Dear Vocalisters:
The vocal sound one produces is transferred into the room from the
vocal tract (pharynx and buccal cavity) via the mouth. It does not
emanate from the masque, forehead, throat, behind the eyes, back of
the head, roof of the mouth etc. etc even though we may,
individually, sense the tone in one or several of these places. Our
sensing of the tone placement is merely our response to the sound
passing into these areas of the body via bone conduction. So, in
light of this fact, we have no reason to concern ourselves with where
we place the voice if, by doing so, we think it will assist to have
the sound be heard more easily.
However, that being said, the sense of placement which we might feel,
can be an excellent "tuning device" which can make it easier to
adjust our voice to produce the particular sound we, or our teachers,
are seeking. It is, of course, necessary to learn what sensations
will convey what particular sound quality for the listener because we
have little idea of how we sound to the listener. A typical scenario
goes something like this.
Teacher: "That is an excellent tone quality. Can you tell me how it
felt to produce that tone?
Student: I felt that tone in my left ear lobe.
Teacher: Next time you sing in public place the tone for that
passage in your left ear lobe and lets see what others think.
This is follow with a successful response to tones place in that
useless place and the singer now has a "tuning device" for improving
his tonal qualities.
Sound silly? Of course, the ear lobe is silly but it makes the point
that each singer will likely sense his/her tonal placement in his/her
unique way and it is the job of the teacher to help the student
discover those "tuning devices" that give them a better opportunity
to make good vocal adjustments in their singing,
Just keep in mind that these are merely tuning devices. One is not
really placing the voice in these locations and, more importantly,
the tone is not coming from these tuning places. A good analogy is
the way we tune a radio. The dial is only the tuning device, it is
not the source of the sound but rather a device to more accurately
adjust the sound producing mechanisms of the instrument. So it is
for the voice.
--
Lloyd W. Hanson, DMA
Professor of Voice, Pedagogy
School of Performing Arts
Northern Arizona University
Flagstaff, AZ 86011
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