In a message dated 4/3/2002 10:56:41 PM Eastern Standard Time, lloyd.hanson@n... writes:
> This head/neck posture encourages a raised > larynx, lowered palate and other features of the "call" voice. > Stevie Wonder is a prime example of this lifted chin/head kind of > high singing. His high voice might be a form of head voice but I > could only consider it so if I did not see him perform.
lloyd,
my larynx goes down when i tilt my head in such a way. even so, if the larynx goes up, why would that preclude head voice? didn't titze say that the elevation of the larynx accomodates crico-thyroid activity more than a lowered or even stable larynx (though it might create other problems relating to timbre)? and didn't taylor report titze's preference for singing with an elevated larynx?
i have to agree with randy about stevie wonder. i don't ever recall hearing him sing in falsetto. i have always marveled at his easy high range. steve perry has always impressed me with his high range and there are places where he produces a sound that is occasionally a sound that could work into classical vocalism. while michael bolton's opera disc might be frightening from a stylistic point, including the timbre he sings with, there is no denying the quality of his high notes (underneath all that other stuff). (a sample of the last two is on file at the groups home of vocalist.)
in your article at chanteur.net, you stated the difference between falsetto and head voice is the introduction of ta activity. in our present discussion, you seem to have identified head voice as being more specific. i'm guessing you would require more ta activity, a stable or slightly lowered larynx and certain particular acoustics (i think wim ritzerfeld said on the 'ah' vowel, the second formant had to be greater in decibals than the first, for example). i'm thinking also that a certain amount of 'ring' is required?
while i would agree that introduction of ta activity changes falsetto into something else, i would say there is a limit to how far one can go with that. for me, it is far better to try to add crico-thyroid activity to ta activity (and, if one doesn't try to 'get louder' to 'get higher', there will be a gradual reduction of ta activity or, at least, no increase). however, for women and tenors, the former approach might actually be easier than it is for us lower voiced males.
and, what if one were to 'call' with a lowered larynx (cornell macneil expressing surpise in 'il tabarro', for example)? would that be physiologically closer to 'calling' or 'singing'?
mike
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