Dear Les and Vocalisters;
You asked:
>"By beginning point of their passaggio", I assume that you mean the
>lowest note of their passagio and by "ending point of their
>passaggio", I assume that you mean the highest note of their
>passaggio. Do you apply any descending sirens after the onsets? How
>long do you have them sustain the vowel?
I borrow from Richard Miller and his definition that as the male
chest voice is sung higher and higher it reaches a level at which the
vocal quality becomes like that of the "calling" voice. The first
appearance of this "call" voice is defined as the lower beginning of
the passaggio or First Passaggio point ("Primo Passaggio"). If the
call voice is continued upward it will eventually reach a stopping
point (where continued use would be uncomfortable) or break into
falsetto. This is the upper end of the passaggio or the Second
Passaggio point ("Secondo Passaggio"). The area between these two
points is the Passaggio (Zona di Passaggio). It usually encompasses
about a major third or fourth.
I have found that there is little need to define the exact upper
passaggio point with beginning male students but it is important to
find the first passaggio point and , for starters, assume that the
passaggio will extend about a fourth above this point. I use onset
exercises to establish secure and correct phonation within the middle
of the chest voice range and gradually introduce exercises to
develop/create the head voice above the passaggio area. This is much
easier with higher men's voices than it is with lower men's voices.
Most tenor and many baritones will already have some sense of upper
voice that is not falsetto and exercises, properly given and
administrated, will develop these beginnings and strengthen them. In
this way a voice is discovered above the passaggio without having to
solve the difficulties that are so great within the passaggio area.
Once the head voice is established, downward scale and arpeggio
patterns are used to help the singer bring that vocal quality
downward. In so doing, the vocal mechanism develops the coordination
of adding vocalis muscle activity as cricothyroid activity is
reduced. The coordination required for downward moving exercises is
much easier than the coordination required for upward moving
exercises; the larger vocalis muscles more naturally increases its
tension than it does release its tension. It is not necessary to
sing these exercises at a forte level. The nature of learning to
carry the head voice down through the passaggio is to discover the
process of doing so, not the final full throated singing product.
--
Lloyd W. Hanson
|
