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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
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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
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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>
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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
8/11/2019 Even Scale
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