STEPHEN F.

AUSTIN
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF VOICE
COLLEGE OF MUSIC
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS

Building Strong Voices: Twelve

Different Ways!
 Source for this discussion:

 Stephen F. Austin, “Building Strong

Voices: Twelve Different Ways.” Choral
Journal, Dec. 07 & Jan. 08
The Mechanism
 Target for training:

 Respiration
 Breathing and Support

 ‘Appoggio’

 Articulation
 Resonance

 Vowels and consonants

AND
 Phonation
 How to make sound!
 Premise #1

Teachers have been successfully

building voices for several centuries
and many have recorded their ideas
for posterity.
- Few of these are commonly available today
 Premise #2

Voice science has helped us

understand the way the voice works
and therefore has given us a means
of judging the effectiveness of
traditional methods.
 Premise #3

Most 18th c and 19th c methods

focused on training the larynx as
the primary component of the vocal
instrument.
 Premise #4

The concept of ‘pure vowel’ has

always been a primary tenet of
historical methods.
 Premise #5

The concept of voce chiusa

represents to singing what
chiaroscuro means to all art forms:
a balance of brightness AND
darkness.
 Building block exercises

 Sostenuto
 Portamento
 Legato
 Other Interval Studies
 Onset
 Register Studies
 Building block exercises

 Stable Laryngeal Posture

 Jaw position
 Velocity
 Other articulations: aspirato, marcatto
 Breath management
 Posture
 Rationale:

 All are strongly emphasized in the historical

literature
 Each is a part of a progressive methodical approach
to training the voice
 Among all musical instruments, Voice training has
historically been woefully inconsistent in providing
singers the benefit of a logical progressive method
for training
 1. Sostenuto

 Almost all historical treatises begin with the simplest

of all gestures: the sustained tone.
 1. Sostenuto

“It will prove to be of great help to a pupil who has a

weak and limited voice, whether it be soprano or
contralto. He must exercise with a solfeggio with
sustained notes in his daily study. The result will be
further assured if such solfeggio is kept within the
limit which the voice permits at that time. It must be
suggested to those who are confronted by these
conditions, to increase the volume of their voices
each day little by little, directing them thus, with the
aid of art and continuous exercise, until they become
vigorous and sonorous.” Mancini, Practical Reflections on the
Art of Singing, 1774
 1. Sostenuto

 Isometric exercises for the intrinsic laryngeal

muscles

 Coordinates breath with onset

 Simplicity allows focus on

 Vowel
 Posture
 Respiration
Cinti-Damoreau (1830)
Frederick W. Root (1873)
 1. Sostenuto

“Many habituate themselves to a distorted position so

thoroughly, that it seems natural, possibly easy, to
them. If the face is not perfectly at repose, if the
forehead is wrinkled, the nostrils dilated, or the
mouth drawn into a position not used in speaking, it
is an unerring indication that there is distortion in
the throat. To rid yourself of wrong habits in this
respect, or to prove that there are none, try this:
 1. Sostenuto

Fill the lungs; let the countenance assume an expression of

repose; relax the muscles of the throat; open the mouth
well; place the tongue as above directed; then exhale
slowly and steadily, at first without producing a tone, but
after two or three seconds allow the vocal cords to
vibrate, watching carefully to see that there be no change
of position. Repeat this process several times, at first
making the tone very soft; then, if successful in retaining
the right position of all the members, exhale a little
faster, making a louder tone. It is often of assistance to
watch this process with a looking-glass.” Frederick Root,
School of Singing, 1873
 1. Sostenuto

“Where voice technique is founded on systematically

acquired skills, sostenuto fills its role as a builder of
the instrument. Sustaining power will increase vocal
stamina and ensure vocal health.” Richard Miller, The
Structure of Singing, 1989
 2. Portamento:

 Usually introduced after sustained tones

 Usually preceded the teaching of legato

 Was considered an essential tool in vocal culture

 Singer cannot sing legato without portamento

 2. Portamento

 “Thereupon he should teach him the art of slurring

from one note to another and of dragging the voice
smoothly in a pleasant manner on the vowels, while
proceeding from high to low. Because these skills, so
important to elegance in singing, cannot be taught
merely by solmizing, they are often utterly neglected
by the inexperienced teacher.” Pier Francesco Tosi: Opinioni
di’ cantori antiche e moderni (1723)
 He went on to say that without a good portamento,
“all other diligence falls short”.
 2. Portamento

 “By this portamento of the voice is meant nothing

but a passing, tying the voice, from one note to the
next with perfect proportion and union, as much in
ascending as descending.”

 “… he ought to have him pass to the study of the

portamento of the voice, and instruct him well
therein, this being one of the principle parts of vocal
singing.” Giambattista Mancini: Practical Reflections on the
Art of Singing (1774)
 2. Portamento

 Garcia: “the portamento will help equalize the

registers, the timbres, and the force of the voice.”
Manuel Garcia, The Complete Treatise on the Art of
Singing, 1847
 Stockhausen: “In the larger intervals the question of
registers has to be considered. There is all the more
reason not to pass it over, as the portamento itself
tends to blend the registers.”
 “…it is only by the portamento that the singer gets
his breathing and voice apparatus under full
control.” Julius Stockhausen, A Method of Singing, 1872
 2. Portamento

 How is it to be performed?

 Garcia stated that air pressure was to remain ‘equal

and continuous’ and that there are ‘gradual changes
of tension on the lips of the glottis.’
2. Portamento
2. Portamento
2. Portamento
 3. Legato

 Chi non lega, non canta!

 “To sing legato is to pass from one tone to another

clearly, suddenly, spontaneously, without
interrupting the flow of sound, or allowing it to slur
through any intermediate tones.” Garcia, Complete
Treatise on the Art of Singing, 57
 3. Legato

 Air is continuous
 Joins all the tones together
 Intonation must be perfect
 Value, force, and timbre must be perfectly even
 “one can scarcely attain this end with less than a year and
a half of diligent study.” Garcia, Pg 57
 “The smooth vocalization is the most frequently used of
all; therefore, it needs no sign to indicate it, the students
should always be on guard against slurring, marking, or
singing in staccato any passages no so indicated.” Garcia,
Pg. 58
 4. Other interval studies

 Traditional method books contained many varied

forms of interval studies:
 ear training
 Accuracy
 Helps unify the voice
4. Other interval studies
4. Other interval studies
4. Other interval studies
 5. Onset

 Initiation of the tone is a critical factor in voice

quality
 There are widely different opinions about how to
begin the tone
 Much of the confusion is the result of
misunderstanding and terminology
 Certain: breathiness in the voice is a common fault
with young singers and aspirated onsets guarantee
that they will stay that way
 5. Onset

“Hold the body straight, quiet, upright on the two legs,

removed from any point of support; open the mouth,
not in the form of the oval 0, but by letting the lower
jaw fall away from the upper by its own weight, the
corners of the mouth drawn back slightly. This
movement, which holds the lips softly pressed
against the teeth, opens the mouth in the correct
proportion and finds it an agreeable form.”
Manuel Garcia, Complete Treatise On the Art of Singing, Part 1,
Translated and edited by Donald Paschke (New York: Da Capo Press,
1984), 41-42.
 5. Onset

“Hold the tongue relaxed and immobile (without lifting it

either by its root or by its tip); finally, separate the base of
the pillars and soften the entire throat. In this position,
inhale slowly and for a long time. After you are thus
prepared, and when the lungs are full of air, without
stiffening either the phonator or any part of the body, but
calmly and easily, attack the tones very distinctly with a
light stroke of the glottis on a very clear [a] vowel. That [a]
will be taken well at the bottom of the throat in order that
no obstacle may be opposed to the emission of the sound.
In these conditions the tone should come out with ring and
with roundness.”
Manuel Garcia, Complete Treatise On the Art of Singing, Part 1,
Translated and edited by Donald Paschke (New York: Da Capo Press,
1984), 41-42.
 5. Onset

“One must guard against confusing the stroke of the

glottis with the stroke of the chest (coup de poitrine),
which resembles a cough, or the effort of expelling
something which is obstructing the throat.”
Manuel Garcia, Complete Treatise On the Art of Singing, Part 1,
Translated and edited by Donald Paschke (New York: Da Capo Press,
1984), 42.
 5. Onset

 In spite of Garcia’s caution:

 Many misinterpreted his meaning

 Misapplied the principle

 Perhaps some voices were injured by the misapplication of his

intent
 This haunted him his whole career

Austin, Stephen F. The Attack on the Coup de la glotte. Journal

of Singing. Vol. 61, No. 5. May/June 2005. Pg 521.
5. Onset
5. Onset

‘uh-oh’
 6. Register Studies

 Long history of confusion

 No agreement on a definition
 No agreement on how many there are
 No agreement on what to call them
 We do not understand the focus that was applied on
the registers in our historical documents
 6. Register Studies

“By the word register we understand a series of

consecutive and homogenous tones going from low
to high, produced by the development of the same
mechanical principle, and whose nature differs
essentially from another series of tones equally
consecutive and homogenous produced by another
mechanical principle.” Manuel Garcia, Complete
Treatise On the Art of Singing, Part 1, Translated and edited by
Donald Paschke (New York: Da Capo Press, 1984), xli.
 6. Register Studies

(cont.)
“All the tones belonging to the same
register are consequently of the same
nature, whatever may be the
modification of timbre or of force to
which one subjects them.” Manuel Garcia,
Complete Treatise On the Art of Singing, Part 1, Translated and
edited by Donald Paschke (New York: Da Capo Press, 1984), xli.
6. Register Studies
Minoru Hirano ,“Regulation of Register, Pitch and Intensity of
Voice”. Folia Phoniatrica, Vol. 22, Pp. 1-20, 1970.
Ingo Titze, Principles of Voice Production. Prentice Hall, Englewood
Cliffs, New Jersey, Pg. 262, 1994.
Minoru Hirano, “Vocal Mechanisms in Singing: Laryngological and
Phoniatric Aspects”. Journal of Voice, Vol. 2, No. 1, Pp. 51-69. 1988.
Minoru Hirano, “Vocal Mechanisms in Singing: Laryngological and
Phoniatric Aspects”. Journal of Voice, Vol. 2, No. 1, Pp. 51-69. 1988.
 6. Register Studies

“As the bottom of the vocal fold bulges out, the

glottis becomes more rectangular than wedge-
shaped (convergent). During vibration, then,
glottal closure can be obtained over a greater
portion of the vocal fold, and thereby over a greater
portion of the cycle…The result is a voice of richer
timbre, which we call chest or modal voice.” Ingo
Titze, Principles of Voice Production. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New
Jersey, Pg. 261, 1994.
 6. Register Studies

 “This chest voice is not equally forceful and strong in

everyone; but to the extent that one has a more
robust or more feeble organ of the chest, he will have
a more or less robust voice.”
 “A sonorous body, or rather robustness of voice is
ordinarily a gift from nature, but can also be
acquired by study and art.”Giambattista Mancini, Practical
Reflections on Figured Singing. Editions of 1774 & 1776 compared, translated
and edited by Edward V. Foreman, Pro Music Press, Minneapolis. Pg. 20, 1967.
 6. Register Studies

 “Chest mixture will strengthen the soprano’s lower -

middle range. Almost every female can make some
chest timbre sounds, no matter how insecure, in the
lowest part of her range. These notes should be sung
in short, intervallic patterns, transposing by half
steps upward, as more sound emerges.” Richard Miller,
Structure of Singing. Schirmer Books, New York, New York. Pg. 136-137, 1986.

 Also the best way to build strength in the high voice

Ingo Titze Principles of Voice Production. Prentice Hall, Englewood
Cliffs, New Jersey, Pg. 262, 1994.
 Register rules:

 Low and loud = chest voice

 High and soft = head voice
 Breathy and hooty = falsetto

 We use these natural responses to train the registers

to respond appropriately
‘Sostenuto tones in the chest’ – with or without
crescendo
William Vennard, Singing: The Mechanism and the Technique. Carl
Fischer, New York. Pg 214. 1967.
William Vennard, Singing: The Mechanism and the Technique. Carl
Fischer, New York. Pg 214. 1967.
‘Welcoming in the chest’
“Imposing the chest’
‘Imposing the chest – II’
‘Deference to the head’
Register Breaks!
 Additional register exercises:

 Flute or whistle voice stretches for females

(humming works nicely)

 Falsetto stretches for males

 Falsetto ‘break outs’ for men – like Garcia’s middle

voice exercises for women

 ‘Dimmer switch’ exercises from falsetto to chest in

men
 7. Stable Larynx

 The most common vocal fault

 The ‘comfortably low larynx’ is an historically
important tenet of bel canto
 Laryngeal posture varies widely through the range
naturally
 If natural tendencies are allowed to dominate it can
lead to severe limitations in freedom, range, and
timbre
 Often leads to mis-classification of voices –
especially men
 7. Stable larynx

 Traditionally approached through the study of ‘voce

chiusa’ timbre (vs. voce aperta)
 Described in the concept of ‘the open throat’
 “Out of the darkness into the bright”
 Use of [o] and [u] vowels are best
 Start in low range and work up
 Single notes, small scales, building as they can
achieve the goal
 7. Stable larynx

 Secret to the male ‘head voice’

 ‘Bella signora’: 1-3-5-8-5-3-1

 My approach: whatever it takes!

 Places whole mechanism in it’s optimal posture for

singing
 8. Jaw opening

 The right thing depends upon the vocal style

 How much is enough? How much is too much?

 Commercial styles:
 low and middle range is typically same as speech-modest
opening
 High range (belt) jaw has to be lowered to maintain belt
quality. There is no choice about this! All belters do it.
 8. Jaw opening

 Classical style:
 Like CM styles, jaw opening in low and middle voice MAY be
modest, but the ‘mixed quality’ in female middle voice and
high male voice is best accomplished without opening
 In female voice however the jaw has to lower at about F5 –
formant tuning
 The ‘three fingers rule’ does not apply universally! It can
distort the tone and can put undue stress on the mechanism
 10. Other Articulations

 Legacy sources indicate scores of exercises for

training various articulations other than sostenuto,
portamento and legato
 10. Aspirato

 Julius Stockhausen reminded us that the legato is

the most important and most beautiful style of
vocalisation, but also said: “It is a fact, that by this
aspirated vocalisation, great flexibility of the larynx,
and distinctness of technique can be most surely and
quickly acquired.” A Method of Singing, 46
 10. Aspirato

 Garcia described it this way:

“The means of performing these passages consists of
a slight aspiration placed before the repetition of
each tone. This aspiration emanates from the glottis
which allows a small particle of unvoiced air to
escape between the repeated tones.”
 10. Aspirato

 Only when a note is repeated once or note

raddopiate:
 Not to be used for scale-wise passages as was often
encountered, then and now:
10. Aspirato
10. Aspirato
10. Aspirato
 10. Marcato

 Garcia stated:
“All these means or manners of uttering the
passages, namely: portamentos; marcatos; ties;
staccatos; while applying to them all the vowels and
their timbres: pauses, forte, pianissimo, fortissimo,
piano, inflections, mezzoforte, and their various
combinations of these means, form the inexhaustible
depth in which the singer finds the brilliant
resources which give life to his performance.” Complete
Treatise, 111
 10. Marcato

“To mark tones is to make them distinct by thrusting

them, by supporting each of them separately without
detaching them or stopping them. One will succeed
in it by supposing that one has repeated the vowel as
many times as there are notes in the passage, but
without discontinuing the sound for breathing or
anything else . . . At the same time, one will make a
slight pressure with the stomach for each vowel; the
pharynx will experience a slight dilation for each
tone.” Complete Treatise, 58-59
 10. Marcato

 Garcia suggested that marcato would help with the

‘emission of the voice’
 Marcato would help lower voices define there
vocalization
 10. Marcato

 Stockhausen agreed that it was best suited for male

voices
 Gave additional indications for marcato: notes
marked with ‘> > > >’ also with a tie
10. Marcato
 10. Marcato

 Modern editions often leave off important markings

indicating intended articulations
 1962 G Schirmer score and Robert Larson’s edition
of Una voce poca fa leave off the staccato markings:
 10. Staccato

 Most common after legato and portamento

 Common to the literature for all voice
 Noted by a dot or a dash above the note
 Most 19th C treatises dealt with this articulation
directly
 10. Staccato

 Garcia: ‘Staccato tones are formed by attacking the

tones individually by a stroke of the glottis which
detaches them from each other.’

 Focused on the opening gesture of the glottis after a

complete closure
 10. Staccato

 Stockhausen:
‘In this style of vocalisation, the student should
concentrate his attention chiefly on the activity of
the larynx and the closing muscles.’ “A Method of
Singing,” 43

 Reid:
‘It is the rapid reiteration of a precise opening and
closing movement of the vocal folds.’ “Dictionary of
Vocal Terminology,” 352
 10. Staccato

 Miller:
‘the goal is a clean approximation, and involves the
principle of quick alternation between vocal fold
adduction and abduction.’ “Structure of Singing,” 12
 Quotes Brodnitz:
‘In staccato singing a form of glottal stroke is used
to produce the sharp interruptions of sound that
characterize it. But in good staccato the glottal
stroke which starts each note is well controlled
and done with a minimum of pressure…’
 10. Staccato

 Uniformly described as a laryngeal event, not

respiratory!

 Behnke suggested that a slight inspiration should

precede every tone and that this additional element
is as beneficial to the respiratory system as the
opening and closing action is to the larynx. “Voice
Training Exercises for Soprano,” Introduction
 10. Staccato

 Stockhausen:
‘The action of the diaphragm, which is indispensable
for the quick inspirations required for staccato, takes
place almost automatically, as nobody can produce
short detached notes without moving the muscles of
the diaphragm; moreover, we practice them from our
earliest childhood, in laughing and sobbing.’ “A
Method of Singing,” 119
 10. Staccato

 The opening of the glottis from complete closure

produces a salient acoustic signal

 Has always been used to develop and maintain

flexibility and clarity of tone

 Stockhausen:
 ‘Female students who have never practiced the staccato
have no idea of the capabilities of their voice.’ “A Method of
Singing,” 43
 10. Staccato

 I find much confusion over how to produce this!

 Often produced from the abdominal wall

 Misinterpretation of an observed event!

10. Staccato
 11. Breath Management

 Like registers, a vast amount of confusion over this

issue

 ‘Support’ is as complex as you want to make it, or as

simple as it needs to be

 Garcia’s two volume work, often quoted here, gave

about 2 pages to support

 If you follow the anatomy, you can’t go wrong!

 12. Posture

 Body alignment matters!

 Position of the head matters!

 ‘folder syndrome’ is deadly to a free voice

 Head up, pointed straight ahead, not to the side

where they hold their folder