Identifying Solutions for Common Singing Problems

Jeanna Jerde Vocal music is as difficult and rewarding to learn as it is to teach. There has been a great deal of investigation into proper vocal pedagogy. The majority of this pedagogy is the same or similar, many of the ideas presented in the study of vocal pedagogy have ceased to be theories and moved into the realm of common practice. The differences lie in the approach to teaching and thinking about vocal pedagogy. The books The Functional Unity of the Singing Voice by Barbara M. Doscher and Basics of Vocal Pedagogy by Clifton Ware provide two excellent examples of this phenomenon. Both are exceptional books with similar pedagogy. However, they are different in their approach: Ware takes a philosophical/psychological approach to vocal pedagogy and Doscher teaches more specifically of the physiology of the singing mechanism and of vocal acoustics. Neither is right or wrong, but rather both provide a variety of options for the voice teacher or coach. I will explore both of these approaches to vocal pedagogy through the examination of case involving a tenor that is a music major in college. He sings with a breathy sound and becomes very vocally tense in the high range. He attempts to fix these problems by shoving more air through the sound. He also spreads out his vowels as he approaches his high range. I will offer solutions to these problems using knowledge gained by the study of two vocal pedagogy books: Barbara Doschers The Functional Unity of the Singing Voice and Clifton Wares Basics of Vocal Pedagogy.

The first problem to address has to do with phonation: specifically the breathiness of tone that this student is experiencing. This problem may be caused partially by a breathy onset. According to Doscher, if the breath is flowing before approximation of the vocal folds, a loosening of the valve takes place prior to phonation, and the tone begins with a breathy sound which disappears as full adduction is reached. In his book, Ware calls breath onset aspirate (soft) onset and adds that any time one uses an h to initiate a tone, an aspirate onset resultsthis kind of onset can relax the larynx and encourage an easier vocal production. It is not destructive to the voice and can be good to practice for a student that uses the destructive glottal onset; however, it is inefficient and can cause breathy phonation. The best kind of onset is called a clean or coordinated onset. Doscher delineates the process of the clean onset as: 1) flow of breath sucks the glottis closed, 2) flow stops until breath pressure blows the glottis open, and 3) air flow begins again and the cycle is repeated. Ware adds to this by defining coordinated onset as one that provides an ideal combination of airflow and vocal-fold adduction. This ideal onset is dependent upon dynamic adjustments of the inspiratory-expiratory muscles, vocal folds, and resonators. One of the primary goals during his lesson- vocalizes and repertoire- will be to consistently start the sound using a clean onset. In addition, trying to establish a clean onset a clean or coordinated vocal tone release is also desirable. Again, he may have an aspirate or breathy release, which Ware characterizes as occurring when the vocal folds do not close completely during each

glottal cycle, resulting in a breathy tone quality. Usually caused by the collapse of the breathing mechanism and a subsequent loss of hook-up, the soft release lacks intensity and is often very weak. Again, the coordinated or clean release is desirable, Ware characterizes this release as occurring when accomplished singers strive to end most phrases with the same tone quality sustained throughout the phrase. This requires a coordinated or balanced release, with the vocal folds under neither too much tension nor too little. He goes on to suggest that a clean release can be experienced by laughing in a relaxed, hearty manner. Ware also suggests exercises for developing efficient phonation. This includes a panting exercise which involves emphasizing the outward and inward movements of inhalation and exhalation. It also includes a sigh of contentment, which is accomplished by take a relaxed, deep breath and release it in a contented (not breathy) manner. He suggests that the feeling of incoming sneeze or yawn can help set up the proper sensation. Another exercise similar to the sigh is the sliding sigh which simply adds sliding from a higher pitch to a lower one on a sigh. The next step of the exercises would be to implement vocal exercises that employ descending musical patterns for developing the head voice and falsetto and are especially helpful in countering tight-voiced production. This includes singing hi there with an octave jump, how are you in a 8-5-3-1 and 5-4-3-2-1 melodic pattern. Next, the vocal hook-up effect is achieved by staccato and marcati exercises, which require coordinated control of the respiratory and phonatory systems and a great deal of breath energy. The

staccato exercises includes singing five-note scales and octave arpeggio using a staccato style. Ah is the preferred vowel, but using other major vowels is also encouraged. The other type of exercise deals with the marcato attack, in which the singer would sing the same 5-note scales and octave arpeggio with a marcato instead of staccato attack. This exercise will necessitate a more energetic use of the breath and greater activation of the supporting respiratory musculature.. Ware also suggests in his book that students who tend toward breathy tone will benefit from exercises that encourage more vocal-fold closure, for example, whining and moaning tonal qualities that aid efficient vocal-fold vibration. As a result, I will encourage him to practice parts of his repertoire with an overly whining or moaning tone of voice. We will then work to find the balance between breathy and whiny. Also, all of the aforementioned exercises will be part of our routine vocalizes until such time that he has advanced enough to merit more complex exercises. Continuing to explore this students problems with phonation, I theorize that part of this problem is resulting from a lack of subglottic pressure. According to Doscher, subglottic pressure is the pressure just below the vocal folds and is the result of a complex system of breathing and phonatory factors. Doscher explains that below the larynx, the aerodynamic power is a product of subglottic pressure and air flow and also explains that air flow and subglottic pressure are not the same; however, they must be in equilibrium to create the most desirable phonation.

I hypothesize that the student makes up for a lack of subglottic pressure by increasing the air flow creating a breathy tone. It may be that the student does not know how it feels to sing with subglottic pressure. Doscher says that a very high subglottic pressure is possible during heavy lifting or for some brass instrument playing. To recreate the subglottic pressure of heavy lifting, I will ask him to push against something such as a wall while singing. Depending on my relationship with the student and the personality of the student, I may also ask him to sing while recreating the feeling of being constipated, as this is the closest feeling to subglottal pressure most people ever experience. These exercises should increase his subglottic pressure significantly. I will listen and watch for an unbalanced amount of subglottic pressure and air flow, and will make modifications as necessary. Also, if I feel that these exercises are creating too much vocal tension, I will immediately try to re-establish some of the breathiness in his tone as this would indicate a decrease in air flow. In addition to these exercises, I will continue to work on phonation by assigning songs that require a full, operatic sound such as arias. We will also listen in lessons to tenor virtuosos such as Pavarotti or Kraus. I will also encourage him to listen to good recordings of his repertoire. I will listen to see if he is straining his voice to match the timbre of the singers in the recording. He also has problems with registration. Like many inexperienced singers, he strains at the top of his range. If he is a true tenor, he should have a range from about F4-

F1. There are also three primary male registers; chest, head, and falsetto, and one auxiliary register called the strohbass register or fry register that is below the chest register. As a tenor, he will primarily be singing in his head and falsetto registers and will most likely not have a strohbass register. Straining at the top of his voice is a sign of tension that is most likely the cause of an underdeveloped falsetto. According to Ware, falsetto is caused by the thin, long, stiff, and bow-shaped true vocal folds vibrating only at the marginal edges, or free borders, while the rest of the folds remain firm and nonvibratoryfalsetto is hooty and breathy in tone because the vocal folds do not fully resist the breath stream during phonation as they do in head voice. He also goes on to say that as a technical device, falsetto may be particular useful for helping hyperfunctional male singers gain more ease in accessing upper-middle and high notes. If he strengthens his falsetto he will also strengthen his mixed or middle register. Ware states that the mixed register is the result of blending the qualities of chest and head registers (heavy and light mechanisms) in the middle range of the voice. Creating an equal balance of strength between all of the registers will also help him to smoothly connect chest and head registers. Therefore, we will focus on strengthening his falsetto in his vocalizes and repertoire. At the beginning of the lesson, I will ask him to sing sirens to exercise his falsetto, tone production, and flexibility of his voice. I will also ask him to sing lip bubbles. Also, to strengthen the falsetto, many of the exercises will be descending in

either octaves 8-1, 5-4-3-2-1 patterns, or descending arpeggio. These exercises will also ascend high into his range. The repertoire that I will assign him will have notes that will extend into his falsetto. I will also make an effort to choose repertoire that works his passagio. I will help him work on using an even amount of falsetto and chest voice to create an even sound. The proper tone production of this range will sound whiny to his ear, so we will work again on the overly moany and whiny tone production and reduce it to a phonation that is pleasing. Also, when he is singing with correct phonation in his passagio, I will record him to prove that his sound is not whiny or dull but is actually very pleasing. According to both Doscher and Ware, the voice, the body, and the mind have a strong connection. Tension in the body can create tension in the voice as well. Ware suggest several exercise to relieve tension in the body. These include the following: random stretching with lip-buzz hum, full circle windmill draw, rag doll, tension/release, shoulder rotation, neck and head stretch, jaw drop and stretch, and tongue flexing. It may also be effective to help the student position himself into the right athletic posture. Doscher identifies several indicators of correct posture. These are: 1) the head is erect on the shoulders, not projected forward or pulled back, 2) the chest is comfortably high with the rib cage in an open position, 3) the shoulders are slightly back, but relaxed and down., 4) the arms hang loosely at the sides and do not invade the chest area, 5) the pelvis rests in a suspended position below the spread-out rib cage, and 6) stand buoyantly

as if ready for action. Do not put your weight on your heels, but balance directly above the arch of your foot to take advantage of this tiny trampoline. In addition to any physical tenseness, the vocal tenseness the student is experiencing could partially be psychological as well. Ware identifies two types of intelligences: reasoning intelligence and emotional intelligence. While reasoning intelligence can be beneficial for singers as it helps with such intellectual problems such as language, vowel modification, and reading music. A reasoning intelligence when applied to phonation or resonance can often create tension because it causes the singer to attempt to control the voice. Ware identifies emotional intelligence as important for singers because a singer is challenged to draw upon a wide range of emotions in performanceBeing vulnerable or open is a characteristic exemplified by vocal performers who have nurtured and cultivated their emotional lives. Knowing this, I will encourage my student to think emotionally or kinesthetically about singing, using words such as feel instead of think when speaking of singing. His final problem to solve has to do with vowel modification. He spreads his vowels at the top of the range. This is simple enough to fix. When I notice him spreading his vowels, I will encourage him to drop his jaw slightly and raise his palate. The proper position can be done by asking the student to yawn and/or snort. Also, the vowels can be modified at the top of his range by modifying the vowel to be slightly more forward and tall by mixing vowels such as [i] or [e] and taller vowels such as [a].

The solutions to this students problems are supported by vocal pedagogy identified by the respected voice teachers and pedagogists Barbara Doscher and Clifton Ware. Therefore, I believe that if the student is open to these techniques they will have a tremendous positive effect on his singing ability.

Barbara M. Doscher, The Functional Unity of the Singing Voice (London: The Scarecrow, 1994). Clifton Ware, Basics of Vocal Pedagogy (Boston: McGraw Hill, 1998).