On Thu, 27 Apr 2000, Jennifer Fretwell wrote:
>
> From what I have seen on this list, some teachers consider multiple factors
> when determining fach - vocal timbre/color, passagios (breaks), facial
> structure, comfortable tessitura, etc. My voice teacher, however, is adamant
> that your passagios are the only thing that determine one's fach.
Dear Jennifer and Vocalist:
I agree that passaggio points are important to consider. Thanks for
reminding us of this aspect of voice classification.
But it's also very tricky because passaggio points can change over time,
with improvements in technique. Young singers who have not learned
register-blending skills can invent or arbitrarily insert passaggio points
in funny places throughout the range. This goes along with the
psychological baggage of fach; "I'm a mezzo therefore I have a break at
such-and-such note." Once fundamental voice skills are more firmly in place
or somewhat "settled," then I can begin to look more closely at the real
passaggio points. It's also very important to read up on, observe, and
understand the phenomenon of registration.
I know I mentioned the Richard Boldrey article about fach in my last post;
did I also mention the chapter on Voice Classification in James McKinney's
"The Diagnosis and Correction of Vocal Faults" (Genevox Music Group, 1994)?
It's very helpful!
Cheers!
Jana
--
Jana Holzmeier
Dept. of Music
Nebraska Wesleyan University
5000 Saint Paul Ave.
Lincoln, NE 68504
jjh@n...
402-465-2284
Visit the Music Department website at http://music.nebrwesleyan.edu/
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