Dear Mike and Vocalisters:
You wrote:
> a few months ago, i asked the list the question 'what has voice science
>done for you?' or something like that. i was asking specifically about
>spectral analysis. the response was generally along the lines of 'it
>confirmed what i already knew' or, as one person answered 'it confirms the
>teachings of the old italian school'. i have asked in the past 'has
>spectral analysis caused you to make any radically new changes based on that
>analysis?' for that, i got no answer.
COMMENT: In direct answer to your question, YES, spectral analysis
has caused me to make many radically new changes based on that
analysis. To wit:
1 I build all exercises around a knowledge of what effect that
exercise will have on helping the student develop clear vowel
formants. Clear vowel formants are verifiable by sound and the
student is able to feel and know they are in effect. My ability to
create individual exercises has been developed because I know and
understand the effect of vowel choices and I have been able to
observe and changes these choices on a spectrometer
2 I am better able to teach and demonstrate how to create the
singer's formant because I know what causes that formant and what the
voice must do to achieve this desirable addition to the voice.
3. I am more aware that once correct phonation is achieved,
usually through onset/offset exercises, all of the rest of the
technical problems in singing is a matter of balancing resonances.
Singers instinctively attempt to change phonation when their tone is
not desirable but phonation is not the problem unless a breathy or
pressed tone is present. The singer must be taught to make changes
in resonance and that is done with a knowledge of how the vocal tract
filters the phonated sound. I learned this first from Berton Coffin
who was a pioneer in the use of spectrographic studies and I was
later able to confirm his findings with my own, feeble and limited
use of a spectrometer.
4. I have seen firsthand how efficient the use of the
spectrograph can be when I observed Richard Miller for one week in
his studio and lab at Oberlin College. His students made greater
progress than I could imagine. I only wish we had such a lab here at
Northern Arizona University.
5 Corroborating vocal techniques that have been used before is
a very important function of spectrographic studies. Through such
corroboration it is possible to remove traditional techniques which
are either in error or inefficient and confirm those that are most
valuable. The intrusion of science into the art of voice teaching
has been responsible for the removal of many false and confusing
premises such as the location of the diaphragm and how it is used,
the nature of felt resonance (placement) and its proper use, the true
nature of a tone that can carry in a large hall over a large
orchestra (it is not volume that does it), the real meaning of
"covering" the voice. etc.
--
Lloyd W. Hanson, DMA
Professor of Voice, Pedagogy
School of Performing Arts
Northern Arizona University
Flagstaff, AZ 86011
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