Vocal Pedagogy Workshop: Enhancing Professional Voices

1. The Vocal Pedagogy Workshop Stephen F Austin Associate Professor of Voice College of Music University of North Texas The Vocal Pedagogy Workshop

2. Introduction • To offer voice professionals and students a concise review of the vocal mechanism • To present practical applications of this information • To discuss the identification and development of the professional voice. The Vocal Pedagogy Workshop

3. Topics of Discussion • I. Breathing and support • II. Phonation & Vocal tract acoustics • III. Vocal registers • IV. Vocal Tract Acoustics • V. Special session: History and Pedagogy of the ‘open throat’ • VI. Voice Care The Vocal Pedagogy Workshop

4. I. Breathing and support • All living things respire • Air in the lungs powers the vibration of the vocal folds • Breathing is a ‘natural’ process that singers must develop into a ‘supernatural’ skill The Vocal Pedagogy Workshop

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6. Mechanics of Respiration • Boyle’s Law – in a sealed space: • PV = constant • Pressure  - Volume  • Breathing is a ‘torturous’ experience! • Chest wall and diaphragm are the ‘moveable walls’ The Vocal Pedagogy Workshop

7. Structural Framework • Vertebral Column • 34 vertebrae • Rib Cage • 7 ‘true’ • 3 ‘false’ • 2 ‘floating’ • Pectoral Girdle • Pelvic Girdle The Vocal Pedagogy Workshop

8. Respiratory Forces • Respiration depends upon both ‘active’ and ‘passive’ forces • Active – requires a muscle to do work • Passive – comes from physical properties of tissue and gravity The Vocal Pedagogy Workshop

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12. Inspiration - Active • Diaphragm • Primary muscle of inspiration: • Dome shaped • Divides thorax from the abdomen • Descends and increases volume of the thorax The Vocal Pedagogy Workshop

13. Inspiration - Active • Diaphragm • Pressure decreases in lungs • Air rushes in to fill the void • Pressure in abdomen increases • Abdominal wall expands The Vocal Pedagogy Workshop

14. Inspiration - Active • External Intercostals: • Between ribs • ‘lifts’ the ribs • Expands volume of the rib cage The Vocal Pedagogy Workshop

15. Inspiration: Active • Volume of the thorax is increased by the descent of the diaphragm and the lift of the external intercostals • Pressure in the lungs decreases • Air rushes in through the vocal tract to equalize the pressure The Vocal Pedagogy Workshop

16. Expiration: Passive • Gravity pulls down on the thorax. Volume decreases, pressure increases and results in air flow out. • Elasticity • Torque • No muscular action necessary • Not typical for singing The Vocal Pedagogy Workshop

17. Expiration: Active • Requires a muscular action • Primary muscles are of the abdominal wall • Reposition the diaphragm • ‘Squeeze’ the thorax • Both decrease volume and increase pressure in thorax • Produces airflow through the larynx The Vocal Pedagogy Workshop

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19. Methods of ‘support’ • ‘Down and out’ • ‘In and up’ • ‘Appoggio’ • ‘Back breathing’ • Lower focus – ‘squeeze the dime’, ‘psoaz’ • ‘Reptilian’ – through the skin! The Vocal Pedagogy Workshop

20. Summary • “I have seen some professional singers with heaving chests, some with protruding bellies, some with raised shoulders, and some with bouncing epigastrums, all of whom sang beautifully… I have also seen awkward postures that have not adversely affected good singing.” The Vocal Pedagogy Workshop

21. Summary • “While good posture and good breathing methods are certainly important, especially in a singer’s early training, it is ultimately the way in which the breath is turned into a singing tone that is crucial.” • James Stark, Bel Canto: A History of Vocal Pedagogy. The Vocal Pedagogy Workshop