From: Tako Oda
To: VOCALIST <vocalist>
Subject: TECH: Body size/Height & Vocal Range
Send reply to: VOCALIST <vocalist>

Gib Wallis wrote:
> The average male larynx tends towards baritonality.
> I don't think there are more Asian tenors
> or counter tenors than there are German tenors.

Dear Gib,

I agree with you that height is not necessarily linked to larynx size.
If I may go a bit further, however, I believe larynx size in turn is not
necessarily linked to the ability to sing countertenor. Larynx size
determines lower singing and speaking range, but not upper singing
range. The size of the larynx is a primary determiner of speaking and
"register 1 (aka chest)" range in men because the phonation in this
mode uses the full length of the vocal cords. The lowest note is
determined by the length (and thickness) of the cords, hence the
correlation.

"Register 2 (aka head)" is produced by cords that are partially "zipped
up", hence the highest pitch is determined not by the full length of the
cords but the *vibrating* length of the cords, which is not necessarily
related to the overall size of the voice box!

Also, I believe the typical Asian larynx is not all that different from
a German one - what I am postulating is that "cracking voice", or loss
of the upper extension is not as common a secondary sexual
characteristic of puberty in Asian boys... just as hairy chests are
somewhat unusual in the same population.

Tako Oda
Graduate Student in Composition
Mills College Music Department
http://www.mills.edu/PEOPLE/gr.pages/toda.public.html/music/singer.html