h S t h

T t T
l is
When we refer to the glottis “bleeding” in this lesson, we do not mean

c a
blood obviously. The term is referring to the intentional and precise
release of respiration through the glottis (between the vocal folds) for the
purpose of reducing the contraction and compression of the vocal folds

V o
to reduce vocal fatigue or for artistic reasons considering the unique
sound color that respiration through the glottis can produce.

i o
d
Phonations within the singing voice are supported by two major systems: the

e w
vibratory mechanism, which we previously identified as the “mechanism” inside

tu
the vocal tract (muscles, ligaments, tendons, cartilage), and the respiratory
e
h
system (lungs, diaphragm, intercostals support, trachea, etc.). The main issue

S
that arises for singers is simply this: The higher in frequency one sings,

Th
T t
generally speaking for beginners, the more the body wants to squeeze the
‘twanger’ or contract the vocal folds too hard until the voice begins to configure

is
into quack vocal mode and sound too “quacky”.

a l
Sources of Vocal Fold Adduction

o c THE VIBRATORY MECHANISM

V i o
VOCAL FOLD CLOSURE BROUGHT ON BY MUSCLE CONTRACTIONS

e w u d u
t t
THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM

Th S
VOCAL FOLD CLOSURE BROUGHT ON BY BERNOULLI PHYSICS

S
is t
Because engaging the vibratory mechanism, twanging and quacking, is more

is t
a l a
phonation with more vocal fold compression. Unfortunately, the result is al
intuitive for the body, the untrained voice will typically try to support any extreme

c c
quickly fatigued voice. Arguably even more concerning, the voice can often
sound like a choking duck as a result of the extreme quack vocal mode

V o
configuration that is produced by this reaction.

V o
On the other hand, engaging the respiratory system sufficiently to optimize your
phonations as a singer is not as intuitive for the body. Even experienced

e w e w
professionals, have to be very conscientious of engaging good respiration when

e
Th Th Th
 h S t h
T t T
l is
singing, otherwise too much vocal fold compression ensues and a singer will

a
sound like a choking duck and grow fatigued from all the squeezing.

c
o
So what do we do to prevent this universal problem that plagues all
singers? We engage the respiratory system! We put into practice our appoggio

V o
techniques, which produce Bernoulli fold closure, and balance the energy from

i
the respiratory system with the energy from the muscle contractions of the

d
vibratory mechanism. Both systems need to be balanced. One is not better

e w
then the other in most cases, just like most other technical elements in

tu
singing, they need to be balanced against each other. Specifically, to stop
e
h
sounding like a duck and release the fatigue, you have to balance the sub-

S
glottal respiration pressure with the measurement of compression of vocal fold

Th
T closure. How? You train the body to release about 20% respiration “bleed”

t
through the glottis, and then back fill that loss with 20% more energy from the

is
sub-glottal position using good respiration.

a l
Try this next time you train or sing. Simply let some respiration escape through

c
the glottis, approximately 20%. At this point, your phonation will actually be a
bit windy (you will hear it). So you also have to engage the intercostals and

V o
increase your sub-glottal pressure to make it work. If you can get this trick
balanced just right, apart from maximizing your Appoggio benefits, all the

i o
fatigue will melt away, your formant will remain tuned to a strong and beautiful
color and you will no longer sound or feel like a choking duck.

e w Command & Control of Vocal Fold

u d u
h Compression
S t S t
T t t
The ability to sing different styles of music has a lot to do with a singer’s ability

l is
to command and control the glottis. When I say command and control, what I

l is
mean is the ability to compress or relax the vocal folds at precision levels that

c a
are consistent with the high performance phonations we are discussing

c a
throughout this book. Control of glottis compression, or twang contraction
and ‘bleeding’ the glottis of respiration at precise, incremental levels, is

V o
as important to great singing as an ability to modify vowels.

V o
In my own development as a voice coach, my appreciation for the importance
of isolated vocal fold closure has grown leaps and bounds. In the past, I felt it

e w e w
was sufficient to just get good twang compression. My thinking was if the sound
color was good, then the compression level must be correct. But this turns out

e
Th Th Th
 h S t h
T t T
l is
to not be sufficient if you want to sing with great mastery of different styles,

c a
especially in the head voice. For the student of this program who seeks to go
beyond beginner levels, it is not sufficient to just be able to twang in the head
voice. Once you learn to bridge your Passaggio and maintain twang in the head

V o
voice, it is then critical you learn to initiate muscular activity to ‘throttle’ or
engage your compression with a balance against respiration for Bernoulli fold

i o
closure. A passive vocal fold closure configuration or passive vocal twang is
simply not good enough! Command and control your glottal compression

e w u d
and you will open up a whole new world of sound color, styles of singing
and elimination of fatigue with an increase in freedom in your singing.
e
h S t h
T
Also, it is important to point out that the Messa di Voce Onset, as well as the

T t
intrinsic anchoring work flow, is probably the best specialized onset to
train to build the isolated command and control of glottal

is
compression. This is because the Messa di Voce Onset specifically balances

l
vocal fold compression with respiration at precision, incremental levels.

a
c
“The spectrum of vocal fold compression” graphic below illustrates that we can
maintain vocal fold compression inside a ‘performance threshold’ that includes

V o
slightly more windy phonations, with slightly more compressed phonations. We
do not sing with the glottis either open or closed. We sing with the ability to

i o
“throttle” the glottis compression levels. Glottal compression exists as a
spectrum, just like so many other things in the singing voice such as larynx

e w u d
manipulation, vowel/formant tunings, sub-glottal respiration levels and more.

u
h S t
Phonations that lean toward the open glottis positions tend to have respiration
blended into the sound color. Glottal “bleed” positions not only relieve

S t
T constriction and remove the choking ducks from your singing, but also have the

t
effect of adding some darker color and mild distortion to your sound. Indeed, a
t
is is
glottal “bleed” position is part of the workflow for the uncompressed

a l
overlay distortion work flow taught later in this book.

a l
Phonations that lean more toward less respiration and more ‘connectivity’ in the

o c o c
sound tend to have more mass, and amplify more. This is because of the
anchoring that comes from the added musculature engagement, which can
create stability, in your head voice and is great for belting.

V V
Either way, do not view the glottis and vocal fold closure as something that is

e w
colors for different styles and applications.

e w
either “closed” or “open”. It is a dynamic spectrum that you use to shade sound

e
Th Th Th
 h S t h
T t T
l is
c a
V o
i o
e w u d e
h S t h
T t T
l is
c a
V o
The Vocal Fold Compression Spectrum Illustrates that vocal fold compression exists on a
spectrum and that incremental levels of compression vs glottal “bleed” are all acceptable

i o
positions for artistic sound color. The graphic also shows that falsetto and quack vocal mode
are not favorable for singing, but different levels of twang vocal mode are.

e w u d u
h S t S t
T t t
l is l is
c a c a
V o V o
e w e w e
Th Th Th