In a message dated 12/7/00 12:41:00 AM Central Standard Time,
lloyd.hanson@n... writes:
lloyd.hanson@n... writes:
> In the middle or lower ranges of the voice it is typical for the vocalis
> muscle to supply some of the longitudinal tension on the vocal fold because
> the vocal ligament is not stretched at or near its maximum tension and is,
> therefore, not a contributor to the necessary longitudinal tension for the
> pitch being sung. In this vocal fold mode of oscillation, a larger portion
> of the vocal fold is in oscillation, including part or most of the vocalis
> muscle.
>
> I am not sure without checking my resources what configuration of the vocal
> mechanism creates the medial tension that is often mentioned on this list.
> Medial tension would, by definition, be a pressing together of the vocal
> folds at their midline longitudinally.
The muscles that help create medial compression (not tension) are the
interarytenoids as you stated and the lateral cricoarytenoids. They need to
engage to adduct the vocal folds, just not the thyroarytenoids.
Falsetto lacks medial compression. So, in addition to the TA not
contributing, neither are the primary muscles of adduction, the IAs and LCAs.
Female falsetto occurs low in the voice, usually between eflat4 and a4. It
lacks any TA involvement and in addition, the IAs and LCAs are not firing
hard enough.
It is not an issue of support but an issue of the cord structure itself.
Many voice teachers (especially those settled exclusively in the opera
ghetto) discourage any chest voice involvement. This leads to a form of
production that is the exact same thing as male falsetto. I'm not basing
this on an unsubstantiated theory but my own observations of stroboscopic
exams of females who sing this way. The lack of a closed phase leads to the
perception of a vocal problem, in that nodes are often suspected, but the
true culprit is the lack of chest voice involvement. Get them in touch with
their chest voice and the problem is gone.
Randy Buescher
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
|
