Vocal Pedagogy Blog

  Summary This week we focused on real examples of performers and applied our knowledge from the semester to their work. Not only did we identify and diagnose "issues" (I use that word in quotations because many of them had very good technique and sound, but these are minute areas of improvement for a masterclass setting) but we compiled ways to address and improve them.  I thought it would be fun to do this to my old self! Since we were watching past NATS videos, I pulled up my NATS National Preliminary videos from high school (taped in the good ol' UWM Recital hall!). I won't bother with regrets or embarrassment, that is not constructive! And, honestly, knowing what I know now about my own voice and its problems, and knowing that I did advance to Nationals, I am pretty proud of these recordings. Now, I am going to drop the links and make some OBJECTIVE comments about this "stranger" and what she could work on! #1- Everybody Loves Louis, Sunday in the Park ...

  Summary Welcome Back to the blog! I decided to make two posts out of belt and wait for the registers and formants edition until we finish our discussions and videos next week. Instead I'm going to begin summarizing my experiences with Vocal Pedagogy this semester and how I have been applying it to my own learning. First off, I have become such a huge nerd for vocal pedagogy. I have always been fascinated by the mechanics of sound, the uniqueness and variety possible in the human voice, and the causes of injury and misuse especially in young singers. Because singing is so personal, it is often difficult to reflect on one's own practices and venture away from what is perceived as "our sound." Now, I understand that there are SO MANY anatomical factors at play with every breath we take, every sound we make (I'll be watching you). Here's a summarized list of those body parts I have become more aware of: -laryngeal position -tongue (tip, mid, root) -velum/soft pa...

Summary This week we continued our discussion on belt and moved into registers, formants, and fachs. I would like to save the latter three concepts for my next blog and instead share some experiences with belt. ~story time~      When I was discovering musical theatre as a genre, I was instantly obsessed. I was also at an impressionable vocal age as I was transitioning through middle school and on to high school. It was a time where I generally felt pretty proud of my voice: I won a 13-19 year-old singing competition at age 13, I was cast as the musical lead in eighth grade, and freshman year I was even given a significant role in the musical over some seniors. However, I never really liked to broadcast that I liked my voice , because I thought that made me conceited. I know listing all of those accolades here sounds the opposite of humble, but as a twenty-year-old college music student now, I feel pretty removed from those years and achievements. Nevertheless, there was a...

  Summary The tongue root can be acted upon to alter sound as it pushes against the epiglottis and creates a "throaty" quality. Its position can be partial or full back, and is most recognizable in pop singers Cher, Shakira, Christina Aguilera, and Kermit The Frog:) Belting is a high intensity technique combining thick fold and twang, most commonly associated with musical theatre and pop styles.  Tongue Root- This concept is still a little weird to me when it comes to hearing different positions of tongue root. In short, the resonating space is made very small when the epiglottis is forced way back by the root of the tongue and the result is a very throaty, covered sound. Partial back is not as dark as full back, and neither is a full-time position for singing. Even when we hear this sound in Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie," it is not her default position and she also has more "traditional" or "regular" sounding portions.  *What is hard for me...

 Summary There are a lot of misconceptions about body mapping and function of the tongue and mid pharynx when it comes to singing. This week, we de-bunked the fear of twang and engagement of the tongue! Instead of regurgitating that information, I'm going to focus on some personal findings this week. Things I thought made my singing unhealthy: -narrowing the pharynx  -raising the tongue  -having too much brightness/brass in the sound -nasality Things that do not make my singing unhealthy: -all of the above:) I have always been a singer of all genres and styles. However, when I was younger (late middle school or early high school age) society made me believe that I was not a serious singer if I worked on CCM music, and I was less talented if I transitioned from being a soprano to a mezzo-soprano. Seriously. I believed when I was fifteen that I was worse than I was in middle school because I was labeled "mezzo." I have been so glad to see this stigma falling away, especiall...

  This week's anatomical concepts are a lot to wrap the mind around. We covered the soft palate ( velum ) and the concept of laryngeal and thyroid tilt. Let's just get some basic conceptual reminders: Velum -located at the back of the mouth and into the throat, you can palpate it with your tongue where the roof of the mouth transitions from hard and gum-like (the hard palate) to spongey and soft. It also includes the uvula.  -The position of the velum determines whether sound is coming through the mouth, nasal passages, or both ---Four positions: ------Low: soft palate down, feel by humming or phonating on "ng" ------Mid: air is coming through nose and mouth, true nasal sound comes from this position ------High: "raised" soft palate, can be typical for speech, nasal port is closed ------Super High: even higher velum that engages more space for the sound and higher harmonics come through The soft palate is a very common topic of discussion in choral singing. ...

  Summary - Directly above the true vocal folds live the false vocal folds or ventricle folds. These do not always come together for sound production, but can play an important role in stylistic techniques (aside from their natural anatomical functions)! The larynx can also exist in high, low, or neutral/mid positions that each alter the tone color of the voice. *see my previous blog post for a fun video of masterclass last semester. I sang a French art song immediately followed by a rock musical piece and we discussed the physical changes necessary for these huge stylistic shifts. Towards the end of the video I also noticed false fold engagement that I was not aware of at the time! I heard the sounds I produced but could not put an anatomical explanation behind it, and now it is exciting to look back and understand. That is my main contribution for this week, but I will continue to throw in some information below!* False Vocal Folds ---can be narrowed or released, creating a more ...

 After working through fold mass options, adduction, and our other noise-causing affectations in the past few weeks, I wanted to watch an old masterclass video of mine from last spring. In it, I worked on Faure's Prison and "The Long Grift" from Hedwig and the Angry Inch . The goal was to find a smooth vocal transition between the contrasting styles while still having a convincing dramatic and stylistic shift for the audience. You can watch the whole video for comments and work through "The Long Grift" or skip to approximately 9 minutes to hear the engagement of false vocal folds that I was not previously aware of! I remember the feeling and excitement distinctly, and understanding it anatomically now is quite rewarding. I will also attach the initial performances at the start of class. Enjoy! Masterclass work The Long Grift Faure

 Summary- The science of acoustics explains the sounding of pitch and overtones or harmonics. This applies to earlier posts (week 1 or 2?) about the formation of sound waves, frequency, and the physics of singing! These overtones are also responsible for the timbre of a sound. Physics basics: ---the fundamental  is the notated pitch being played/perceived/sung/heard ------>the fundamental is also the first harmonic   ------>adding the fundamental frequency to this harmonic gets the second harmonic  or first overtone. It is easier to refer to it as the first overtone because it is otherwise confusing to number the overtones including the fundamental, and unless it's being looked at in a strictly mathematical sense I like to keep it as simple as possible!  How? ---as the sound waves oscillate in space, they produce these additional harmonics whether or not they are perceived by the human ear!  ------>not only are some harmonics too high for us to per...

  Summary Semi-occluded vocal tract exercises, or SOVTs, are partially blocked vocal ease practices that are very popular for working with vocal fatigue and injury or perceived effort. Common examples are straw work, cup and straw, or voiced consonant phonation.  What ? --- SOVT techniques operate with higher air pressure on closed folds to create a smaller sound. What? This means that the folds adduct and oscillate and air passes as if about to sing or intone, but the mouth functions differently or does not open at all.  ------> This is a practice best explained through examples (in my teacher opinion) ----------these can all be applied to warmup exercises or melodic fragments of actual literature -------------->I like using octave slides or slides of a fifth over pesagio  in particular  Examples of SOVT exercises: -singing into a straw ---avoid tight lips like a brass or woodwind embouchure -lip trills/buzz or humming -voiced consonants ---v as in vampir...

 Summary This week we discussed the three options for starting and stopping sound, also known as onsets and offsets. These are glottal, aspirate, or simultaneous, and depend on the coordination of the breath and meeting of the folds. We also discussed the variety of fold mass options which adjust volume and sound quality perceived: the fold mass options are thick and thin, and stylistic choices can be made with br-ick and br-in combinations as well. The 3 houses of onset- 1) Glottal ---hardcore house ---demonstrated with "uh oh" ---vocal folds close, there is a buildup of subglottic pressure, then a release at the moment of sound ---folds close, air flows! 2) Aspirate ---the laid back house ---demonstrated with "Hey" ---air passes through open folds creating "fuzz" noise, then phonation follows with closing of the folds ---much lower subglottic pressure, hence the "laid-back" nickname, there's no pressure here, man! Easy, breezy! ---can be ab...

 

 Summary The creation of sound is a very complex scientific process, but as singers it is important to have a basic grasp on sound physics to understand how our voices execute the sounds we hear. This comes in conjunction with many anatomical features of the vocal folds as well as the application of breath options from our previous week.  What even is sound? ------> sound is the disturbance  of air (NOT air "traveling") ----------->the air is disturbed by sound waves  that oscillate air molecules from their source to our ears -there are lots of very cool physics equations that can calculate and explain the speed, size, frequency, and loudness of sound waves/sound, but I will provide just the bare bones understanding here as to not overwhelm the learning singer! I personally love physics, and recommend checking out Khan Academy's website and YouTube page for more in-depth information.  ---a sound wave's shape is broken into units called a period (one "chunk...

Summary Breathing is fundamental to life, and crucial to singing technique. The foundation of every singer's success is built on his or her concept of breath and power, and that is why it is so important to correct misconceptions to prevent injury or re-training of the body. The vocal folds control the breath, not all breathing must be low and full, and you do not always need a full tank of air to create a big sound; in fact, that can be detrimental.  Breathing Basics -How do we breathe?  ------> the body wants to equalize pressure and volume, and we allow air to enter past the vocal folds to the lungs to help achieve equilibrium. We do not suck in air, and the lungs are not air-sac balloons. The lungs rely on the movement of muscles and bones around them to inflate and release, and this is the movement we feel when we are kinesthetically aware of our breathing.  -Who moves? Where? What? ------> the ribs  (via intercostal muscles) move up and outward on inhalat...

 Basic Summary- The body is the center of everything we do, and SINGING IS MOVEMENT! Being anatomically educated and physically aware is crucial for musicians, and singers especially benefit from this in their breathing, tone quality, and health. Body Mapping- - what is a body map? ------> a body map is one's personal concept of his or her anatomy -Body mapping is an ongoing learning process singers need to engage in. This involves learning where different bones, muscle groups, or organs live in the body, changing your body map and self concept as you grow, and correcting common misconceptions you may have. Especially in the classroom or lesson space, instructors and students alike must openly admit these misconceptions in order to prevent or redirect incorrect movement, make others aware of their own body mapping issues, and to overall create an environment that invites error and growth!  How can someone learn about their body map? -study anatomy that is medical in source ...