>Dear Mike and Vocalisters:
>Mike, You wrote
>it is very similar to getting a student to alternate between sighing and
>glottal plosives, identifying the two as endmarks in a spectrum. using the
>sighing to get a feel for maximum wind with minimum resistance and the
>glottal plosive as a feel for 'reasonable' maximum resistance, the student
>then has a sense of the two elements involved in phonation, with the
>understanding that a balancing of the two is required to produce the desired
>results (whatever they might be).
In part, I agree. THowever, the sighing onset and glottal plosive
onset are less a sense of the two elements involved in phonation and
more the two extremes of phonational involvement. A correct onset
that is somewhere between these two extremes secures a proper balance
of breath management with initial glottal movement but it would be a
mistake for the singer to concern him/herself with any concept of
balancing a sighing attack against a glottal attack as you seem to
suggest.
You also wrote (quoting me):
><< The amount of breath pressure needed to begin phonation is not large.
>In normal speech we provide such phonation pressure without giving it
>a thought. >>
>
> wouldn't you agree, though, that the feel of that pressure changes, as
>higher pitches, sustained for longer periods than are found in speech, are
>introduced?
Yes, there is difference in the threshold pressure (necessary for the
onset of phonation) between low, middle and high fundamental pitches.
The sustaining of higher pitches for longer note values would not,
necessarily, incur greater subglottal pressure than the threshold
pressure necessary to produce the initial correct onset at the higher
pitch. Higher pitches require greater longitudinal tension across
the vocal folds, that is, the vocal folds act as a more efficient,
firmer valve holding back the breath. This raises the threshold
pressure necessary for the onset of phonation for higher pitches.
However, the benefit in this situation is that the vocal folds allow
less breath to pass through the glottis (breath flow is reduced) and
the singer experiences less breath flow with greater breath pressure.
For most well trained singers such high note production does not use
up more breath content but only requires greater breath pressure. It
is this phenomenon that surprises the singer into the sensation that
the high notes use less breath.
Good discussion. Thanks for the reply
--
Lloyd W. Hanson, DMA
Professor of Voice and Vocal Pedagogy, Emeritus
Director of Opera-Theatre, 1987-1997
College of Fine Arts (formerly, School of Performing Arts)
Northern Arizona University
Flagstaff, AZ
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