William Sander

Article Summary #1
What Makes A Voice Acoustically Strong?

Ingo R. Titze (Journal of Singing, Volume 61, No. 1, September/October 2004)

What does make a voice acoustically strong? In this article, Titze begins by
explaining that the theory of acoustic source-filter is the main study of speech
acoustics. Vowels and consonants come from this theory. He then explains that
singers do not give all credit of sound to the lungs, but the shape of the mouth
filters the sound as well. The resonator is what this is called. All instruments have
them. He then explains how vibration and air shape the sound. He incorporates
graphs to show his study.
I am a singer and this article, though factual, is too technical for me. As a
singer, I know that the power comes from my diaphragm. Proper posture and
breathing creates the support and the opening of my mouth creates the shape of
the sound. I know the vibrations in my vocal chords create the pitch. I do not need
a graph to measure glottal flow to tell me how to create music. I like to sing and in
my voice lessons, I am learning the proper way to sing. I am not a fan of math.
This author had a mathematic way of showing how the voice and volume is shaped.
It was a boring article for me as a singer.