Dear Barry and Taylor and Vocalisters:
The opening or closing of the velopharyngeal port is not necessarily
conditional on the concept of "raising the palate" as is taught in
many singing techniques. In short, it is possible to raise the
palate with the velopharyngeal port open or closed.
Barry wrote:
"The inverse action of the larynx and soft palate is a common classical
teaching image (which I use myself with classical voices). It is not,
however, inviolate. It is quite possible to make both the soft palate
and larynx move independently of one another."
This is more a description of the method of raising the soft palate
than it is a description of the inverse action between the soft
palate and the larynx. The kind of soft palate raising which induces
a simultaneous lower of the larynx is beneficial in that it increases
pharyngeal height as well as pharyngeal depth. It can be done with
the mouth closed and a breath taken through the nose which, of
course, means the velopharyngeal port is open (see above).
If a technique of singing is sought in which the larynx is to be
raised, as Barry's description of his (and Estill's ) belt technique
states, it is logical that the palate will not be in a raised state
as described above. But regardless of the raising or not raising of
the soft palate, the velopharyngeal ports can be either open or
closed. And clearly, hard belters do it both ways.
--
Lloyd W. Hanson, DMA
Professor of Voice, Pedagogy
School of Performing Arts
Northern Arizona University
Flagstaff, AZ 86011
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