Monday, October 01, 2001, 1:04:44 AM, Lolipastor wrote:
lac> It's bothering me that so many male singers are answering these questions on lac> the female chest voice issue. It seems like their answers are based mostly lac> on single cases of unusual voices. But I would like to hear if most women lac> here would agree that for the majority of women out there, this high chest lac> just isn't possible. I know from personal experience -- as being a former lac> juvenile belter -- and from having many musical theatre students.
Okay, I've decided to dive into the discussion, since someone asked for experience. High chest, for me, is not only possible, but healthy and necessary for my voice to project and blend seamlessly into the rest of my voice. I take chest voice up at least to an E above middle C and occasionally as high as an A. After that it's a very hard mix all the way up to the top of the treble clef, where I switch to a lighter mix and eventually blend into a real head voice.
Prior to this approach, I had a very breathy, pushed, unstable sound all the way through the middle.
I teach basically the same technique to all my female students, who sing anything from opera and art song to jazz, musical theater, and R&B. As long as the phonation approximates that of what speech would be at the appropriate pitch, the sound is healthy, free, and resonant.
Vicki Bryant mailto:MezzoNotte@e... Naperville, IL
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