sopran@a... wrote:
sopran@a... wrote:
> In a message dated 3/28/01 4:23:11 PM, ibracamonte@y... writes:
> << Right. So castrati had better ring than women. >>
>
> But not than men? Why are women singled out?
Well, there is a objective difference between the ring of tenors and
female sopranos. Tenors use a technique that uses thicker vibrating
vocal cords than female sopranos. The tenor's thicker cords produce a
more complex source vibration, which resonates more evenly within the
singers' formant range. A soprano's source vibration is less complex
(and higher), resulting in better defined bands within the formant
region.
Here's where it gets tricky. Some think the castrati may have used a
more "tenoresque" technique, bringing more of that broader-banded
ring up, giving their overall sound a more virile timbre. This is
something women *can* do, btw, so if women envied anything, it was
only the castrati's privlege of being allowed to sing this way.
I have a graphic that shows both kinds of formants in my voice:
http://people.mills.edu/toda/music/analysis.html
The second graph on the page is of an arpeggio, where I am in the
more "feminine" mode in the middle section.
Now it's a whole other issue which is a "better" ring! It does seem
that the more complex tone is associated with butchness.
Tako Oda
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