hello listers,
several writers on vocal technique for non-classical singers, roger love, mark baxter and thomas ammons, instruct the student to not increase volume or effort while increasing pitch. the idea is that it is easier for the vocal folds to stretch when they are not increasing their efforts to resist breath pressure. this produces very different sounds from the classically trained singer. think of the easy high ranges of singers like paul mccartney, freddy mercury, roy orbison, luther vandross, etc. and compare them to the effortful sounds of domingo, carreras, del monaco, corelli, etc. consider then, by contrast, the easy high ranges of gedda, gigli, lemeshev, araiza (for baritones, compare merrill to fischer-dieskau).
in the voices mentioned above with easier high ranges, their sounds might generally be subjectively described as lighter, 'headier'. the voices that are more effortful might be desribed as fuller, ringier, more 'chesty', more drammatic. now i ask you to consider two other singers, jussi bjoerling and giuseppe di stefano (for those of you who don't even want to be around tenors, let alone, become very familiar with their voices, i do apologize). the difference between the young di stefano and the later di stefano illustrates the differences i am discussing in one voice. bjoerling, when singing at a moderate to soft volume, had a great ease with his high range. by contrast when he sang loudly, his voice sounded much more effortful.
it is my belief that aesthetic considerations have a tremendous influence on whether one chooses a constantly varying timbre with its accompanying ease throughout the range or if one chooses to sacrifice the ease of range for the glories of the more drammatic timbres.
mike
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