Dear Michael and Vocalisters:
You wrote:
>Classically trained men (not countertenors) sing in only a single
>vibrational mode, whereas classically trained women sing in two
>vibrational modes. Essentially, Wim said (my interpretation) that
>male falsetto is rather akin to female head voice, and that the
>operatic male head voice is a sort of extension of the chest voice.
I am confused about why you think men sing in a single vibrational
mode. They don't according to my understanding of vibrational modes.
The vibrational patterns of the vocal folds change when we hear
changes in registers. Alterations of vibrational patterns are one of
the causes of registration phenomena.
You wrote:
>In post 7630, Wim wrote:
>
>In female middle voice and head voice
>the 'light' vibrational pattern appears, which is characterized
>by low vertical phase difference and a low closed quotient (glottis
>is closed 40% of the cycle or less). It is the same pattern as used
>in male falsetto. The 'heavy' vibrational pattern is only present
>in the lowest of the three female registers (chest) and in belting.
According to my reading research, male falsetto does not have a
closed quotient as high as 40% but rather, might approach the 10-20%
level. As you know, closed quotient is nothing more than a
description of how long the vocal folds are closed during each
complete cycle (from completely closed, to completely open, back to
completely closed). If the folds are open during most of this cycle,
that is, if the opening phase is very quick and the cords remain open
quite long and the closed phase if also very quick, the closed
quotient is very low, say about 10%. If the folds are closed during
most of the this cycle, that is, the closing phase is quick and the
cords remain closed quite long and the opening phase is also very
quick, the closed quotient is very high, say about 70%. The results
of these closed quotient differences, as we hear them, is that a low
closed quotient produces a breathy tone and a high closed quotient
produces a pressed tone, neither of which is desirable for most
singing. The ideal classical singing closed quotient is about 50%.
But in male falsetto, because the vocal folds are not completely
adducted (closed) there is little, if any, closed quotient and the
aforementioned 10-20% would be considered very high. It is for this
reason that male falsetto uses up breath at such high rates; the air
is literally pouring over the slightly open and elongated vocal folds
causing oscillation of their outmost edges but not building up a
pulsating pressure pattern as is found in non-falsetto singing. The
fact that female voices might, at times, display a closed quotient of
40% keeps them well within the area of the 50% ideal and, in my
opinion, does not resemble male falsetto in the two ways I have
mentioned: 1) the female vocal folds are completely adducted and 2)
the closed quotient is in the range of the 50% ideal.
You quote Wim Ritzerfeld in an earlier discussion held on this site
regarding registration phenomena. The purpose of Ritzerfeld's
argument was to support the concept that the resonance of the vocal
tract has a substantial effect on the function of the vocal folds.
He evidently felt it was necessary to discount the idea of changes in
vocal fold vibratory function as one of the primary causes of
registration phenomena and place all of the cause for registration
events on resonance effects.
There is no doubt that accurate tuning of the vocal tract is an
essential and, in some cases primary, causal factor in register
events. I endorsed and promoted this concept before Donald Miller or
Wim Ritzerfeld ever heard of it. Vocal tract resonance study was
part of the basic research and teaching of Burton Coffin conducted at
the University of Colorado in the late 40s and early 50s. It was not
brought into the recent discussion because the subject dealt
primarily with vocal fold function.
--
Lloyd W. Hanson
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