Joe Wilson - MD - Singing Technique and Anatomy

Singing Technique and Anatomy

(Routed in Bel Canto, Estill and The New Science of Singing)

Describing the Voice - Voice “Qualities”

I can only talk about the points from each of these techniques that I
firstly, believe to be true, and secondly, that I know the industry have
welcomed as part of their teaching.
Long gone are the days where we use terms such as “head voice” and
“chest voice”.
We only have ONE voice - and on top of that voice we can add different
voice “qualities”.
Some examples are -

- Belt quality
- Falsetto Quality
- Sob Quality
- Twang Quality
- Opera Quality

How we achieve these different qualities varies - depending on larynx

positioning, tongue positioning, amount of air used in the diamond of
support.

Voice production is as follows (it sounds simple but people forget!) -

Power = Breath
Source = Vocal folds (we don’t say chords anymore as we know they fold
together rather than rapidly vibrate)
Filter = Articulator (Tongue, Lips, Teeth etc)

Joe Wilson - MD - Singing Technique and Anatomy

Joe Wilson - MD - Singing Technique and Anatomy

Power = Breath

There is a common misconception that we can control the “diaphragm”

muscle which is why you will hear a lot teachers say “sing from the
diaphragm”. This is actually quite incorrect. We have no conscious
control over the diaphragm muscle itself. It flattens when we breathe in,
and curves back under the ribcage when we breathe out. But we don’t
control that muscle.

What we can control is the “diamond of support” which are 4 points

surrounding the diaphragm. The main two and either side of our
diaphragm.

Exercise 1 - If you place your hands on the side of your stomach, just
above your hips, and cough - you should feel two pressure points almost
“pop out” of your sides.

These two points are the sides of the diamond - the lower one is just
above the belly button, and the other, just under the naval, where the
ribcage ends.

Contracting these muscles when releasing air is actually how we create a

good airflow - not “using the diaphragm”.

Joe Wilson - MD - Singing Technique and Anatomy

Joe Wilson - MD - Singing Technique and Anatomy

Exercise 2 - Try it - so - sing a phrase of a song, with your hands on each

side of the “diamond”, when you breathe in, make sure those points
expand outwards, and towards the end of the phrase, gently contract or
squeeze those muscles inwards.
What do you feel?

So if power = breath, Source of voice production are = Vocal Folds I.e

larynx - and what goes on within it.

There are two main things to talk about when it comes to the larynx
when singing - “Onset” and “cricoid and thyroid glands” - we will seal
with “onset” first.

Onsets

An “onset” is the way in which the flow of air meets the vocal folds - and
we can create 3 different types of onset -

- Aspirate - When the air flows through the fold before they meet, for
example the “h” at the start of the word “hello”.

-Smooth - When the airflow meets the vocal folds at the exact moment
the vocal folds meet - for example, the “v” at the beginning of the word
“voice”.

-Glottal - This is when the vocal folds are touching before the flow of air
hits them, for example, the “G” at the start of the word “glottal”.

The one most commonly used and “wanted” in musical theatre is

Smooth. We aim to use aspirate onset as little as possible as this can
“dry out” the folds, causing lasting damage.

It is important to note we have 2 sets of vocal folds - true VF, and false
VF but we shall talk about that at a later date - as demonstration of this
is essential! :)

Joe Wilson - MD - Singing Technique and Anatomy

Joe Wilson - MD - Singing Technique and Anatomy

Movement of the Larynx

Now - this is tricky to describe without demonstration but in its simplest

form - the larynx can move up, or down. We can also tilt the larynx but
we will stick with movement of up and down for now, that can cause
different Voice Qualities (As we discussed above).

If you can locate you Adams apple and put two fingers into a “sideways
V” shape, you should be able to feel two lumps about a cm apart
(depending on the person) at the front of your Adams apple…

Can you feel the two protruding lumps?

Now…the top one is the thyroid, and the bottom the cricoid, and these
two cartilages are essential in the movement of the larynx up and down.

Exercise - If you place your two fingers back onto the “lumps”, and yawn
- you should feel the bottom lump almost completely disappears and the
top lump moves down. This is how we would create a “sob” quality or
“opera” quality.

If you place you fingers back onto the two “lumps” and “cry like a baby
wahhh”, you should feel the top and bottom lump move upwards - this
is how we create a “twang” quality or sometimes a “belt” quality.

Joe Wilson - MD - Singing Technique and Anatomy

Joe Wilson - MD - Singing Technique and Anatomy

There is a lot more to talk about in regards to qualities of voice and voice
production but I will let you digest all of this and ask any questions etc -
before we move on…!

Enjoy!!

Joe #musicislife

Joe Wilson - MD - Singing Technique and Anatomy