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From:  John Alexander Blyth <BLYTHE@B...>
Date:  Tue May 30, 2000  8:36 pm
Subject:  Re: [vocalist-temporary] American School of Countertenors WAS: David Daniels, Question about , fach, tenor arias


As I mentioned on a recent post, the image I have in my mind of vocal
chord (or fold) function is fairly crude and simplistic. The thing that
really gave me food for though in David Cox's post was that the reason the
vocal folds don't adduct in falsetto is that they have been stretched tight
and thin on either side of the airstream. This rather rings true, and might
explain why, for me at least, falsetto is very hard work.
More on a quasi-falsetto in Wagnerian sopranos: can I just say that the
marvellous Deborah Voigt had not a trace of it? On the other hand she
didn't have to toss off effortless high-c ho-jo-to-hos either. She's not a
tiny woman either, which fact rather wants to shoot down an idea I still
want to toy with: that abundant adiposity has some effect on the structure
of the vocal folds - maybe allowing for some kind of extra lubrication or
maybe the chords themselves become thicker and stiffer. I have noticed that
some obese people have a sort of hooty quality in their speaking voice
(like Newman on the Seinfeld show - I can't remember the name of the actor)
and I wonder if any study has been done to discover what is going on there.
5c please. john
At 09:28 PM 5/28/00 +0930, you wrote:
>John Alexander Blyth wrote:
>
>> Perhaps I'm opening a can of worms, but it seems to me that
amongst female
>> opera singers, some utilize adducted vocal chords and some don't. There is
>> a lot of falsetto going on, maybe since it is perceived as feminine. I'm
>> reminded of my (almost six years old) daughter who theems to have a bit of
>> a lithp. I would say that Jane Eaglen (to my loony ears) uses a lot more
>> falsetto in Bruennhilde's high bits, compared to the 'laser tone' of Birgit
>> Nilsson, yet Eaglen was marvellously in tune, while Nilsson had a tendency
>> to go sharp. More worms anyone?
>
>And Isabelle Bracomonte wrote
>John, the technical purists may point out that there
>is (according to current pedagogical thought) no such
>thing as female falsetto.
>
>It is instead referred to as "pure" or "unsupported"
>head voice, with no chest voice mixed in. I call it
>falsetto when I sing it, because that's what it feels
>like -- a flip into another register, that high, soft
>little-girl voice.
>
>
>
>I'm very glad John opened this particular can - I've often thought that
sopranos I 've
>heard were singing in falsetto, but never been game enough to raise the
possibilty.
>The voices are often loud, but have several distinctive qualities. One is
a brittle,
>hollow sound. Another is a tendency (in some singers) to disappear for a
couple of
>notes around C4- E4 (just above middle C). Alternatively, the voice may
display a
>yodel type crack at one point in the range - I also notice this sometimes
when the
>singer is beginning a note. All in all, it sounds as though something is
missing from
>the core of the sound - the same sort of sound as a young girl or an
untrained adult
>often displays, but boosted with lots of support and twang to be very loud
- a bit
>like Tiny Tim on steroids! Any one else noticed this?
>
>I'm very surprised by Isabelle's first paragraph. Maybe it is a
terminology problem.
>My understanding of falsetto is that it is produced by a qualitatively
different vocal
>function from 'chest' and 'head' voice (I've never liked those terms). I
understand
>that in the 'chest' voice, the vocal folds vibrate flexibly with a long
closed phase
>and that as a singer makes the transition into 'head'voice the folds
gradually thin
>out and the length of the closed phase reduces. However, both of these
are a gradual
>difference in degree - the basic function is the same. On the other hand, in
>falsetto, the folds become stiff and thin, and do not close completely
(hence the
>tendency to run out of breath much more quickly in falsetto). The change
to falsetto
>can happen very suddenly and is obviously most noticeable in the male
voice. It is
>however also present in the female voice - in the untrained female,
typically around
>E4. The difference between say, 'head' voice and falsetto is much less
obvious in the
>female voice but is nonetheless there - I think! Any comments?
>
>Cheers
>
>David
>
>
>--
>David Cox
>South Australia
>
>
>
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John Blyth
Baritono robusto e lirico
Brandon, Manitoba, Canada

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