From: "Lloyd W. Hanson"
Subject: re: Renee Fleming and her bright/darkness
To: VOCALIST <vocalist>
Send reply to: VOCALIST <vocalist>

Isabelle Bracemon and List:

All of what you say about Flemming coloring her voice differently for
recording vrs. singing live in a hall may be very true. Most singers
of experience do change the color of their voice somewhat to better
match the acoustics of the hall and, I would assume, the same would
likely be true for the microphone.

I also do not doubt that her teacher, as do many teachers, may have
taught her the "tradition founded upon the relaxed, bright, forward
[i]", as you call it. This is often taught as a means to help the
voice to project and be heard through the orchestra.

I would just like to add that the singers "ping" is also called the
singers formant and it occurs somewhere between 2800 to 3200 Hrz.
depending on the sung pitch and the voice type. The important thing
to remember is that the "ping" or singers formant is independent of
the vowel being sung and even of the darkness or brightness of the
vocal quality. There is "ping" or there isn't. Dark voices do not
have less of it and bright voices do not have more of it.
Brightening a voice by whatever method will not increase the "ping"
but it can blur it and, in some cases even remove it. It is not
uncommon for someone attempting to be heard more readily by
brightening the voice to actually become less well heard.

This is not to mean that bright voices are singing badly nor that
they are desirable or undesirable. It does mean that if the balance
of dark to bright is overweighted to one side or the other, the
balance of the vocal tone is exaggerated and its beauty and carrying
power is compromised.

Although each voice teacher has ideas about what is best for a voice
and how to teach that voice, the final quality any technique is
determined by the balance of the vocal tone. If the singer is
producing a vocal quality that is balanced, efficient and flexible,
that technique does serve that singer. Not all singers need to be
over-bright. Not all singers need to be over dark or covered. What
each singer needs is an approach to tone that allows them a
flexibility to make color changes and the skill to produce the
singers formant ("ping").

Lloyd W. Hanson, DMA
Professor of Voice, Pedagogy
School of Performing Arts
Northern Arizona University
Flagstaff, AZ 86011