Singing With An Open Throat' - Vocal Tract Shaping - SingWise

9/22/23, 1:17 PM Singing with an ‘Open Throat’: Vocal Tract Shaping — SingWise
Singing with an
‘Open Throat’:
Vocal Tract Shaping
'Opening the throat' is
def ined as a technique
whereby pharyngeal
space is increased
and/or the ventricular
(false) vocal folds are
retracted in order to
maximize the
resonating space in
the vocal tract.
Opening the throat involves raising the soft
palate (velum), lowering the larynx and
assuming ideal positions of the articulators (the
jaw, lips and tongue), as well as shaping of the
mouth and use of facial muscles.
The expression also describes the sensation of
freedom or passivity in the throat region that is
said to accompany good singing. The technique
of the open throat is intended to promote a type
of relaxation or vocal release in the throat that
helps the singer avoid constriction and tension
that would otherwise throttle or stif le the tone.
https://www.singwise.com/articles/singing-with-an-open-throat-vocal-tract-shaping 1/70
An 'open throat' - a misnomer for a few reasons -
is generally believed to produce a desirable sound
quality that is perceived as resonant, round,
open, free from 'constrictor tensions', pure, rich,
vibrant and warm in tone. It also produces
balance, coordination, evenness and consistency,
and a prominent low formant, which prevents the
tone from sounding overly bright, thin or shrill.
Additionally, if singing is performed with an open
and relaxed acoustical space, the singer will
experience a smooth blending of the registers.
This sound quality is linked to the vocal actions
that take place during the preparation to sing
(inhalation). The larynx lowers automatically
when breath is taken in, and the soft palate
naturally lifts at the same time. Because the
events of singing are more demanding than those
of speaking, requiring deeper inhalation, greater
energ y and further laryngeal depression, there is
a corresponding increase in pharyngeal space
that occurs somewhat naturally.
When a vocalist sings with a so-called 'closed
throat', imbalance of registration is likely to
occur. The chest register will be taken too high
and the upper register becomes more and more
harsh and strident because the singer creates a
tone that is merely imitative of the head voice.
Intonation becomes harder and harder to achieve
because the larynx is too high and the soft palate
too low, resulting in a feeling that the voice is
being squeezed from both the top and the
bottom. In other words, registration shifts cannot
occur in a healthy manner if the throat is closed,
nor if the vocal sound is driven toward the point
of nasality.
The goal of every singer should be to achieve
tonal balance. Many of the popular techniques
that vocal teachers use to help their students
improve the quality of their voices are devices for
directly or indirectly enlarging and relaxing the
throat during singing. The use of imagery, such
as 'drinking in the breath', in their teaching is
very common. Enlarging the throat space
involves conscious inhibition of some of the
natural ref lexes, such as the swallowing ref lex, a
condition that is nevertheless essential to good
tone production.
There is no science to refute that the teaching of
the open throat is good pedagog y. The intricate
relationship of muscles in the throat is positively
affected when the head is allowed to be free on
the neck. Each muscle achieves its proper length
and connection with the others in an optimum
state for functioning well. The muscles work
together, each set meeting the opposing pull of
the other, which allows the larynx to become
poised, balanced and properly suspended. The
vocal folds are actively lengthened and stretched
by this action, and thus brought closer together.
In these favourable conditions, they can close
properly to execute the sound quickly and
eff iciently, and thereby produce a clear, clean
tone with a minimum amount of effort. The
throat is then properly 'open'.
However, relying upon the open throat technique
as the cure for all singing problems is potentially
shortsighted and problematic, as a 'closed throat'
neither causes nor explains all vocal issues.
HOW TO - AND HOW NOT

TO - ACHIEVE AN 'OPEN
THROAT'
There are many opinions on how to achieve an
open throat, and just as many methods of trying
to create it. Unfortunately, along with the correct
ideas that are backed by real acoustical and
anatomical science come strange, ineffective and
potentially damaging ones. The popular internet
site on which numerous voice teachers claiming
to be 'experts' on the topic of singing present
short video clips containing advice or 'mini
lessons' on how to sing is full of such ideas. I've
watched video after video of teachers (whose own
voices typically sound terrible) demonstrating
singing technique that involves overly wide buccal
(mouth) openings and other such faulty practices.
(A common mistake is equating an open mouth
with an open throat. In reality, a jaw that is too
low actually places tension on the larynx, lowers
the soft palate and inhibits the effective closure of
the vocal folds, which is the opposite of the
desired effect.)
I am not terribly fond of some of the methods of
creating an open throat space, particularly those
involving imagery or shaping of the vocal tract
that encourages the distortion of vowels. For
instance, yawning, which is by far the most
popular approach to teaching an open throat,
tends to produce an overly open pharyngeal
space, and thus a hollow, 'throaty' tone. It also
tends to be accompanied by a f lattening or
retracting of the tongue. Whenever a teacher
instructs a student to yawn in order to 'open the
throat', he or she overlooks the injurious
ramif ications of such a technique when it is
applied to the tasks of singing. The yawn is not
intended as a sustained maneuver for the kind of
phonation that occurs during singing. Retaining
the posture of a yawn, even just a partial one,
during speech or song induces hyperfunction in
the submandibular musculature and hinders or
prevents natural-sounding voice quality.
Even when students are encouraged to only
imagine and generate the f irst part (beginning) of
a yawn, there is the tendency for the opening up
to be taken too far, which may include an overly
lowered jaw that is accompanied by an unhinging
of the jaw joints, as in a full yawn. The tongue
generally f lattens, pushes back into throat and
depresses the larynx, which creates a new
obstruction in the singing pathway rather than
freeing up the voice. We have all heard others
trying to talk while stif ling a yawn, and the tone
and the diction are both terrible because the
natural phonatory laws have been compromised
by the incorrect articulation of the words. The
mouth should not be overly open while singing.
If the student reaches the point where he or she
really feels a hugely open space in the throat - the
feeling that he or she is 'swallowing an egg' or
some other piece of fruit, for example - it is
actually likely that the tongue root is so out of the
way of the mouth cavity that it is depressing the
larynx. What is an effort to free up space for the
voice to resonate better actually ends up placing
tension on the throat, tightening it, and
producing a hollow, throaty timbre.
Assuming a facial posture of surprise, as some
teach, is just plain silly from both an aesthetic
and a practical standpoint, as no singer would
ever apply it during a performance because they
would both look ridiculous and sound no
better. Raising the eyebrows, furrowing the
brow, creasing the forehead, f laring the
nostrils or widening the eyes are not linked to
the lifting of the soft palate nor to enhanced
resonance balancing. Instead, they produce
tension. These exaggerated facial postures are not
to be confused with the elevation of the
zygomatic muscles of the face that is associated
with a more open resonating space.
If a singer would never employ a certain
technique during his or her public singing
performances, then it is not likely to be a useful
tool to use during lessons, and it thus makes no
sense to teach it. There are some exceptions, of
course, but unnatural facial expressions should
never be included in technical training. A singer
needs to learn to adopt and vocalize with singing
postures that are favourable to resonance
balancing and tension-free singing. Correct vocal
posturing should be the starting place in vocal
training, and a student of voice shouldn't waste
his or her time assuming silly facial expressions if
that part of his or her technique training will later
be done away with.
When I was a new student of voice, the f irst stage
of technique that I learned was what my Bel
Canto instructor called 'lifting'. I was taught to
assume a pleasant facial expression (not an actual
smile) during singing by gently and subtly lifting
the cheeks with the zygomatic muscles - those
that wrap around the sides of the mouth and lift
the corners of the mouth during smiling. I
remember my facial muscles quivering and
twitching uncontrollably during the singing of my
vocal exercises for the f irst several lessons as I
trained them to naturally and more comfortably
assume this position. Like most people, my facial
muscles had a tendency to pull down somewhat
during speech and singing, and the muscles
needed to be strengthened and retrained.
Additionally, I was taught to 'inhale' a soft, quiet
'k' sound. (This is kind of like the imagery of
'drinking in the breath' or 'inhaling the breath'.)
This technique lifts the soft palate further,
separating it from the tongue, and lowers the
larynx during inhalation. (Inhaling a loud or
forceful 'k' sound not only makes for noisy and
ineff icient breathing, but it also contributes to the
build up of tensions.
What I appreciate most about this method of
achieving an open throat is how effortless and
natural it is for the singer. It is based on
anatomical science, since the soft plate naturally
rises and the larynx automatically lowers during
inhalation, and since a pleasant external facial
posture directly affects the position of the soft
palate, raising it slightly. ( Yes, it's as simple as
that.) In my opinion, any teaching on the opening
of the throat need not go much further than this
simple concept of 'lifting', as it is effective and
likely to be suff icient for nearly all students.
The key is learning to maintain this initial 'open'
posture of the vocal tract for the duration of the
sung phrase, not allowing any tension or
constriction to enter the throat. Any persistent
issues with 'closed throatedness', which are most
prevalent during register changes, particulary as
the scale ascends into the upper middle and head
registers, can be addressed if they present
themselves during vocalizing. (More often than
not, these tensions and technical diff iculties are
the result of a 'naughty tongue' and/or a raised
larynx, which will be diagnosed and addressed by
a trained vocal instructor.) Otherwise, a singer
need only open the resonating spaces of the vocal
tract in preparation for singing and then continue
vocalizing with freedom in the throat.
One helpful technique for ensuring that the
resonating spaces are open is using the neutral
vowel 'uh' in the larynx and pharynx - that is,
assuming this shape within the throat - before
bringing focus into the tone and singing the
desired vowel. This technique allows the open
pharynx to be established f irst. The brilliance of
the tone can then follow while the open feeling in
the throat is retained. For training purposes, it
often helps to actually sing the 'uh' sound, then
position the tongue appropriately for the desired
vowel. Sing 'uh-[e]-uh-[i]-uh-[o]-uh-[u]'
repeatedly on a single breath, aiming to maintain
the openness of the 'uh' while singing the
other pure Italian vowels. Starting with [a] is
also good, as it is a similar vowel form to the 'uh'.
Once this exercise becomes easier, the student
can then 'open the throat' using the (silent) 'uh'
position, quickly move the tongue and the lips
into position for the desired vowel, and begin to
phonate on the vowel. For example, start with the
'uh' posture in the larynx and then bring the
tongue forward and up as in the [i] vowel. In
time, this technique will come naturally,
requiring little pause for thought, and the student
will be able to vocalize with an open acoustical
space.
It has been my observation that whenever too
much attention is drawn to what must happen at
the back of the throat (the pharynx) and the
larynx while singing, exaggerated results, along
with unwanted tensions, are produced. I've had
students come into my studio who have been
taught by their previous teachers to focus so
much of their attention on consciously attempting
to manipulate the position of their larynxes and
on actively 'opening their throats' that they end
up experiencing a lot of tension in the jaw, neck
and tongue, as well as a feeling of tightness and
discomfort in the throat. In an effort to create
more space, pharyngeal tension results as the
tongue gets pushed back, and a hollow, throaty
sound is produced. Registration, particularly the
transition into head voice, becomes impossible
because the root of the tongue depresses the
larynx when it should otherwise be 'rocking' or
'tilting'.
The greatest danger of this imbalanced teaching
philosophy, though, is that many students are
only being offered incomplete information about
vocal science and good technique. Their teachers
encourage them to open their throats and lower
their larynxes, but they don't actually tell them
how to do so correctly and naturally, and they
don't pay attention to the other components of
the vocal tract, such as the tongue, that could be
contributing to closed throatedness and tension.
When singers attempt to locally enlarge the space
in the throat, they do not actually create more
space. Instead, they simply rearrange the
components of the vocal tract, mostly in
disregard of the laws of acoustics. When they
attempt to spread the pharyngeal wall, for
example, they end up tensing it. In the end, the
students fail to progress and f ind vocal freedom
because they haven't been given enough accurate
information, and more harm is done than good.
Stressed out and frustrated students with poor
tone and unhealthy technique are the results.
The fact of the matter is that a singer needn't do
anything substantially different with the jaw,
mouth, tongue or larynx during singing
within speech-inf lection range - the range of
notes that a singer would use during normal
speech - than what he or she would do while
speaking within the same range of pitches, (unless
his or her speaking technique is also faulty).
There must be constant f lexibility during
articulation, which is impossible to achieve if the
throat is being forced to remain in one
(unnatural) position during singing or speech.
Instead, the spacial arrangments of the pharynx
and the mouth should follow the phonetic
requirements of linguistic communication.
Unnatural adjustments of the vocal-tract during
singing should be avoided, although some
modif ications of this principle occur when a
vocalist sings above speech-inf lection range (i.e.,
head register). (I explain this further in the
section that discusses the unique acoustical
circumstances of the female upper register in the
follow-up to this article, to be posted on this site
in mid June of 2009.)
In the following sections, I will focus more
directly on the natural and ideal positions of the
vocal tract while singing, as well as some popular,
though incorrect, ways of shaping the
articulators. In Part II of this article, I will
examine vowels and vowel modif ication, and
explain the concept of formants in relation to
tone balance and how they are directly affected
by specif ic vocal tract shaping.
First, however, I'd like to discuss the anatomy of
the throat so that the location and structure of
the individual components are not a mystery to
my readers.
VOCAL TRACT ANATOMY
To help my readers better visualize the structure
of the throat and understand the anatomy
terminolog y that I will refer to in this article, I
have included the above diagrams for study and
reference. The f irst shows the entire vocal tract in
prof ile. The second diagram narrows in on the
structures of the larynx ('voice box'). The third
diagram shows the basic structure of the soft
plate and its location inside the oral cavity.
ANATOMY OF THE VOCAL TRACT
The throat, which
generally refers to
both the pharynx and
the larynx, is a ring-
like muscular tube
that acts as the
passageway for air,
food and liquid. It is
located behind the
from the 20th U.S. edition

nose and mouth, and
of Gray's Anatomy of the
connects the mouth
Human Body
(oral cavity) and nose
to the breathing passages (trachea/ 'windpipe' and
lungs) and the esophagus (eating tube). The
throat also helps in forming speech.
The throat consists of the tonsils and adenoids,
the pharynx, the larynx, the epiglottis and the
subglottic space.
The tonsils and adenoids are made up of
lymph tissue, and both help to f ight infections.
Tonsils are located at the back and sides of the
mouth and adenoids are located behind the nose.
The pharynx is the muscle-lined space that
connects the nose and mouth to the larynx and
esophagus. The pharynx extends from the base of
the skull to the sixth cervical vertebra, with
pharyngeal dimensions determined by the
structure of the individual. The pharynx consists
of three parts: the nasopharynx, lying above the
lower border of the soft palate; the oropharynx,
located between the soft palate and the upper
region of the epiglottis, and opening out into the
buccal (mouth) cavity through the palatoglossal
arches - the velar region; and
the laryngopharynx, extending from the top of
the epiglottis to the bottom of the cricois
cartilage - the lower border of the larynx. The
posterior larynx projects into the
laryngopharynx.
THE LARYNX
(I have also written an
article detailing
the structure and
function of the larynx,
which includes many
of the structures
from Wikimedia
Commons (Olek Remesz) discussed only brief ly
here in the
paragraphs that follow.)
The larynx, also known colloquially as the 'voice
box', functions as an airway to the lungs, and also
provides us with a way of communicating
(vocalizing). It is a cylindrical grouping of
cartilages (including the thryroid, cricoid and
arytenoid), muscles and soft tissue that contains
the vocal folds, which produce the voice by their
vibrations when they are stretched and a current
of air passes between them.
The larynx is the expanded upper opening of
the trachea (windpipe). The thyroid cartilage,
attached to the hyoid bone or cartilage, makes
the protuberance on the front of the neck known
as the Adam's apple (or Eve's apple in women),
and is connected below to the ring-like cricoid
cartilage. This is narrow in front and high
behind, where, within the thyroid, it is
surmounted by the two arytenoid cartilages,
from which the vocal folds pass forward to be
attached together to the front of the thyroid.
From the outside of the neck, the larynx can be
seen to rise when we swallow and lower when we
inhale. Some elevation during phonation is often
seen, as well.
The larynx is connected to the pharynx by an
opening - the glottis (the vocal folds and the
space between them) - which, in mammals, is
protected by a lid-like epiglottis.
The epiglottis is a small f lap of soft tissue and
elastic cartilage that acts to cover the upper
opening to the larynx whenever we swallow. It
folds back and down to guard and protect the
entrance to the larynx, thus preventing food,
drink and irritants from entering the respiratory
tract. (The larynx also aids in this closing by
drawing upward and forward to close off the
trachea, or windpipe, when the hyoid bone
elevates during swallowing.) Food and drink are
then directed to the esophagus (eating tube)
instead. After each swallow, the epiglottis returns
to its upright resting position - the larynx also
returns to rest - allowing air to f low freely
through the larynx and into (and out of ) the rest
of the respiratory system. The epiglottis is one of
three unpaired cartilages of the larynx, the others
being the thyroid and cricoid cartilages, and is
one of nine cartilaginous structures that make up
the larynx.
Subglottic space refers to the space immediately
below the vocal folds. It is the narrowest part of
the upper airway.
Supraglottic space refers to the space
immediately above the vocal folds.
SOFT PAL ATE
The soft
palate (or velum,
or muscular palate)
is the soft tissue that
makes up the back of
the roof of the mouth.

from the National
Institutes of Health It is suspended from
the posterior, or rear,
border of the hard palate, forming the roof of the
mouth. The structure is movable, is composed of
mucous membranes, muscular f ibres (sheathed in
the mucous membranes), and mucous glands,
and is responsible for closing off the nasal
passages from the oral cavity during swallowing
and sucking (and during the speaking and singing
of nonnasal sounds).
The soft palate is distinguished from the hard
palate at the front of the mouth in that it does
not contain bone.
When the soft palate rises, as in swallowing, it
separates the nasal cavity
and nasopharynx from the posterior part of the
oral cavity and oral portion of the pharynx. In
sucking, the soft palate and posterior superior
surface of the tongue occlude the oral cavity from
the orapharynx, creating a posterior seal that
prevents the escape of f luid and food up through
the nose and, with the tongue, allows f luid and
food to collect in the mouth until swallowed.
During sneezing, it protects the nasal passage by
diverting a part of the unwanted substance to the
mouth.
The soft palate's motion during breathing is
responsible for the sound of snoring. Touching
the soft palate evokes a strong gag ref lex in most
people.
The soft palate retracts and elevates during
speech to separate the oral cavity (mouth) from
the nasal cavity in order to produce oral speech
sounds. If this separation is incomplete, air
escapes through the nose, causing the speech to
be perceived as hyper nasally. In the case of nasal
consonants and vowels, it lowers to allow
the velopharyngeal port to open.
The 'fauces' are def ined as the lateral walls of
the oropharynx that are located medial to
(through the middle of ) the palatoglossal folds.
The areas lateral to (to the sides of ) the
palatoglossal fold are not the fauces. The term
'fauces' refers to the narrow passage from the
mouth to the pharynx (sometimes call the
'isthmus of the fauces') that is situated between
the velum and the posterior portion of the
tongue. The fauces are bordered by the soft
palate, the palatine arches, and the base of the
tongue. Two muscular folds - the pillars of the
fauces - lie on either side of the passage.
The uvula, (Latin for 'little grape'), is a f leshy
piece of muscle, tissue and mucous membrane
that hangs down from the soft palate. When we
swallow, as well as when we say or sing nonnasal
(oral) vowels and consonants, such as "Ah", the
uvula f lips backward and upward, which helps
close off the nasal passages (at
the velopharyngeal port), preventing unwanted
nasality from entering the tone.
When the zygomatic muscles are raised during
inhalation, the fauces elevate as well, thus playing
an important role in 'opening the throat'.
The two zygomatic muscles (major and minor)
have their points of origin on the zygomatic bone
and insert in the skin and muscle at the corners
of the mouth. The zygomatic muscles retract and
pull the lip corners upwards.
The zygomatic major is a paired muscle of
facial expression that extends from each
zygomatic arch (cheekbone) to the corners of the
mouth. It blends with f ibres of the levator anguli
oris, the orbicularis oris, and the depressor anguli
oris. Its participation in facial expression is
determined by the emotion to be expressed. It
draws the angles of the mouth superiorly and
posteriorly, raising the corners of the mouth
when a person smiles. It draws the angles of the
mouth upwards and, as in full laughter, laterally.
Like all muscles of facial expression, the
zygomatic major is innervated by the facial nerve.
The minor and major zygomatic muscles (assisted
by the levator muscles) can raise the fascia
between the lips and the maxilla (area between
the lips and cheeks), much as when a fragrance is
slowly inhaled through the nose, producing a
pleasant facial expression, but not a full-blown
smile.
VOCAL TRACT SHAPING:

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND
T H E U G LY O F VO C A L
POSTURE
It doesn't make any pedagogic sense to attempt to
teach the nuances of tone while glossing over the
intricacies of articulation. How a singer shapes
his or her vocal tract while singing will directly
affect the quality of tone that is produced. It is
also futile for the student of voice wishing to
perfect tone, master registration, improve breath
management, increase range and develop agility
to avoid addressing how he or she uses and
shapes his or her vocal tract.
A singer needs to f ind the conf igurations of the
vocal tract (the resonator) that produce the exact
acoustic characteristics dictated by the phonemes
being sung. Because the entire vocal tract is
relatively compact, any change among its
components (lips, tongue, jaw, velum and larynx)
has a direct effect on resonance balance.
In the following sections, I have attempted to
address both the ideal and the incorrect shapes
and positions for the individual components of
the vocal tract. Please note, however, that since
all of the individual parts of the vocal tract affect
each other, it is diff icult to discuss them in
isolation.
For beginning singers, having so many parts of
the vocal tract and so many elements of
technique to focus on at the same time can be
very overwhelming and stress inducing. Students
need to remember to keep the back straight, the
sternum elevated, the jaw collected (wrapped up
and back), the tongue forward and out of the
throat, the cheeks lifted under the eyes, the soft
palate high and wide, the larynx low, the
pharynx open, the velopharyngeal port closed
during oral sounds, the mouth rounded, the jaw
lowered in the upper passaggio, the vowels
modif ied, etc., all while remembering to support
the breath with the body. With an approach that
seems so complicated and mechanical, it is not
surprising that many students of voice f ind that
lessons temporarily strip them of their enjoyment
of singing. And it is no wonder that many
impatient students opt for 'quick f ix' vocal
methods that don't make singing seem so
involved, but that also don't produce the best and
most healthy results in the long-term.
After making an initial assessment of a new
student's skills (both the weaknesses and the
strengths) and a diagnosis of any problems, a
teacher and student team should begin to
approach the correction of technical errors
systematically, addressing one particular area of
faulty technique at a time. By taking a step-by-
step approach, the student won't be as
overwhelmed, and progress will begin to be made
almost immediately. Generally, by the time that
the student is ready to move onto the next stage
in his or her vocal development, the earlier steps
to achieving a better singing voice will have
become natural and automatic, and they won't
have to give them much thought anymore. The
foundation of his or her technique will become
built one skill at a time.
When it comes to helping my students achieve
optimal resonance balancing and vocal health, I
tend to only address those elements of vocal
posture that are hindering them from creating a
fully resonant and healthy tone. Most students
who come to me enjoy singing, and already
possess some natural abilities. This means that
much of what they are doing is likely to be
correct. I acknowledge when they are doing
something correctly with consistency so that they
know to keep on doing it, then we move on to
address, one by one, the problematic areas of
their technique. In many cases, addressing one
technical error automatically improves other
areas of singing.
OVERALL POSTURE (THE

HEAD, CHIN, NECK AND
BACK)
A singer should begin with good bodily posture.
He or she should stand up straight, with the
shoulders back, the chin level and the head in a
comfortable speaking position. The front of the
neck should not be stretched, but loose. This
posture will help put the jaw into the proper
position for voice training, which, in turn, will
improve vocal fold function. Breath support will
also be improved.
Posture can be monitored using a wall, with the
head looking straightforward. Maintain the
slight, natural curves in the small of the back and
in the neck. This will offer the correct head
posture for singing in all registers.
During training or performances, it is also best
not to keep the head turned to either side for any
length of time. Although there may be some
performance situations in which the head must
remain turned (e.g., in musical theatre, in order
to make eye contact with the audience while
sitting at a piano, etc.), it is best to keep the head
facing straight during all singing demands
whenever possible.
If the singer must (or chooses to) sit while singing,
it is important to keep the back straight, not
hunched, in order to allow for better breath
support. This is a big challenge for singers who
play the guitar while seated, because they tend to
lean over their instruments, curving the spine
and bending the neck forward.
It is important to maintain proper chin posture,
even when singing very high or very low notes. A
chin that is comfortably positioned will ensure
that the jaw remains properly aligned for optimal
voice training. The head should be held neither
too high nor too low but remain in the
communicative position of normal speech. This
consistent posture helps to create a more
balanced voice training session and, eventually, a
more pleasing performance.
There is a tendency amongst singers to employ
low head positions during the execution of low
notes and high head positions during the singing
of high notes. However, the chin must not crane
forward ( jut out) or elevate for ascending pitch
nor lower or tuck in for pitch descent, as these
positions are unfavourable to the singing voice.
Raising the chin or head does not free the larynx.
Nor does using the head to reach for high notes
enable the vocalist to sing those higher pitches.
Instead, tension is created, and accessing the
upper register becomes more diff icult, if not
unlikely.
Likewise, a low head position presses the
submandibular muscles downward on the larynx,
creating tension and discomfort. This is a
situation whereby singers depress the larynx with
the jaw or chin, burying their chins into their
larynxes, thinking that they are getting more
color or darkness in the voice. However, the
result is a non-resonant, 'hooty' and 'dark' quality
that is not only unpleasant, but also fails to carry
in a concert hall. A depressed larynx technique
makes for an extremely limited vocal production
that can never be heard to the extent of a fully
resonant tone. For some singers, burying their
chins into their larynxes seems to bounce their
resonance off their sternums (chest bones).
However, the audience does not hear the same
sound in this posture.
The only way to produce healthy darkness in the
voice is with the 'rounding of the vowels' that is
achieved by using the oval mouth shape. (The
concept of 'rounding the vowels' is covered in
more depth in the section on vowel modif ication,
in Vowels, Vowel Formants and Vowel
Modif ication.) This lengthens the vocal tract and
allows for a rounder and warmer colour to come
into the singer's vocal production. (I also discuss
correct mouth shaping in more detail in other
sections of this article.)
In singers whose throats are 'closed', the sidewalls
of the throat will sometimes 'collapse', where the
neck muscles will curve inward, creating a half
moon shape on each side of the neck, which
means that the pharynx is collapsing.
FACIAL POSTURE
The quality of tone in the singing voice is directly
affected by one's facial posture because of its
effects on the interior posture of the throat.
There is an acoustical relationship between
correct facial posture and healthy tone that is
balanced between higher and lower overtones.
(See formants.)
Some singers pull down their cheeks, (or allow
them to droop), and cover their teeth completely
while singing, making singing diff icult and
'hooty'. If the facial posture is pulled down, which
also lowers the soft palate, then the singer must
work twice as hard with breath pressure to blow
the soft palate out of the way. The result is
usually a pushed and unpleasant tone, with high
notes that are f lat in intonation.
A healthy facial posture is established when
breath is taken. The cheeks should gently rise
under the eyes. This action moves the uvula away
from the back of the tongue, lifts the soft palate
and prevents drooping of the cheek muscles. The
cheeks should be sunken a little at the back
molars, which opens the back wall of the
pharynx, at inhalation. Finally, the jaw should be
'collected' gently back in order for the larynx to
release downward. Using a mirror to self-
supervise this facial posture exercise is helpful.
Having the zygomatic muscles follow patterns
associated with pleasant facial expressions - be
careful that you do not create a full smile,
however - achieves an uncontrived adjustment of
the entire buccopharyngeal (mouth-pharynx)
cavity. It avoids unnatural attempts to create
internal space where it is not possible to do so.
Without 'lift', the singer's voice does not carry
properly in a concert hall or opera house because
the Singer's Formant cannot be achieved. Lifting
the cheeks under the eyes - not smiling, but
assuming a pleasant expression - brings the soft
palate up and brings ring into the voice, and
therefore carrying power. Some vocal instructors
may call this technique 'lifting', and may have
their students practice singing with a pleasant
expression on their faces. When the facial posture
is lifted, high overtones - those which are
necessary for the development of the Singer's
Formant - come into the singer's vocal
production.
THE SOFT PAL ATE
The action of the soft palate (velum) is a major
focus of students wishing to 'open the throat' for
singing.
During inhalation, when a singer is preparing to
sing, the soft palate automatically rises, allowing
more space for airf low. (This action can be
observed by looking into a mirror while opening
the mouth and inhaling.) For this reason, deep
breathing is sometimes a successful device for
relaxing the throat and preventing rigidity.
The key is to learn to maintain this initial
elevated position while singing, not allowing the
soft palate to lower substantially. Sustaining a
high soft palate is particularly important while
singing in head voice - in the upper passaggio
and range above the staff. In upper range,
the fauces elevate even more, with the soft palate
following suit, just as happens in high-pitched
laughter.
During singing and speaking in English,
the velum is lowered only for the formation of
nasal consonants. To suggest that the velum be
held low during nonnasals is contrary to the laws
of acoustics. If velopharyngeal-port closure is
lacking during nonnasals, undesirable nasality
intrudes. There is nearly universal agreement
among phoneticians, speech therapists and
teachers of singing that nasality, apart from
intended, intermittent nasal phonemes, is
unacceptable timbre.
The techniques of 'lifting' and imagining the
neutral vowel 'uh' in the throat before bringing
the tone into focus - both of which are outlined in
the How To - And How Not To - Achieve An
'Open Throat' section - both encourage the
lifting of the soft palate during inhalation and the
maintenance of this initial elevated posture
during singing.
LARYNX
Please note that the buccopharyngeal (mouth-
pharynx) resonator plays a feedback role in
laryngeal action, so the focus of the singer should
be on the articulators not on the larynx itself.
Attempting to exercise direct laryngeal controls
causes the articulatory mechanism to
malfunction and often leads to vocal health
concerns.
The ideal position of the larynx during singing
within lower and middle registers is relaxed and
low. This position is achieved with every
complete breath renewal. In other words, when a
singer is preparing to sing (i.e., inhaling), the
larynx naturally lowers. Gently place a hand on
your larynx then inhale. As air enters the lungs,
the larynx can be felt moving down a bit. (This
action can also be observed in a mirror.)
Because of the increase in energ y demanded, the
larynx naturally adopts a slightly lower level for
singing than for speech. It is the student of voice's
goal to maintain this lowered position during
singing in all parts of the range. As vocalizing
begins, the larynx should not move upwards,
although it will rock or 'tilt' (pivot) slightly when
the head register is approached and entered.
Allowing the larynx to rise invites numerous
problems with tone balance, registration,
blending, discomfort, etc.. Higher pitches require
more space, and an elevated larynx shortens the
resonator tract, making higher notes more
diff icult to sing. With a high larynx, getting into
the upper passaggio and the high vocal range is
usually diff icult because the folds can't pivot
properly for the correct register changes to occur.
The vocal folds also do not close properly. No
part of the vocal tract, then, is in the correct
position for healthy singing to occur.
Singing with a raised larynx will also produce a
thin, innocuous timbre that lacks warmth and
depth, as well as volume. A high larynxed
technique generally produces what is often
called a 'boys choir' sound.
Furthermore, poor technique, such as using too
much breath pressure, may cause the larynx to
rise and create a 'squeezing' of the throat,
especially as pitch ascends upward into the head
register, rather than a healthy 'ring' in the voice.
Training to sing in a range or tessitura that is not
natural for a singer's voice can also create issues
with the position of the larynx. A lyric baritone,
for example, will not be able to sustain a tenor
tessitura with a lower larynx position. The result
will usually be a squeezed or tight throat, which
can be damaging (e.g., causing irritation to the
vocal folds and possible injury). The singer is
trying desperately to 'lighten up the voice'. This
concept of lightening the voice needs to be taught
with a deep body connection (breath support).
The only way a large voiced singer can lighten up
his or her tonal quality is to connect deeper to the
body.
Some teachers advocate placing a hand just
above the laryngeal prominence - (the laryngeal
prominence is colloquially known as either
the Adam's apple or Eve's apple) - after
inhalation and holding the larynx in that lower
position using the hand while singing, especially
while ascending the scale. This is an injurious
technique, as it may lead to bruising, as well as
malfunction, of the larynx because it is being
manually restrained from the outside and forced
to remain in one position regardless of the pitch
being sung or the linguistic requirements,
(including vowels), of the text. Never in any kind
of vocal training should the larynx, or any other
part of the vocal tract for that matter, be
physically or manually forced to 'behave'. Instead,
training the larynx to remain relaxed and low
should be approached safely (gently) and
correctly, beginning with an examination and
retraining of the other components of the vocal
tract that may be affecting the position of the
larynx, as well as the singer's breath
management. (Again, the focus should be on the
articulators, not the larynx itself.)
If the teacher has the student gently place his or
her hand on the larynx while vocalizing, without
attempting to manipulate or obstruct its
movement from the exterior, for the purpose of
having the student monitor the action of the
larynx, such a practice is appropriate and safe. In
fact, some students who are typically unaware of
when their larynxes are rising until they feel
extreme discomfort in the throat region gain
more awareness of the vocal mechanism by either
watching the movement of the larynx in a mirror
or gently, (placing no physical pressure on it),
monitoring it with their f ingers.
If the larynx rises in the upper middle register,
usually caused by a lack of the laryngeal tilt or
'rocking of the larynx' that must happen in the
upper middle register and above in order for
head voice to be accessed, tone will become thin
and tight sounding. Head voice occurs as a result
of the laryngeal tilt and if that tilt does not
happen, then the singer will experience extreme
diff iculty in the upper passaggio. The singer can
either think the vowel deeper and wider as he or
she goes up, or alter the vowel enough to allow
for this process to occur. (I will discuss vowel
modif ication in greater depth in the second part
to this article, to be posted in mid June of 2009.)
Different singers respond differently and one
might respond to the vowel alteration, while
another might respond to the laryngeal tilt
concept. Besides the laryngeal tilt, a singer may
be instructed in the pre-vomit ref lex - what the
Italians called the vomitare - which will ensure
that the laryngeal tilt will occur properly.
Equally unhealthy to the singing voice is
a depressed (overly low) laryngeal position,
as it can cause pathological problems for the
voice. While the larynx does need to be relaxed
and low during singing, a depressed larynx is
both incorrect and damaging. The larynx should
never be forced down, such as with the root of
the tongue. It is crucial that the singer learn a
slightly low larynx production without overly
depressing the larynx with the root of the tongue.
If taught with the nasal resonance and the 'NG'
tongue position - with the 'NG' formed with the
middle of the tongue and the tongue tip in its
correct resting place - the slightly lowered larynx
makes for a healthy, warm, and balanced vocal
tone that includes both higher and lower
overtones.
THE LIPS
There are some teachers and choir directors who
instruct their students or choir members to
pucker their lips while singing. Pulling downward
on the upper lip to cover the upper teeth alters
the shape of the articulation system, and forces
all vowels to become distorted. Try puckering
your lips, as in the [u] position while singing the
vowel [i] ('eeh'), and take note of how terrible it
sounds. It destroys the chiaroscuro
relationship among the harmonic partials, overly
darkening the tone, and the vowel itself no longer
sounds like an [i].
Furthermore, this technique creates tension and
tightens the back of the throat. It affects
buccopharyngeal (mouth-pharynx) space,
creating less space for resonance and reverses the
role of the zygomatic muscles, as they can't lift
the cheeks, and thus the soft palate, when they
are being pulled forward and down. It is also
unnatural, looks strange, and creates phonetic
and acoustic distortion.
During speech, lip postures vary somewhat from
person to person. However, the lips should never
be brought forward to sing as a f ixed position.
For both speaking and singing, the shape of the
vocal tract is in constant f lux, and there is no one
ideal position of the mouth or the lips for either.
If the upper teeth are visible during speaking,
they should also be visible during singing.
THE JAW
Jaw tension is a very common complaint amongst
singers, and it is often caused by incorrect
posture of the jaw during singing and speaking.
This tension, which will likely adversely affect
vocal health over time, is a symptom of poor
technique that will also manifest itself in an
unpleasant, imbalanced tone.
The correct jaw position is slightly down and
wrapped back. In Italian, this ideal singing
posture is referred to as 'raccogliere la bocca',
which translates as 'to collect the mouth'. It refers
to the avoidance of excessive jaw dropping or jaw-
wagging during singing, both of which are
techniques that may cause
the temporomandibular joints to pop out of their
sockets. The natural processes of vowel and
consonantal def inition are inherent components
of the historic raccogliere la bocca concept.
These principles maintain harmonic balance,
especially when singing in the speech-inf lection
range.
The jaw should be relaxed at all times during
singing and speech. When singing, the jaw should
be allowed to drop, but not push forward or
down too far. It should feel as though it is
hanging loosely and comfortably from its 'hinges'
feeling space in between our back teeth. As the
jaw lowers, the singer should keep the elevation of
the zygomatic fauscia, which is accomplished by
a pleasant facial expression.
The mouth should be opened only wide enough
to get a full, resonant tone, but no wider. The
idea that powerful singers open their mouths as
wide as possible is a myth, as I will explain
momentarily. Although singing requires opening
the mouth wider than speaking does, exactly how
wide depends not only on the specif ic vowel or
consonant being sung, but also on the pitch and
volume (dynamic intensity) of the note. To help
facilitate correct jaw placement, singers can
experiment to f ind the optimal mouth size for
each sound that they sing. The size of the
opening should be comfortable, change
appropriately for the vowel being sung, and help
you to produce optimal resonance and maintain
diction.
One very common technique that many vocal
instructors and choir directors teach
involves dropping the jaw excessively. Choir
members are generally encouraged to open their
mouths widely because it is thought, though
incorrectly, to help them singer louder and make
their voices heard better by the audience by
creating a more open space for resonation.
However, forcefully dropping the jaw from the
temporomandibular joint does not produce more
space in either the pharynx or the larynx.
Instead, dropping the mandible actually narrows
pharyngeal space and forces the submandibular
musculature to press downward on the larynx.
A mouth that is opened too widely creates a
throat that is too closed. This technique of
extreme jaw lowering contradicts, and will not be
in line with, what is known about normal
acoustical function. A jaw that is too low actually
places tension on the larynx, lowers the soft
palate and inhibits the effective closure of the
vocal folds, which is the opposite of the desired
effect.
Furthermore, dropping the jaw produces radical
changes among relationships of the formants, in
both low and high registers, causing a reduction
in or elimination of the harmonics (upper
partials) essential to balanced vocal timbre.
When these formants are absent, the voice lacks
resonance and thus carrying power. Less volume
is produced, and the tone that is heard by the
audience is often lacking the warmth of proper
resonance balancing.
Some choir directors and vocal teachers also
believe falsely that a larger buccal (mouth)
opening will assist their singers with diction.
Contrary to their thinking, excessive jaw
dropping upsets natural phonetic processes, as a
singer can't clearly articulate or pronounce words
when the mouth is shaped in such an unnatural
way, making clear diction impossible. A
uniformly dull voice timbre is produced.
Vibrancy is measurably reduced, and vocal
brilliance is eliminated, regardless of the voice's
intrinsic beauty.
Some choir directors who teach this technique
actually aim to have their singers produce
uniformity of timbre so that no individual voice
stands out in a choir. This requires stripping the
more resonant voices of the healthy overtones
that make them stand out favourably. However,
excessive jaw dropping - leading to an overly
large buccal opening - is an unhealthy approach
to achieving blending within a group of singers.
Such a mandibular posture induces undesirable
tensions in the submandibular region (muscles
located below the jaw), and invites numerous
problems with tone and registration.
Furthermore, it produces what is widely known
as the 'choir boy' sound - an immature vocal
timbre that is lacking in presence and power, and
that no adult singer should be asked or expected
to produce.
Some teachers will even instruct their students to
physically and forcefully hold down their lower
jaws while singing, such as when they are told to
make a perpendicular shield of the three middle
f ingers, then place them between the upper and
lower teeth to keep the mouth opened as wide as
possible. In addition to creating tension, pulling
down on the jaw encourages the elimination of
upper partials that ought to be present during all
singing, but especially solo singing. There is no
phonatory task in speech (in any language) that
requires the extent of jaw lowering perpetrated by
the three-f inger-insertion method.
Furthermore, it creates tension, discomfort and
pain, which may lead to chronic problems such
as TMJ syndrome, a disorder which may
include symptoms such as acute or chronic
inf lammation of the temporomandibular joints,
pain, dysfunction (e.g., 'clicking' during chewing
or speaking) and impairment (e.g., 'locking' of the
jaw joints). A mandible ( jaw) that is dropped from
its socket - which is what happens when the
mouth is opened too widely - is not relaxed.
Dropping the jaw excessively, whether in a futile
attempt to relax tension or to introduce
additional depth or roundness by strengthening
the f irst formant, invites TMJ.
We have two temporomandibular joints, one
in front of each ear, connecting the lower
jawbone - the mandible - to the skull. The joints
allow movement up and down, side to side, and
forward and back for biting, chewing,
swallowing, speaking and making facial
expressions. Although the jaw drops when the
mouth is opened widely during laughter, it does
not become unhinged, whereas in a fully
distended yawn, or during vomiting, it does. If
you were to place your f ingers gently on your
temporomandibular joints and pretended to
chew, you would feel a small amount of
movement of this joint. However, if you were to
lower your jaw or push it forward beyond its
normal range of motion, you would feel strong
action of the joint as it comes out of its socket.
This is the point where the jaw has been forced
down too far, creating tension. You don't want to
ever get to this point while singing, as
maintaining such a position for a period of time
will cause a large amount of tension at the
laryngeal level.
In laughter, the mouth cavity and the vocal tract
are indeed both enlarged, the fascia of the cheek
region (mask) is elevated, the velum is raised, and
the pharyngeal wall is expanded. In such a
natural event, the jaw lowers considerably, but it
does not drop out of its temporomandibular
socket. Only in vomiting or strenuous
regurgitation does the jaw lower extensively.
Regurgitation involves an unfavourable
rearrangement of pharyngeal space, and shuts off
the phonatory mechanism - (the passageway for
air, and thus the ability of the vocal folds to
produce the voice, is shut off ). The more that one
assumes the buccopharyngeal vomiting posture,
the more one diminishes the space of the
pharynx (throat). Therefore, the lowered-jaw
technique that some teachers espouse in an effort
to improve voice resonance is both unnatural and
stress inducing.
Some teachers have their students keep their jaws
in relatively the same dropped position during all
vowel changes. Often teachers and choir directors
believe that it is simpler to instruct their singers to
assume one mouth and pharynx posture though
which all vowels must then be produced.
However, since locking the jaw in one position
does not promote the changing acoustic events of
phonation, this technique distorts all the vowels
through the entire range, destroying both diction
and resonance balance. When singers attempt to
maintain the same very wide 'oval' shape
regardless of the vowel being sung, it is often
referred to as the 'locked jaw' (or 'jaw locked
open') position.
If the mandible is retained in one low position, all
vowel sounds share a common quality of
distortion. Holding the jaw in one lowered
position produces uniform vowel and timbre
distortions, which is in conf lict with acoustic
phonetics and the physiolog y of phonation. The
changing postures of the lips, tongue, jaw, fascia
of the zygomatic region, velum and larynx
determine f lexible articulation. No one of these
contributors, including the jaw and tongue can
be held in a set position without inducing strain
and distorted voice quality. It should be recalled
that there is no single ideal position for the
mouth in singing; vowel, tessitura, and dynamic
intensity are the determinants. The jaw must not
be held in a static position.
There is no f ixed resonator position in speech or
in song. The jaw must be permitted mobility,
allowing f lexible adjustments for rapid phonemic
and pitch variations, not retained in low or
distended positions. The historical international
school advocates assuming speech postures in
the speech-inf lection range (si canta come si
parla, or 'one sings as one speaks'). In upper
range, the mouth opens more, but the integrity of
the vowel, (determined by the postures of the jaw,
lips, tongue, velum and larynx), is still
maintained, and the jaw never comes out of its
joints. Many singers suffering from TMJ or jaw
tensions recover from these conditions once
proper phonetic postures are reestablished.
Healthy middle voice function cannot be
achieved if the mouth is overly opened or the jaw
locked in an open position. (Lower male voices
seem to fall into the trap of over-opening and
locking, and produce what is called in some
circles the 'baritone bark'.) When the jaw is
lowered, pharyngeal space is actually reduced.
Furthermore, the tone that is produced is often
thin or 'one-dimensional', as the balance of
overtones is often affected.
There is a tendency for many singers to push
their jaws forward, especially for higher pitches,
or allow it slide forward when singing the [u]
vowel sound. The forward jaw technique refers
to a jaw position that is too low and then is thrust
forward, often out of its sockets. Many students of
voice develop a tendency to thrust the jaw
forward out of the temporomandibular joints in
an attempt to hear their own sound better inside
their heads.
Placing the jaw in a distended posture, however,
invites acoustical and phonetic distortion - voice
timbre becomes drastically distorted - as well as
malfunction of the vocal instrument. This
mandibular posture produces several negative
results. First, when the jaw is placed in a forward
position, undesirable tension in the
submandibular region (muscles located below the
jaw) is induced. Second, the vocal folds
approximate (close or come together) poorly,
which causes breathiness and prevents the folds
from functioning eff iciently and healthily. Third,
the tongue gets pushed back into the pharynx,
f illing up the primary resonator with tongue
mass, creating a gag ref lex at the tongue root and
producing a throaty sound. Fourth, this
technique elevates the larynx, which contradicts
what the singer is trying to accomplish. With the
larynx functioning in a high position, only a thin,
immature sound is produced. A large 'break' in
the voice (also due to the poor adduction of the
vocal folds) is also produced. Fifth, normal velar
(soft palate) elevation is inhibited, so the soft
palate assumes a low position, often resulting in a
nasally or thin tone.
There is also often not a healthy separation
between jaw and tongue function, which makes
the tongue tense and legato (an Italian word
meaning 'tied together', suggesting that the
transitions between notes should be smooth,
without any silence between them) lines
impossible to execute. The breath is often choked
off by the root of the tongue, making the breath
line unhealthy and ineff icient. The large amount
of tension at the root of the tongue also distorts
vowels.
Since the back wall of the pharynx is closed,
there also cannot be healthy resonance present in
the voice, since most of the healthy high
overtones are cut out. It is impossible to produce
a healthy sound with the jaw protruding
forward.
The mouth cannot be overly opened and still
achieve vocal protection. Yet the jaw must be out
of the way enough toward the upper passaggio for
the correct register f lips to occur. When a singer
is out of balance, often from the hyperextension
of the jaw ( jaw thrusting forward out of its
socket), the upper passaggio range is problematic.
Some students of voice who experience tensions
in the jaw due to incorrect positioning of it f ind it
helpful to work with a mirror. Feeling the jaw
move slightly down and back and feeling the
gentle chew of the jaw can correct this problem,
and can also assist the singer in f inding the
correct function of the jaw. Also, placing the
palm of the hand gently in front of the chin while
singing may help the student to become more
aware of when the jaw is moving forward. (The
student needs to be careful not to restrict the
natural and healthy movements of the jaw with
the hand, though.)
When a singer needs to relax jaw rigidity, vowel
sequences that are in accord with normal tongue
and jaw postures can be useful. It may also help
for a singer to allow the jaw to drop open as he or
she forms his or her words instead of using his or
her muscles to forcefully open the mouth. This is
known as 'lengthening the jaw'.
THE TONGUE
Most singers, and even many vocal teachers,
don't give enough consideration to the role of the
tongue during singing. However, the position and
shape of the tongue are critical elements of good
vocal health and optimal acoustical resonance -
the results being governed by the extent to which
the tongue controls events of the resonator tube
(the vocal tract), and by the tongue's effect on
laryngeal eff iciency.
Incorrect positions of the tongue are a leading
cause of numerous technical and vocal health
problems, including undesirable (dull, muddy,
harsh or tinny) timbres, distorted vowels, unclear
diction, and a depressed larynx leading to
discomfort in the throat and an inability to access
the head register.
For optimal results, the tip of the tongue should
rest behind the lower front teeth during singing.
The tip of the tongue should move from this ideal
position only brief ly in order to form certain
consonants. The middle of the tongue should
form an arch that must be allowed to move in
order to shape the vowels as it naturally would,
raising for closed vowels, such as [i], and lowering
for more open vowels, such as [a]. The shape of
the arch will change for different vowels, but the
tip should remain in its 'home' position while
singing all vowels. It will move quickly out of this
resting place only for the production of
consonants, but should return quickly.
Inhalation is also best executed with the tongue
in this position in order to prepare more
eff iciently for singing. When singers inhale loudly
- when they are 'noisy breathers' - it is often
because the roots of their tongues are slipping
back into their throats, closing off the passageway
for air and choking the breath. Simply returning
the tip of the tongue to its forward position
during inhalation is generally enough to help a
singer breathe more silently and eff iciently.
You can examine your tongue position while
looking into a mirror. With the tip of the tongue
in its correct resting position behind the top of
the lower front teeth, roll the tongue slightly
forward in an arched position. Your tongue may
not want to behave in this way, particularly if you
are accustomed to allowing it to push back into
the throat because it produces the exact opposite
effect of the gag ref lex. However, with practice,
you will realize the brilliance of the sound that
can be produced. Be sure not to roll the tongue
too forward, though.
Using this position is not diff icult, and the
rewards are great. When the mouth space
appears to be smaller due to its being f illed with a
forward and arched tongue, the back of the
throat (pharynx) is actually much more open.
When the tongue assumes a healthy, relaxed,
arched posture (e.g., the 'NG' position, formed
with the middle - not the back - of the tongue
elevated), there is not likely to be tongue tension
or throat soreness, and the open acoustical space
will create a more pleasant vocal sound. Many
technical problems, including those related to
vocal registration, will often disappear.
Trying to use other tongue postures in an attempt
to achieve more resonance does not allow for the
proper shaping of the vocal tract and creates
tongue tension.
Some teachers with a poor understanding of the
physiolog y of the voice may instruct their
students to artif icially depress the tongue (i.e.,
with a tongue depresser) while looking in a
mirror, and may even have them attempt to do so
while vocalizing. However, f lattening the tongue
does not produce more space in the throat, nor
more acoustical space for resonance. If the
tongue is f lattened in an attempt to f ind more
acoustical space in the throat, the mass of the
muscles at the back of the tongue (the tongue
root) is forced into the pharynx (the back wall of
the throat), the very part of the throat that the
singer is attempting to open. The primary
resonator - the pharynx - becomes f illed with the
tongue mass, and the voice sounds as though it is
being muff led, and has a 'throaty'.
This 'f lat tongued' approach creates an
unpleasant tone that sounds large, harsh and
forced, as well as poor enunciation, as the
integrity of the pure Italian vowel sounds become
sacrif iced. Clear transitions from vowel to vowel
are impossible. Healthy nasal
resonance disappears, register changes,
particularly as the singer ascends the scale, are
impossible because the vocal folds are unable to
pivot in a healthy manner. Loss of high notes
(along with the ability to transition into head
voice register) is a particularly common symptom.
One very critical vocal problem, especially for
the mezzo-soprano, is that of over-stretching the
throat space in the middle register. This feeling of
an overly huge throat space often results from
depressing the root of the tongue, which places
pressure directly on the vocal folds, preventing
them from approximating completely, and
resulting in a large and problematic register
break at the transition between the lower
registers. The solution to this problem is to have
the singer think less space in the middle register
so that she can stretch in the upper passaggio and
above. (I will be discussing vowel modif ication
and vocal cover or protection in a follow-up to
this article, to be posted in mid June of 2009.)
This practice of singing with a f lattened tongue
can be very abusive and lead to vocal damage
such as vocal hemorrhage, nodules, polyps or
bowed or scarred vocal folds, as a great deal of
breath pressure is required in order for the voice
to rise in pitch. This excessive and constant
breath pressure irritates the delicate vocal folds,
leading to hoarseness and an inability to phonate
healthily.
Breath support often also needs to be addressed,
as 'f lat tongued' singers typically don't breath low
enough in the body, usually because their breath
gets choked by the tongue root, as I explained
above. Their quick breaths are too high in the
body. The tongue can be released, making low
breathing more possible, by placing the tongue
between the lips and taking a slow, nasal breath.
With the tongue trained to be in a more forward
position, it cannot bunch up, and the singing
breath will generally drop much lower into the
body.
A f lat, low or retracted tongue posture,
sometimes called a 'false cover' - see the section
below for a better explanation of the technique of
vocal covering as it specif ically relates to tongue
posture - can be corrected though studying with
the 'NG' tongue position, as healthy nasal
resonance (not nasality) can completely release
tension at the root of the tongue. If the tongue
gets bunched up in the back of the throat during
singing, exercises involving arpeggios or scales
with the tongue in the correct 'NG' position
(relaxed, with the root of the tongue out of the
throat and the sound being shaped with the
middle, not the back, portion of the tongue, and
the tongue being forward and arched in the
mouth space) will usually correct the problem.
This concept can be applied to repertoire by
slowly moving from the 'NG' to a vowel, lifting
the soft palate away from the tongue-root in
order to expand and invite the upper overtones.
Once the vowel feel is established then this feeling
may be kept for a line of text. At f irst the singer
will sometimes feel uncomfortable and report an
overly bright or harsh sound inside their heads.
This is mainly due to the fact that the singer has
a history of listening instead of feeling, which
creates a false colour in their internal hearing.
With practice, though, the warmth will come into
the sound as the larynx and tongue separate in
function. When the tension at the root of the
tongue releases, then the singer can realize free
f lying tonal quality and complete freedom of the
vocal mechanism. The color comes into the vocal
production as the tongue releases.
For my students with tongues that persistently slip
back into their throats, I sometimes have them
try singing with their tongues sticking out
between the lips - wrapped over the lower lip.
The students will sing a 'ba' sound during three-
note exercises or short scales or arpeggios. (They
must beware and avoid the tendency to also allow
the lower mandible to move forward along with
the tongue, as this will create tension.) While a
singer's tongue would never protrude this far
during ordinary speaking or singing demands,
assuming this forward tongue position for
training exercises prevents the tongue from
bunching up in the throat. For many students,
this allows them to experience for the f irst time
the feeling of the relaxed, open throat while
singing, especially in the head register. Most can
f inally f ind freedom in and above the upper
passaggio, accessing full head voice for the f irst
time without strain or a thinning of the sound.
Once they get a sense of how it feels to keep the
tongue out of the way in order to allow the throat
to open properly, they then attempt to achieve
this same freedom of the throat with the tongue
position that is appropriate for each vowel and
consonant. For many students, this simple
exercise is successful at quickly retraining their
retracted or depressed tongues.
VOCAL PROTECTION AND

THE POSTURE OF THE
TONGUE AND LARYNX
Many singers and teachers have a poor
understanding of the concept of vocal covering,
or 'cuperto' in Italian, or 'darkening of the voice'
that enables singers to correctly and healthily
navigate registration changes. (I discuss vocal
covering in more depth in Vowels, Vowel
Formants and Vowel Modif ication.) This
darkening of the vowels should not be achieved
by employing the tongue root and the laryngeal
muscles in an attempt to open the throat by
jamming the tongue down on top of the larynx or
by overstretching the outer laryngeal muscles.
(This technique is sometimes called a 'throat
heave'.)
The idea of darkening really means to open the
authentic acoustical space. However, using the
root of the tongue to create a 'cover' - called
a muscular cover - puts pressure directly on the
glottis where the vocal folds come together. The
interior pharyngeal space actually closes when a
singer uses a muscular cover, and tremendous
pressure is then placed on the vocal folds by the
root of the tongue.
If taught without close attention being paid to
tongue posture, this technique often creates a
depressed, f lat-tongued production that results in
an unacceptable and harsh sound. If the
muscular cover has been engaged, the only
choice for the singer to go high is to push a
tremendous amount of breath pressure to force
phonation. Using the muscular cover technique is
extremely dangerous and is a diff icult habit to
break because this muscular cover is connected to
the gag ref lex in the back of the tongue.
Unfortunately, it is a practice that is often taught
in some schools of singing.
Oftentimes, singers, both male and female,
confuse muscular pressure (usually from tongue
and neck muscles) with an authentic open throat
or pharynx (lifted and wide soft palate, open back
wall behind the tongue, and a slightly lowered
and wide larynx). They attempt to access the
high range using a retracting tongue or pressing
the root of the tongue, but instead end up losing
the upper range due to a resulting high-larynx
singing position. The voice loses its register blend
and begins to sound like different voices rather
than one smooth sound throughout the scale. A
depressed tongue usually accompanies problems
with vibrato, particularly the vocal wobble (an
unhealthy and overly wide and slow vibrancy
rate), as well as vowel distortion, a lack of 'ring' in
the voice, which can make breath management
diff icult, and engagement of the laryngeal
muscles in a futile attempt to shift the voice or
make the voice f lip registration.
'Cuperto' is associated with an open acoustical
space that is stabilized through the training of the
interior wall of the throat at inhalation. This
training also involves the alteration of the vowel
without using the tongue. The tongue should
always speak the integrity of the vowel, even if
the vowel is altered in the pharynx. If employed
correctly, this concept of cuperto can protect the
throat and encourage healthy singing. (Again, I
will be discussing the concept of vocal protection,
or covering the voice, further in the section on
vowel modif ication in the upcoming follow-up to
this article.)
A f lat, low, or retracted tongue posture,
sometimes called a 'false cover', can be
corrected through studying with the 'NG' tongue
position, the 'NG' being formed with the middle,
not the back, of the tongue. As the larynx and
tongue separate in function, the tension at the
root of the tongue releases, and the singer can
realize a much more balanced and pleasant tonal
quality and be able to successfully navigate
register changes.
FORMANTS AND TONE
The study of formants, or at least the acquisition
of a basic understanding of them, is a vital part of
vocal training, and should not be neglected by
serious singers wishing to produce the absolute
best vocals that they possibly can. The 'ring' or
the 'focus' of the voice, which is ref lective of
balanced resonance, depends on the presence of
acoustic strength in the upper regions of the
spectrum. In other words, it can only be achieved
if upper partials or overtones (formants) are
present. How to encourage the presence of these
overtones, and thus positively affect the quality of
the tone produced, is an important skill for all
serious singers to gain.
In the following sections, I will discuss the
relationship between vocal tract shaping and tone
- how correct articulation of vowels creates
balanced, fully resonant tone that is marked by
the presence of these vocal formants.
WHAT ARE FORMANTS?
Voiced sounds are acoustically rich, having
many harmonics above the fundamental
frequency (the lowest frequency of a complex
sound, which corresponds to the unique pitch
heard in such a complex tone). These harmonics
or overtones are integer or whole number
multiples of the fundamental frequency, and
occur at roughly 1000Hz intervals.
(Spectrograms are often used to visualise
and track formants.) Put very simply, the complex
sound of the voice resonates at different
harmonic pitches. These resonance frequencies,
each corresponding to a resonance in the vocal
tract - the 'pipe' between the 'voice box' (larynx)
and the mouth - are called formants.
Because of their resonant origin, formants tend to
stay essentially the same even when the frequency
(pitch) of the fundamental is changed continually.
As I will explain in an upcoming article on vowels
and vowel modif ication, all vowels have their own
unique formant frequencies - they are def ined by
their distinct frequencies at the f irst and second
formants - that don't change even when pitch
changes. For example, the formant frequencies
for the [i] vowel for any given voice are more or
less constant and remain within very specif ic
limits in the frequency range. For this reason,
these vowel formants may be called 'f ixed
formants'. (These frequencies remain constant
because the articulation of the individual vowels
remains relatively the same regardless of pitch.)
The spaces above the vocal folds are a series of
connected resonating chambers that f ilter the
sounds that emanate from the voice source (the
vocal folds inside the larynx). During speech
production and singing, the source signal - the
sound wave produced by the larynx - is f iltered
according to the morpholog y of the oral tract
and of the articulators (e.g., tongue, jaw, lips,
etc.). Therefore, formants are acoustic resonances
of the vocal tract itself that result from the
various dimensions of the vocal tract spaces.
Because the vocal tract is a complex acoustic tube
resonator of varying sizes and shapes, and is
highly adjustable - it's not a simple tube - it tends
to emphasize and amplify some overtones
(harmonic components) of the phonated sound
and de-emphasize or dampen others.
(The resonance frequencies of the vocal tract
tend to emphasize a series of frequencies that
relate to the size and shape of the vocal tract,
although these frequencies are not sequential in
their strength, as in the case with overtones of the
phonated sound.)
The vocal tract resonator has different
requirements for the sounds that try to pass
through it, depending upon the frequency of that
sound. Certain frequencies pass through the
resonator easily and, as a consequence, are given
a high amplitude. Because partials of various
frequencies are transmitted through the vocal
tract simultaneously, those that coincide with
the formant frequencies are radiated from the
lip opening (projected from the mouth) with
greater strength than others. In other words,
harmonics that fall at or near these resonance
frequencies of the vocal tract pass freely through
the vocal tract and are most eff iciently radiated
as sound, producing a formant. Therefore,
formants appear as peaks in the spectrum of the
radiated sound. (Harmonics whose frequencies
are not close to the resonance frequencies of the
vocal tract become weakened, forming troughs
between the spectral peaks, and do not pass
through the vocal tract.)
Some of the parameters involved in the f iltering
phenomenon that brings about the formant
pattern are speaker specif ic. For example, the
length of the pharynx and the size of the vocal
chamber distinguish the timbre of women, men
and children. (Adult females have shorter vocal
tracts than adult males. Therefore their formant
frequencies are f ifteen percent higher on average
than those of the adult male.)
The timbre of the voice strongly depends on the
formant pattern (but it is also inf luenced by the
signal's pitch), in particular on the f irst three
formants. However, the same speaker can
modulate a wide repertoire of sounds by
changing the morpholog y of the vocal cavities,
namely by displacing the tongue, opening the
oral chamber to different extents, increasing its
size by rounding and protruding the lips, letting
the sound wave pass through the nasal cavity
(instead of the oral one), or by lowering the velum
(soft palate). All these parameters affect the
formant pattern of the sound's spectrum, and the
formant pattern enables us to distinguish between
voiced sounds, in particular between oral
vowels - an ordinary vowel without nasalisation.
Formants determine vowel quality and donate
personal timbre to the voice. As well as
determining perceived vocal quality, formants are
important for the perception of personal voice
quality, permitting us to identify individual
voices, such as those of favourite singers on CD
recordings or family members on the telephone.
In speech communication, our perception and
labeling of certain sounds as vowels depends on
the relationship of the lowest two formants. (In
other words, the f irst two formants strongly
contribute to the differentiation of vowels from
one another.) For example, the 'roundness' or
'depth' - the 'oscuro' factor of the
professional chiaroscuro timbre - of the sound
results from the presence of strength in lower
partials of the spectrum, termed the f irst
formant.
Vowel 'colour' is also determined by the two
lowest formants. It is def ined mainly by the
location in the spectrum of the changing middle
formant - the second formant.
Timbre is determined by the third, fourth, and
f ifth formants.
When considering the different sounds produced
during speech, usually just the f irst, second and
third formants are considered, since these are the
only formants whose frequencies tend to vary,
(generally according to the vowel being sung).
There are generally f ive formants relevant to
singing, though, and they are crucial in the
perception and discrimination of voiced sound.
In singing, contributions to the overall projection
of sound are believed to be made by formants
higher than the third. In fact, six or seven
formants can often be identif ied in the
laboratory. The higher formants are thought to
contribute to the individual identity of the
speaking or singing voice.
Swedish physician and medical researcher Johan
Sundberg has identif ied an additional
concentration or prominent cluster of intense
acoustic energ y, consisting of strong third, fourth
and f ifth formants. This cluster, which he termed
the Singer's Formant, results from the cumulative
distribution of upper harmonic partials (or
overtones) that is present in the frequency spectra
only of trained singing voices. This formant,
which seems to be independent of the particular
vowel and pitch, adds brilliance and carrying
power to the voice. Tonal balance - or
chiaroscuro timbre - is enhanced by, and results
from, a proper distribution of energ y among
these three formant regions.
In the trained singing voice, considerable
acoustic strength is present in both upper and
lower regions of the spectrum regardless of the
vowel being sung. The proper balance of this
acoustic energ y in upper, middle and lower
portions of the spectrum ensures the
classical resonance balance of the singing voice.
The combining of these f irst two formants along
with the cluster of formants - the third, fourth
and f ifth formants (generally referred to as the
Singer's Formant that is found in some ranges of
the singing voice in close proximity to the third
formant) produces the ideal clear/dark tone of the
historic chiaroscuro singing timbre. While the
third formant - the Singer's Formant - produces
the chiaro (light or clear) aspect of the historic
chiaroscuro tone of the singing voice, it is largely
the f irst formant that produces the
balancing oscuro (dark) aspects.
FORMANT TUNING
(RESONANCE TUNING)
A study on developing good tone is not complete
without a look at how even small adjustments
made to the vocal tract can change the overall
tone quality of the singing voice by changing the
relationship of the formants to the fundamental
frequency.
The vocal tract is capable of being shaped in a
variety of ways, and how it is shaped directly
affects the quality of the tone produced by the
singer. Any change in the cross section of the
vocal tract shifts the individual formant
frequencies, the direction of the shift depending
on just where the change in area falls along the
standing wave. For example, constriction of the
vocal tract at a place where the standing wave of
a formant exhibits minimum amplitude pressure
oscillations generally causes the formant to drop
in frequency. Expansion of the tract at those
same places raises the frequency.
By changing the vocal tract away from a perfect
tube, a singer can change the frequencies that it
prefers to vibrate or resonate at. That is, by
moving around the tongue body and the lips or
by lowering the jaw, as in the formation of
different vowels, a singer can change the position
of the formants. The process
of articulation determines the frequencies of the
vocal formants, as every vowel is characterized
and identif ied by its own unique formant
frequencies.
The shape of the vocal tract is altered by the
movements of the articulators (the tongue, jaw,
lips and other facial muscles, mouth, and
pharynx) in order to produce different sounds,
such as those that occur in the formation of
intelligible speech. These adjustments change the
acoustic properties of the vocal tract. In other
words, by changing the shape of the resonator,
the quality of the sound is altered.
The formant frequencies depend on vocal tract
length and shape, which are controlled by the
positioning of the lips, jaw, larynx, velum (soft
palate), tongue and pharyngeal side walls; that is,
by articulation. There is a close relationship
between vocal tract shape and formant
constellation. For example, a shortening of the
tract, caused by retracting the corners of the
mouth or by raising the larynx, increases all
formant frequencies, more or less. Both a
narrowing of the pharynx and a widening of the
mouth cavity increases the frequency of the f irst
formant. This will make the sound brighter.
Conversely, expanding the pharynx, protruding
the lips and lowering the larynx will lower the
f irst two formants and make the sound darker in
timbre. Moreover, if the pharynx is lengthened
by lowering the larynx, the second formant is also
lowered in vowels produced by a forward position
of the tongue, as in [i] (as in 'heed'). However,
vocal tract length, and hence the formant
frequencies of a given vowel, varies somewhat
both among and within men, women and
children.
This method for adjusting the formant
frequencies by modifying the shape of the vocal
tract - the jaw, the tongue, the lip opening, the
larynx, and the sidewalls of the pharynx - is
commonly referred to as formant
tuning (or formant technique or resonance
tuning). It essentially entails raising and lowering
formants in relation to the fundamental
frequency in order to emphasize or de-emphasize
one or the other, and thus create a more pleasant,
balanced, vibrant singing tone. Formant tuning
might be likened to the manual tuning of a radio
dial, in which a listener slowly turns the dial until
the sounds of the radio station become as clear as
possible, free of static or other unpleasant noise.
(In the case of singing, 'noise' represents any
overtones in the voice that are non-integers of the
fundamental frequency.)
Trained singers are able to control their vocal
fold mechanism for accurate pitch specif ication,
as well as the shape of their vocal tracts in order
to modify formant structures for better resonance
and projection. They are able to adjust
their vowel formants to match one or more
harmonics of the sung pitch. Experienced singers
have thus learned how to 'tune' their formants
over a reasonable range in order to make them
coincide with the fundamental frequency or one
of the overtones of the note that is being sung.
In addition to economizing the work of the vocal
folds, the formant tuning technique allows a
singer to extend his or her dynamic range, where
simply singing higher or with more volume is
limiting. One way to improve the tone and
increase the volume (carrying power) of singing is
to f ind an ideal and 'comfortable' vocal tract
conf iguration empirically (i.e., the specif ic
articulation that causes the biggest possible
radiated intensity at each note of the scale).
Sundberg has identif ied portions of the vocal
anatomy that he associates with the formant
frequencies. The frequency of the f irst formant,
which is responsible for 'depth' in the singing
voice, is particularly sensitive to the size and
shape of the pharynx and mouth cavity, which is
largely inf luenced by the width of the jaw
opening. The jaw opening constricts the vocal
tract toward the glottal end and expands it
toward the lip end. As the jaw is opened wider,
this formant frequency is raised. Put simply, the
f irst formant is responsive to the jaw opening.
The f irst formant will usually contribute more to
timbre because of its greater amplitude and lower
frequency, closer to the fundamental.
The second formant is particularly sensitive to
the shape of the body of the tongue. The second
formant adds the vowel-def ining element to
speech.
The third formant is responsive to the position
of the tip of the tongue and to the size of the
cavity between the lower teeth and the tongue.
The fourth and f ifth formants are more
diff icult to control by means of conscious
adjustment of the vocal tract.
In the case of the Singer's Formant - the cluster
of formants found in some ranges of the singing
voice in close proximity to the third formant -
trained singers manipulate the third and fourth
formants by lowering the larynx and elevating
the tongue blade in order to enhance this part of
the spectrum and make the voice able to be
heard above an orchestral accompaniment.
(These two formants can be made stronger in
singing than in speaking.)
The formant with the lowest frequency is
called f1, the second f2, and the third f3, etcetera.
The vocal tract resonances (formants) do not rise
and fall with the phonated pitch produced by the
vocal folds. These vocal tract resonances can only
move up and down in pitch if the vocal tract itself
is altered which, in turn, changes the resonance
frequencies of the vocal tract. For example,
sopranos frequently f ind it necessary to raise the
level of the f irst formant (f1) because the
fundamental pitch of a soprano often exceeds the
normal frequency of the f irst formant. (The
frequency range of the higher register of sopranos
tends to overlap with the ranges of the two lowest
formants.) This can create a shrill or thin sound
in the upper register.
In order to raise the f irst formant, the vocal tract
must be either shortened, or opened, or both.
Female singers instinctively open their mouths as
they sing pitches above the staff and, at the
highest notes, they tend to raise the larynx
slightly. All of these adjustments help to raise the
f irst formant. Provided the fundamental
frequency exceeds the standard frequency of the
f irst formant (or even the second one), the
formant tends to be dragged up to the
fundamental.
While most sopranos may be able to vary the
formants to follow the positions of the harmonics,
the way in which this is done may vary between
singers. For instance, some singers might raise the
fourth formant in order to make it coincide with
a harmonic, thus separating it from the lower
formants, which typically might drop. Such a
separation of third and fourth formants would
prevent the development of a Singer's Formant. If
the fourth formant drops along with the third
formant, thus maintaining a close distance, the
formants are reinforced. The presence of a
Singer's Formant will not necessarily ensure high
energ y in that region of the spectrum; the
spectral drop-off of the harmonics must also be
suff iciently gradual.
FORMANT TUNING IN THE

FEMALE HIGH RANGE
(HEAD REGISTER)
As the soprano moves up the scale, her tone
becomes increasingly instrument-like. The goal is
to cultivate as 'full' a tone as she can, both in
resonance and in registration.
The female voice is able to phonate a sound at
the pitch level of G5 - the G above the staff - and
higher, which is above the f irst formant frequency
for the [i] vowel. If the fundamental frequency of
the underlying vibration is higher than the
formant frequency of the system, then the
character of the sound imparted by the formant
frequencies will be mostly lost. There is a marked
tendency in women's voices for the high formant
to drop out at some point as the pitch rises.
Coloratura voices sometimes have practically no
high formant at all.
The higher a soprano sings, the more her
resonators simply reinforce her fundamental and
the less they function as vowel formants. If the
pitch of the phonated sound is above the f irst
formant (the 'f ingerprint') of the selected vowel,
the f irst formant of that vowel will not be present,
and the vowel will not be easily identif ied. This is
most apparent in the example of soprano opera
singers, who sing high enough that their vowels
become very hard to distinguish, which explains
why female opera singing is often diff icult to
understand, as a consequence of the harmonics
and formant patterns. This is why coloratura
arias usually abandon all words and simply turn
into vocalizes (wordless vocal 'g ymnastics').
In untrained singers, the highest notes of the
female voice often show distortion - a
preponderance of upper partials, which creates a
thin, shrill sound - whereas in premier female
artists, the oscuro ('dark') aspect of
the chiaroscuro tone never diminishes. In fact,
when these prominent singers are singing in
upper range, the f irst formant and the
fundamental are often enhanced and exhibit
increased acoustic energ y in the lower portion of
the spectrum. This balanced tone is achieved
because classically trained sopranos make use of
the technique of resonance (or formant) tuning to
intensify the vibrations of the vocal folds, to
increase the power of the voice and to balance
tone.
Opening the vocal tract will raise the f irst
formant, but raising the f irst formant will place it
in the pitch area of the f irst formant for another
vowel, [a]. Consequently, the most accessible
solution is to use the f irst formant frequency of
the [a] vowel, which is the highest f irst formant
for any of the vowels, and, in addition, attempt to
raise that formant of that vowel by opening the
mouth a little wider. Sopranos do this
instinctively and correctly. However, the vowel is
no longer [i]. It has now become some form of
the [a] vowel. (This technique is also part
of vowel modif ication, which I will write more
about in the continuation of this article.)
The soprano can open her mouth wider and still
keep the back of the tongue high in a quasi [i]
vowel position, and this will continue to give a bit
of the [i] quality to the notes sung above the G5.
She will be able, through this adjusted position,
to resonate the f2 formant of the [i] vowel, but
nothing that she does will make it possible for her
resonate the f1 formant of the [i] vowel because
the f1 formant is lower than the pitch that she is
phonating. Because the f1 formant is the
strongest and most decisive formant in def ining
any vowel, resonating only the f2 formant can
create only a suggestion of a vowel.
However, integrity of the vowel must be
preserved. The primary mouth shape for each
vowel survives, but the mandible ( jaw) gradually
drops just enough to avoid the conjoining of high
pitch and lateral vowel as pitch elevates. Extent of
buccal aperture (mouth opening) in high range
must match both the phonetic demands of each
vowel and the pitch being sung. Increased
dynamic intensity (including volume) also
commonly contributes to an additional degree of
mouth opening.
Vowel def inition must always be recognizable,
yet vowel modif ication remains quintessential
to upper-range singing. If the singer fails to adjust
her mouth and vocal tract to permit vowel
intelligibility - that is, if she attempts to maintain
the same lateral mouth posture that is
appropriate to the lower registers, holding her
mouth in an unmodif ied lateral position while
singing in the upper range - the f irst formant will
be forfeited and her resonance balance will be
upset. She will lose the 'velvet', the 'richness', of
the voice and she will produce an overly bright,
shrill or thin timbre and destroy diction, (not to
mention experience diff iculties fully accessing the
head register because of tension).
Lowering the jaw while forming a front
vowel enables the singer to approach a back
vowel position, which lowers the intensity of the
upper harmonic partials. (Lowering the jaw
lowers all formants; the lateral front vowels [i]
and [e] enhance acoustic strength in the upper
portion of the spectrum.) If the apex of the
tongue remains in the lateral vowel postures while
the jaw lowers, the singer will have an
appropriate vowel modif ication. (The phonetic
shape of the vowels changes somewhat.)
However, if too large a buccal opening is
assumed, disequilibrium among overtones will
also be produced. (I have written more about
ideal mouth shaping, above.)
FORMANT TRACKING
Formants are vocal tract resonances that appear
at certain frequencies - the formant
frequencies - and are measurable peaks of
acoustic strength. The energ y in a formant comes
from the sound source (e.g., the periodic
vibration of the vocal folds). Within each
formant, and typically across all active formants,
there is a characteristic waxing and waning of
energ y in all frequencies that is caused by the
repetitive opening and closing of the vocal folds.
The vocal tract f ilters a source sound (e.g.,
periodic voice vibrations or aperiodic hissing)
and the result of the f iltering is a sound that can
be heard and recorded outside the lips and shown
on a spectrogram. Each of the preferred
resonating frequencies of the vocal tract - each
formant - creates a 'bump' in the frequency
response curve. Formants occur, and are seen on
spectrograms, around frequencies that
correspond to the resonances of the vocal tract.
During formant tracking, analysis of the
singing voice is provided through electronic
devices (such as spectrograms) that measure
peaks in the harmonic spectrum of the voice
during singing; that is, formants are measured
and analyzed. Singers use these electric signals to
get a better idea of the quality of sound that they
are producing - whether or not certain formants
are present, whether certain formants are
stronger than others, etc. - and then make
adjustments to how they sing through
modif ications of the vocal tract in order improve
the acoustical quality of their voices. (This
technique is known as formant tuning.)
Through the process of formant tracking, singers
and their teachers can interpret signals and
connect them with the traditional goals of voice
building, such as improving vocal quality and
carrying power, equalizing the vowels, optimizing
vibrato and legato, extending the useful range
and the joining the registers.
VoceVista-Pro is a software system, with optional
hardware, that is designed primarily for the
analysis of the singing voice and providing
feedback during singing instruction. It utilizes
two non-invasive signals - a microphone and a
miniature EGG (electroglottograph) - allowing
singers to examine their voice production in real
time wherever they have access to a laptop
computer.
(Disclaimer: My mention of the above software
system should not be misconstrued as a personal
endorsement of that particular product, as I have
neither fully researched nor practically tested it,
and therefore cannot vouch for its usefulness or
effectiveness. My purpose for mentioning the
name of the specif ic product is merely to inform
my readers of the existence and availability of
such tools for singing. It is up to individual
singers to do their own research before
purchasing such products to use in their vocal
training.)
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Singing With An Open Throat' - Vocal Tract Shaping - SingWise

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Singing With An Open Throat' - Vocal Tract Shaping - SingWise

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9/22/23, 1:17 PM Singing with an ‘Open Throat’: Vocal Tract Shaping — SingWise

Vocal Tract Shaping

'Opening the throat' is

def ined as a technique

and/or the ventricular

(false) vocal folds are

the vocal tract.

Opening the throat involves raising the soft

palate (velum), lowering the larynx and

assuming ideal positions of the articulators (the

jaw, lips and tongue), as well as shaping of the

mouth and use of facial muscles.

The expression also describes the sensation of

freedom or passivity in the throat region that is

said to accompany good singing. The technique

of the open throat is intended to promote a type

of relaxation or vocal release in the throat that

helps the singer avoid constriction and tension

that would otherwise throttle or stif le the tone.

An 'open throat' - a misnomer for a few reasons -

is generally believed to produce a desirable sound

quality that is perceived as resonant, round,

open, free from 'constrictor tensions', pure, rich,

vibrant and warm in tone. It also produces

balance, coordination, evenness and consistency,

and a prominent low formant, which prevents the

tone from sounding overly bright, thin or shrill.

Additionally, if singing is performed with an open

and relaxed acoustical space, the singer will

experience a smooth blending of the registers.

This sound quality is linked to the vocal actions

that take place during the preparation to sing

(inhalation). The larynx lowers automatically

when breath is taken in, and the soft palate

naturally lifts at the same time. Because the

events of singing are more demanding than those

of speaking, requiring deeper inhalation, greater

energ y and further laryngeal depression, there is

a corresponding increase in pharyngeal space

that occurs somewhat naturally.

When a vocalist sings with a so-called 'closed

throat', imbalance of registration is likely to

occur. The chest register will be taken too high

and the upper register becomes more and more

harsh and strident because the singer creates a

tone that is merely imitative of the head voice.

Intonation becomes harder and harder to achieve

because the larynx is too high and the soft palate

too low, resulting in a feeling that the voice is

being squeezed from both the top and the

bottom. In other words, registration shifts cannot

occur in a healthy manner if the throat is closed,

nor if the vocal sound is driven toward the point

The goal of every singer should be to achieve

tonal balance. Many of the popular techniques

that vocal teachers use to help their students

improve the quality of their voices are devices for

directly or indirectly enlarging and relaxing the

throat during singing. The use of imagery, such

as 'drinking in the breath', in their teaching is

very common. Enlarging the throat space

involves conscious inhibition of some of the