The mystery of the human singing voice
The mystery of the human singing voice
The mystery of the human singing voice
As a practicing otolaryngologist for more than a quarter of a century, I have been exposed and overexposed tobooks, pamphlets, scientific and pseudo-scientific articles on the vocal mechanism and the technique for radicallyaltering the speaking and singing voice.Each new modification had its own coterie of devotees, teachers and students who waxenthusiastic only later tofind disappointment and often heartache in the time consuming and expensive search for the ephemeral"miracle" vocal technique.When Alan Greene first embarked on teaching the method incorporated in THE NEW VOICE the foundation technique that establihes SPEECH LEVEL SINGING he did notintend to radically depart from other previous concepts. Rather did he, with modesty, collate the knownscientific truths and with his greater understanding of the physical and emotional implications of vocalcommunication, create THE NEW VOICE. The result eradicates confusion and conflicts in teaching speech andsinging communication.
THE NEW VOICE is a most valuable contribution to laryngeal knowledge. The book presents a conciseprofile of anatomy of the larynx, the housing area for the delicate vocal cords that determine all speech andsinging. In addition, Alan Greene, with practical wisdom, presents the relationship between the psyche (mind) andthe soma (body) that valuable unity that is so essential to more exact speech andSPEECH LEVEL SINGING.LesterL.Coleman, M.D.Attending Surgeon Department of Otolaryngology,Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat HospitalAttending Surgeon, Department of Otolaryngology,New York Hospital, Cornell Medical CenterClinical Professor of Otolaryngology,Albert Einstein School of Medicine
The voice is truly a unique instrument. It is the only instrument:whose quality of sound and the name of the instrument are both identified by the samewordthat must be built by its ownerwhose structure is mostly hidden in the human bodythat contains within itself not one, but three separate mechanismsthat is constructed of muscle, cartilage and bonewhose component parts perform many different functions that are unrelated to singingthat can produce wordsthat is capable of developing either good or bad habitswhose muscular components react to their environmentthat is directly connected to a brainthat is naturally imitative in the sense that, with the aid of hearing, the voice willrespond culturally in a recognizable fashionthat must not make a sound while it is learning to make soundsthat has two hornsThe voice is the only instrument that is identified by the same word used to describe itssound.When someone is singing it is quite acceptable to say, "That vocalist has a beautiful voice." When a violinist isplaying it would sound strange to hear someone say, "That violinist has a beautiful violin." Voice is commonly used toidentify both the sounds produced by the act of singing and the instrument producing the sounds; violin identifies only theinstrument.The Oxford Universal Dictionary defines instrument as: "A contrivance for producing musical sounds." According tothat definition the voice is certainly an instrument. However, the same dictionary defines voice as: "Sound, or the wholebody of sounds, made or produced by the vocal organs of man or animals; formed in or emitted from the human larynx,. . .concretely, the organs by which it is produced." Re-read what I have italicized and you will find that just one word isused to describe the physical characteristics of the instrument "concretely, the organs by which it is produced" andthe result of the activation of the physical characteristics "sound."
For our purposes we must avoid this ambiguity. The distinction between cause activating the vocal organs andeffect sound must be definitely established in the student's mind in order to clearly understand all that is to follow.When the terms "voice" or "vocal equipment" or "vocal instrument" are used in this book they will mean the physical parts ofthe instrument. The result of the activation of the physical parts will be identified as "tone," "sound," "vocal quality" or "tonequality." The voice is the only instrument that must be built by its owner.I would like to give my personal definition of the word singer: The instrument-maker and player of the voice. Inmy opinion the definition must be broken down into these two independent elements instrument-maker andplayer. We cannot assume that the physical vocal instrument the instrument that can sing well already exists.If this were true, everyone would sound good naturally. Only the parts (the organs) out of which the instrumentis structured are naturally present. Everyone does not sound good naturally because not everyone is using theparts correctly. The first thing the student of the voice must learn is to structure the vocal instrument. That is whymy definition of singer begins with "the instrument-maker." Only after the instrument is structured can you begin toplay it.We are dealing with an instrument the voice which exists quite apart from and independent of the soundsit can or cannot produce. The voice the physical contrivance- is the cause. The sound the result of activating this physical contrivance is the effect.
The voice is the only instrument whose structure is mostly hidden in the human body.All musical instruments except the voice can be seen in toto. They are foreign bodies and when in use are simplyextensions of the player. Wind instruments become extensions of the player's lips and fingers. The piano becomes anextension of the pianist's hands, and one footfor sustained pedalling. The only parts of the voice that can be seenon the outside are the Adam's apple protruding from the throat, the jaw, the teeth, and part of the tongue.
Why is it important to mention this characteristic of the voice? Because an instrument that is a foreign bodydoes not involve the student's ego during the developmental process. The student of the piano, for instance, can see,directly, his precise level of development. The voice student, on the other hand, usually relies mainly on hishearing to assess his developmenteither he sounds better, and so feels better, or he sounds worse and feels worse.In the exercise section of this book I have tried to take the voice, as much as possible, "out" of the body and thusallow the student the opportunity to "see" the voice as if it too were a foreign body, consequently avoiding egoinvolvement.
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