To: VOCALIST <vocalist>
From: Gib Wallis
Subject: TECH: Pressed Phonation (was Re: False cords)
Send reply to: VOCALIST <vocalist>

> 'pressed voice' is: I must confess I've always had terrible
>trouble with traditional vocal literature, trying to work out what
>different writers mean by the same terms.

Pressed phonation can mean a couple of things, IMHO.

My interpretation of it includes the following conditions:

1. a long closed phase of the vocal folds during phonation
(i.e.: 30% or more)

2. great subglottal pressure

3. failure of the folds to damp (length of the vibrating
surface to shorten)

However, some pedagogs have a less refined working definition.
For them, when conditions 1 or two or both are met,
they will call the resulting vocalism as "pressed."

I shy away from using this term myself, because
it's inexact.

Also, as a singer and trainer of singers in non-operatic styles,
I use and teach a vocal style that includes the first two conditions,
but not the third (i.e.: the hard mix, or the beautiful belt).

In classical singing, a long closed phase with a greater amount of
subglottal air pressure is part and parcel of tenor vocalism for
those ringing high notes that sound like an incredible extension of
the chest voice but are in fact the true tenor's head voice and
calling card.

Of course, both of these kinds of vocalism require that the vocal folds
dampen, which facilities smooth registration.

Pressed phonation, as used by classical pedagogues,
always has a derogatory connotation. It is never a compliment.

Best!

Gib Wallis
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