A student recently sent me a writing by a prominent voice teacher that he put out there publicly. This student wanted an answer to what this teacher wrote. So I am going to post what this teacher wrote here and address it. This is what the teacher wrote on his FB page and what I was sent by my student: Preview! The 3-Register Phenomena in the Soprano Singer! There are rare circumstances when a soprano singer has 3 defined and different registers as opposed to the basic 2. These are not just gradual register changes that many sopranos have, but THREE completely different MECHANISMS! The transition between middle voice and head voice is a true gear shift just like the lower passaggio break. In m...y teaching career I have only had about 9 of these kinds of singers. They characteristically possess a much stronger middle register than most sopranos, often being confused as mezzos. Then at about B, C, or C-sharp on the staff, there is ANOTHER drastic mechanism change. These kinds of sopranos have wonderfully easy high notes, almost as though they have another gear that is totally independent from the middle register altogether. It is not whistle or flute tone. It is full voice, often with lots of color. I would like to say that I want to write this critique not only as an answer to my student, but also for all those singers out there who might find themselves having similar questions about what this teacher has written. Unfortunately, not all the esteemed teachers really have the answers. First, there is no such thing as 3 registers. There are two: chest voice and headvoice or falsetto which all the great bel canto teachers taught. Moreover, there certainly are not 3 registers for only some people while everyone else has 2. They do not have some other physiology that others do not have. Anyone who knows their anatomy would never suggest otherwise. The use of the term mechanism is errant here. There is one vocal mechanism. Secondly, the transition between the middle voice (which is from F#4 to C#5) and what he deems the headvoice is an acoustical switch more than a physical or muscular switch. As soon as any female classical singer goes from chest voice into headvoice it stays *HEADVOICE* all the way up. The middle voice of a female singer is headvoice as is the very top. This teacher seems to be asserting something otherwise and that is physiologically wrong. What happens at C#5 with most women is that there is an acoustical switch where the energy of the voice is shifted into different formants. Mainly the first two formants. There is a strong pull of the cricothyroids, but also this acoustical switch, WHICH SHOULD BE TAUGHT, helps to make the sounds bloom. It also allows for the voice to function correctly without antagonistic tensions coming in to interfere with this change. In other words, if a teacher is trying to get a singer to make the wrong sound from C#5 and up, it will not allow for the correct acoustical switch. The singer will be trying to manipulate their voice in a way to make the desired wrong sound and it will not be possible for the cricothyroids to do the work they need to do unencumbered. Instead, wrong tensions come in and the sound becomes lightened, white, and as the singer ascends it becomes more and more shrill. The fact that this teacher does not realize that this sound should be taught as it correlates to efficient function and it is not something that just happens by luck for very few singers is sad. This is a very crucial thing to understand. He might have come across some singers who did this acoustical change more naturally and then he mistakenly thinks it is just something that they can do while others cannot. The fact of the matter is that all female singers can do this and *SHOULD* be taught to do this. And it has nothing to do with fach. And it is not a register switch. If the sound is not understood by the teacher, knowing what should be done and what needs to be corrected, then the teaching is just shooting in the dark. I wish that teachers like this would be more humble and open to dialogue and critique because it benefits everyone. This concept of 3 registers and not understanding the proper formant changes etc.tells me that this person really has much to learn about these things. This is crucial for his own teaching as well as all the students he comes into contact with. The lack of results I have seen with most teachers is due to basic things like this not being understood.
Posted on: Mon, 30 Jun 2014 01:29:12 +0000
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