Presentation by Professor David Jimerson on "VOCAL REGISTERS IN THE YOUNG MALE VOICE" 3/1/2001 12:00 PM
Present at the Meeting: CMENC Officers-Ryan Brown, President; Aaron Waggoner, Vice President; Candace Weber, Secretary; Amber Stellato, Treasurer; Aaron Woster, Erika Huffman, Helene Hipple and Jeff Schroeder
Discussion:
Vocal registration is a controversial topic in any discussion of singing and the training of singers. In general, it may be said that there are three basic approaches to the topic and several variations within each.
A major problem here is one of semantics. Describing sounds and feelings is a bit like describing food. One must taste chocolate mousse in order to know what it tastes like. All the talking in the world doesn't describe the flavor! So, too, with sounds. We need to actually hear them and the singer needs to feel them.
Before proceeding to discuss the actual technique involved in vocal registration, let me say that the subject is of paramount importance. Improper use of the registers in singing can (and always will, given enough time) result in serious vocal damage. All singers fear the term "vocal nodules," and rightfully so. They can be a precursor to cancer, and need the immediate attention of a laryngologist or ENT. I once had an adult student who came to me after years of vocal abuse. I sent her to an ENT and he suggested that the vocal damage was permanent. That was the end of her singing!
There are those who believe and teach that the voice is seamless, and that the student should sing in only one register. (William Vennard calls this the "The Idealistic Approach.")
No one will deny that the final product should be seamless in its artistic effect, but to suggest that this is the result of vocal resisters not existing is like believing that a transmission does not exist on an automobile. The passengers will be unaware of the driver's shifting (provided that it is done smoothly), but that does not suggest the absence of the event. So too with good singing. The artist will handle the register changes with such skill that the casual listener will be unaware of the technique.
There is also a group of vocal pedagogues who believe that there are two registers, usually referred to as chest and head (or low and high). (Vennard's "The Hypothetical Approach.")
In the female voice, this division usually means that the low chest register (normally from middle C downward) is the one taught to be the chest voice. It sounds a bit like a male voice and is used to create a "belting" sound in a mature singer. In young girls it should never be used. All too often we hear little girls singing songs like Tomorrow from Annie in this register, and the vocal abuse that results can do damage to the vocal mechanism if continued for a long period of time. Some, who realize the destructive nature of this registration misuse, refer to it as "playground tone." The head register in these girls refers to the rest of their range upward. As can be anticipated, the head register in female voices covers a much wider range of notes than the chest register.
In the mature male voice, these two registers would have the same titles, e.g. head and chest. Now it is the chest register which is most used, and the head voice usually refers to something very close to falsetto, if not to falsetto itself. This modified falsetto sound is often desired by choral directors, especially in their tenor sections, because it results in a pleasing sound that will blend well in the section. It also has the benefit of allowing for soft singing in the high end of the singer's range.
The third approach allows for three registers: chest (low), medium (middle), and head (high). (This is Vennard's "The Realistic Approach.") Usually those who accept this method will agree that there are sub-divisions within each register. It can also be said that the sub-division idea is part of the previous two theories as well. Here the chest voice will remain in the same range for the female singer: from middle C (or so) downward. The middle voice will be from C upward to about F or G (an octave and one half). The head voice is generally above the treble clef. Please note that mile posts for changing registers are not cast in stone. The changes will take place in slightly different places from voice type to voice type and from individual voice to voice.
The changed male voices will make register adjustments approximately one octave lower. Again, the middle voice will be the widest. I will address this a bit later.
Sergius Kagen, in his little book On Studying Singing, makes the point that there are four ways to teach and study singing:
the physiological approach, in which we spend our efforts on the mechanism of the singing apparatus.
the poetic approach, with phrases like "let the voice float."
the trial and error method where the students keeps trying various things until it feels good to the singer, and sounds good to the teacher.
the imitation approach: here the student copies the singing that he/she hears done by the teacher, on recordings, or by studying other fine singers.
I believe that the really fine teacher of singing employs all four approaches. You will find that some students respond better to one of the four, but my experience is that all students will respond to all. Too much reliance on any one of the approaches results in unimaginative teaching.
For purposes of this discussion, I will avoid spending time dwelling on the physiology of singing. Talk of the phonatory mechanism, the resonating system, the larynx position, the hyoid bone, etc., though interesting to some, will not mean much to the student in a practical sense. I have come to believe over the years that virtually all vocal problems can be solved through attention to, and mastery of two elements of singing: breath management (not just breath support) and proper vowel formation. I don't mean to over-simplify the issue because achieving mastery in these two challenges can take a good deal of time and practice.
For purposes of this discussion, I will avoid spending time dwelling on the physiology of singing. Talk of the phonatory mechanism, the resonating system, the larynx position, the hyoid bone, etc., though interesting to some, will not mean much to the student in a practical sense. I have come to believe over the years that virtually all vocal problems can be solved through attention to, and mastery of two elements of singing: breath management (not just breath support) and proper vowel formation. I don't mean to over-simplify the issue because achieving mastery in these two challenges can take a good deal of time and practice.
Proper vowel singing is the other of my two main elements of good singing, and this becomes our focus today as we investigate the teaching of vocal registers in the young male voice. If one carefully handles the five basic "pure" vowel and their variant sounds (A - ah, E - eh, I - ee, O - oh (without diphthong), U - oo), a relaxed jaw, a relaxed tongue, and an open throat will result. We, as teachers of singing, often use phrases like "relax your jaw", but what we really mean is "minimize the tension in your jaw." Certainly total relaxation is a goal, but we need to realize that it will never be a reality - nor should it be. The jaw and tongue muscles are very busy with the task of diction. They need to remain flexible, but not totally relaxed.
All vowels fall along a continuum from most open to most closed: Ah-Eh-Oh-EE-OO. (Note: I am using phonetic spelling of the vowels for this presentation, rather than the i.p.a., because that probably should be a whole presentation in itself.) Most students will (in the beginning), like the feeling of the open vowels. Young male singers will learn very quickly that the ee vowel will help them "get into" the head voice. The problem comes when they feel the tension involved. There needs to be no doubt: there is a feeling of restriction during this function. I stress that the restriction needs to be kept to a minimum, but usually the student will quickly learn to handle this. Sometimes, in the beginning, let the singer use too much restriction (too narrow a vowel) in order the get the technique established. It is an easy task to tweak the vowel a bit to accomplish the desired sound. Male singers who don't learn this technique will never achieve mastery of their high range and will rob themselves of notes that they ought to be able to sing. They are there if the student learns to access them. For some, an understanding of the feeling involved in using the "covered" voice comes quickly. For some it may take several years.
Let me mention at this point that I use the word "cover" to describe the sound and feeling that is our topic. I realize that some fine teachers don't like the term and don't use it. I respect their position.
Helping male singers achieve mastery of the head register involves opening the closed vowels and closing the open ones. As the ee is carried higher and higher it needs to taper toward a short I as in the word "it." Even better is the German Ö. Many diction specialists feel that if an American can pronounce this vowel, they have mastered the most difficult sound in German. If the teacher needs to spend too much time getting the vowel right, use the short I.
Another approach to help male singers access the head voice is the use of a good deal of nasality. I find that one can sing with the tone placed in the nose and produce a very pleasant sound, especially at the top of the range. Too much nose in the sound when singing in the middle and low registers is not desirable, but try adding it to the head voice. In many students it achieves the covered voice when vowel modification is not as successful. This nasality approach seems strange, and more than one singer or observer has thought me out of my mind to suggest it, bit it works for some students when something else seems to.
Where the registers naturally "want" to change is the best indicator of what the voice type is. Since a good deal of manipulation is needed to shift into the head voice, it is easier to hear the more natural change into chest from middle. The men will shift at A, A#, B, C, C#, D, or even D# for very high tenors. (We are discussing here the low end of the bass clef.) As a male voice shifts into chest register, there will be an audible change in quality to the careful listener. The highly polished singer will try to hide the change, but it is there and easy to hear in a novice. An A or A# change indicates bass or baritone. A change on C change is a high baritone or second tenor. The first tenors will change at C# or D. Since no two singers are exactly alike, always realize that there may be exceptions to this guide, but I have found it to be very reliable. It is certainly a more accurate test than what the students range is. I know several baritones who can sing a stunning high Bb.
