Sally and Vocalisters,
Since I have been writing quite a bit about registers
on this list in the last week it may be in order to
give you all some more information about who I am
and on what references I base my statements.
My main reference w.r.t. the theory of registers in
the singing voice is the work of Donald G. Miller
at the University of Groningen. He has worked on
this subject for many years, together with professor
Harm Schutte. Donald Miller has been a singer himself
in his former life (before becoming a scientist).
In June of this year he received a Ph.D degree in
Groningen. His dissertation is about registers in
singing. I met Don by accident (I was surfing on the
web and hit the web site of the University's voice lab:
http://www.med.rug.nl/bmt-ao/voicelab.htm )
The site hasn't been updated for quite some time, so
the info there is a bit outdated. You might also have a
look at http://www.vocevista.com, which is about the
computer program he uses to 'visualise' the voice and
which is available for purchase (I'm using it myself).
His e-mail address can also be found there.
At first I was just interested in his scientific work
but he turned out to be an excellent voice teacher as
well, so I have become more or less his pupil.
His main measurement methods are:
- Spectrography.
The audio signal from a microphone is sampled and decomposed into
spectral components. The resulting picture gives a lot of
information about resonance and formant frequencies.
- Electroglottography
The electrical resistance of the glottis is measured by two
electrodes placed on the neck, close to the larynx. The
resulting signal tells a lot about the vibratory pattern
of the vocal folds and about the percentage of the glottal
cycle that they are closed (the so-called closed quotient).
My own background is in electrical engineering. I work
for Philips Electronics in Eindhoven. I have been singing
for many years and from time to time I perform as a
soloist (I'm a baritone). I'm studying for a degree in
solo singing part time and in a few years from now I hope to
be a professional singer and voice teacher.
I have a keen interest in voice science and, apart from
my discussions with Don Miller, I have been reading
a large part of the literature on the subject, including
the well-known books by Vennard, Sundberg and Richard Miller.
Hope this helps.
Wim Ritzerfeld
- engineer, singer and aspiring voice teacher -
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