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> I think a raised larynx is the cause of an unstable voice style, no matter
how 'right' it sounds. Most rock singing is with a raised larynx, a sign of
a constricted throat and tension.
> But in opera, the raised larynx is out the door for light tenors.
> Fritz Wunderlich certainly wouldn't have raised his larynx. And he is the
> ultimate high tenor model in my mind.
> and you'd never catch high sop. Edita Gruberova raising her larynx. It's
> all *big open throat and go, go, go,* for those singers.
>
Hello everybody!
Firstly, many thanks to all who have worked so hard to keep this list going.
I have finally worked my way through about 900 postings and am now ready to
take part again!
Oh yes, I now have to share an itinerant lap-top with hubby and sons since a
power surge of 400volts (it was a blustery day in Cape Town!) fried our
computor. So I can't always get to it when I have the time, oh well.
I have been following the discussions on "raised larynx" and would just like
to share some thoughts which might not have been covered.
A singer-friendly E.N.T.specialist recently commented that a raised larynx
placed too much tension on the vocal cords. He had just shown a fascinating
video observing the action of the cords while singing with a high and with a
low larynx. This was the first time that I had heard the direct correlation
between action of cords and laryngeal position.
The above quote (by Mirko,April 16 I think) gives the impression that high
or low larynx is something that could actually be controlled by the singer
(or speaker, for that matter). Most of the time, however, it seems to be an
action which is totally beyond a singer's control. My own experience has
been to be able to have a nice open throat while yawning, but having the
larynx jump up the minute a sound is produced.
Not only do the muscles of the larynx need to be "retrained" but a very
important set of muscles seldom mentioned, are(is) the depressor muscles
which support the larynx itself.If these muscles are not strong, they will
simply allow the larynx to rise with the air-pressure.
The use of Vocal Fry has been mentioned as one way of retraining all these
muscles.It certainly produces a very low,open, relaxed sound. (I first heard
about this on this list, many thanks!)
Progressive octave exercises on aw, oo, oe and ue also help to retrain and
open the throat. eg Hö- Hü (doh-doh') (Chest G3-mixed G4) No higher than F4
.to F5
Ka-a-a-a-aw-aw-aw-awa-ah (d r m f s f m r d)
Ka-a-a-a-aw-aw-aw-aw-aw-aw-aw-aw-aw-aw-aw-aw-ah.(d r m f
s l t d' r' d' t l s f m r d
During the Golden Age of Singing the term "low larynx" was not used as such,
but the rounding and darkening of vowels as one sang higher would certainly
have brought about the desired effect.
I've mentioned a "Geräuschübung" (growl) before, and have finally found a
reference to it in the context of a therapy exercise in "Discover Your
Voice" by Oren Brown.He discusses Cord Paralysis and A Childlike Voice
after Puberty and recommends the following exercise (to be used with care):
"a light cough, as if lightly clearing the throat"(p225) and
"clear the throat gently, with the larynx in a relatively low position.
Carry this into a voiced "uh huh" (p227)
I wish my research of this type of "growl" wouldn't be so serendipidous,
excited as I am about this discovery!!
Is there Anyone out there who has heard of Dr Albrecht Thausing (or Armin,
his teacher)and his Stimmkraft-(Voice Strenghthening Exercises making use of
chest voice) and Geräuschübungen?? Or any reference to something similar (eg
Brown, who seems to have made up this exercise himself, he certainly does
not credit anyone else with it!)
This exercise has also been found to be helpful in the case of stutterers,
as it unlocks the spasm that the cords seem to go into.
I hope by June to be able to have my own cords filmed while doing this
exercise to really be able to assess what is happening, using the latest
technology.
As you can see, the search continues!!!
Regards
Susi
Cape Town RSA
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