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Question...
JR writes:
I am
a 20-year old male, and I have a bari-tenor voice type
with a very deep, very fast vibrato. I enter my belt around a G, and
can carry that up to an F above high C seamlessly in a strong "head"
voice. My belt voice is very bright and very sharp, which is ideal
for singing dramatic numbers with sustained "money" notes higher in
the ranger.
1) I enter my belt voice at around a G; however, that
particular note (as well as G#) are my hardest notes to achieve. My
belt is weakest there because it is so near my passaggio...
everything above and below sounds fine. Is there anything you can
suggest to help me become more comfortable with those notes?
2) Sometimes I find it very difficult to make vibrato with my
belt voice quality. I know that vibrato is a naturally-occurring
phenomenon, but I at least have SOME control over it when it is in
my normal range. How can I control my vibrato in my belt voice? I
assume that it is probably due to that fact that I am used to
applying breath-controlled vibrato in my normal range whereas there
is very little breath in my belt voice. Still, I haven't figured out
how to achieve vibrato any other way. Help?
3) I have trouble singing quickly-moving or lyric passages
that lie in my belt range. Any suggestions?
Gillyanne Kayes replies: "It is always tricky to give advice about specific
vocal questions in written form when I have not heard the singer.
In your introduction you mention entering your belt around high G
and then moving up to high F in a strong 'head' voice. This is
confusing, since belt voice and 'head' voice (made with thinner
vocal folds) are not the same thing. My
responses are made in this context.
1) Yes, as a high baritone G is likely to be your pivot note into
falsetto, or belt, depending on the effect you want to make
performance. I suggest raising your larynx as part of the approach
for your belt note. Work out the route pitch-wise and raise the
larynx before the belt note, as a preparation. You mention
having a 'deep' vibrato (I assume you mean wide in terms of pitch
fluctuation), which might indicate that you are inclined to low
larynx singing. If this is the case, conscious raising of the larynx
as you approach your belt note will be important for you.
2) Yes, there is a longer closed phase for each vibratory
sequence of the vocal folds in Belt, so less air is allowed through.
I have found that the 'Howl Belting', which I describe in
Singing and the Actor is useful for adding vibrato to belt.
Think 'loud energised moaning' with a high larynx, plus all of the usual
support that belting requires. I suggest that, here, vibrato comes
from the larynx being in a slightly different position than in
classic belting, rather than being a breath vibrato.
3a) Do you mean that you have trouble singing fast moving
passages in your belt voice? Belting is usually reserved for money
notes, and a string of them doesn't increase their worth! You may
need to change the vocal set you are using so that the vocal folds
can manoeuvre more easily, yet still give the impression of 'going
full-out'. This is the difference between perceived effort (high)
and actual effort (lower).
If you want to sing fast-moving passages in your belt range (as
opposed to your belt sound) do the following:
Check out what type of consonants you are having to sing: fricatives
and stops present special challenges for belters because the breath
use is changing. This can either increase back pressure on the vocal
folds or cause too much air to pass through them in moving from the
consonant to the vowel, Take each problem note out of context, sing
it on a vowel first (any vowel), then the target vowel of the text,
then add the first consonant and notice what changes. I have
described some of these problems in Chapter 11 of
Singing and the Actor,
which you will find the solutions useful."
Jeremy says: Pay particular attention to your
jaw. When people 'lock' in high-note singing, there is usually
tension in the jaw hinge, or a jutting jaw, as the singer makes the
effort to hold everything in a 'good' place. The consonant exercise
described by Gillyanne is excellent for noticing if you are only
able to sing these notes with a fixed jaw position. Effort can be
maintained in the surrounding scaffolding (back of the neck, roof of
the mouth, lats) and in maintaining the height of the larynx, but
the articulators need to remain flexible.
3b) Does
lyric mean sustained in this context? Again, belting needs only to
be used for money notes, so if you need to sustain in the upper
range, use a different vocal set, such as a thicker fold twang with
higher larynx, or a slightly easier 'moan', to reduce the pressure
on the vocal folds.
Let us know how you get on."
Becky writes:
"I have just discovered this excellent site and would be
very grateful if you could give me some advice. I am a
classically trained singer, but I have always enjoyed
singing pop songs using my chest range. Now, at 34 I have
decided to earn a living singing in clubs and pubs. Although
I enjoy this style of singing very much, do think it will
eventually damage or restrict my ‘classical’ voice? Many
thanks. Becky"
Jeremy Fisher replies: "It's not really a
question we can answer without hearing exactly what you
are doing in both your classical and pop singing.
It really depends how you use your chest voice. If you
use it in the same way as you might use chest voice in
classical singing (ie strong and dark up to about E or F
above middle C, then above that it feels like serious
weightlifting), then yes, you might actually do some
damage in the long term.
If however you are using a "chest voice" (as opposed to
"head voice") type of sound, but it moves easily up to
Bs and Cs above middle C, then you're probably going to
be ok.
The reason I'm saying this is because of the way
different singers use the term "chest voice". The
operatic chest voice tends to be a different "mix" to
the one used by pop, rock and jazz singers. The operatic
version is designed to match the power and depth of the
upper ranges, and so tends to have more things in it.
Without getting too technical, and speaking very
generally, operatic chest voice has more "pull down" or
depth, "turn" or "tilt", and more mouth cavity space in
it, usually with a flatter tongue.
What we refer to on the website as "speech" quality has
comparatively less depth, less "turn" and is a more
straightforward sound, speaking easily. As it moves up
above that F above middle C the sound and feel gets
closer to calling than singing (hence "speech" quality).
For classical singers finding it for the first time,
their comments usually include "but I'm not singing",
"that's just like talking on pitch", "I'm not
projecting" and "that feels completely different".
Remember that the operatic chest voice is designed to be
projected acoustically without enhancement (most of the
time), whereas almost all the musical styles known as
contemporary commercial (pop, rock, jazz, musical
theatre, blues etc etc) use a sound system of some kind.
Therefore the training and voice production for these
sounds are different.
Incidentally, not all pop is sung in "chest", but we're
presuming you know that already!
This speech quality sound is only one of the many sounds
that pop, rock, jazz and musical theatre singers use,
although it tends to be the basis of most of the vocal
setups in those styles. We help singers all the time in
our studio to move between different vocal setups
without harm, and to find and maintain different muscle
memories when they sing. The voice is an immensely
flexible instrument, and can make and hold many
different positions safely. And remember, singing is
also about identifying with the sound or style of the
material, so aptitude and attitude play a part.
And in answer to your question, if you find a healthy,
uncluttered speech quality like the one described above,
then no, it won't adversely affect your classical voice.
In fact, we usually find that when classical singers
find their speech quality, it actually enhances their
classical voice."
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