Vowels

My real first work with the concepts of vowels was my undergraduate teacher, Dr. Joyce Farwell. I worked with her during my second tour of duty at Baylor University as an undergrad. Dr. Farwell is one of the true accomplished teachers in the US and has a long line of successful singers and teachers to her credit.

My basic technique of working with singers is understanding how the singer concieves vowels in their instrument. For some singers, closed vowels are wonderful and they struggle with the open vowels, or vice versa. So, if it makes sense to a singer, I use one vowel as a concept for structure or space and another vowel to sing or for accoustic. My best example is that for many singers when they are in their top voice, the concept of [uh] space while singing an [ae] vowel is usually quite effective. [uh] is the vowel with the most relaxed and lowest tongue position while [ae] is the vowel with the highest palate position which allows the singer for bettr high partials.

If a singer is having trouble getting a line to go "over" more into the higher register, two "laws" exist in helping them find a better place for that line.

First, closed vowels "go over" sooner in a register. For example, find a note near the beginning of your passaggio and sing mezzo forte on an [a] vowel. Now sing the same note with the same dynamic on an [i] vowel. Notice the difference? The [i] vowel goes over much more easily, almost instinctively while the [a] vowel allows the voice to remain more "open" with more lower partials.

Secondly (in case sopranos lost count) softer dynamics or sotto voce singing allows the voice to go over more naturally. So the louder dynamics are based on the more open position while the softer dynamics cause the voice to go over quickly. So, take the same note you did in the above exercise and sing the [a] vowel forte. Now take the same vowel and note and sing it [mp] or [p]. You can feel that the softer dynamic requires the voice to go over more. There is also a strong sense of "coupling" of the palate or "friendly resistance" from the lower abdominals in this exercise.

OK, "I'll take the Daily Double for $5,000.00, Alex." As all those stupid TV commercials say, "But wait! There's more!" As if I couldn't wait to dail the phone for my new Bass-O-Matic....one more maxim: on falling vocal lines, vowels either:

A) close
or
B) open.........cheesy Jeopardy Music....

That's right Alex, vowels CLOSE! So, to stay in tune (yes, even tenors need to do this) and keep the voice "in line" the vowels need to close when you are descending through the registers. By closing, one must taper the concept of the frontal space while vaulting the soft palate even more. This allows for the breath flow to be maintained in the upper resonance and not fall down into the mouth. It is the old axiom, "think like your going up in the phrase while you are going down in the phrase."

Warming Up

It is universally accepted that with any physical activity that one must begin by warming up the parts of the body that are to be used. The voice is exempt from this requirement; in fact it is essential. I have found through my centuries of teaching that one should develop their own warm up routine; they should know what works for them such as pacing, vowels etc which will put themselves at their best vocal advantage for work and performance.

If you watch football players warm up, they start by small stretches, light running, short passes etc. Soon, they begin faster running patterns, medium passes and easy blocking contact with others. Finally, the exercise extends itself into full exertion. Then, they go back into the locker room, go over their game plan and return to the field to begin the game. So, why re-invent the wheel?

The voice should be treated in a similar fashion. One should start in the lower middle voice humming or singing using smaller scales. Do not work for power or range. Work on ease of onset, economy of breath and consistency of tone. As you begin don't sing too high, too low, too softly or too loudly. This helps the blood flow through the chords and allows for more flexibility. Take your time! Don't rush the process!

After several minutes when you feel a good vocal balance, start to add a third to the top of your exercises. Then proceed to the passaggio. Still, make sure that you are not "hooking the voice up" (dynamic) too much. Keep your power no more than 60-70%. The passaggio should be collected, not strained and round in concept, not wide in the mouth. Once this part of the voice is stable and comfortable, I work on going into the top.

With females, mostly I use staccato exercises as this keeps them from feeling the need to be totally hooked up and allows for a pure head or "whistle" tone. The vowel most native and helpful to this approach is the [ae] vowel (as in "apple"). Make sure that the sides of the lips are not spreading in the very top. It is useful and ok to show some of the upper teeth, but never a spread where the lips meet on the side of the mouth. Watch Joan Sutherland or Marilyn Horne for great examples of this mouth position.

With males, I tend to use exercises that ascend into the top voice. So, it is based more off of a spoken onset/middle voice and the men add head voice as they go up. Not falsetto though. Never, ne pas, nein, giammai, senza, nulla...no falsetto. I was convinced by a great tenor, Michael Cochran that the falsetto is a trap door that should never be used. Now we can play semantics games on what is head voice and what is falsetto...like Supreme Court justice, Potter Stewart said about obscenity, “I know it when I see it." So, in this case, I know it when I hear it. As an aside, I believe it is this falsetto idea that makes some teachers believe that lyric baritones are tenors because they can go up into the top with ease, but if it is in falsetto, then it really doesn't prove anything. Ed Baird, a great teacher in Texas once said that if a man makes a pretty good sound with the larynx high, so what? He's going to have to change the sound in the end anyway, so why start down that road? And this is true; the stabilization of the larynx in the male voice is the prime directive. Anything that diminishes the laryngeal position is an impediment.

After warming up, one should take a little time. Let the body and the chords rest and find their balance. Then start with an easy song or recitative. Note!: Italians NEVER say "recit" (sounding like "wretched") they say, "recitativo". So, if you shorten it, it is "recit" in English, never, ever "recit" in Italian.

I deally, one shoudl use the warm up to get to know their instrument better than anyone else. This is your responsibility. Teacher and freinds can help but it is the innate understanding of the singer which is the final and ultimate arbitrator of what you truly believe is best for you as a singer. The warm up help you to get ready to sing, but they do so much more. They teach you the native ability of the voice, how to deal with specific areas of the voice such as registration, passaggio etc., how to deal with other issues like breath, vowels and placement to name a few.

Welcome

Thank you for coming to my blog. This is my first attempt, so your patience is already requested.

I have started this blog to compile my thoughts from the years of teachings and other writings that I have done on the subject of teaching and singing. I hope that it will be informative and be helpful to anyone who takes the time to read my ideas. Yes, humor is important. I am not anti-intellectual, but one must keep a positive mindset in approaching the study of the voice because it can be both an awesome and then quickly thereafter, a completely frustrating experience.