Dear List:
I am surprised that the baritone/tenor issue keeps surfacing.
Categories of voice are completely distinct and can be determined
both at the genetic and the observable macro level. At the genetic
level, the recent mapping of chromosome 19 (see http://www-
bio.llnl.gov/bbrp/genome/html/chrom_map.html) has enabled scientists
to find the genetic determinants of vocal category.
If genetic testing is not desired, any competent laryngologist can
verify vocal classification with a simple examination - tenors have
a "T" branded on their vocal chords, and baritones a "Ba", and this
is clear even from birth.
If anyone misses the point of the above - I'm joking. Vocal
categories are arbitrary, and the physical determinants of voice do
not have quantum dimensions leading individuals to be either this or
that. I know that, seriously, there was/is an effort to classify
voices using MRI to determine the dimensions of the vocal folds. I
question the usefulness of this data alone, however.
Voices have many qualities - color, comfortable range, size, and so
on - and all these qualities plus the personality of the singer plus
their health, maturity, and technique combine to determine what
material or part is best for an individual at a given time. It is
true that some people fall pretty cleanly into standard vocal
categories, but many do not.
I have written that there is an implicit notion that a person has
some sort of "existential" or "true" vocal category, and we speculate
that so-and-so, who performs as a "X", is really a "Y". Any bass
with a good high range is subject to speculation that he is a lazy
baritone, and a baritone subject to speculation that he is a lazy
tenor (and although tenors are sometimes, unfairly, the subject of
speculation about other matters, they are generally not considered
lazy altos!).
I think we should approach vocal classification practically and
recognize that we are individuals, and our voices can change over
time depending on our health, maturity, and technique.
Cheers,
Michael Gordon
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