Midterm Vocal Pedagogy

Diaphragm

The primary muscle of inhalation that moves the viscera out.

Range

How high or low a particular song is or how high or low a voice can phonate.

Conductive Hearing Loss

Problems with the outer or middle ear

Attention, Learning and Memory

3 cog processes essential to learning

Resonance

The amplification and enhancement of vocal sound.

Range, tessitura, timbre, passaggio

What are four ways we assess voice classification?

The Vocal tract

The filter that alters the resonance of the vocal folds. Parts are nasal cavity, oral cavity, pharynx and oral cavity.

Hyoid Bone

The u shaped bone that is not connected to any other bones.

Manuel Garcia II

Who invented the laryngoscope?

Francesco Lamperti

19th cent appoggio breath management?

Feed forward

To give information before the task.

Phonatory Process

When the vocal folds are closed and breath pressure is applied,the folds remain closed until enough pressure is applied to open and close the folds. The rate of the opening and closing of the vocal fold determines pitch.

Vocal fold oscillation

the rapid opening and closing of the glottis to produce sound.

Phonation

The sound produced when the vocal folds vibrate.

Mode 1

Chest or modal voice.

Twang

The nasal quality in the tone is achieved by narrowing the pharynx.

Frequency, amplitude, and timbre

What are the 3 properties of sound?

Harmonics

A series of overtones produced by a sound. The further away from the fundamental the less we hear. It is what gives sound a distinguishable characteristic or tone.

Middle Ear

An air filled region that contains the 3 smallest bones in the human body.

Cricothyroid muscles

Muscles that cause the vocal folds to lengthen and stretch.

Breath support

The coordination of the inhalation and exhalation muscles.

Thyroid Cartilage

Largest structure you can feel in the larynx.

Acoustics

Comprised primarily of 2 factors: a voice or source of vibrator which produces a set of harmonics and a vocal tract filter or resonator, which selectively strengthens or weakens the frequencies that are introduced into it by the voice source.

Abdominals

muscles that support the trunk, allow movement, and hold the organs in place. Major muscles involved in breathing and singing.

Abduct

to pull apart

Adduct

to come together

Amplitude

Loudness. The amount of displacement of the vibrator from its rest position. The larger, the more intense sound wave produced.

Appoggio

combination of thoracic and abdominal breathing. "Lean on." Efficient breathing that starts with alignment. Includes centered and released body, soft back and abdominal muscles.

Arytenoid Cartilages

Sit on the top surface of the cricoid plate and are attached to the vocal folds. Shaped like malformed pyramids.

Arytenoid Muscles

Include posterior, lateral, and inter.

Auditory Feedback Loop

The phenomenon that happens when the brain transforms thought into physical action by sending signals through the central nervous system to the muscles responsible for breathing, phonation, and articulation. The ears and brain check sounds for accuracy. Any deviations are quickly and subconsciously corrected.

Augmented feedback

information given by only the instructor (or through a device) after singing

Axial skeleton

spine and thorax

Belt

a type of singing with a longer closed phase of the vocal folds, higher subglottic pressure, greater thyroarytenoid activity, and a weaker fundamental frequency. A chest dominant vocal quality used in many styles of musical theater and contemporary commercial singing.

Belt mix

brighter and shallower in timbre than its classical counterpart, and typically coupled with more speech like articulation. Usually assessed using bright, open vowels such as /ae/ or /e/ and a higher tongue dorsum. Increased nasalance, modified vowels, and use of twang.

Bony canal

long passage through the bones of the skull in which soundwaves travel.

Breath support

the interaction between the muscles on inhalation and exhalation.

Cochlea

nerve carries vibrations and impulses to the brain to be interpreted as sound.

Compression phase

increased pressure that moves through air and leaves behind a rarefaction. FORWARD

Conductive Hearing Loss

problems with the outer or middle ear as a result from excess ear wax, middle ear infection, or arthritis, Hearing aids, surgery, or ear cleaning can usually restore hearing.

Cornelium Reid

wrote "bel canto: principles and practices"

Coup de glotte

firm glottal closure at the onset of phonation as the basis for a brilliant, ringing sound and efficient tone production. Manuel Garcia II.

Cricoarytenoid Muscles

Posterior is the only abductor of the vocal folds. Lateral is the primary adductor and direct antagonist to the posteriors.

Cricoid Cartilage

Serves as a foundation of the larynx. Shaped like a signet ring, narrow part in front and larger part in back.

Cricothyroid Muscle

Originates at the front of the cricoid cartilage and fans out upward and backward to the lower surfaces of the thyroid cartilage. Causes folds to lengthen and stretch (higher pitches). Primary antagonist to the TA muscles. Primarily responsible for light mechanism.

Diaphragm

Major muscle of respiration. Dome shaped muscle that contracts and flattens involuntarily.

Duration

Length of sound

Eardrum

a membrane that is stretched across the end of the canal. The soundwaves cause it to vibrate.

Elastic Recoil

the rebound of the lungs after having been stretched by inhalation, or, rather, the ease with which the lung rebounds.

Epiglottis

Leaf shaped. Covers the larynx during swallowing.

Evidence based voice pedagogy

creates a framework for a comprehensive approach to voice instruction by acknowledging traditional empirical approaches of past centuries, understanding the importance of teacher experience, and voice science research.

Falsetto

highest range of male voice. Light mechanism.

Formants

considered resonances of the vocal tract and serve as amplifiers. What causes harmonics to work in a certain way.

Francesco Lamperti

basis for the appoggio breath management.

Frequency

the number of vibratory cycles (1 complete compression and rarefaction cycle) in one second. Measured via hertz/cycles per second.

Fundamental frequency

the primary pitch in a harmonic laryngeal sound.

Glottis

space between and behind your folds.

Harmonic sequence

the sequence of harmonics, musical tones, or pure tones whose frequency is an integer multiple of a fundamental frequency. P8, P5, P4, M3, m3, m3, M2, M2, M2, M2, m2

Harmonics

what we hear. The frequencies of pitches that vibrate in multiples of whole integers in comparison to the fundamental frequency.

Hyoid Bone

U shaped bone. Located above the thyroid cartilage. No joint connects it to the skeleton.

Hypernasality

overly nasal quality in the voice

Intensity

How forceful the altitude of vibrations are. To get louder, increase breath pressure and glottal resistance. The folds become thicker at the medial edges.

Interarytenoid muscles

connected to one arytenoid cartilage to the corresponding part of the other arytenoid, adductor.

External intercostals and diaphragm

Muscles for inhalation

Internal intercostals and abdominal muscles

Muscles for exhalation

Laryngoscope

device used to look at the vocal track and fold, invented by Manuel Garcia II

Manuel Garcia II

introduction of the laryngoscope, voice teacher and singer. First person to see the vocal folds in action. Designated registration as chest, falsetto , and head. Discussed laryngeal positioning in detail. Coup de la glotte.

Middle ear

air-filled region that functions to help with balance and hearing. Contains the cochlea and hearing organ.

Modal voice

Chest voice. Mode 1

Mode 1

Chest voice, Heavy mechanism, belt voice, speech range. Longer closed phase.

Mode 2

Head voice. Falsetto, light mechanism, feigned voice. Longer open phase.

Motor learning theory

Ability to impart a motor skill to a student. A process that is inferred rather than directly observed that leads to permanent changes in potential as the practice/exposure.

Motor Learning theory

The student must have the will to learn, and the teacher must walk closely with the student through awkward stages of development by providing augmented feedback to help with memory and learning.

Mucosal wave

the way the vocal folds move in a wave.

Musical Tone

duration, pitch, intensity, and timbre.

Outer ear

collects and transmits sound. External portion called the pinna or auride which is made up of cartilage that has a complex shape. Helps collect and direct sound from the outside to the middle and inner ear.

Onset

how you articulate the flow of air (how tone is initiated)

Passaggio

passage. The transition between the registers.

Pharynx

oral and nasal

Phonation

process of producing vocal sound by the vibration of the vocal folds. Actions required: 1. Vocal folds must adduct. 2. Vocal folds must abduct. 3. Vocal folds must lengthen and shorten.

Pier Francesco Tosi

castrato singer, composer, writer on singing. Makes general references to technical matters, but mostly avoids specific advice (1653-1732). Responsible for voce di petto and voce di testa. Believed that /i/ and /e/ were less fatiguing than /a/.

Pitch

Rate of vibrations that create a higher or longer sound. Vocal folds must be longer to ascend and shorter to descend. Involves laryngeal tension and breath pressure.

Range

the absolute high to absolute low of a singer's range.

Rarefaction phase

Decreased pressure as a result of an increased pressure moving through the air. BACKWARD.

Resonance

the process by which the basic product of phonation is enhanced in timbre and/or intensity by the air-filled cavities through which it passes on its way to the outside. The amplification and enhancement of vocal sound. Size, shape, and texture changes.

Register

A series of tones produced in the same manner and have the same basic quality.

Richard Miller

A fine teacher combines mechanism with the psychological and aesthetic.

Science-informed pedagogy

adopted by NATS to develop, promote, and disseminate uniform curricula grounded in science-informed voice knowledge, and to advise teachers engaged in ped. Instruction.

Scott McCoy

Enough to assist the process of singing.

Sensorineural Hearing Loss

problems with the inner ear as a result of prolonged exposure to high sound pressure. Can be hard to treat.

Singer's Formant

the formant that is responsible for "ring" in the sound. What causes a singer to be able to be heard over an entire orchestra and it is achieved through an open throat.

Sonance

Patterns of charge in sound (diction, phrasing)

Spine

24 vertebrae that stack together to form and "s" curve in the anterior/posterior

Tessitura

the comfortable range (but not full range) a singer can sing in.

Thorax

ribcage.

Thyroarytenoid Muscle

Anatomical name for the body of the vocal folds/cords. Primarily responsible for heavy mechanism. Thickens the vocal folds while singing higher tones, causing the contact patch of the vocal folds to widen during phonation, this causes a volume increase.

Thyroid Cartilage

Largest structure you can feel in the larynx. Forms the visible protection in the front of the throat. Attached to the cricoid cartilage and the vocal folds attach here.

Timbre

Tone quality, what makes you you. Sounds that are too bright or too dark. The characteristic which distinguishes a specific sound from the sounds of other voices or instruments...even though all the sounds are of the same fundamental frequency and amplitude. Combination of the fundamental and the pattern of natural harmonic overtones or partials.

Twang

created by narrowing the aryepiglottic folds/ NOT by the folds. The muscles involved are above the level of the vocal folds. Ingredient, not a technique. Found in a mock baby cry.

Vocal Fold Oscillation

air pressure and release causing the glottis to open and close.