Kevin, I think I can tackle these questions! I'll try anyway, item by item below:
At 09:39 AM 8/29/00 +0100, you wrote: >> John wrote - "I don't think a falsetto production can sound full and rich. >> If it does then there is probably some adduction, allowing for a wider >range >> of partials which can resonate at formant frequencies. That's what I >think." > >This has come up a couple of times now and I'd like to clear up my >thinking. > >Do the frequencies that appear in the voice have to appear also in >the chords or can the frequencies of air oscillation in the resonant >cavities be driven by different frequencies in the chords ? My >initial thinking would be that the 'singers formant' frequencies could >be 'driven' by lower frequencies in the chords.
WHen the cords actually touch as part of their vibrational cycle there is a lot of high frequency vibration. Lots of little shocks and vortices. That's where the initial high frequency energy comes from.
>Much of the falsetto/head-voice debate seems to depend upon relating >frequencies/richness in the voice to chord vibration and I'm not >convinced this is particularly valid. It may be more to do with shaping of >the resonant cavities in the head and neck by well trained singers.
The cavities need something to resonate to. They will resonate to three kinds of event: a source vibration at the resonant frequency; a source vibration at an integral harmonic of the resonant frequency; a shock (sort of like hitting a drum).
>As an analogy think about a trumpet player. The player's lips must be >vibrating with only one frequency, there are'nt any complex vibrational >modes coming into play. (I don't think) However, the sound out of the end >of the trumpet is a more complex harmonic mix. The 'extra' frequencies >must be introduced by driving resonances in the trumpet itself. (probably) >A clarinet would be another, perhaps simpler, example of a single frequency >driving complex resonances.
The trumpet is actually very rich, especially in upper harmonics so close together as to be discordant, which explains the bright tone of the trumpet. That's because the lips are acting as I have described above, just like adducted vocal cords - and of course the shape of the bell allows many upper frequencies to ring, just as the lenth of the tube strongly resonates in the lower harmonics of the note. The clarinet has a strange harmonic profile where only every other harmonic is present in the tone, so it has a smoother kind of sound and the upper harmonics don't get to jangle so closely as in the trumpet tone.
>To state simply, in case anyone missed the point. A falsetto mode vibration >in the chords, possessing few harmonic complexities could still produce a >rich tone in a singer with the right shape of resonant cavities (by training >or good fortune). And this tone could be confused with 'proper' head voice.
I disagree. I think the source of the vibrations has to be rich, for there to be a lot of resonance at different frequencies. One certainly has a choice of tuning some of one's resonating spaces, and of damping the resonance in spaces that are untuneable, but the basic source sound is that odd little double reed in the larynx.
>Is the chap that was research assistant to Ingo Titze still on the list ?
I don't know the answer to this one :) john > >kevin
John Blyth Baritono robusto e lirico Brandon, Manitoba, Canada
|