Even Scale

8/11/2019 Even Scale

1/6


2/6

d b

4 0

3 5

3 0

W a r p B e a m

2 5

W a r p T h r e a ds

2 0

S h e d R o d

i s

1 0

Fledd le Rod

W e b B e a m

F I G URE 6 . Sp e c t ra f o r

t une - pa i r judge d t o b e bes t

e q u a l i z e d

1

10 11 12

P a r t i a l

ecu

re

gur,

, i

c

a

i -- T -

fi i

F I G U R E 3 . M e a s u r e s 1 4 8 - 1 5 3 f r o m t h e M a d S c e n e , 1 1 P i r a ta b y B e l -

l i n i .

Analogy. I t is also inst ruct ive to m ake an analogy, the

v a l u e o f w h i c h h a s b e e n e x p la i ne d b y B a r t h o l o m e w

(19 35 ). Let us refer to register blending as vert ical equ al-

izat ion and to vo wel m atching a s hor izontal equ al izat ion

- with the closely re lated intensity equ al izat ion extend-

ing in both direct ions. See f igu re 4 .

F I G UR E 4 . V e r t ic a l

e qua l iza t ion hor izont a l e qua l iza t ion a nd in t e n -

s i t y e q u a l i z a t i o n

Th en, le t us think of the f irs t two stra nds of equ al iza-

t io n a s f o r m i ng a s o r t o f w a r p a nd w e f t - m a k i ng

a visua l analogy w ith the ar t of we aving; now, add inten-

s i ty e qu a l iza t ion and l abe l i t

wow.

I f Ho l l ien (197 4)

can rem ake vo ca l reg i s tra t ion in te rm s o f voca l fr y ,

m oda l , and lo f t , i t sho uld be read ily perm iss ib le to

prom ote fo r equ a l iza t ion the te rm s warp , wef t , and

wow . You can a lso th ink o f in tens i ty equ a l iza t ion as

l o n g it u d i na l e q u a l iz a t i o n i n a t h r e e - d i m e n s i o n a l

s c h e m e .

R e g i s t e r E q u a l i z a ti o n

For the p urposes o f th is pap er , I have e lec ted to l im i t

the reg is te r eq ua l iza t ion d iscus s ion to the b lending o f

the p r imary (Appe lma n, 196 7) reg is te r t rans i tions fo r

fema le and m ale singers. The pr ima ry register t ransit ion

fo r the fema le s inger is the one f rom ches t to m idd le o r

m idd le to ches t and fo r the m a le ( tenor ) s inger f r om

voce inista

to voce di testa

Nature.

In ear lie r s tud ies (L arge, 19 70; 19 73), i t was

shown tha t a sk i lled fem a le s inger c an p roduce , on o r -

der, paired register tones ei ther (a) w ith ob vious reg ister

t im bre d i ffe rences o r (b ) wi th su b t le t im bre d i ffe rences

(equa l ized) . Subsequ ent a ir f low research (Large, 19 78)

and addit ional s tudies involv ing larynge al cinem atogra -

phy p roved tha t the d i ffe rences be tween these over lap-

ping registers were the result o f two d ifferent laryngeal

a d j u s tm e n t s . S e e f ig u r e s 5 , 6 a n d 7 .

N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 1 9 8 7

d

4 0

3 5

3 0

2 5

2 0

1 5

1 0

5

0

1

10 11 12

P a r t i a l

FIGU RE 5. Spectra for tone-pai r judged to be least equal ized.

4 0 0

hest Mid

U

U

w

3 0 0

2 0 0

1 0 0

ubject

F IG U R E 7 . M ea n v a lu es o f t h e a i r fl ow r a te in ch es t and mi d d le

r e g i s t e r s .

Mo re recently, labora to ry research (Larg e, 198 4) as

w e l l a s s tu d i o v o ic e r e s e a r c h L a r g e , 1 9 8 6 ) s u g g e s t e d t h a t

t he

voce mista a nd

voce di testa

of ski l led m ale singers

a r e a l s o p r o d u c e d b y t w o d if fe r e n t la r y ng e a l a d j u s t -

m ents, s imi lar in som e resp ec ts to the di ffe rences b e-

tween fem ale chest and midd le . W hen produced accord -

in g t o t h e I t a l ia n m o d e l ( M il le r , 1 9 7 9 ) f o r t e n o r

reg istrat ion, the

voce

nista

was determined pr imari ly by

resonance ad justme nt interact ing with the vo ice source ,

w h e r e a s

voce

di testa

was d e te rmined p r im ar i ly b y la ryn-

g e a l a d j u s t m e n t . S e e f ig u r e 8 .

S e c o n d o P a s s a g g l o a

V o c e d l T e s t a

V o c e M i s t s

P r i m o P a s s a g g l o

Z o n a d P a s s a g g l o )

_ _ _

V o c e d l P e t to

FIGURE 8

I tal ian m ode l for tenor re gist rat ion.

3

N

=

-

cu

2 uJ


3/6

Teaching Techniques.

The female middle and chest

registers and the transition from one to the other may or

may not prove difficult to equalize, depending on the

individual singer's vocal condition and how she has used

or misused these mechanisms. This teacher has in several

cases been able to establish the even scale almost in-

stantly.

When the student has sung primarily in the middle

and high ranges without abuse of the chest register, it

may be possible to bring-in the chest register merely by

asking the student to execute a

mess di voce

on A, 220

Hz), following up with an exercise such as the one sug-

gested by Vennard (1967; 1973). Vennard's procedure

(see figure 9), included in the recording which accompa-

nies his book

Developing Voices

1973), is not unlike that

of Garcia (1894), who recommended that the singer pass

repeatedly from the chest to the medium, and vice

versa. Vennard also included a twang procedure

( nyaah, nyaah, nyaah ) to establish a 3 kHz ring in

both registers

- r flrrrflrrrr;1

dd zzjw

r

FIGURE 9. Vennard middle-chest vocalise.

The male voce mista and

voce di testa

registers and the

transition from one to the other also may or may not

prove difficult to equalize, depending on the individual

singer's vocal condition and prior instruction/practice.

Vocalises were tested (Large, 1986) with ten tenor stu-

dents by this teacher in a study investigating the Italian

Model (Miller, 1979). The results indicated that the Ital-

ian model was indeed a viable vehicle for high note

registration for tenors.

The single most effective vocalise was found to be an

arpeggio with the phase Bella signora. As shown in

figure 10, when the arpeggio is sung in the key of B-flat,

the Bella is in the voce di pello

the si- in the voce

mista

and the -gno- (tenor high B-flat) in the

voce di

testa.

Equalization of these registers can be accom-

plished by scales utilizing the cardinal vowels with /i/ on

the bottom and /u/ on the top, as will be shown later.

Students must learn to maintain the 3 kHz ring

across all registers

rrr

?i r

Bel-la SI .... gno

............. ra

4r

r

fl

r I r 1

el

.

la SI---.gno

......................

ra

FIGURE 10. Vocalise to develop both voce mista and voce di testa

in

tenor voices.

Vowel Equalization

For the purposes of this paper, I have elected to limit

the discussion of vowel matching to the equalization of

the five cardinal vowels. In actual performance it is,

of course, necessary to blend or match ll

vowels in

order to achieve the even scale.

Nature. The most significant features of the vowel

spectrum are the frequencies and amplitudes of the vari-

ous formants. In figure 11, the 1st and 2nd formant

values are those reported by Howie and Delattre (1962),

shown here along with the so-called singer's formant at

approximately 3 kHz, as reported by Bartholomew

(1934) and Sundberg (1974). The constancy of the 3

kHz singer's formant suggests that the maintenance of

this formant across vowels (with the inconstancy of

their 1st and 2nd formants) may be a primary clue to

their equalization. Indeed, this proved to be the case in a

study by Evans (1981). Other factors may include the

avoidance of abrupt transitions between vowels and a

smoothing out of the 1st formant across vowels.

FS

I)

(e)

(a)

(0)

(u)

FIGURE II. Cardinal vowel 1st, 2nd and singer s formants.

Teaching Techniques Any discrepancy in vowel equali-

zation or vowel matching becomes exaggerated when the

vocal line is a series of repeated notes with a text con-

taining numerous different vowels. A good example of

this sort of problem is found in the Beethoven song cycle

An die ferne Geliebte

song number 2, measures 16-28

(after the entrance of the voice). See figure 12.

nve

al nyo

eace Grief and

or row

im

i

I

FIGURE 12. Measures 16

28 from 2nd song,

An die ferne Geliebte by

Beethoven.

Singers must learn to maintain the singer's formant

constant at 3 kHz while traversing the various vowels.

Studio voice research reveals that the /i/ and /u/ vowels

most often fall-out-of-line, perhaps because they repre-

sent the extremes of the vowel spectrum.

A vocalise to bring about effective vowel or horizontal

equalization is shown in figure 13. When the vowels are

placed in the order/i-e-a-o-u-o-a-e-i/, the vocalise can

easily be transformed into a 9-note scalewise configura-

tion for equalization of warp and weft, as well as wow.

14

OVEMBER/DECEMBER 1987


4/6

JJJJHJ

JJ

lit

let

Ia lot

uI Jo

at

/el

j

Ill

et

a 0/ul

/0/

a

et

ll

FIGURE 13. Vowel m atching vocalise.

Intensity Equalization

For the purposes of this paper, it is useful to think of

intensity as being closely related to both registers and

vowels. It can also be considered in isolation, where it is

related to subglottic air pressure, air flow, and glottal

resistance.

Nature. Vennard, Hirano, and Ohala (1970) studied

the control of intensity utilizing electromyography of the

laryngeal muscles. In figure 14, a soprano performs a

messa di voce

swell tone) on D , twice.

F 0

4

s e c o n d

Cri cothyrol d

....I....

50 t V

ter l

0 01 L V

VocaI l s

0 0 4 V

Audio

Vowel [a]

IXED VOICE

ubject

Fo

s e c o n d

Cricothyro ld

5 0 1 I V

Lateral

0 0 j V

-.- _

4+ -4-tI, -

Vocal l s

0 0 i V

.

A u d i o

V ow e l [a ] M I XE D

HEST

IXED

ubject C

FIGURE 14. Elect romyographic study

of messa

di voce

with and

without register transitions.

In the upper graph, the soprano swells and diminishes

from middle register into and out of a mixture - with

the vocalis increasing for crescendo, crico-thyroid com-

pensating by decreasing, and the laterals paralleling the

cricothyroid. In the lower graph, she shows a swelitone

with voluntary transition to and from chest register -

with increased energy potentials in all three muscles at

both transition points; note the lack of smoothness in

crescendo and decrescendo, as seen in the audio.

Regarding the relationship of intensity control to vow-

els, it is well known that an /i/ spoken at the same effort

level as an /a/ will measure several dB less, a question

mainly of incisor separation. However, intensity differ-

ences among vowels are less noticeable when all vowels

are equalized with a constant formant at 3 kHz.

Teaching Techniques The

messa di voce,

consisting of

a long even crescendo followed by a long even diminu-

endo on a given pitch, has been used as a voice developer

and vocal ornament for centuries. Shown in figure 15 is

the first vocalise in Rossini's Gorgheggi e

Solfeggi,

series of swelitones with piano accompaniment - de-

signed to teach intensity equalization with a constant

formant at 3 kHz, so that even the softest pp can be

heard in the back of the concert or opera hail.

C>


5/6

SO C I ET A D AN T E AL I G H I EF tI

CENTRO STUDI

i T A L I A N I - U R B A N I A

D E L C O M I T A lO D E L M O N T E F E L T R O E M A S S A T R A B A R I A

61049 U R B A N I A ( P e s a ro

8

U r b i n o ) I T A L I A

C O U R E S

IN ITA LIA N

L A N G U A G E

A ND M US ICA L

C U L T U R E

COACHING IN ITALIAN OPERATIC REPERTOIRE

AND ART SONG S (IDEAL FOR NON-ITALIAN

S I N G E R S

EACH 4-W EEK COURSE INCLUDES:

72 HOURS OF

L E S S O N S

N

I T A L IA N L A N G U A G E

AT

A L L L E V E L S F R O M B E G I N .

N F HS 10 A D V A N C E D )

2

H O U R S

OF P R I V A T E C O A C H I N G I N T R A D I T I O N A L I T A L IA N R E P E R T O I R E ( O P E R -

A TIC

S C O R E S A N D I T A L IA N A N T H O L O G Y ) W I T H W E L L - K N O W N I T A L IA N M A E S T R O S

B H O U R S OF

I T A LI A N M U S I C A L C U L T U R E

16HOURS

( O P T I O N A L )

OF I T A L I A N

C U L T U R E

IN OTHER

S U B J E C T S

ART HISTORY

IL AL III)) ):'L

.

VALIA)UASSIC:s [C

'

...

U h a n r ,l e ,o , a n d e x t e rn a l v i e w s

of

t he Bra roa ,Se Theate r 1860)

w i t h

a group o

ou, students

I JSAufa ra r rce Ca l l

U -

i3-V l.rr .3U[

B E R L I N D a u n O

M a l i 8

(216)775-8212. G e r a l d C r a w f o r d

/216) 775-0228

F O R F U R T H E R I N F O R M A T I O N , P L E A S E W R I TE

T O :

SOCIETA DANTE ALIGHIERI

CENTRO STUDI ITALIANI - URB ANIA

61049 U R B A N I A

) P e s a r o e U r b i n o )

ITALIA - t e l . 0722157169 - f r o m I t a ly

722)57169- f ro m a b r o a d

duction. This teacher requires students to maintain the

singer's formant at 3 kHz across all registers, vowels,

and dynamic changes - thus providing a constant or

unifying core, while variety is found intrinsically in the

ever-changing pitches, vowel colors (and consonants),

and dynamic levels of the text, the musical setting, and

the artistic expression.

The 3 kHz formant emerges as one of the most impor-

tant ingredients of

bel canto singing, a sort of Great

Panacea or vocal Holy Grail. It has been shown else-

where that, almost miraculously, (I) there is a hole in the

long-term averaged spectrum in the Western orchestra -

at 3 kHz, (2) the meatus canal of the ear is tuned to 3

kHz, and (3)

bel canto

singers are trained to deliver 3

kHz - maintained by the laryngeal adductors ("keep-

ing the cords together") and the lower larynx position

("keeping the throat open and the tone focused").

The 3 kHz formant has been implicated as the agent

for (I) focus and projection, (2) beauty of tone (when

balanced by a low formant between 350 and 500 Hz),

and now (3) the even scale - equalization of warp, weft,

and wow

REFERENCES

Appelman. R.

1967). The Science

o

V oc a l P e dag og y . I nd iana U n ive r -

s i ty P re s s , B l o min g lo n .

Bartholomew, W. (1934). A

Physical Description

of 'Good

V o i c e -

Quality' in the Male Voice,

Journal

o t h e A c o u s t ic a l S o c i e ty

o

Arner ica6 , 25-33.

B a r t h o l o m e w , W. (1935).

The Role

of

Ima ge ry in V o ic e Te a c h in g ,

P r o c e e d i n gs o

the Music Teachers Nat ional Associat ion, 2-19.

Coffin, B.

(1980). Overtones of Bel Canto. T h e S c a r e c r o w P r e s s ,

Metuchin, N.J.

cont inued on page 27)

N A T S P U B L I C A T I O N S

A

Series of Four Electromyographic

Studies, by William

V e n n a r d, M in o r u H i r a n o , J o h n O h a l a , a n d B j o r n F r i tz e l l, 1 9 71 ,

31 pp. , $3.00 pos tpa id.

Art-S ong in the United States: An A nnotated Bibliography,

first supplement to the 1976 volume, by Judith E. Carman,

Wi l li am K . Ga edder t , Go r don M y e rs . and R i t a M . Re sch , 1978 ,

46 pp.. $3.00 postpaid.

English Singing Translations of Foreign Language Art

Songs

b y A r th u r S c h o e p , J a m e s P . D u n n , G e a r t G r e e n we l l,

an d F r ed er i c K i r chber ger , 1 9 7 6 ,44

pp.,

$4.00.

Solo Vocal Repertoire for Young Singers An Annotated

Bibliography, ed. by Joan Frey Boytim, 1980, 112

,

5.00

postpaid.

Vocal Chamb er Duets: An Annotated Bibliography

y

Corte Berry 1981 71

5.00 pos tpa id.

NA TS M embership D irectory ,

1983,$3.00.

F oundations of the Singer s Ar t , by V i c t o r A l exander F i e l ds ,

reprinting, 1984, $10.00 ($7.50 + $2.50 postage and

handling).

Back copies of

The N TS Bulletin

for most years

since 1966, $3.50 each issue postpaid.

Send your order with check or money order to:

Bob Downing, Executive Secretary, NATS, 2800

University Boulevard N., JU Station, Jacksonville,

FL 32211

1 6

O VE M B E R/ D E C E MB E R 198 7


6/6

Instrumental textures are sometimes used to enhance

the text in dramatic fashion. In Figure

5 strings high-

light the text wache auf, meine Ehre with a fanfare-

like articulation. Later in the same section, the lower

strings maintain the fanfare effect while the first violin

plays a sixteenth-note passage in imitation of the text

Psalter und Harfe. Mein Herz ist bereit (BuxWV

73), for bass voice and strings, is Buxtehude at his dra-

matic best.

AII'Cr

-

.t I t

105

Tf

--

_ l

ruIII_=

FIGURES.

Dietr ich Butehude. Mein Herz i s ( bere i t (BuxWV

7 3 ,

p. 6

mm. 63-65 p. 8

mm.

104-107

Edited by Karl Ma tthaei.

Brenreiter-Ausgabe, Kassel,

1965.

A favorite cantata in the alto (or countertenor) range

is Jubilate Domino, omnis terra (BuxWV 64) with

viol da gamba and continuo. This is also a favorite

cantata of experienced gambists, who enjoy the vir-

tuosic challenge of the gamba part. This cantata has

been recorded more often than the others (usually with a

countertenor) and with more stylistic consistency. One

of the unusual effects is the free instrumental recitative

(or fantasia) that precedes a rhythmic, fanfare-like sec-

tion highlighting the text In buccinis et voce tubae

(See Figure 6).

YTJi

r

t:

I

:

A11 1r0 ma non tropp

=T7=

__=

p

FIGURE 6. Dietrich

Buxtehude, Jub i la te Domino (BuxW V 64 ) , p .

12, mm. 131-137,

Edited by

Karl Matthaei. Brenrei ler-Ausga be, Kas-

sel, 1970

While most of the cantatas are assigned to the so-

prano voice, this would not prohibit lyric tenors from

performing them. These are ideal chamber works that

would add variety to any recital from the undergraduate

voice student to the experienced singer.

REFERENCES

Kerala J. Snyder. Dietrich Buxtehude,

The New Grove North Euro-

pean Baroque Masters

pp.

173-213,

W. W. Norton & Co.. New

York, 1985.

Pedagogy of the Even Scale

(continued from page 16)

Evans, K. (1981). Acoustic Study of Vowel Equalization in Singing,

Journal of Research in Singing IV /2, 3-22.

Garcia, M. (1894).

Hints on Singing.

Ascherberg, Hopwood and Crew.

London.

Blom, E., ed. (1966).

Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians IX,

p.61.

Hollien, H. (1974). On Vocal Registers,

Journal of Phonetics

2, 125-

143.

Howie, J. and Delattre, P. (1962). An Experimental Study of the

Effect of Pitch on the Intelligibility of Vowels,

The NATS Bulletin.

May, 6-9.

Large, J., Iwata, S., and von 1.eden, H. (1970). The Primary Female

Register Transition in Singing,

Folia Phoniatrica

22, 385-396.

Large, J. (1973). Acoustic Study of Register Equalization in Singing,

Folia Phoniatrica

25, 39-61.

Large, J. and Murry, T. (1978). Studies of the Marchesi Model for

Female Registration,

Journal of Research in Singing 1/2, 1-14.

Large, J. (198 4). Male High Voice Mechanisms in Singing,

Journal

of Research in Singing Vltl/l 1-10.

Large, J. (1986). How to Teach the Male High Voice, Part One: The

Tenor,

Journal of Research in S inging

IX/2 1-10.

Miller, R. (1979). A Brief Consideration of Some Registration Prac-

tices in National Schools of Singing.

Journal of Research in Sing-

ing 11/I

2 - 1 4 .

Rossini, G. (n.d.).

Gorghegg i e Solfeggi.

Pacini Paris.

Sundberg, J. (1974). Articulatory Interpretation of the 'Singing For-

man(

Journal of the Acoustical Societ

y

of America

55/4, 838-

844.

Vennard, W. (1967).

Singing the Mechanism and the Technic. C.

Fischer, New York.

Vennard, W., Hirano, M., and Ohala, J. (1970). Chest, Head, and

Falsetto,

The NA TS B ulletin,

Dec ., 30 - 37.

Vennard, W. (1973).

Developing Voices. C.

Fischer, New York.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1987

7

Even Scale

Documents