buzzcen@a... wrote:
buzzcen@a... wrote:
>
> When a mix begins to exhibit closed phases in this range, the sound
> > > becomes more like a belt. There may indeed be methods of approaching
> > belt which
> > > involve extreme pressures that result in unhealthy phonation but the same
> > can be
> > > said for the classical world. You are attempting to define anything
> > unhealthy as
> > > belt.
> > >
> >
>
> Barry,
>
> When the CTs become involved the cord structure changes affecting the
> overtones. A hard mix, where there is long closed phase done via intrinsic
> musculature, will still have a slightly different tonal quality than chest.
> If it sound like pure chest above (bflat 4 or so) are the vowels start to get
> splatty,
My point is that a good belt does NOT sound like chest voice. Pure
chest voice would be very difficult to get much above the A4.
However, if you are indeed talking about a hard mix as
> being belt, then you talking about a mix and that should not require
> laryngeal elevation.
>
> I know what you'll say... by who's definition? It's starting to sound like
> Clinton asking someone to define the word is. The fact that you would ask
> students to only belt occasionally makes me suspect that even you think it is
> hard on the voice. Why even go there when you can serve the purposes of the
> music without resorting to this.
Good point. My point is you cannot, in all situations, serve the
purposes of the music with a mix sound. You may choose to call heavy
mix the thing that I teach as belt but to my students who both mix and
belt it is approached differently and it feels different. Belt is more
difficult to do well. I am very careful with my beginning belt
students. When they are doing it correctly, however, they can do it all
day long without fatigue. My attitude 10 years ago was just as
suspicious as yours. That all changed the first time I took a belt
lesson from Gayle Lockwood (who basically learned her belt technique
from Jan Sullivan). I thought I was making the most horrendous sound
imaginable - but at least, to my great surprise, it didn't hurt at all
and I found myself, as a bass-baritone, hitting high 'C's, 'D''s and
'E's in the tenor range. It wasn't until I later listened to the tape
that I realized it was a functional sound, not a beautiful sound. It
was a sound designed to convey emotion and character in specific
situations that my classical technique could not. And after a 45 minute
lesson, my throat felt no more strain than in a classical lesson.
Perhaps less because I was actually singing softer than normal for me.
A good belt is tricky for some people (there are of course a few
naturals) and students and teachers alike should not try to just fake
it. But when done correctly the technique can produce an electric sound
like none other. It is a worthwhile field of study and should not be demonized.
--
Dr. Barry Bounous
Brigham Young University
School of Music
bounousb@i...
bounousb@i...
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