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© Daniel K. Robinson - 2010
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VocalResonance
By Daniel K. Robinson(2 0 1 0 )
Many people love a good mystery played out on the silver screen; with all the
intrigue and suspicion over ‘who dun it?’. I have always found the topic ofV oc al
Resonance to be mysterious. It seems to be the one topic that vocal seminars
dance around but never really get into.
The topic of Resonance was also discussed in my formal studies of voice, but the
concept was not fully unpacked. Admittedly—it couldn’t be. It is an area of
expertise and study all on its own, but nevertheless singing teachers continue to
use terms such astwang, singers formant andsympathetic vibration; often with
little understanding or explanation. Let’s take a brief look at the definition of
Resonance in order to understand a little more about this mysterious vocal
subject.
Gillyanne Kayes writes, “What voice trainers and singers call resonance is a form
of sound filtering. Each part of the vocal tract (the tube of the larynx, the nose,
the mouth and the pharynx) has its own resonating frequency” (2004, p. 110).
As air moves through the larynx and carries the sound (formed by the vocal
folds) it passes through the resonators. The result is for the sound to be either
enhanced or diminished depending on the frequency of that sound. “Larger
resonators respond most to low frequencies while the shape of the resonator
also determines which frequencies will be enhanced” (Chapman, 2006, pp. 81-
82).Johan Sundberg, arguably one of the worlds leading voice science
researchers provides further explanation by stating,
One could also say that a resonatorre sonates at certain frequencies, or
that it possessesresonances(formants in the case of the vocal tract) at
certain frequencies. Thus, the ability of the vocal tract to transmit sound
is greatest at the formant frequencies. Most resonators possess a number
of resonance frequencies. In the vocal tract the four or five lowest
formants are the most relevant ones. The two lowest formants determine
most of the vowel color; all of them are of great significance to voice
timbre. (1987, p. 12)
Another aspect of resonance is the concept of sympathetic resonance. Simply, all
vocal resonance is sympathetic.
One of the ways the sounds of singing can be monitored by the performer
is through experiencing sympathetic vibration. When the spectral balance
is complete, a singer is aware of sensations in bony structures of the head
that are quite different from those of imbalanced phonation. Once an
association with ideal sound has been established, these proprioceptive
sensations become dependable indicators of tonal balance. (R. Miller,
2004, p. 69)
It is important to note however that whilst sympathetic vibration can be used by
the singer for helping with perceived pitch, “what is actually happening and what
the singer is feeling are two different things” (Dayme, 2009, p. 142).
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