A balanced onset exists when the prephonatory tuning of the vocal folds is such that only narrow slit exists before the release of the airstream. When the airstream is released Bernoulli immediately sucks the folds together resulting in an onset that is not aspirated (where there is too much space between the folds) and a glottal attack (where the folds are in contact before the air is released). The key to this is the prephonatory tuning of the folds, breath management will not guarantee a balanced onset because if the folds are not tuned correctly a soft or hard onset will occur. Balanced onset is also not the answer to everything especially connecting the registers. Many singers can do the balanced onset exercises promoted by Miller and still not be able to negotiate their bridges efficiently.
Randy Buescher
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