Kevin and Vocalisters:
Actually the lips of the trumpet player produce a very large number
of partials, many of them in the upper frequencies and of
non-harmonic character. It is the function of the horn to dampen the
non-harmonic frequencies and allow only the harmonic frequencies to
be emphasized and heard.
The vocal folds produce a sound very similar to the lips of the
trumpet player and the partials present are, also, not all harmonic.
Non-harmonic partials give the buzzing quality which we normally
consider to be noise. It is the function of the vocal tract (similar
to the horn) to dampen the non-harmonic frequencies and allow only
the harmonic frequencies to be emphasized and heard. In addition to
that function, the vocal tract also has complete control over the
quality of the tone by making adjustments that allow one set of
partials to be emphasized one time, and another set of partials
another time. We call these different qualities "vowels" To
accomplish the same effect with the trumpet, the player would find it
necessary to change horns for each different tone (vowel). Many
trumpet players do have a variety of horns to accomplish this.
What a wonder the voice is in that it can make all these changes with
the same equipment (vocal folds and vocal tract).
Research evidence (as per Titze) indicates that if the vocal folds do
not produce the partial, it cannot be produced in the vocal tract.
In other words. it all must be present in the phonated tone to begin
with.
--
Lloyd W. Hanson, DMA
Professor of Voice, Pedagogy
School of Performing Arts
Northern Arizona University
Flagstaff, AZ 86011
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