About the Singing Voice

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London NW1 1BL
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Good Voice?

What's "good" singing?

First let's be clear on the distiction between good voice and good singing. Anyone can learn to use their voice correctly, and end up with a great sound. But not everyone can carry a song well... That is a matter of personality and that indefinable X-factor.

So with a voice teacher you are working on you voice. Sure a good voice teacherf will address some performance issues, but will be mainly concerned to improve vocal function.

Now that we have distinguished between voice and singing skills, we can again ask "What's good voice?"

First a word about what good voice is NOT: it is not a style or a sound, a limitation or a loss of individuality.

Good voice enables:

  • A large vocal range compassing around 3 octaves
  • An even, clear sound over the whole vocal range, with no gaps, breaks or changes of quality.
  • The ability to sing from very quiet to very lound at any point in the range, with clear, even sustain and vibrato as desired.
  • The ability to use a wide variety of timbres from hard to soft evenly throughout the range
  • A voice that is healthy and easily produced allowing the singer to undertake extended rehearsal and performance without strain.

If that all makes sense, then read on to find out how the voice functions to allow these things to happen.
Bad Voice?
Sometimes people point out that some people who sing "wrong" have managed to build successful careers. Well yes of course... Talent as a singer should not be confused with good voice production, and there are many abused voices making good livings for their owners. In many of these instances, the very style of the abuse is what the public go for. Very often it is the aura of vulerability that a cracked broken or strained sound gives to a singer that appeals.

Thre are a few caveats.

  • Abused voices are often unhealthy and prone to infection & strain-related problems
  • Without good technique it can be hard for singers to sing high or low notes comfortably, if at all
  • To achieve wide ranging and versatile expression the singer needs access to a variety of tones and dynamic levels, which are usually only gained by in-depth technical work.
Training the Voice

Vocal function

If you don't understand some of the terms used in this article, first read the article "Glossary & Terms " (Coming soon!)

To achieve good voice, the singer needs to achieve the following 5 goals:

  • Ensure strong cord closure in chest voice
  • Maintain cord closure through all the bridges
  • Create a clear, vertically oriented resonant space in the pharynx.
  • Maintain the resonant space unaffected through all the bridges
  • Ensure that the resonant space is always perfectly tuned to the pitch being produced by the cords.

Some people do some or all of the above naturally, without thinking about it. Lucky few! By far the majority of people have to work hard to master these techniques.

Conventional singing teachers will simply work with the voice that the singer walks in with, and tailor repertoire to suit. They may try to improve general vocal fitness, but will very rarely try to modify basic vocal function.

SLS teachers take a quite different approach. We constantly analyse and improve vocal function to move towards the four goals set out above.

The tools we use are very specific and affect the function of the muscles of the vocal tract at the basic neuro-muscular level.

The next article in this series is in the form of an audio file, so that you can hear examples and try some simple exercises yourself.

The best way to find out more is of course to tale a lesson with a SLS teacher.

 
 

 
Glossary and Terms
Vocal Cords
 A pair of muscular folds located in the larynx. Capable of closing across the opening of the trachea. When the singer applies air pressure, the cords vibrate against each other, creating the basic vibration of the voice.
Resonance
 In a musical sense, resonance alters the basic vibration produced by the vocal cords and shapes it into what we recognise as the voice. Resonance occurs because of the action of sound in a cavity. The shape and size of the cavity determines the tone of the voice. The singer needs to learn to form a resonance that produces the desired tone. When the resonance is pure, the voice becomes very powerful.
Mobility
 The ability to sing a series of notes quickly and accurately. Used in vocal ornamentation or "fills".
Bridge
 The notes in the voice where there is a feeling of change or shift, whre the voice moves from one register to another
Register
 Across the spread of musical notes, the voice divides up into four or five (or even six) zones, from chest voice at the bottom to the highest head voice. Gaining access to these upper zones, easily, strongly and with versatile, clear tone is part of the process of improving your voice.
 
 
 
Voxbox Vocal Arts Ltd 164 Eversholt St, London NW1 1BL - Directors Leon Berrangé & Lucy Phillips