A VOCAL ASTRONAUT: HEAD OR CHEST VOICE, WHICH IS BEST?
Since the late Renaissance, many have analyzed the human singing voice; its range, registers, and tone. Even after a lifetime of study, students still face problems. In the quest for perfection, many singers still do not understand vocal registers of underestimate their importance. Becoming acquainted with the pharynx, a passageway that runs from the nasal cavity down to the larynx, and continuing into the esophagus, can make a huge difference in a singer's voice and understanding vocal registers.
The pharynx is in three sections: the naso-pharynx, behind the nose and associated with highest pitches, the oro-pharynx, at the back of the mouth and the soft palate in the middle, and the laryngo-pharynx, in the rear of the throat and lower chest cavity for lowest pitches. As the pharynx is one component divided into three sections, registers work identically for singing voices, each with its distinctive tonal character. The chest voice, deep, warm, rich, thick sounds; the middle voice, middle pitch ranges, and warm, rich tones (the middle voice includes the vocal mask and a warm, heady sound); the head voice for women and falsetto for men, is associated with light, bright, high pitches that resonate within the upper sinus.
Many consider the warm tones associated with the vocal mask as the head voice and do not achieve their range potential. Rather than distressing over singing chest voice or head voice, simply sing the note, adjusting the machinery for the finest sound. Most singers choose a paper airplane, if you will, rather than a rocket when ascending pitches, hovering in mid-air between registers or note changes instead of utilizing the pharynx to soar toward greater tonality and range.
Try this glissando vocal exercise to test the concept with your body and instrument tension-free before starting. On the syllable "HEEE" using a relaxed low note in our range, slip off the launching pad one pitch at a time to a comfortable high note in our range.
1) Hear a comfortable low pitch in your head.
2) Create an image of a rocket taking off in your chest as you as you start the pitch.
3) Begin to slide on the syllable "HEEE", up to the comfortable high note, picturing the rocket rising smoothly from the launch pad into the sky, increasing airflow with each pitch.
4) Know your top pitch. Hear the note you wish to hit in your head.
5) Make a definite yet easy landing once you reach your destination
Transitions from one register to the next can produce a tone that breaks or cracks, nevertheless, continue to sing the "HEEE" syllable over each note. Patience and practice will avoid these cracks or breaks in your sound and help you develop a full and natural singing voice and range.
On the other hand, teaching singers to concentrate on the vocal mask can hinder them from singing upward beyond a certain note without sounding heady or smothered. To improve range beyond this point one needs to access the sinus and other cavities in the top and back of the head creating a sound that is light, without vocal mask headiness. To boost your singing range you need to shoot the rocket to the moon by altering air flow, concentrating from behind the bridge of your nose/eyebrow area to the top of the head, propelling each note effortlessly, lowering your jaw for more room. Be patient when adding strength or volume. Follow these steps and do the exercises again, concentrating on the imagery of a rocket shooting toward the moon with each pitch, keeping the sound light, yet warm to build agility and endurance within this pitch range. Drink room temperature water between exercises to prevent dehydration of your vocal instrument.
For a lower range, the idea is to return the rocket to earth, first hearing the high notes in your head. Picture the rocket starting on the moon and lifting off on the "HEEE" syllable, shifting the pitches to the lowest note of your range as you gracefully descend back to earth. As you reach your bottom range, steadily decrease the airflow resonating in the chest cavity, balancing that with muscle control.
As a musical astronaut, try to access these new areas. The warmth of your tone and how low you can sing relates to your ability to negotiate the space closest to the ground. Do not force your voice while in this range; relax, decrease airflow, and support the diaphragm. Practice will strengthen your range; although forcing your voice in this range can result in stress or damage and delay improvement.
Buddy McArdle May 19, 2009
Since the late Renaissance, many have analyzed the human singing voice; its range, registers, and tone. Even after a lifetime of study, students still face problems. In the quest for perfection, many singers still do not understand vocal registers of underestimate their importance. Becoming acquainted with the pharynx, a passageway that runs from the nasal cavity down to the larynx, and continuing into the esophagus, can make a huge difference in a singer's voice and understanding vocal registers.
The pharynx is in three sections: the naso-pharynx, behind the nose and associated with highest pitches, the oro-pharynx, at the back of the mouth and the soft palate in the middle, and the laryngo-pharynx, in the rear of the throat and lower chest cavity for lowest pitches. As the pharynx is one component divided into three sections, registers work identically for singing voices, each with its distinctive tonal character. The chest voice, deep, warm, rich, thick sounds; the middle voice, middle pitch ranges, and warm, rich tones (the middle voice includes the vocal mask and a warm, heady sound); the head voice for women and falsetto for men, is associated with light, bright, high pitches that resonate within the upper sinus.
Many consider the warm tones associated with the vocal mask as the head voice and do not achieve their range potential. Rather than distressing over singing chest voice or head voice, simply sing the note, adjusting the machinery for the finest sound. Most singers choose a paper airplane, if you will, rather than a rocket when ascending pitches, hovering in mid-air between registers or note changes instead of utilizing the pharynx to soar toward greater tonality and range.
Try this glissando vocal exercise to test the concept with your body and instrument tension-free before starting. On the syllable "HEEE" using a relaxed low note in our range, slip off the launching pad one pitch at a time to a comfortable high note in our range.
1) Hear a comfortable low pitch in your head.
2) Create an image of a rocket taking off in your chest as you as you start the pitch.
3) Begin to slide on the syllable "HEEE", up to the comfortable high note, picturing the rocket rising smoothly from the launch pad into the sky, increasing airflow with each pitch.
4) Know your top pitch. Hear the note you wish to hit in your head.
5) Make a definite yet easy landing once you reach your destination
Transitions from one register to the next can produce a tone that breaks or cracks, nevertheless, continue to sing the "HEEE" syllable over each note. Patience and practice will avoid these cracks or breaks in your sound and help you develop a full and natural singing voice and range.
On the other hand, teaching singers to concentrate on the vocal mask can hinder them from singing upward beyond a certain note without sounding heady or smothered. To improve range beyond this point one needs to access the sinus and other cavities in the top and back of the head creating a sound that is light, without vocal mask headiness. To boost your singing range you need to shoot the rocket to the moon by altering air flow, concentrating from behind the bridge of your nose/eyebrow area to the top of the head, propelling each note effortlessly, lowering your jaw for more room. Be patient when adding strength or volume. Follow these steps and do the exercises again, concentrating on the imagery of a rocket shooting toward the moon with each pitch, keeping the sound light, yet warm to build agility and endurance within this pitch range. Drink room temperature water between exercises to prevent dehydration of your vocal instrument.
For a lower range, the idea is to return the rocket to earth, first hearing the high notes in your head. Picture the rocket starting on the moon and lifting off on the "HEEE" syllable, shifting the pitches to the lowest note of your range as you gracefully descend back to earth. As you reach your bottom range, steadily decrease the airflow resonating in the chest cavity, balancing that with muscle control.
As a musical astronaut, try to access these new areas. The warmth of your tone and how low you can sing relates to your ability to negotiate the space closest to the ground. Do not force your voice while in this range; relax, decrease airflow, and support the diaphragm. Practice will strengthen your range; although forcing your voice in this range can result in stress or damage and delay improvement.
Buddy McArdle May 19, 2009