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From:  Greypins@a...
Greypins@a...
Date:  Mon Sep 24, 2001  2:04 am
Subject:  Re: [vocalist] Bon Jovi..


stephan,

concerning bon jovi and singers who take a similar approach (chris
cornell, steve tyler or axel and robert plant. yeah, they're all different
but, i mean in comparison to a pavarotti or frank sinatra), i don't think
keeping the larynx from raising is a primary concern. the most obvious
effects of larynx height are on timbre. generally, the lower the larynx the
darker the sound, the higher the larynx the brighter the sound. there are
some excellent articles at http://www.ncvs.org by ingo titze on various
aspects of vocal production (look under 'singers' for the articles. you'll
need to download an acrobat reader in order to read the articles. there is
a free download at that site). there is an artical there that discusses the
effects of a high vs. low larynx. his suggestion is that the low larynx
causes the folds to be thicker thereby making it harder to access the highest
of pitches and, vice versa, the raising of the larynx makes the folds thinner
allowing for easier access to the highest pitches. there are some who feel
that the increase of medial compression associated with a raised larynx is
dangerous. it is hard to say whether or not this has been observed in all
singers who raise their larynx or just those who exhibit a problem. if it
is the latter, the problems may be caused by a usual host of other problems
that accompany the raised larynx, the general tendencies of most untrained
singers.

in order to sing higher, you must stretch the vocal folds thinner (this
is done by tilting the thyroid cartilage forward). if you are trying to get
louder as well as trying to avoid falsetto at all costs, you are probably
resisting the very thing you need to do. the higher you sing in 'real'
voice, the more closely it will resemble 'falsetto'.

can you sing the notes you are trying to now and are you, then, just
straining or, are you actually having problems reaching the notes, period?

mike

emusic.com