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Question... Scarlett Wilson writes: “I have a question about
vibrato. Whilst I understand what it is, and have heard many people's voices
with vibrato of different types, I still have no vibrato in my own voice. I have
been told that I sing with a fixed larynx, and that you get vibrato by tilting
your larynx. However I have no idea how to do this!! Any feedback would be most
gratefully received, as this is, I feel, what is really missing from my singing
voice.”
Jeremy Fisher replies: This is a question that
occurs frequently in my private classes – how do we do vibrato?
Firstly, let’s define vibrato. The even movement of apparent pitch usually
covering less than a tone around the main note. Vibrato can occur mainly around,
mainly above or mainly below the intended pitch (each gives a different effect).
Slow or wide vibrato tends to sound unpleasant, but different audiences will
accept different amounts in different genres.
It is ironic that with most singers who have “no vibrato”
in their voice, asking them to hold a note completely without vibrato will often
help to produce vibrato. Sometimes vibrato feels like a tiny “letting go”, so
experiment with holding a note absolutely straight, then let go slightly.
You don’t say how old you are. Teenagers, both male and
female, will usually go through a stage of change where they are unable to
access thyroid tilt. If this is you, don’t panic, you will be able to access it
in a few months. Remember also that different styles of music require different
sounds and emotions – what might be an acceptable vibrato in gospel might not
work for rap (too many fast words.
The subject of vibrato is quite a complex one, as there
are at least three different mechanisms that can assist in making it – breath
fluctuation, larynx movement and “tilt”. You can discover more details about
these and different exercises for accessing vibrato by clicking on this link:
Pant, Wobble and Cry – getting emotion into your voice.
Question... Dane Chalfin writes:
“A voice therapist in Chicago was talking to me about the use of
extrinsic muscles in singing, anchoring and belting. He said “The
use of extrinsic laryngeal muscles (swallowing muscles which raise
the larynx) artificially stiffens the mucosal layer of the folds to
create pitch. This can lead to small tearing in the Reinke’s space
which can lead to other problems like nodules. I would rather see
only the use of intrinsic muscles and the gradual thinning and
shortening of the cords as described by Miller, Caesari, and Riggs.
This seems to produce a more effective sound with less effort
especially above the passaggio. Can you offer your thoughts?”
Moshe Harrell, (ENT Surgeon and
Laryngologist) replies: This is an extremely interesting debate,
and I don't think that there exists a simple answer.
Intrinsic muscles:
First, as you mention, the vocal folds are
shortened by the action of the thyro-arytenoid (which also rounds
the vocal fold edge) and by changing the crico-thyroid relationship
(exercised by the crico-thyroid muscle). This latter muscle, by
contracting, stiffens all layers of the folds and sharpens the vocal
fold contour/edge (1,2). This function of the crico-thyroid muscle
produces characteristic changes in the vocal folds and leads to the
conclusion that the crico-thyroid muscles are important in
determining the pitch of the vocalisation produced by the vibrating
vocal fold margin.
The posterior crico-arytenoid is another
intrinsic muscle that carries out stiffening of all layers, while
rounding the vocal fold edge(1).
The lateral crico-arytenoid causes
stiffness of all layers and sharpens the vocal fold's edge, while
elongating and thinning the vocal folds.
The extrinsic laryngeal muscles maintain
stability of the vertical laryngeal position in the neck (as moving
the larynx up or down will alter relationships between the laryngeal
cartilages and thus exercise a change in lengths of intrinsic
muscles). This relatively constant laryngeal position while
vocalising, permits the production of regular periodicity due to the
vibratory symmetry of the vocal fold mucosal margin (in the trained
singer).
I am not aware of the suggestion that "use
of extrinsic laryngeal muscles artificially stiffens the mucosal
layer to create pitch", nor did I find clues to that idea in the
literature.
Second: However, possibly some confusion
may arise from the fact that there are different classifications of
the laryngeal muscles:
Citardi, Gracco & Sasaki claim that "The
intrinsic muscles act directly upon the arytenoids. The only
extrinsic muscle is the crico-thyroid muscle. The accessory muscles
either elevate or depress the larynx. Other classifications of the
laryngeal muscles have been proposed. A common alternative approach
places the crico-thyroid muscle with the intrinsic muscles and
considers all the remaining elevators and depressors of the larynx
as extrinsic laryngeal muscles." (2).
This approach (foreign to me, I must
confess) which regards the crico-thyroid muscle as "the only
extrinsic muscle", will lead to the (false, in my opinion)
conclusion that "extrinsic muscles" are responsible for stiffening
the vocal folds mucosa and changing the longitudinal tension of the
folds (which indeed are functions of the crico-thyroid muscle (3),
only this is a "par excellence" intrinsic muscle!).”
References:
1. Sataloff RT: Clinical Anatomy and
Physiology of the Voice. In: RT Sataloff, ed.: Professional Voice -
The Science and Art of Clinical Care. Singular publ., 2nd edition,
Chpt. 5, pp. 111-130, 1997.
2. Citardi MJ, Gracco CL & Sasaki CT: The
Anatomy of the Human Larynx. In: JS Rubin & al, eds.: Diagnosis and
Treatment of Voice Disorders. Igaku-Shoin publ., Chpt. 4, pp. 58-63,
1995.
3. Sundberg J: The Voice Organ. In: J Sundberg,
ed.: The Science of the Singing Voice. Northern Illinois University
Press, publ., Chpt. 2, pp. 16-17, 1987.
Gillyanne Kayes also replies: I
agree that there is no simple answer to this question. It appears
that there is more than one way to thin the vocal folds; that much
is clear from what Mr Harrell has set out above. Part of the problem
here is one of terminology. When a muscle shortens this implies
bulking, so the notion that the vocal folds can be “gradually
thinned and shortened” seems to be a contradiction in terms. There
is no mechanism for shortening the folds, as such, that I am aware
of. However, if what is really meant here is a change in the
dimensions of the glottis, that is a different matter. How this
might be achieved has been open to debate since Manuel Garcia II
first began investigations with the laryngoscope.
Both Manuel Garcia II and Morel Mackenzie
(a Harley Street clinician of the late 19th Century) describe the
shortening of glottis for accessing higher pitches, particularly
above the passaggio into ‘head voice’ or head register. They each
assert that this shortening is achieved by firmly closing the
posterior portion of the glottis, which they called the
cartiliganous portion, which I understand to mean the arytenoids and
the point at the vocal process (where the back of the vocal folds
are joined onto the arytenoids). Mackenzie provides diagrams that
were presumably drawn from viewing with the laryngoscope, which
indicate that only 4/5ths of the glottis is free to vibrate in this
mode. He called this ‘stop closure’; Garcia II talked about a 3/5ths
portion of the glottis, which appears to be a similar pre-phonatory
set that he called ‘pinching the glottis.’
Later references to this phenomenon of
‘damping’ can be found in Hardcastle and more recently, Stark.
Clearly there is more research to be done
in this area. While there are some who believe that laryngeal
raising is potentially harmful, there are also those who believe
that vocal fold damping puts an undue pressure on the anterior 3rd
of the vocal folds, where we know that vocal fold nodules are most
likely to form due to pressure contact. One suspects that different
singers use different strategies according to their training and
their chosen vocal genre and that the effectiveness is dependant
ultimately on balanced muscle use.
Bibliography
Garcia II, M. A Complete Treatise on the Art
of Singing: Part One; Part Two, the editions of 1841 and 1872
collated, ed. and trans. Donald V. Paschke (New York: Da Capo Press,
1984)
Mackenzie, M. (1886) The Hygiene of the Vocal
Organs: a practical handbook for singers and speakers. Macmillan:
London
Stark, J (2003) Bel Canto A History of Vocal
Pedagogy. University of Toronto Press.
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