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One of the biggest challenges that singers face when studying the

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acoustics of singing, is the fact that sound cannot be seen. The inability to
use the eyes blinds the student from the most powerful sense to take in
information and learn. Human beings take in the majority of their information for

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learning through vision. This is one of the biggest obstacles to understanding
the acoustics of singing more effectively. Fortunately, there are two innovations

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that do exist specifically for singers that enable to them to see the sounds they
are making, at least metaphorically, if not literally.

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The first means to see the acoustics of the voice was innovated by Robert Lunte

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at The Vocalist Studio with “The Sound Colors of Singing” idea found in this

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very training program! As you will learn in “The Sound Colors of Singing” lesson,

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all of the primary singing vowels have been assigned a color which has enabled
me to create useful illustrations that explain the singing vowels in an intuitive

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way. Below is one of many illustrations in “The Four Pillars of Singing” that
utilizes this innovation.

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Primary singing vowels are each assigned a color so that students and “see” the vowels.

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The other innovation that allows singer to see the acoustic elements of singing

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is a software program created by Dr. Donald Miller, one of the world’s leading
research scientists on vocal formants. He invented a software application called
“Voce Vista” that comes with a book he wrote regarding singing formants titled,

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“Resonance in Singing”. This software has become the leading spectrum
software for measuring the acoustics of singing.

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(Please note, Voce Vista ONLY works on PCs).

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The video above provides a good presentation on how to use this software in a
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very basic way. If you can use the software to simply help you to tune to

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an amplified first formant/second harmonic or “F1/H2”, you will begin to

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learn how to dampen your larynx better and tune more “warmth” into your
voice. Cutting to the chase, “Voce Vista” software is great for larynx dampening

singing voices.
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training and helping students to learn how to get more sonorous color in their

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Using spectrum software with your training can also help you to tune to your
primary singing vowels better and it can help you to see what harmonics are

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being amplified that give you your sound color and what levels of distortion or

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noise are in any given note.

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Lastly, if you train onsets and sirens or any of the vocalize in “The Four Pillars

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of Singing” and keep your eye on “Voce Vista”, you can train to keep F1/H2 in

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an amplified position through the frequency spectrum of your voice. This helps
to train even and consistent sound colors between bridges and steady
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respiration in your singing.

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A Basic 1st Formant, 2nd Harmonic Tuning

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(F1/H2)

V o A STRONG AMPLIFIED F1/H2

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AMPLIFIED CLUSTERS IN THE 3RD FORMANT

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Spectrum Graph with Voce Vista – F1/H2 and Amplified Clusters in F3 & F4

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