a balance at which time the vocal fold opens, allowing air to pass and immediately closes again only to have the same process continue at a rate the is represented by the pitch being sung. When singing the A4 immediately above middle C the vocal folds open and close 440 times a second. The A an octave higher will require the folds to open and close 880 times a second.

Maintaining Epigastric Position While Singing

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 22:40:22 +0000

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 exhale and, in so doing, removing the primary control the singer over his breath management.

Placement versus Formant Tuning Using the Vowel-Mirror

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 22:01:32 +0000

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 Coffin at the University of Colorado, Boulder, I constructed a vowel mirror similar to the one he used in his studio. His tone came from a small 4 octave electric organ usually using a flute stop. My tone came from an early Korg tuner that produced a square wave. That limited me to just the odd integer harmonics but it still worked adequately. It would have been better if it produced a saw-tooth wave that would contain all harmonics.

Balanced Onsets

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 21:38:12 +0000

“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 onset occurs when the passage of breath is heard over the partially open vocal folds prior to the initial opening/closing of the folds.

Being Heard Up Close or Far Away

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 21:34:39 +0000

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” the orchestra or as “floating the tone” out into the hall. A tone, “floated” this way can have great intensity or simply be easily heard or even be a mezzo forte, depending on the demands of the music and orchestra as well as the dramatic intent of that part of the opera.

What Causes Vocal Cracking?

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 22:51:37 +0000

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 that something of sufficient force has disturbed them from their natural tendency for equal perturbation. That force is initiated by the sudden removal of a standing wave in the vocal tract that is providing a stable oscillating environment through the effect of “inertance” (See Ingo Titae).

Female verses Male Resonance Strategies

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 22:48:21 +0000

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 octave lower than the female voice.

That is so obvious it would seem redundant to mention it. However it is easy to forget that the harmonics are a numerical expressions of the lowest harmonic (which is also called the fundamental). Thus A4 has a fundamental of 440, its 2nd harmonic is 880, its 3rd harmonic is 1320, etc. A4 is a high note for a male voice but it is within the middle range of a female voice. A5 (880) is a high note for a female voice. Its 2nd harmonic would be 1760. Its 3rd harmonic would be 2460, etc.

Passaggi, Registers, Vocal Folds and Standing Waves

Wed, 26 Sep 2012 01:50:38 +0000

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 well as the aerodynamic theory that emphasis the Bernoulli Principal to assist with vocal fold closure.

Classical and Belting Resonance Stratgies

Fri, 31 Aug 2012 22:59:34 +0000

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 that pitch. Eventually the second harmonic is too high and cannot be resonated by the second formant. Keep in mind that formants, which are the resonating potentials of the vocal tract, do not change their pitch. The pitches of formants can only be altered by changing the vowel being sung. All vowels have their own individual formant frequencies.

Female and Male Primo Passaggio

Wed, 22 Aug 2012 04:19:14 +0000

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 voice gets lighter)?

This is not too difficult to answer but it is problematic to use terms that are not ambiguous. The explanation for female voices is different from that for male voices even though the female first (primo) passaggio is in about the same position as the male single passaggio. The female voice has a second (secondo) passaggio about an octave higher than their first passaggio. The male voice has no second passaggio.

Breath Management Two

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 17:26:07 +0000

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.

Bio-feedback to improve vocal quality

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 02:59:08 +0000

One of the most valuable helps for a singer is some form of feedback. Whether it is from a teachers’s suggestions, an audio recording of the voice or any other form of feedback, it is the feedback that is the primary way a singer learns to know how to create an acceptable sound. And that is learned because the feedback informs the singer of how they sound to the listener. Feedback can take many forms.

Breath Management

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 22:54:02 +0000

Some years ago one of the members on Vocalist asked for exercises to strengthen her “weak and lazy” diaphragm. The following is what I wrote to her and the members of Vocalist. It elicited a very strong response and has been included on a number of web sites that specialize in vocal music and singing. Below is the article.

I have read some of the responses to your request for information about a “weak” diaphragm. There is a lot of misunderstanding about how the breathing system works and, within this, there is also confusion about the workings of the diaphragm.

More on Formants

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 21:07:05 +0000

Mathew, as a new reader, has asked a lot of questions about the Singers Formant and Formants in general. This has opened a lot of doors that require some explanations. I will try to answer as directly and concisely as possible but this will be a bit long. Since this is a response to his questions you might want to look at his Comments in the Comments section of this blog.

Handkerchief Vowel Humming

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 03:51:42 +0000

Humming through a folded handkerchief is an excellent method of teaching the correct way to balance vocal tone with breath pressure and it is simple to do.

Place a folded handkerchief, folded four times, over your forefinger. Place the forefinger parallel with your mouth, gently close your lips over the finger so that they seal against the handkerchief and will not allow breath to pass by them. Breath into the cloth of the handkerchief. The warm breath passes through easily but it meets some resistance from the cloth.

More about Lip Trills

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 03:49:06 +0000

Some additional thoughts about Lip Trills

I have never found the lip trill to be very productive for most students even those that have no difficulty getting their lips to “flubber”. And the reasons for this is that lip trills encourages excessive air flow which is not the desired description of the well phonated vocal fold oscillation. The air flow needed is little more than what is produced when you moisten your glasses with your breath.

Semi-occluded Exercises

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 03:46:05 +0000

Vowel exercises that use semi-occluded lip positions.

Here are some exercises that I have used to help students develop a vocal tone this is rich yet easy to produce. They are all based on the concept that good vocal tone is a combination of efficient and clear phonation assisted by resonance adjustments that compliment the phonation while simultaneously enhancing the tone through a balanced vowel resonance.

They are not given in order of preference. All of these are most effective if used with a siren sound that takes the voice from the bottom of its range to as high as is comfortable.

Articulation for Coloratura

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 19:49:20 +0000

Although aspirated fast notes are sometimes called for by the musical and dramatic demands of an aria, in general, aspirated singing has never been considered the proper way to achieve rapid note singing. The fast notes are meant to be connected without any kind of detachment. The rapidity of note change is achieved through proper coordination of breath with vocal fold adjustments but neither the breath nor the tone should be stopped and restarted such as in aspirated singing.

Vowels and Singer's Formant

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 21:19:24 +0000

Is it necessary to be concerned about what vowels a singer must use to produce a Singer’s Formant?

The Singer’s Formant has no relation to the effect of vowels on resonance. This is because the Singer’s Formant is produced in an area of the vocal mechanism that is removed from the critical vowel resonance area.

Singer’s Formant is produced in the aryepiglottic area which is directly above the vocal folds and directly below the pharyngeal and buccal areas which produce the vowels.

Male Voices and the Singer's Formant

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:25:35 +0000

A larger voice will of course be heard as a larger voice if it has Singer’s Formant. If it doesn’t have Singer’s Formant it would not be easily heard over a full orchestra regardless of how large a voice it is. Intensity or volume of production has little to do with the ability to be heard over an orchestras.

All male singers produce fundamentals that are mostly within the loudest sounds of the orchestra which extends up to about the 500 KZ range. So, by definition their fundamentals are covered over by the orchestra, They are heard only because, and if, they are able to produce some sonic emphasis in the regions in which the orchestra is weaker and that is in the range of the Singer’ Formant. As listeners we are not aware of all of this but our ears send messages to our brain that correlates the Singer’s Formant to a fundamental and it translates that message such that we hear a loud fundamental as well as lower overtones and recognize not only the pitch but even the vocal quality. It is a wonder of how our minds make reality for us.

Squillo and the Singer's Formant

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:03:32 +0000

Squillo, which is sometimes defined “as that piercing resonance” has nothing to do with the Singer’s Formant. Singer’s Formant does not give the voice its brightness. For example, Bjorling’s voice has seldom been classified as being as bright as Corelli’s yet his voice has more Singer’s Formant than does Corelli, and Corelli’s is substantial.

The Singer’s Formant is created in the aryepiglottic space immediately above the vocal folds before the phonated sound enters the primary resonance spaces of the pharynx and mouth. As such it is not affected by vowel changes. All vowels are created by resonance changes in the pharynx and mouth and the primary control of vowel identity is the position of the tongue within these spaces.

Voice Size and the Ability to be Heard

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 22:50:36 +0000

Many like to equate the size of the voice with its ability to be heard over an orchestra. The assumption is that a large voice will be heard more easily than a smaller voice. Of course, that depends on what is meant by a “large” voice but, based on the comments I have read, most consider a large voice to be one that has a broad or extremely full tone and some on this list consider a voice that can yell in tune to be even more acceptable.

Soprano Formant Change

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:03:19 +0000

If the soprano wishes to maintain or increase vocal intensity on an /a/ vowel in the range from about E5 and up, all-the-while keeping a vocal quality that closely matches her quality below these notes, she must gradually open her mouth as she ascends above E5. Acoustically she is tuning the first formant of her vocal tract to the fundamental and as the fundamental rises above E5 she must raise the first formant resonance to match the fundamental which she does by opening the mouth. Most female singers will do this instinctively. Middle voice notes below E5 will tune the second formant to one of the overtones of the fundamental.