Módulo II: The Voice

The vocal folds are located within the larynx at the top of the trachea. They are
open during inhalation and come together to close during swallowing and
phonation.
How do the vocal folds work?

The vocal cords have three main functions:

 Protective: They protect the trachea and the respiratory system from
objects.
 Respiratory: They regulate the flow of air into our lungs.
 Phonatory: They vibrate to produce sounds in speech and singing.

Phonation (or Sound Production)

It’s the act of producing vocal sound in either speech or singing. It involves the
vocal folds (also called vocal cords), as well as the breathing mechanisms.
Sound starts with the breath from the abdominal area as the abdominal muscles
move the air up and out, across the vocal folds. Nerve impulses originating in the
abdominal area help the vocal folds to close properly for singing or speech
1. Inhalation, or breathing in
2. Suspension, a brief interlude after inhalation
3. Exhalation, or breathing out
4. Recovery
In order to initiate sound properly in singing, we must leave the vocal folds and
throat area open and relaxed during inhalation, suspension, and the beginning of
exhalation, in one continuous process. We use the abdominal and breathing
muscles, rather than the throat, to begin the sound
Structure used in Phonations
The laryngeal
skeleton consists of
six cartilages: three
single (epiglottic,
thyroid and cricoid)
and three paired
(arytenoid,
corniculate, and
cuneiform). The
hyoid bone is not
part of the larynx,
though the larynx is
suspended from the
hyoid.

Thyroarytenoid
shortens your vocal
folds to create lower
pitches. When you
switch your voice to head, this muscle relaxes.
Cricoarytenoid muscle streches your vocal folds to create higher pitches.
Vocal folds in men are larger, between 17mm and 25 mm in Length, so they
produce lower pitches. In women, they are between 12,5 and 17, 5 mm in length,
so they produce higher pitches.

Resonance
It’s the shaping and amplification of the sound waves of the vocal tone. The length
and shape of the vocal tract influences the shaping of this tone, as well as what
structures or cavities (resonators) the sound waves may bounce off of. Resonance
that occurs toward the front of the face is ideal.

 Resonators (amplify and modify the voice): Throat, mouth cavity and nasal
passages
 Articulators (also modify the sound, see Modúlo IV): Lips, teeth, tongue, jaw
and palate.

Laryngeal Mechanisms
They’re physical adjustments of the vocal tract that enable the human voice
capacity of producing a wide frequency range. They are also directly related to the
notion of registers, a common concept in singing that may be defined as different
vocal qualities or timbre changes by the singers
Each mechanism may be characterized by the length and thickness of the vocal
folds. Here, the logic is analogous to the strings of an orchestra: thicker chords
produce lower frequencies (as a doublé bass or a violoncello); whereas thinner
chords produce higher frequencies (like a viola or a violin).
 M0: vocal fry. The mechanism that provides the lowest frequencies of
human voice. Vocal cords are slack and very thick.
 M1: Chest voice. Vocal folds are thick and vibrate over their whole length,
they produce warmer tones. It also reflects the register that we normally use
when speaking.
 M2: head voice(falsetto in men). The mass and vibratory length is reduced.
The characteristic sound of falsetto is flute-like with few overtones present.
 M3: Whistle register.It’s the highest register of the human voice.It’s called
like that because the timbre of the notes that are produced from this register
are similar to that of a whistle.
When singing different notes of our registers, we change the laryngeal
mechanisms. This transition between vocal registers is called “the break” (or
passaggio). The idea is that, with the right technique and breathing, this transition
should be as smooth as possible.
Belting is a specific technique of singing by which a singer carries their chest voice
above their break or passaggio. Belting is sometimes described as "high chest
voice". It’s specially common in Musical Theatre.
Bel Canto is a lyrical style of operatic singing using a full, rich, broad tone and
smooth phrasing.
Vocal Range
It’s a measurement of distance from the lowest note to the highest note that a
person can sing. Most of the time vocal range is written as two letters (lowest and
highest notes) with a dash between them, and a number (octave you’re singing in).
Most vocal ranges are categorized within 6 common voice types, for female:
 Soprano (c4 – c6): This voice is characterized by impressive high notes
(hence the name, which comes from the Italian “sopra” or “above”) and a
timbre that usually sounds brighter or more sparkling than the other voice
types. In opera, sopranos are divided into three basic groups: coloratura,
lyric and dramatic. E.g. Christina Aguilera, Demi Lovato, Julie Andrews,
Maria Callas, Anna Netrebko.

 Mezzo – soprano (A3 – A5): from the Italian prefix “mezzo,” meaning “half”,
so the translation is “half-soprano”. Mezzos often sing just as high as their
soprano counterparts. In addition, operatic mezzos are also divided into the
basic coloratura, lyric, and dramatic groups. What sets mezzos apart are
their strong middle voices, their smoldering lower registers, and their lush
tone quality. E.g. Alanis Morrissette, Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Elina Garanca,
Marilyn Horne, Joyce DiDonato.

 Alto (F3 – F5): Contraltos are arguably the rarest of female voice types and
they possess a tone so dark they often give the men a run for their money. If
mezzos are like clarinets, contraltos are more like bass clarinets. The lower
register is the key feature of this category, and contraltos know better than
anyone how to make the most of their low “chest” tones. Contralto voices
play a big part in jazz and pop. E.g. Cher, Toni Braxton, Mercedes Sosa,
Ella Fitzgerald, Tracy Chapman.
And for males:
 Tenor (C3 – C5): Tenors are the highest male voice and, like sopranos,
they are capable of delivering thrilling high notes and often have a brilliant
shining timbre. Think of them as the trumpet of the vocal orchestra. These
boys get their name from the Italian “tenere,” which means, “to hold,”
because, in very early music, it was their job to hold down the melody and
drive the song. In opera, tenors have several subcategories, which range
from the softer sound of the tenore buffo to the bold and hefty sound of a
Heldentenor (German opera). E.g. Luciano Pavarotty, Juan Diego Flores,
Placido Domingo, Freddy Mercury, Michael Jackson, Justin Timberlake.
  Baritone (A2 – C5): The most common of all male voices, this category
occupies the wide range of vocal timbres between the tenor and the bass.
Interestingly, this voice type wasn’t officially acknowledged until the 19th
century when, as Miller puts it, composers caught wise to the fact that using
vocal variety and “contrast” made for much more exciting music than simply
dividing parts between the guys who could sing high and the guys who
could sing low. As with all other categories, the baritone comes in many
forms, including the lyric and the dramatic. In contemporary music, baritones
are more likely to show up in the country western and R&B. E.g. Michael
Bubblé, Frank Sinatra, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, David Bowie.

 Bass (E2 – G4): These men make up the bottom of the musical staff, and
their incredibly deep tones are a rare but essential part of music making.
What makes basses so special isn’t so much the depth of their notes, but
the volume and strength with which they can sing them. Pitches at the
bottom of the scale are notoriously difficult for the ear to pick up, so think of
the skill involved in making a magnificent low note sound loud enough to be
heard over an entire orchestra. There’s also a special subcategory of the
operatic bass voice known as the basso buffo, which exploits the bass’ low
range for comic effect. Basses are also an important part of jazz and R&B
music; their warm and beautiful sound is instantly calming and makes for
easy listening. E.g. Barry White, Avi Kaplan, Leonard Cohen, Kurt Moll,
Alexander Stepanovich Pirogov.
Legato
It is the act of singing a smoothly connected sound on a continuous column of air.
A good legato is essential for every singer.
Legato is affected by several things, among them:
 Breathing: every singer should continually strive to achieve a well-developed
and efficient breathing mechanism
 Diction or Articulation ( Dwell on vowel sounds, create a feeling of a
continuous string of vowels, pratice assimilation)
 Phrasing. Be aware of the structure of the musical phrase (high points and
low points).
 Singing through each note (or word). Each note (or word) should feel like it
is growing or reaching into the next.

Timbre (also color, or tone)

Timbre describes all of the aspects of a musical sound that do not have anything to
do with the sound's pitch, loudness or length. So, for instance if a flute plays a
note, and then an oboe plays the same note, for the same length of time, at the
same loudness, you can still easily tell the two notes apart, because a flute sounds
different from an oboe.
In the production of the human voice there are a lot of factors that can change the
timbre of a Singer, including, the resonators, articulators, size and lenght of the
vocal cords, etc. Some adjectives you can describe timbre are: Clear, Focussed or
unfocussed, Breathy, Piercing, Strident, Harsh, Warm, Mellow, Resonant, Dark
or Bright, Heavy or Light, Flat.
Practice Time!
Warm-up time is never wasted. Just like athletes who stretch and warm-up before
sport, singers need to care for the voice by allowing it to stretch and warm-up
before use. A gentle warm up each day will increase your lung strength and
capacity and build up your stamina.
 Do the exercises from Módulo I: Prepare your body and release it from any
tension. Practice breathing exercises.
Once you’ve prepared your body you now need to prepare your voice, this will
avoid straining and damaging your vocal cords.
 Begin the vocal warm-up with some gentle humming (on any kind of tune).
 Choose a comfortable note and sing ‘Ahhh’.
 Start as quietly as you can, slowly building in volume, don’t forget to breathe
properly.

Exercise 1

Exercise 2
Exercise 3

 Once you finish with these basic exercises you can move on with more
challenging intervals like octaves (you may do it with glissandos so there’s
less impact on your cords).
 You can also include difficult parts of the part you’re gonna sing as part of
your waming up (this is also posible with difficult sounds)
 Relax your tongue and lips with trills.