Connecting Voices - Article #1

Using the wonderful world of the Internet and it's interactivity, I would like you, our readers, to get a good taste of some of the exercises I use. I am going to include many sound bytes of scales that are correct and incorrect so you can hear and understand them better.

Checking it Out

When I see a student for the first time, my job is to find out their vocal problems and strong points as quickly as possible. The first exercise I give a student is an 'AHH' sound sung on a five-tone scale using a major scale. I move this scale around a singer's range to see how they handle the passagi (see Fall '97 "Crossing The Bridges").

The advantage of this scale is that if a singer has their bridges together, this scale really shows off what they can do. If the singer doesn't have their bridges together, I will hear that within a couple of minutes, and I will know exactly how to trick the singer into singing through their bridges. Rememberthat a singer's main goal is to keep the larynx still and the vocal cords closing. Here are a couple of examples of a singer keeping the cords together and apart .

Once a singer has shown they have the ability to keep their cords together (especially in the chest voice range), I want to know if they can hold them together through the bridges. (It's really important that the first two bridges are especially developed.) It's pretty rare that a singer comes in and has their bridges developed (that's usually why they come in to see me), so I will add a 'squeaky door' to a 'hum' sound . This scale can be legato or staccato depending on how much coordination the singer possesses. The staccato version helps the singer close the cords and requiresless development. Eventually, the singer should be able to sing this scale legato.

Vowels

Now that the singer can sing an arpeggio of the 'squeaky door' without losing good cord closure, I will see if I can get them to sing a vowel sound without losing the cord closure through the bridges. The really nice thing about the 'squeaky door' sound is that it extends to all vowel sounds. To begin with, I will use a 'Mum' ' sound. This can sound a little like Elmer Fudd , and using that imagery usually helps the singer to hang onto the 'crying sound' of the 'squeaky door'. If for some reason the singer can't hang onto the 'crying sound', then I may need to narrow the vowel to a 'Gee' sound. Once again, remember that we are trying to balance the amount of air against the amount of muscle use. If the 'Gee' sound is airy and hard to hold, then simply use less air . During this process, it is important to check that the singer is still crossing at least the first two bridges. Specifically, men are at least on a Bb, and women are at least on an E natural above C1 and women are at least on an E natural above C1.

Sustain with Vibrato

Now for the sake of this article, let's assume that the singer is able to sing through the first two bridges very smoothly and maybe even through the third bridge. Our next area of concentration should be the sustain with vibrato. Vibrato is incredibly important and needs to be addressed as soon as the singer is able to keep a good connection of the 'mix' voice and 'head' voice to the 'chest' voice. So, let's go back to the 'Mum' sound and hold a sustain on an exercise. As soon as the sustain begins, vibrato should be present. (In a future article, I will explain what is happening in the vocal cord structure when vibrato is present and how to induce vibrato. For this article I am assuming that vibrato is already present.)

If the sustain is hard to hold on a 'Mum' sound, then simply narrow the vowel to some sound that will hold. Once again, a 'Gee' sound can make everything small enough so you won't have to work to hold the sustain, and you can concentrate on making sure the vibrato is present.

One thing to make note of with the 'Gee' sound is that it can possibly be a bit jarring or tight if it is used up over the second bridge and the singer's larynx is already rising. So, we may have to change vowel sounds if that becomes the case. Now that we have a sustain and vibrato working on a smaller and self-focused vowel, we will want to start changing vowels in the middle of a sustain. The first one we will try is an 'E' (as in eat) sound changing to an 'EH' (as in an Irish sound of faith) .

This scale can start somewhere very close to the first bridge and carry on through to the top of the second bridge. Of course with all these scales, we have to take into account what level the singer is on to determine how far to go with the scale.

Keeping in mind that anytime a scale comes apart, we can just take a step back to find the registration in the voice that we need. So, for instance, if the 'E' to 'EH' sound falters, we can talk it through . But if it holds well, we will move to a more open vowel sound such as an 'OO' to 'OH' .

Trills

One scale I haven't mentioned is the 'lip trill' . This is probably the most important scale a singer can learn. It is a great way to keep the pressure off the vocal cords and still allow the singer to sing through the passagi. A 'tongue trill' can also be very effective for this same reason.

These two exercises work because they create a secondary dam of air and regulate the amount of air a singer can blow past the vocal cords. This in turn helps balance the air and muscle. Remember, that as you work with these scales and exercises, your goal is to eventually keep your larynx still and always have good cord closure.

A future article will be dedicated to application of these scales into songs, but for now all these scales (and the others you may be working with) are intended to help you find the coordination to use your 'mix' voice and 'head' voice in a continuous manner that will keep you anchored to your 'chest' voice.



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