Vocalist.org archive


From:  antonio_loro@y...
antonio_loro@y...
Date:  Tue Jul 17, 2001  12:58 am
Subject:  Have you ever heard of this??


((First off, sorry about the e-mail (basically identical to this
one) with no subject line, that's a case of hitting the wrong button.
Forgive me, I'm new here. It's my first post.))

I have an interesting and confounding situation with my voice. I am a
baritone or bass, usually, and that is the issue. My range in chest
voice starts around a low E flat or E, and reaches up a little over 2
octaves to F, or G. These parameters vary depending on the day, as I
suppose is the case with most organic musical instruments. I'll cut
to the chase: once in a while (maybe every couple of weeks or so,
probably less, usually for a day or three), my entire vocal range
seems to shift down, so my low note will be a B flat or so (sometimes
a tich lower), and my top notes shift down too.

I will admit, or warn, that I have an untrained voice,
but I have done some exercises on my own, and have read various bits
of literature that I think prepare me well conceptually for the proper
use of my voice. Just so you know, I am currently involved in a
musical theatre production of Annie (I'm Daddy Warbucks), which is a
totally new experience for me, never having really sung in public
performance before. (Tons of crooning around the household, though.)
(I'm 26, to round out my bio.)

This phenomenon of the lowered voice is interesting, and
I'd like an explanation, if you please. It's not hoarseness - my
voice feels very relaxed and comfortable, "juicier" than usual, and
it's not from singing a lot or screaming the night before. It's not
from staying up late, drinking, or smoking, or a cold. It's not from
excess phlegm; I feel no need to clear my throat, etc. It's not a
morning voice; it can last all day, even after quite a bit of singing
all through my range. It's not raspy, nor is it woofy. The mechanism
of voice production, as far as I can tell, feels pretty much the same
as any other day (which I think is reasonably relaxed, and pretty
strong, though I know I do have excess tension when I'm in my upper
chest voice). My voice doesn't feel heavy, or sluggish, or thick. My
low notes, in fact, are much more resonant and brighter than usual.
One factor that I've noticed is that this phenomenon happens after
I've done a good dose of exercise the day before; not necessarily
strenuous, a good few hour hike will suffice. However, as far as I
know, my voice doesn't always drop the day after such exercise, and
sometimes it drops without the exercise.

My high notes sound like they usually do; it's just that
they peter out about a fourth lower than they usually do.

I enjoy this phenomenon, because my voice feels and
sounds more supple, richer and more resonant. The one thing that I
suppose is a bit annoying is those high notes that composers and
audiences love are not as easy. However, I think that's nothing a bit
(or a lot) of training can't fix.

My surmise is that this voice change has to do with
breathing and relaxation, generally speaking. Specifically speaking,
I have no idea. Do you? How do I reliably reproduce this state of
vocal production? I know this could be a huge topic, but do you have
any general or specific technique pointers/exercises for me?

Thanks a lot, your help is very appreciated.


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