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The term “vocal formants” is a term that can be intimidating for singers. Even

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the most knowledgable and informed singers and teachers can easily get lost
in the understanding of vocal formants. Indeed, study of the topic can get pretty
complicated. But “The Four Pillars of Singing” is not about making things more

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complicated, or exceeding the necessity toward the goal of helping singers sing
better. It is our job as voice teachers to try to make the complex and abstract,

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easier to grasp, if not fun for students. It is with that goal in mind that I offer a
simple explanation of vocal formants, just enough, so that the understanding

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is necessary.
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can help you to sing better. Nothing less then you deserve, nothing more then

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First, the more formal explanation of formant. Formant is used to mean an

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acoustic resonance or peak in the sound envelope and/or to a resonance in
sound sources. In singing pedagogy and phonetics, it refers to the resonance

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of the human vocal tract or the resonant space. Formant is measured as an

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amplitude peak in the frequency spectrum of the sound, using a spectrogram
(a special instrument or software that maps vocal frequencies) or a spectrum
analyzer. Peaks in the harmonic spectrum define the tone quality of sound color

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in a voice, distinguish the vowels and provide vocal ‘ring’, ‘presence’ or ‘quality’.

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In the simplest terms, the formant is not the resonant space itself, but the

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measurement of amplified resonant energy in the resonant space (for our
purposes the vocal tract). Most formants are produced by “tube” and

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“chamber resonance”, which the singing voice is also classified by. For
example, when singing, the upper vocal tract, the resonators, the pharyngeal

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space, soft palette, the throat, and the mouth combine to create this chamber
resonance. The vowels keep the formant aligned as the phonation package

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moves through frequency and time.

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In practical, every day application toward vocal training and singing, the term t
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“formants” is often interchanged and synonymous with “singing vowels”.

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Although they are not exactly the same thing, it is the singing vowel that defines
the formants measurement of amplified harmonics and other aspects of its

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nature. The reason a basic understanding of formants in singing is
important is for this very reason, it helps singers understand better how
singing vowels can be used in singing, and trouble-shoot different

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problems and expand their singing capabilities. For example, an
understanding of formants for singing, can help you to stop constricting around

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the passaggio, or release the voice to expand your vocal range. And
understanding of formants can also help you to articulate lyrics better when you

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are singing by the use of vowel modification with lyrics. Therefore to

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understand formants, is to understand the singing vowels more deeply
and that means, you become a better, more knowledgable singer. Below
are the four elements to keep in mind to better understand singing

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formants, in a practical way.

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The Four Components of Formants
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Distortion/Noise
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Noise is defined as a disturbance, most often a random, chaotic and persistent
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disturbance that obscures or reduces the clarity of a singing note. When a

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singing voice has a clean tone, it has little to no distortion/noise in the T
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sound. When a singer sings with vocal rasp or distortion, it literally means

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there is more chaos and disturbance in the sound.

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c a the disturbance in the signal.

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Spectrograph software showing vocal distortion on the frequency A4. The red line points out

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Spectrograph software showing vocal distortion on the frequency A4. The red line points out
the disturbance in the signal.

Frequency
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Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time.

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For singers, frequency is the number of sound waves that oscillate per unit of

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time. The more waves you have in a unit of time, the higher the frequency. You

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could also simply say, the notes on a piano, but that doesn’t really explain the

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physics of frequency.

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In physics a “constant” is defined as a physical quality in nature that is
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unchanging, such as; gravity or the speed of light. In regards to singing,
frequency can be seen as a “constant”. It is the one element that we deal with
all the time, every day that does not discriminate or favor anyone. We all have
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to train and sing inside an environment that requires changes in frequency, if
you are going to have any melody that is more then one note. In a sense, we
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all bow to frequency. There is no short cutting the constant reality of
frequency and how it is the primary hurdle that stands in our way when

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singing. There are other hurdles to be sure, but they may not be constants, a
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they may only be a preference where you get to make a choice. You can even
choose to sing out of pitch if you wanted to, but pitch is not the same as
frequency. Every pitch is still a slave to the “singer’s constant” of frequency.

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As you can see, changing notes when singing has nothing to do with
“up/down” and “low/high”. Frequency does not exist in a vertical

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orientation. There are no ladders, altitude, or mountains to climb. The

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reality of higher frequencies does has nothing to do with a struggle or
having to work harder. (See the lesson, “Stop Hitting High Notes & Start
Shifting Formants).

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Harmonics
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Harmonics are different frequency components (partials) of a sound that are
integer multiples of a lowest (first) harmonic, which is known as the fundamental

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frequency, or H1, or in the context of musical scales, the “tonic” or “root note”.

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The the more the harmonic is amplified, the more you will hear that harmonic in

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the overall harmonic chemistry of a singing note. Therefore, command and

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control of which harmonics are amplified and which ones are not are key to
understanding how to use formant knowledge to sing better and part of the

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secret to expanding your vocal range.

Singing Vowels
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Singing vowels are the sound colors we use to train and to interpret our
text/lyrics when singing. Because the singing vowels control the

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amplification of the harmonics in the vocal tract, which must maintain an

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optimized and balanced formant energy to keep singers from constricting

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or singing flat, the vowels become the KEY to learning how to command

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and control your singing formants. And therefore, become the KEY to

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commanding and controlling your singing voice better.

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T Singing Formants
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Simple Logic That Helps You To Understand
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The Objective:
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The singing voice needs to be free from constriction and pushing, so the singer

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can freely express themselves as artists. For that to happen, among other
things, the resonant energy in the vocal tract has to remain optimized and

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balanced at all times.

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The Challenge:
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It is difficult to keep the formant energy in the vocal tract optimized at all
times because, when training or singing, the voice has to ascend and

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decend in frequency in many complex, melodic patterns that far surpass

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the requirements for basic speech. As frequency changes, the formant

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energy has to be dynamically “retuned” and balanced because each frequency
requires its own unique formant “tuning”. If the formant is not tuned correctly
for each frequency change, the body will feedback and begin to engage

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constriction and the singer begins to push.

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In order to keep the formant tuned as the voice changes frequency, the
amplified harmonics in the formant need to change and calibrate. The way

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singers realign the formant energy as the voice changes frequency is by
“steering”, or manipulating the harmonics with the singing vowels. Thus,

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the singing vowels become the KEY to keeping the formant tuned as the
voice changes frequency. This in turn, keeps the singer from constricting
and pushing.

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In summary, learn how to modify your vowels skillfully as you train and

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sing, and you will keep the formant tuned, resulting in less constriction

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and pushing.

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