--- In vocalist-temporary@yahoogroups.com, GWendel Yee <gwyee@r...>
wrote:
> At 06:20 AM 12/11/02 EST, Greypins@a... wrote:
> But this does raise an interesting point about shifting
registers. One
> school (Cornelius Reid?) seems to teach only 2 registers, chest and
> falsetto. RM seems to codify 3 registers: chest, head, mixed.
Yet, I
> seem to sense more transition points in my higher voice: at Bb4,
at D5, and
> at F5, after which my voice breaks into a kind of falsetto which
stops at
> A5. The high note in each register requires more work that the
low note of
> the next higher register. So Bb4 is more work than B4. How many
registers
> are there? Does this vary from person to person? Or might I just
have a
> "lumpy" head voice?
GWendel,
I have been following your posts with great interest. I remember
hearing an interview with Pavarotti during a broadcast of "Idomineo"
that he generally did not sing Mozart because the tessitura was "too
low." I think if Pavarotti is concerned about too many low notes,
you are justified as well.
I am concerned that you say you switch to chest voice down low. I
think it would be far preferable to stay in mixed voice longer - but
perhaps add more chest quality as you get lower.
Although many people advise going to chest voice down low - I wonder
exactly what they mean. The chest voice "sound" is controlled by
the arytenoid muscles, and it seems that they are capable of
functioning in two separate "modes." This makes talking
about "chest voice" very confusing. In one "mode" the chest voice
muscles act WITH the head voice muscles in order to produce a
resonant tone with "bite" and "ring." In the other "mode" the chest
voice remains separate from the head voice and actually dominates
the tones. In the first example the voice will "feel" like it is in
head voice yet the chest voice muscles will provide resonance and
ring. As an example, think of a trained soprano singing at about a
C5 (C4 = middle C for me) as opposed to a high school girl singing
the same note - or even a guy singing in falsetto. The trained
soprano sings with much resonance and volume whereas the other two
voices sound light and weak in comparison. The difference is that
the trained soprano has trained enough that the arytenoids
contribute to the tone - chest voice or resonance is added to the
tone - and the high school singer and guy in falsetto have only the
cricothyroids contributing towards the tone.
Most people talk and yell in a condition where the arytenoids
dominate the tone (however some people talk in a nice "mix" which
further confuses them and other people). This is the second type
of "chest voice" that is really not a "mix" - it is really
a "switch" from one production to another.
Traditional "classical" training talks about "bringing the head-
voice down." I think this is widely acknowledged as "traditional"
but it is also viewed with a sort of scorn, I have noticed. I think
the problem lies in the fact that that is only the FIRST step of the
traditional approach, and the second step has often been ignored.
The SECOND step is to strengthen each head-voice tone by
crescendoing. In actuality, the crescendoing is adding chest-voice
quality to the tone. It is also building up the strength of the
head-voice muscles. Once the upper and middle areas of the
headvoice are greatly strengthened (by adding the weight of the
chest voice to the tone) the headvoice gains more strength, and the
ability to go down lower. Once the headvoice is able to descend
lower, these new low notes need to be strengthened in the same way
as the upper and middle notes were strengthened - by crescendoing
and ADDING the weight of the chest voice to the tone. It is
possible to strengthen these low head voice muscles to such a degree
that the average listener thinks that it is the same as the talking
voice. This, to me, is what the great singers manage to do. What
makes their voices unique is the fact that they have a strong and
well blended voice from top to bottom. The hard part here is at the
BOTTOM of the ranges. This is because the headvoice doesn't
naturally go that low. It is only after it has been strengthened in
its upper and middle range that the headvoice will be able to go
lower. Eventually, the ENTIRE low range can be overlapped and sung
in the headvoice.
There are three "methods" that I am aware of that are "out" now that
have some of this terminology:
1. Seth Rigg's "Speech Level Singing"
2. Anthony Frisell's method
3. Cornelius Reid's method
All three of these methodologies mention the importance of
registers - to which I am grateful. Even though to my ears they
sound awfully similar, they probably all can't stand one another!
Isn't that the nature of people! I know that Reid doesn't like
Frisell and vice-versa. Riggs probably doesn't care one way or the
other about the methodologies. I like the ideas of Frisell the
best, though I have learned much from the other two philosophies.
The main difference between Frisell and Reid is that Frisell thinks
the chest voice should never be "isolated." The chest voice should
only be activated "through" the headvoice.
Riggs often states that the lower notes are "easy." This is my main
problem with his philosophy - yet I am glad he acknowledges and has
made a great many people aware of the vocal registers. I think the
low notes are the hardest to sing with a mixture of registers
because the headvoice usually doesn't exist down low. The headvoice
muscles are "weaker" than the chest voice muscles hence they need to
be "exercised" more. When one "switches" to chestvoice they have
totally stopped exercising the headvoice, plus they are making the
dominance of the chestvoice more prominent. At least keeping the
volume at a "speech" level may help in not driving out the headvoice
entirely.
GWendel, you mentioned that you feel that there are more registers
than two or three. Let me explain Frisell's take on the subject (I
think Reid has a similar idea but calls it something else - and
Riggs uses the word "bridges"). Frisell insists there are but two
registers - falsetto and chest. Any performing voice requires the
use of both at the same time. He breaks down the voice into
several "zones" in which the balance of the two registers needs
adjustment. These zones are from any "c to e" and any "f" to "b."
He notes that the center of these zones is generally pretty stable,
but the border tones are often the weakest in the voice. In other
words, you will have to achieve a certain balance of the register's
participation in order to produce the notes from "c" to "e" - and
that balance will have to change to produce the notes "f" to "b." I
can try to explain these zones better in another post - later.
However, in the mean time, notice how close the pitches you
mentioned your register shifts were to the ones Frisell talks
about. . .
I would think you should try to sing EVERYTHING in this mixed voice
of yours - however, I would continually try to develop the voice by
crescendos. Since you feel it is a mix - continually try to "mix"
more of the chest quality in the tone so it gets more ring and
volume. Try to sing always in this "mixed voice" vocal tract. Sing
those low notes that the people around you are loudly singing (and
probably mainly in their speaking voice) softly at first - but in
your mixed voice. Try eventually to add more of the chest quality
to this mix down low. But be patient. This headvoice method is
notoriously slow to develop.
Well, this is a long enough post, and I think I have stated most of
the things I have wanted to contribute to the discussion. I should
probably point out that both Frisell and Reid use the
term "falsetto" for most of what I have been calling "headvoice."
Of course bringing up "falsetto" probably opens up another can of
worms. My own take on the term is that vocalists must be VERY
careful when they use the word. I have some definite opinions on
how the term has become so confused, but I will save that for
another post if it looks like there is any interest.
John
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| | Replies | Name/Email | Yahoo! ID | Date | | | 21472 | Re: Two Chest Voices, wasChest to Mix, was Re: Too Many Low Notes | buzzcen@a... | buzzcen2000 | Sat 12/14/2002 | | | 21473 | Re: Two Chest Voices, wasChest to Mix, was Re: Too Many Low Notes | Greypins@a... | greypins | Sat 12/14/2002 | | | 21474 | Two Chest Voices, wasChest to Mix, was Re: Too Many Low Notes | mjmoody2000 <mjmoody@c...> | mjmoody2000 | Sat 12/14/2002 | | | 21475 | Re: Two Chest Voices, wasChest to Mix, was Re: Too Many Low Notes | Greypins@a... | greypins | Sat 12/14/2002 | | | 21476 | Re: Two Chest Voices, wasChest to Mix, was Re: Too Many Low Notes | Nick Scholl | opacodex | Sat 12/14/2002 | | | 21477 | Re: Two Chest Voices, wasChest to Mix, was Re: Too Many Low Notes | Greypins@a... | greypins | Sat 12/14/2002 | | | 21478 | Re: Two Chest Voices, wasChest to Mix, was Re: Too Many Low Notes | Nick Scholl | opacodex | Sat 12/14/2002 | | | 21479 | Re: Two Chest Voices, wasChest to Mix, was Re: Too Many Low Notes | GWendel Yee | gwyee2redshift | Sat 12/14/2002 | | | 21480 | Re: Two Chest Voices, wasChest to Mix, was Re: Too Many Low Notes | Greypins@a... | greypins | Sat 12/14/2002 | |
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