Dear Vocalisters
It is very easy to assume that the air which passes through the glottis is the vehicle that carries the vocal tone out into the world. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The vocal folds are set in motion by the air pressure under the folds (glottis) which is intense enough to force open the folds. The folds then are closed by a combination of the natural muscle elasticity of the folds together with the Bernoulli effect as the air passing over the folds increases in velocity, and the inertance of the air in the vocal tract which acts as a kind of pneumatic spring. The effect of all this is a consistent oscillation of the vocal folds which creates a vibratory pattern in the vocal tract.
Sound is transmitted as the molecules of air transmit their vibratory energy (kinetic energy) from one to another. Each molecule moves backward and forward but the air molecules do not move forward in a continuous line, that is, the air does not move forward as in a breeze. Sound is transmitted through the air in this transfer of energy method whether the air is in the mouth or in the room. Breath energy's only function is to create an oscillation of the vocal folds such that the vocal folds establish a vibratory pattern in the air molecules.
For this reason, the opening of the nasal port will have no or very little effect on the amount of air necessary to sing. A nasal tone requires no more use of air than a non-nasal tone. The use of air (breath) is only to maintain the oscillation of the vocal folds, not the transmission of sound.
To the extent that the nasal port is open, to that extent the nasal cavity will become a side branch resonator which creates a resonance that tends to muffle the tone being transmitted through the mouth cavity. It is possible to use the nasal cavity as the primary resonance cavity but the tone so produced is not consider valid in classical western singing. In much eastern music it is considered as a desirable quality
It is possible to open the nasal port slightly and reduce the effect of the nasal area acting as a side branch resonator. It is also possible that many singers consider this a more comfortable way to produce a tone because it feels more resonant. I have also had students who reduce the resonance in their mouth cavity when they completely close the nasal port but this has usually been caused by additional tension in the pharyngeal area as they struggle to reduce nasal resonance, especially if nasal resonance has been a primary part of their singing habit.
The soft palate area can be lifted even if the nasal port is slightly open. The soft palate area can also be lowered even if the nasal port is closed. The nasal port and the soft palate occupy much of the same area in the mouth but they are not two terms for the same thing. It is also true that any lifting of the soft palate will lower the larynx. The muscle systems which affect the soft palate and the larynx work in opposite directions.
It is the adjustments of the total of the vocal tract (pharynx, mouth, tongue, soft palate, etc.) that effects vowel pronunciation. These adjustments change the vowel sound whether speaking or singing. Any tonal color use in singing is nothing more than a change in vowel pronunciation. Vocal "cover", for example, is merely an alteration of vowel pronunciation. All of these changes in vowel pronunciation (or tonal changes, if you prefer) occur because the infinite volume and shape adjustments possible in the vocal tract also create different resonance characteristics within the vocal tract. These resonance characteristics are called vowel formants.
Given this flexibility it is not surprising that there is more than one adjustment possible for similar vowel sounds. And if one adds to this the fact that each singer has a different size (volume) and shaped vocal tract it becomes obvious that only generalities can be established about necessary vocal tract configurations between singers.
It is often difficult to maintain a coordination of the many knowledges we learn about the voice but it is necessary to do so. When one bit of information appears to contradict another it is natural to return to a subjective approach to understand vocal function but this is a mistake. It is best to assume that there is other information we must learn and understand which will assist us to connect our previously learned material with newer material that appears to be contradictive.
The primary function of subjectivity in singing is in interpretation and the expression of emotion. Subjectivity is necessary and singing has no meaning without it but subjectivity is of little value as a tool to explain the function of the vocal instrument.
Regards -- Lloyd W. Hanson, DMA Professor of Voice, Vocal Pedagogy School of Performing Arts Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ 86011
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