Vocalist.org archive


From:  Reg Boyle <bandb@n...>
Date:  Sun Jul 2, 2000  6:48 am
Subject:  Re: [vocalist-temporary] Re: seth riggs


Dear Randy,
I see. It's terminology!

What you insist on terming 'damping', I would equally
insist is 're-tuning'.

Thank you Randy for your description I knew we could nail
this to the wall eventually, as long as we resisted the temptation to personal
denigration and it does so reinforce the pre-conceptions of the femininists;)
To mix a suitable male metaphor and lighten the atmosphere, when a guy
pisses into the wind he is unlikely to finish with egg on his face:)

My technical background leads me always to electronic
simile and at the risk of boring all to tears, I feel the need to invoke the
"pi" filter as the cordal mechanism. Mass and tension.

I can't nominate a mass for a particular frequency, nor can I
suggest a tension of the muscles that match that desired psycho-acoustic
choice. The one thing I can reliably suggest, is that when the particular
pitch is psycho-acoustically finished with, the mass of choice and the
matching muscle tension will alter, thus de-tuning the mechanism.

This, I think is what you are calling damping. You are
correct in the terms that the cords stop what they were doing.
Unfortunately I must insist that damping is a dynamic term, in that it
implies restraint, not change. By this I mean reigning in a tendency for
a mechanism to exceed its physical limitations and venture into the zone
of destruction. However, used correctly during the act of singing,
damping in my terms, would lead to both control and purity of tone.

This may seem to be a little distant from SLS and other
systems of training, but to one who fears vocal damage or destruction
and yet wishes to approach the limits of vocal achievement, I think
it is prudent to do whatever one can, to ensure that the path does
not lead to the abyss. This includes challenging all contentions
that appear to be intrinsically flawed. Unfortunately this is going
to lead to confrontation with others who hold just a little TOO
tightly to a creed.
But given our male strength to concentrate on
one thing at a time the solution will usually be laid bare, unlike the
others, who's multi-tasking ability results in the suspension of
fight or flight and leads to their ultimate stagnation:)
This awful observation comes from the last time something like
this happened and one of the others condescending suggested
leaving the boys to their games. Not good.
More positively that same fight or flight has great
application to performance nerves, but of course that's another
matter for which other walls may have to be torn down.

Regards Reg.








emusic.com