A study of voice registers: Their relation in choral training

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A STUDY OF VO ICE REGISTERS: THEIR RELATION IN CHORAL TRAINING

A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the School of Music Trie University of Southern California

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Music

by Stanley Reeves Plummer August

1950

UMI Number: EP61885

All rights reserved IN FO R M ATIO N TO A LL USERS The quality o f this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy subm itted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete m anuscript and there are m issing pages, these will be noted. Also, if m aterial had to be rem oved, a note will indicate the deletion.

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This thesis, w ritten by

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under the guidance of h.A.S.. Faculty Com mittee, and approved by a ll its members, has been presented to and accepted by the C ouncil on Graduate Study and Research in p a rtia l f u lf ill­ ment of the requirements fo r the degree of

MASTER OF MUSIC___________ ___________

Dean Date

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Faculty Committee

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TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I.

II.

III.

PAGE

THE PROBLEM AND THE IMPORTANCE OF THESTUDY Statement of the problem ...................

1

Importance of the s t u d y ...................

2

Plan of the t h e s i s .........................

3

CONCEPTS OF PHONATION AND RESONANCE

.........

4

Concepts of phonation

.....................

4

Concepts of resonance

.....................

12

CONCEPTS ON R E G I S T E R S .........................

26

Definitions of register

...................

26

Statements endorsing registers .............

30

Statements not favoring registers IV.

........

RECENT EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE OF REGISTERS Purpose of experiments

40

. .

45

....................

45

Preliminary tests of resonance

V.

1

.............

48

Selection and recording of voices ...........

50

Oscilloscope procedures .....................

52

Oscilloscope results ........................

54

APPLICATION OF REGISTERS IN CHORAL PLACEMENT

.

Vocal q u a l i t y ................................ Placing voices by the change-of-colorpoints VI.

65 65 68

SUMMARY AND C O N C L U S I O N .......................

72

BIBLIOGRAPHY .........................................

76

LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 1.

PAGE

Oscillograph Photograph of Vocal Tone at Second Overtone .................................

2.

Oscillograph Photograph of Vocal Tone at Third O v e r t o n e ........................... . .

3.

60

Oscillograph Photograph of Vocal Tone in Upper R e g i s t e r s ............

6.

58

Oscillograph Photograph of Vocal Tone in Upper R e g i s t e r s ..............................

5.

57

Oscillograph Photograph of Vocal Tone at Fourth O v e r t o n e .............................

4.

56

Comparative Chart of Wave Forms in Six Voices .

6l 63

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The writer wishes to acknowledge his appreciation to all who have aided him in this study.

For their kind

guidance and helpful comment he is grateful to the members of his committee:

Dr. Max T. Krone, for reading of thesis

and criticism; Dr. A. W. Einarsson, for hours of assist­ ance in the Laboratory; and especially to Dr. Charles C. Hirt for effective counsel in directing this work. Gratitude is also expressed to the many students in the music department and to members of choirs in Los Angeles who made this research possible through their cooperation. Finally, for constant inspiration to him, and valuable assistance in collecting data, special thanks are due his wife, Mildred W. Plummer.

CHAPTER I THE PROBLEM AND THE IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY Tradition and cant continue to hold sway in methods and technics of vocal training long after they have been clarified or amended in the instrumental fields.

Much

of this confusion has been due to the reluctance of the vocal teacher to accept recent scientific data in pref­ erence to individually discovered methods of training. Not the least of these field of difference has been in the matter of voice registers and their general usage in choral training and placement of voices in the sec­ tions of the choral group. Statement of the problem. this study:

It is the purpose of

(l) to compare the statements of the leading

vocal teachers and scientists with regard to phonation, resonance and registers,

(2) to use every available re­

source, especially new and improved electronic equipment, to analyse both trained and untrained voices in phona­ tion, resonance and registers, and (3) to apply the findings to general choral training in such a way as to be useful to the choral director in placing individual voices in his soprano, alto, tenor or bass section.

2 Importance of the study.

Because, in vocal train­

ing, “methods" are swallowed whole, and for the most part remain unverified in their scientific analysis, much time and effort is lost in reaahing a desired goal of achieve­ ment.

Singing as an art suffers much from its complexity

because many sciences are involved, such as psychology, physiology and acoustics.

The important aspect of this

study is to correlate the viewpoints of the voice teacher and the scientist. The scientific group believes that the teaching of singing can ultimately be reduced to various measured procedures and that vocal tone can be analyzed object­ ively and definite standards can be established for all singers.

Scientific data has not settled the contro­

versy that arises as to whether the singerTs vocal re­ sponses to his thoughts and moods should be voluntarily controlled or whether his vocal organs react spontane­ ously to the mood and meaning of his song while he re­ mains totally oblivious to scientific technics. The writer is not content with empirical knowledge and thus has undertaken to apply scientific research to the problem of voice registers to determine their exist­ ence, breaking points, and application to the choral director.

A positive identification of registers In

3 the voice will preclude the following:

(l) that they

exist in all voices, trained or untrained; exist not through mental imagery;

(2) that they

(3 ) that the potential

of the voice can be determined before training begins; (*) that these registers are important in securing the best tonal balance in the choral group. Plan of the thesis. this thesis:

It is the writer’s plan in

(l) to present many opinions and specula­

tions from the outstanding vocal experts and scientists since 1900 as they apply to phonation, resonance and registers, regardless of the writer’s own findings and beliefs;

(2) to report on the laboratory findings of

tests conducted at the University of Southern California by the writer;

(3 ) to evaluate all the material submitted

with suggestions of its value to the choral director.

CHAPTER II CONCEPTS OF PHONATION AND RESONANCE Before evaluation of the vast opinions on registers it would be of value to survey the literature on phonation and resonance as expressed by the leading writers on vocal production.

Here, as in every phase of voice train­

ing, the writer has found wide differences of opinion from equally well qualified teachers and scientists.

It

is worthy of note, however, that the more widely separ­ ated opinions are within the teaching group, while the scientists appear to come closer to agreement. Concepts of phonation.

Most authorities on vocal

production agree that the voice, like every musical in­ strument, consists of three distinct actions.

These are:

motive power, pitch regulating mechanism, and resonance mechanism.^

There is also agreement that the singing

voice is the tonal output of the singer; the final acoust­ ical or audible effect of the vibratory action of the larynx, enhanced by resonance, pitch, dynamics, rhythmic 2 and other aesthetic effects. These statements are so

* Albert E. Ruff, "Pitch and Timbre," Etude, 46:614, August, 1928.

general that they leave little detail over which to de­ bate.

The real speculation on production occurs when

physiological concepts arise.

The vocal function is not

open to direct observation in life.

Observations made

by reflected light through the use of the laryngoscope tell only part of the story.

The singing teacher, un­

like the instrumental teacher, deals with unseen things and herein arises cause for this speculation. Phonation in its general sense is the process of generating vocal sound; it is the inception of vocal tone in the larynx.

It is the vibratory activity of the vocal

cords so as to produce pulsations of sufficient rapidity as to cause the sensation of sound or tone.

Whenever

these tones are sustained they often form the substance of the singing voice.

Descriptions of phonation are

often complicated by the presence of technical terms used to describe anatomical structures in the vocal tract. The vocal cords, a misnomer, are often more ac­ curately called vocal bands, folds, lips, cushions, ledges ligaments, shelves, muscles, processes, edges, etc.

The

term, glottis, is sometimes used to refer to the vibrating edges of the vocal lips (cords).

p c Sir Morell Mackenzie, Hygiene of the Vocal Organs Belmar, New Jersey: Edgar S. Werner and Company, 19287 p. 25.

The vocal cords, during phonation, set up in the air immediately adjacent to them a complex motion which consists of a fundamental component and a large number of its overtones.

This complex motion constitutes the

so-called cord tone.

The vocal cavities, on which the

cord tones act as a force, have the properties of simple resonators and thus serve to modify the spectrum of the energy flowing from the cords.

In terms of this theory,

a vowel sound, as emitted from the mouth, is due to both selective generation and selective transmission, and it is composed mainly of a harmonic series of simple mo3 tions, each of which has a determinable magnitude. When the voice teachers attempt to compare the voice instrument to other instruments then there are wide differences of opinion.

Mackenzie states that the

action and resonance of the voice Is more nearly like if that of the string instrument than any other. Two famous British vocal experts expound the theory that the voice is a double acting instrument combining the action and possibilities of both the wind and string 5 Instrument. Still another expert gives quite ample

3

Don Lewis, "Vocal Resonance," Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 8:91* October, 1936. ^ Mackenzie, op. cit., p. Jk.

7 proof that unlike the previous mentioned theories that the voice acts like a double reed instrument. Redfield has found that the human vocal organ is a wind instrument analogous to the open tube type of wind instrument in the orchestra.

This analogy is

quite widely accepted since his experiments in 1935Such an instrument consists of a mouthpiece where the sound is generated and a cylindrical pipe or cavity where the sound is resonated.

The quality of the tone

produced by an instrument of this construction is always dependent upon two main factors:

the manner in which

the generator vibrates and the shape of the air cavity 7 which constitutes the resonator. Bartholomew has done much to clarify concepts of phonation in his recent writings.

He states that the

voice is produced by the action of a stream of air from the lungs, which is pressed up through the windpipe against the resistance of a pair of membranes stretched 5

George Dodds and James Dunlop, The Control of the Breath. London: Oxford University Press, 1935, second edition, p. 32. /-

D

Music. 7

York:

W. A. Aikin, "Singing,” Groves Dictionary of New York: The Macmillan Company^ 1941, Vol. IV.

John Redfield, Music, a Science and an Art. Tudor, 1935, p. 2 F T

New

together or almost together at the top of the windpipe to form the glottis.

These, the vocal cords, are set

into vibration, and the cavities which lie above them, namely, the laryngeal chamber, the back of the throat, the mouth, and to some extent the head cavities, are responsible through resonance for amplification of the overtones which determine the various vowels and types

3 of voice quality. However, as to the way that the cords vibrate and interact with the resonators, there is considerable dis­ agreement, not only among voice teachers but among the scientists as well. for many years:

Two theories have been in conflict

(l) the "steady-state" or harmonic

theory, and (2) the "transient," "puff," or inharmonic theory. The steady-state theory assumes that the vibra­ tion of the cords produces in the air immediately above them a complex form of vibration containing a funda­ mental and a large number of the members of its harmonic series.

This theory further assumes that the

effect

of the resonating cavities above the vocal cords is to modify this complex, strengthening whichever components

York:

Wilmer T. Bartholomew, Acoustics of Voice. Prentice Hall, 19^2, p. 141.

New

9 lie near to the natural resonant pitches of the cavities, and in so doing would tend to weaken the other components. This balance of resonation and phonation then produces the quality of tone finally produced and heard as the . . . 9 singing voice. The second theory, espoused by Bartholomew, holds that the vocal cords act in vibration as a pair of "cushions" stretched together across the windpipe.

They

are first forced apart by the air pressure from the lungs, permitting a sharp, explosive puff of air to get through. The natural tension always present in the vocal cord then pulls them together again.

The air pressure then builds

up and forces another puff through, and this continues on at a very rapid rate.

The number of puffs per second

gives the frequency of the fundamental of the tone being sung.

This theory assumes that the overtones are then

added by the resonators, the cavities being set into sympathetic resonation by what he terms "shock excita­ tion. " These two great theories differ in that the steadystate theory has the cavities operating merely as select­ ors on an already complex tone, while the puff theory

^ Ibid., p . l4l.

10 I

has them producing the overtones by being set into vib­ ration by the puffs from the vocal cords.

Thus, in the

steady-state theory the overtones are harmonic and stead­ ily maintained, while in the puff theory the overtones are usually inharmonic because the pitch of the cavities need bear no harmonic relation to that of the cord tone. These overtones therefore decrease in amplitude, some10 times to zero within each fundamental cycle. In contrast to this theory, Seashore claims to have positive proof that the vocal cords vibrate in seg­ ments, each segment giving off an overtone or harmonic of the fundamental and amplified by the resonance of the body cavities.

His theory gives no claim to the

cavities being originators of overtones or harmonics.11 Peabody Conservatory has recently done much re­ search into the acoustics and phonation problems of the voice.

These tests were conducted over a period of five

years with forty male and forty female voices.

The re­

sults of these tests show that in good phonation we find four unmistakable attributes:

an even vibrato, a min­

imum intensity of tone, prominent low overtones or

ibid»^ p. 142. 11 Carl Emil Seashore, "New Approaches to the Science of the Voice," Scientific Monthly, 49:340, April, 1939-

formant at a frequency of about ^>00 cycles, and finally prominent high overtones at frequencies of near 2900 12 cycles. Other findings show that the professional singer must possess a vocal range of two to three octaves, every tone from lowest to highest matching perfectly in color, quality, smoothness and texture, and resonance, like a perfect string of pearls.13 The pitch range of the average male voice lies approximately an octave lower than the average female voice because the lengths of the vocal cords of each sex have a ratio of fifteen to eleven.

14

However, there

is no comparable difference in length between the vocal cords of a bass voice and those of a tenor which leads us to assume that the most useful tesstitura is due to 15 the resonance provided for the phonation.

12

Wilmer T. Bartholomew, "Voice Research at Pea­ body," Bulletin of the American Musicological Society, 6:11, August, 19^2• IS Lazar S. Samioloff, The Singer’s Handbook. Philadelphia: Presser, 1942, p. 13* I**" Edgar T. Evetts and Robert A. Worthington, The Mechanics of SingingLondon: J. M. Dent and Sons, 1928, p. 2T7 Ernest George White, Science and Singing. J. M. Dent and Sons, 1938* fifth edition, p3 6l.

London

12 We come to the conclusion, therefore, that in life it is impossible to dissociate phonation from res­ onation; that phonation and resonation are concomitants of a single function called the vocal act, since neither can function as such without the other. Concepts of resonance.

1(5

With the publication in

1863 of Helmholtz's great work, The Sensations of Tone as a Physiological Basis for the Theory of Music, a new era began.

This book first gave us the theory that tones

are modified in quality as well as increased in power by the resonance of the air in the cavities of pharynx and head.^ Resonance is the intensification and enrichment of a musical tone by means of supplementary vibration. It is also the result of synchronous vibrations that blend with the initial pulsations issuing from a generator of sound.

The action of the resonator, which is distinguished

from that of the generator, is usually to amplify certain frequencies produced by the generator while damping out or absorbing other frequencies.

Therefore, the effect of

resonance is to increase the initial tone or to change 18 its quality or both. The question arises as to whether

Voice.

Victor Alexander Fields, Training the Singing New York: Kings Crown Press^ 1947* P* 145.

13 resonance is an active agency for augmenting laryngeal tone, either wholly, partially, or not at all.

Fields

has gathered twenty-nine opinions on this subject.

Nine

of them expressed the belief that resonance is the main controlling factor in amplifying vocal sound, eighteen believed that breath pressure is the main controlling factor and two suggested that resonance and breath pressure combined to control vocal dynamics.

19

In reviewing many descriptions of resonance it is apparent that the processes of phonation and resona­ tion are related to each other as cause and effect. is difficult to find the line of demarcation.

It

Herein

it is difficult to determine which techniques of vocal music are purely phonatory and which pertain to reson­ ance alone, the relative importance has not yet been positively determined.

Most writers mention the follow­

ing parts of the body as resonators:

the head cavities,

sinuses, nasal cavities, mouth and throat cavities and

17 Speaking.

pTTT-

Thomas Fillebrown, Resonance in Singing and Philadelphia: Oliver Ditson Company, 1911,

18 Voice.

Robert 0. L. Curry, The Mechan3 sm of the Human New York: Longmans Green and Company, 19^-0, p. 42.

New York:

Victor A. Fields, Training the Singing Voice. Kings Crown Press” 1947, p. 169-

the chest cavity, some referring to the entire body as a single complex resonator.

The larynx is not included

In this list of resonators, indicating that it is to be considered exclusively as an organ of phonation.

Perhaps

this is the view most widely held by the singing profes­ sion.

The term resonance itself is under suspicion

since it often is used to cover up any deficiencies in scientific accuracy when describing the operation of the 2° vocal organs. The term "resonance” is often loosely used to describe the unknown properties which a singing tone acquires after it has been properly cultivated by means of a regular system of instruction. is synonymous with voice placing.

In this sense it Voice placing, in

other words, is largely a matter of training the student singer the techniques for adjusting the vocal resonators 21 whereby the best quality of tone is secured. Most authorities agree that resonance is very im­ portant .to the production and support of the vocal tone. One expert, Frank LaForge, claims that the voice is

20

Craft.

William Sydney Drew, Singing: The Art and the London: Oxford Press, 1937, P- 125• 21 Redfield, op. cit., p. 268.

15 resonance and nothing more.

22

Another source has proven

that resonance can increase the carrying power of the vocal tone about 300 per cent of the amount of volume 23 generated by the voice cords. Resonance controls to a great degree the vocal dynamics.

It endows the voice with effortless volume

as well as quality. on force.

Resonance certainly does not depend

As Curry explains it, the maximum Intensity

of vocal sound is really produced at the larynx.

The

resonance cavities serve to increase the flow of energy from the source, thereby increasing the loudness of the , 24 sound. The tuning fork alone can scarcely be heard, while the Induced vibrations it sets up through properly adjusted resonance may be audible far away.

Let the tuning fork

be placed on a board, over a hollow tube, or some reflect­ ing surface and the volume of tone Is thereby greatly in­ creased.

The vocal cords alone cannot make music any

more than can the lips of the cornet player apart from

22

Prank LaPorge, ’’Sidelights on Training of Voices," Musician, 41:142, September, 1936. 23 W. Warren Shaw, Authentic Voice Production. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1930, p. 99oh Robert 0. L. Curry, The Mechanism of the Human Voice. New York: Longmans Green, 19^0, p. 32.

16 his instrument.

The tone produced by the vibrations

alone of the two very small vocal bands must, in the nature of things, be very feeble.

It is the vibrations

of the air in the resonance chambers of the human in­ strument, together with the induced vibrations of the instrument itself, which give tone its sonority, its 25 reach, its color and emotional power. Recent work at the Peabody Conservatory has shown that the fine male voice, particularly In good tone production, has a strong formant in the region of around 2600 and 3100 vibrations per second, probably caused by the resonating of the laryngeal chamber in a certain way. If a tone quality which is produced by a certain amount of sound energy spread fairly equally over a large number of partials be changed into one in which the same amount of energy is concentrated in one or at the most a few partials, it is clear that these stronger partials can travel to a greater distance than the weaker partials 26 of the first sound. This resonance then performs the service of amalgamating the various vocal resonances Into a composite, artistic tone. Rimmer, with many others, holds that the power or

25 26

Fillebrown,

o jd .

cit., p. 45-

Wilmer T. Bartholomew, Acoustics of Music, p.

17 largeness of tone, depends upon the proper use of the 27 resonance chambers. A person of small stature, who resonates tone correctly, can be heard at much greater distances and with far better quality of tone than one 28 of larger frame who shouts on forced breath. Wodell also agrees in stating that the ultimate power of the voice is secured as much,

or more, through the use of

resonance resources as through the increase of breath pressure. 29 The resonance properties of cylindrical tubes and similar cavities can be accurately determined exper­ imentally.

But vocal cavities are so irregular in shape,

varying as they do from individual to individual that the only way of arriving at any estimate of their res­ onance properties is by comparing them with analogous shapes and tubes of fixed pattern and design.

For this

reason, most of the common vocal descriptions are borrowed by analogy from musical instruments.

The human vocal in­

strument is described as consisting of a set of vocal

^ Lotti Rimmer, "Cavities, the Magic Transmitters," Etude, 5 8 :680, October, 1938.

28

Jessica Dragonette, "The Mental Approach to Singing," Etude, 5 8 :510, August, 1940. 29

Frederick W. Wodell, The Proper Training and Use of the Voice of Persons of School Age," Etude, 47: 678, August, 1929-

18 cords or mouthpiece and an outlying structure of bony and muscular cavities which constitute the resonator. In the vocal mechanism the resonators may be the mouth, throat, nose and sinus cavities, the chest cavity also 80 being considered a resonator of importance. Resonance in the human sound producing mechanism functions under the laws of involuntary muscle adjustment. Through the mediums of vocal utterance and emotional ’'coloring11 we are able to control the quality of tone from the resonators; and through our Indirect control of the breath energy we are able to regulate the inten­ sity of this tone; but we cannot ’’place" tone or cause it to resonate in any place save in the resonators which Nature has provided.

81

Those who are opposed to direct control of vocal resonance believe that when voice production is free, that Is not dampened by abnormal rigidity of the muscles, the tone will automatically find all the resonance cav­ ities that are available for its proper reinforcement 32 whether in the chest or head.

30

George Dodds and James Dunlop Lickley, The Control of the Breath. London: Oxford University Press, 1935* Second edition, p. 3381 John C. Wilcox, The Living Voice. New Yor^: Carl Fischer, 19^5* P« 7*

19 There is much evidence to show that the vocal tract in singing or speaking is constantly changing. As a whole it indicates that there are no fixed vocal resonators of any appreciable importance. 33

Later in

this thesis the writer will show wherein he has found that this concept is not altogether true. When the voice experts begin to evaluate the im­ portance of the various areas of the body in which the tone may resonate the writer has found wide differences of opinion. Pillebrown states that it is not difficult to understand how easily the vibrations of bone and tissue can be transmitted until the whole framework of the body responds in perceptible vibration.

Experiments with the

tuning-fork have shown that its loudness is chiefly due to the character of the resonance provided for it.

He

also claims that in view of the laws of tone the prin­ cipal vibrations are above the vocal cords in the cham34 bers of resonance provided in the head.

32 London:

T. Guthbert Samuels, Singing and Its Mastery. George C. Harrup, Ltd., 1930, p. 26.

33 pon Lewis, "Vocal Resonance," Journal Aeoustical Society of America, 8:91, October, 1936. 3^ Fillebrown, op. cit., p. 50.

20 Dr. Marafioti, In his excellent book on Caruso’s method of voice production, sums up the case for vocal resonance by saying that the entire body is one complex vocal resonator, receiving and augmenting the vibrations that emanate in all directions from their origin in the vocal cords.

Throaty constrictions, when present, pre­

vent the vocal vibrations from radiating to all parts of the body resonator.

Individual differences in resonance

between singers depends upon the structural differences in the human body with its contributing bones, cavities and tissues. Ralph Harper in a recent writing very definitely states that while all vibrations are initiated in the vocal cords, the fact that these vibrations are extended throughout the bony structure of the body can be readily 36 detected in any of its parts. Two teachers of international repute openly dis­ agree on the matter of chest resonance.

Hemery states

that vibration may be definitely felt in the chest walls during phonation, especially in the lower range of the voice, and that during phonation the firmness of the otx

Pasqual Mario Marafioti, Caruso’s Method of Voice Production. New York: Appleton, 1933y P* 102. 3^ Ralph Harper, "The Voice Governor, Give It a Chance," Boston: E. D. Schirmer, 19^0, p. 4 l .

21 bony structures of the chest may produce synchronous 37 vibrations that contribute to vocal resonance. Con­ trasting with this is the theory that the chest cannot act as a resonator at all because the chest cavity is closed during phonation by the glottis and that support that the chest may offer is merely in vibration of the 38 bony structure not in air resonation. Redfield finds experimentally that every fre­ quency imposed upon the atmosphere surrounding a mus­ ical wind instrument is likewise imposed upon the air confined within the mouth, throat, laryngeal and the chest cavities of the player.

39

If this be true of musical instruments it must also be true of voice, since the column of air support­ ing the lips of the player of an instrument is analo­ gous to the column of air supporting the vocal cords during phonation.

Therefore acoustically speaking, the

chest cavity is not closed to vibration by the vocal

37

Haydn Hemery, The Physiological Basis of the Art of Singing. London: H. K. Lewis and Company, 1939, pT~oi: 38

Evetts and Worthington, op. clt. , p. 38.

39 John Redfield, "Certain Anomalies In Air Col­ umn Behavior of Wind Instruments," Journal Acoustical Society of America, 6:3^, February, 193^*

22 glottis during phonation.

Fields suggests testing this

with a stethoscope held on the chest wall.

With the ex­

ception of the flute, every musical wind instrument, including the vocal tract, is a doubly open tube in the sense that an antinode exists at the mouthpiece end (vocal cords) with approximate constancy of air pres­ sure there and with the consequent establishment of pulses of identical frequency both inside the instru­ ment (which is the space above the vocal cords) and inside the player’s lips (the air space in the human chest).

Here Fields assumes that sound may travel

either with the stream of breath that generates it or against the stream of breath that generates it.

In the

latter case the sounds of the vocal cords generated during phonation would travel downwards into the subglottic area of the chest.

This subglottic air then

constitutes a resonator which because of its total vol­ ume reinforces the fundamental and lower partials or overtones of the voice.

Here is perhaps the entire 40 process of chest resonance. The boundary lines of the cavities in the head can not be so closely drawn as can the line of division

Fields, op. cit., p. 138.

23 between the chest and laryngeal

cavities which is marred

by the vocal cords themselves.

The mouth or oral cavity

is, however,

quite distinct from the nasal cavity in

both purpose and action.

The contours of the mouth and

nasal passages might well be compared to the horn of a loud speaker. The sinuses,

six in number,

are relatively small

bony cavities in the skull w hich communicate with the nostrils and contain air.

Their function as resonators

has always been a subject of controversy among vocal teachers.

Experiments

in this field conflict.

Bartholomew claims that the voice, speech,

in song or

is never initiated elsewhere than in the larynx,

and the most useful and effective resonation is almost always in that part of the back throat immediately above the larynx.

The tone must be supported by resonance,

otherwise it will be of poor quality,

lacking in color.

His studies have proven that the actual resonating of sound in the head cavities

is of little importance,

any, in the physical production of good quality.

if

Head

resonance is to be conceived rather as a result of the throat setting w hich makes powerful ringing tones p o s s ­ ible than as an important contributing cause of that quality. cally nil.

The resonance value of the sinuses

is p r a c t i ­

Because they are partially filled with

24 semi-liquid they would be more likely to dampen and 4l absorb than to amplify sounds. Drew finds that the sinuses in the head are not acoustically equipped to amplify vocal sounds and the chest resonator is equivalent to a box filled with a wet sponge.

We can hardly expect much resonance from

such unfavorable conditions.

42

Austin-Ball at the

Eastman School of Music emphatically claims that the influence of the head cavities on the quality of tone is negligible.

43

It appears from

many studies that the theory of

head resonance is untenable.

Several scientists, each

working independently, have produced conclusive proof that the head cavities make at the most an unimportant contribution to the volume or intensity of the human tone.

These same scientists regard the throat as the

major resonator of vocal tone.

The head cavities are

Important regulators of quality but they do not contri­ bute to the volume of tone and hence they may not be

41 42 43

Bartholomew, op. clt., p. 153Drew, op. cit., p. 126.

Thomas Austin-Ball, "Answers to Some Vocal Questions," Eastman School of Music Publication, No. 7* Rochester, New York: Eastman School of Music, 19*38, P- 39-

regarded as resonators. But one more opinion on nasal resonance.

The

nasal cavity is more or less fixed in its size, shape and total volume.

During voice production in singing,

strong vibratory sensations can be felt in the -wall of the nasal cavity.

This has caused singing teachers to

believe the nose to be the “sounding board of the voice. But there is a difference between singing a tone through the nose and feeling it vibrate in the nasal cavity. The first condition is extremely objectionable to the singing tone.

It is called nasality.

highly desirable.

The latter is

It is called nasal resonance.

The

distinction here is physiological, not acoustical.

Sing

ing through the nose comes from relaxing the velum or soft palate and thus opening the passage between the back of the oral cavity and the nasal cavity.

The de­

sired nasal resonance is not this sensation, but the conduction of sound into the walls of the nasal cavity and the bones of the skull and may take place even when the velum is closed.

The pupil singer Is in a better

position to perceive the existence of nasal resonance than the teacher since sensations, in this Instance, are more practical as guides than sounds.

^ Charles Kennedy Scott, Word and Tone. J. M. Dent Sons, 1933> Vol. II, p. 32.

London:

CHAPTER III CONCEPTS ON REGISTERS The concepts of registers or changes of color in the voice are closely interwoven with those of resonance and phonation because the sensations accompanying the various registers are largely related to sympathetic vibrations of the chest and head cavities.

As the writer

has found wide differences of opinion on phonation and resonance he also has discovered equally confusing con­ cepts of registers.

These various findings will be re­

lated in this chapter to be followed by the experimental findings of the writer in preceding chapters. Definitions of register.

A register might well

be defined as a series of tones of like quality within the compass of a voice which are produced by a particular adjustment of the vocal cords.

In singing up the scale

the register changes at the point where the singer re­ adjusts the vocal cords to reach the higher notes.

Some

authorities claim that the notes below the break of the register originate their resonance in the chest, while those above the break use the head resonating chambers. It is conceivable that some tones which lie very close to the changing position might draw their resonance

27 from both sources.

This term, register, is often used

loosely in singing to describe first, certain ranges in the sung tones, and secondly, different audible qualities in the singer’s voice.1 A break is not a register, rather breaks occur because of a change in register which in most cases forces a change in production.

The register, then, implies:

(l) a series of tones of a characteristic clang, timbre, color or quality, and (2) that this is due to the employ­ ment of a special mechanism of the larynx in a particular manner or position.

We therefore might say that passing 2 from one register to another may cause a break. This question of vocal registration is one of

the most insistent controversial topics in the discussion of vocal range.

As yet there is no absolute solution,

although interesting possibilities through research show that eventually a definite theory will be developed. The terminology of registers has never been standardized in vocal theory or technique.

That a so-called register

break usually occurs in the average untrained singing voice is commonly conceded.

Out of this empirical

1 Curry, o£. cit., p. 5^ Wesley Mills, Voice Production in Singing and Speaking. Philadelphia! J7 B. Lippincott, 1913* P~ 163*

28

observation some far-fetched conclusions are often drawn that need honest verification. Formerly great stress was laid upon the distinc­ tion between "head tones" and "chest tones," and between "closed tones" and "open tones."

The entire vocal pro­

fession was in bondage to registers in the voice and the one great task confronting the singer and the vocal teacher was to "blend the registers," a technique still baffling the efforts of many instructors. Many teachers and singers have formed the con­ clusion that registers are not a natural feature of the voice; yet an equally large contingent still adhere to the doctrine of registers, depending almost entirely for their justification upon the unreliable evidence furnished by the laryngoscope, little realizing that there will be found in the lens as many different con4 ditions as the observers have eyes to see. These same observers disagree as to the cause, nature and even the existence of registers.

The method of register blend­

ing remains a trade secret. The modern professional singer must possess a vocal range of two to three octaves with every tone from

3

Fields, op. cit., p. Ib3-

^ Fillebrown, op. cit., p. 2.

29 lowest to highest matching perfectly in color, quality, smoothness and texture, like a perfect string of pearls. The single (blended) register in a singer’s voice is considered the hall-mark of efficiency.

Where there

appears to be more than one, the voice is classified as poor and untrained.

6,7

Stanley claims that ” . . .

registration action

is a means whereby to control the intensity /of the voice/, and has nothing to do with pitch.”

He further

declares that women with improperly trained voices use only the falsetto register adjustment over nearly the entire range.

Men, on the other hand, usually employ

lower register adjustments exclusively, ignoring the 8 falsetto. Hipsher describes head register as the ’’upper division of the voice in which the tones receive the larger part of their reinforcement from the resonance 9 cavities in the frontal part of the head.”

^ Samoiloff, op. cit., p. 13^ Samuels, 7 eapolis:

o jd .

cit., p. 22.

Florence C. Wharton, Rotary Voice Method. Agsburg Publishing House, 1937, p” 50.

Minn­

o

Douglas Stanley, ’’Classification of Voices by Range,” Musician, 45:74, February, 1940.

30 In the interesting studies that Hagara has made of the ancient methods of vocal production he gives us this valuable information.

The transition from chest

register to head register usually encompasses two or three tones where the registers appear to overlap.

"The

ancients called these transitional notes the falsetto. So we first note that the problem of registers is by no means new, that our oldest papers on vocal technic often referred to changes in color in the voice and that this was recognized as a common problem.

What is new,

however, is that the scientists, together with the most progressive of the vocal teachers, are seeking to find through application of the latest electronic equipment just what really takes place when a change in vocal color is noted.

The statements which follow only further prove

that equally successful vocal teachers strongly disagree as to even the existence of such a phenomenon as registers. Statements endorsing registers.

In a very ex­

tensive survey of the orchestral instruments it appears that each instrument contains a series of registers.

In

9

Edward Ellsworth Hipsher, "Eliminating the Vocal Break," Etude, 53:7^0, December, 1935* Evelyn Hagara, Vocal Secrets of the Ancients. Los Angeles: De Vorss and Company, T9^T0, p. 5^•

31 some cases, as in the trumpet, this register is controlled by the formation of the lips which guides the player into which register he wishes to play.

Having done this the

player then uses valves to raise or lower the tone within that register.

If an extension in the melodic line ne­

cessitates the use of notes not in that register, whether they be higher or lower, then the player adjusts the lips so that the instrument plays within the register in which the notes are found.

This type of adjustment is not

necessary for all instruments, for in some the color of the tone determines the range for which it is scored. In the bassoon, for example, the lowest notes are rather rough and nasty sounding, the middle range is clear, resonant and beautiful, and extreme upper range is thin and piercing.

This type of color change is very common

in the orchestral instrument.

Although these changes

exist they must not show in performance.

So in the

human voice, the registers also exist but like the or­ chestral instrument they must not show and each tone 11 must have somewhat equal resonance. Therefore, it appears that the "marriage of the registers” is an all12 important work in training the singer’s voice.

11

Wood, op. cit., Vol I, p. 12.

32 Qualities and registers are not to be considered as the same thing.

Perhaps registers exist because of

tone qualities, the reverse might in many cases also be true.

If there were but one color of tone from the high­

est to the lowest tone of any instrument, whether it be orchestral or vocal, then we would have but one register. Many vocal teachers teach the theory of one register, that is, in overall concept only, so that a more even scale is developed with a smaller number of breaks in both production methods and color.

13

This blending of

registers is often done through the practice of working from the notes above the break downward through the change of color.

14

Fields has found in his extensive studies of vocal practices that in the opinion of thirty-four out­ standing voice teachers, all of whom have written books on vocal technic, that the opinions are divided in this ratio.

Eleven believe that the voice has but one re­

gister throughout its entire range, sixteen held that

12

H. Holbrook Curtis, "Voice Building and Tone Placing,” Etude,56:115j February, 1938* ^ Harold L. Butler, "Salient Changes in Voice Teach­ ing in the Past 50 Years,” Etude, 46:220, March, 1928. York:

^ Millie Ryan, What Every Singer Should Kno w. Kings Crown Press, 19^7> P* 153*

New

33 there were two vocal registers, and seven believed that three registers existed.

Within the "one register" group

are singers such as Lilli Lehmann, Herbert Witherspoon and Marion Anderson.15 Witherspoon holds the opinion that there is only one vocal register, involving three qualities or places l6 of resonance: the head, the mouth, and the chest. Stanley teaches that the first step in voice train­ ing should be ".. . the isolation of the two registers." The best way to

accomplish this, after the two have been

definitely established, is

to concentrate uponthe weaker

register; which, in the case of women, is usually the lower one, and in the men is the higher one (falsetto). This change of color is best heard in the open, not in confined quarters where the resonance of the room itself 17 may account for a break in tone. There is

some claim that the so-called chest and

head registers are not produced by any special use of '

15 Fields, op. cit. , p. 153^ Herbert Witherspoon, Thirty-Six Lessons in Singing for Teachers and Students. Chicago: Meissner Institute of Music, 1930, p. 22. ^ Douglas Stanley, "The Science of Voice," Journal of the Franklin Institute, 211:425, August, 1931.

34 resonance but by the same pair of vocal muscles in "| ^

"thick edge" and "thin edge" adjustments, respectively. On the other hand, Wilcox declares that two different sets of muscles function in stretching the vocal cords. The first, or crico-thyroid group, is predominantly for adjusting lower register pitches and loud intensities; the second, or arytenoid muscle group, is for higher or 19 falsetto register pitches and soft intensities. Bartholomew is not convinced that resonance has anything to do with the registers in the voice, and frankly admits at least two distinct registers.

The experiments

which he has performed show that the chest registers tones are acoustically more complex than those of the head re­ gister.

The former contain "more and stronger overtones."

The latter, contrary to common belief, "have very few or even no overtones."

Obviously, then, the head register

does not provide any new or support the overtones in the 4 * 20 upper registers.

lg Crystal Waters, 60:449, July, 1942.

"Bridging the Voice," Etude,

^ John C. Wilcox, The Living Voice. New York: Carl Fischer, 1935* P* 6. 20 Wilmer T. Bartholomew, "A Survey of Recent Voice Research," Music Teachers National Association Proceedings for 19375 :115•

35 The above explanation of the breaks concurs with Stanley’s theories and he adds that the break between falsetto and lower registers is caused by a weakness of the arytenoid muscles which causes them to yield to the downward pull of the powerful lower register muscles under the tension of high tones.

His claim is that the

development and coordination of the registers demands 21 special training which no singer can avoid. Wagner, in a lecture to the Music Educator National Conference, designates a register to be a series of con­ secutive homogeneous tones produced by one mechanism. If this be acceptable, then the head or falsetto and the chest tones are produced by two mutually exclusive mech22 anisms. Furthermore, there is the claim of Weer that there are two registers and that they cannot be blended. Rather, they must be made to cooperate because two dif23 ferent organic mechanisms are involved. The question was asked of eighteen authorities as to whether or not the two registers might be blended insensibly into each other so that no perceptible line

21 Stanley, op. cit., p. 307* 22 Arnold Henry Wagner, “Research in the Field of Voice Training,” Music Educators National Conference, 30: 343, 1939-40. tion.

2^ Robert Lawrence Weer, My Views on Voice Produc­ Boston: Weer Press, 1941, p” 62.

36 of demarcation would be present.

Of the eighteen opinions

only one claimed that this blending was a physical im­ possibility.^ The concept of two registers was first noted by Mancini in the eighteenth century, and many vocal dir­ ectors of that era taught the use of each of these re25 gisters with equal skill. ^ But the theory of registers does not end with con­ cepts of two such registers, for it is possible to find almost an equal number of teachers advocating three or more changes in the color of tone.

Manuel Garcia, world

famous singing teacher of the nineteenth century, and inventor of the laryngoscope, is the strongest proponent of the three register concept.

Garcia recognizes three

mechanical variations in voice production which he calls registers.

In the first,

"the glottis is progressively

narrowed to the point at which the vocal processes (cords) completely touch each other." ment " . . .

In the second, this move­

less energetically done, produces the fal­

setto," and the head tones of the third register " are

24

Edgar T. Evetts and Robert A. Worthington, o p . cit., p . 27. Hagara, op. cit., p. 36 . 26

Mackenzie, op. cit., p. 8 7 •

37 produced by the vibration of the ligamentous parts of

26

the glottis.11

Samuels offers a somewhat simpler explanation: "In the chest register the vocal cords vibrate in their full length and breadth; in the medium /register/ only the inner edges vibrate; in the head register only a 27 portion of the inner edges vibrate." He is supported in these claims by Homer Henley, Frank E. Miller, Bar­ bara Blatherwick and Madame Dalia Valeri, all famous vocal teachers. Madame Seiler has found that in the female sporano voice there may be as many as five registers present. These would be the first chest register, the second chest register, first falsetto register, second falsetto re­ gister and a head tone.

The first three divisions would

be sung with the whole glottis open, the last two with the cartilaginous glottis gradually closing. 28 ing illustrates:

26

The follow-

Mackenzie, op. cit., p. 8 7 .

27 Samuels, op. cit., p. 2b. pft

Madame Seiler and Wesley Mills, Voice Production in Singing and Speaking. Philadelphia: Jl W. Llppincott, T 913, P- 155-

38 First Chest Register

Second Chest First Register Falsetto

(Whole glottis open)

Second Falsetto

Head Tones

(Cartilaginous glottis gradually closing)

Note: Between registers the vibratory portions of the vocal bands shortened 1/16 of an inch.

Caruso’s method of singing was not an individual secret which he alone possessed., or which with him ceased to be; it was an example of true natural singing. admitted that there were breaks in the voice.

Caruso

These

breaks, however, are not the same and not equal in number for every voice.

Some singers--especially the very badly

trained ones— have breaks at almost every other note and sometimes even in the same note, if long sustained.

To­

wards the end of their voices they slide into a kind of a squeezed tone, indefinite in pitch and disagreeable in effect.

Caruso called these breaks the tails of

the voice. In Caruso’s period it was traditional to divide

39 the voice into three registers, as follows:

o o o

The chest register gets its resonance from the chest.

At the altitude of E or P the voice breaks and

gives origin to the middle register, which according to some authors, gets its resonance from the pharynx.

At

the altitude of E it breaks and gives origin to the head register.

Each of these registers seem to produce a dif­

ferent color in the vocal tone.

The chest resonance

gives us a tone of exaggerated power and tension, the middle resonance gradually becomes stiff, thin and sharp, and the head resonance provides the voice with a very sharp and brittle quality.

In this upper register the

voice often loses the character of the human voice and 29 sounds like the orchestral instrument. Even though these registers have been noted by Caruso, he does not admit them in his own voice.

29

He

P. Mario Marafioti, Caruso1s Method of Voice Production and Scientific Culture of the Voice. New York: Th Appleton Company, 1937* p. 148.

40 tells us that were a clear conception of the natural range of the voice to exist, nobody would bother about registers. Musical instruments have but one register, and require but one technique for playing at any altitude of their range.

Whey then should it be essential for the human

vocal apparatus--the most complete and perfect musical instrument— to undergo an elaborate process of breaks and sudden adjustments for producing the voice? His evaluation of his voice is that there are no registers when it is correctly produced.

According to

natural laws the voice is made up of only one register— its entire range.

He contends that no such division is

suggested by nature, not is it needed in voice culture. The breaks of the voice are the result of abrupt and artificial changes in the laryngeal adjustments when the vocal organs are adapting themselves to produce higher tones; the normal function of these organs is then disturbed and a defective vocal production is thus 30 brought about. Statements not favoring registers♦

Aikin is

convinced that the only reason the registers appear in a singer's voice is because the teacher continually

30 Ibid., pp. 136-151.

41 calls attention to them*

It is astonishing how the

registers disappear when singers are relieved of the necessity of thinking about them.

According to present

knowledge,

. . the membranes behave In the same way 31 throughout the entire compass of the voice.” There are no register breaks in the voice and it is possible for the singer to carry the same quality of

voice from one end of his range to the other.

All re­

gister terminologies such as chest tones and head tones 32 are misleading. In her thoughtful Philosophy of Singing, Clara Kathleen Rogers, while upholding "registers,” says that 33 considered physiologically, ^ . . . the different registers of the voice should be regarded by the singer as only so many modifi­ cations in the quality of tone, which modifications are inherent in the voice itself. As long as the word "register” is kept in use the registers will not disappear, and yet the register question must be swept away, to give place to another class of ideas, sounder views on the part of teachers, and a truer conception on the part of singers and pupils.

31 w. A. Ailin, article on "Singing,” in Groves Dictionary of Music. New York: Macmillan, 1941, V o l . IV. 32

York:

Deane Dossert, Sound Sense for Singers. J. Fischer and Brothers, 1932, p. 35• 33 Fillebrown, op. cit., pp. 38-39.

New

In Ffrangson-Davies1 important work, The Singing of the Future, where, having in mind ". . . the useless torture to which thousands of students have been subjected, he characterizes breaks and registers as "paraphernalia supplied by credulity to charlatanism," and adds that "countless pupils have become practically monomaniacs on the subject of that break in the voice between D and D sharp." In Thomas Fillebrown’s own studies he is convinced that there is but one register, or rather, no such thing as register, save as it applies to the compass of the voice; and that chest, middle, head, and all other re­ gisters are creations of false education.

Training

based upon the theory of many registers results in an artificial and unnatural division of the voice.

Faith­

ful advocates of the theory of many registers say: "Whenever in doubt about the production of a tone, sing down to it from some tone above it, never upward from a tone below," for they find that singing down "blends the registers,"

This we believe is because in singing down

muscular and nerve tension is gradually relaxed and con­ sequently there is no "register" change in the voice. It might be said of registers that they are "acoustic illusions which disappear in the perfectly trained voice."

As soon as the singer has learned to use his voice normally all these defective changes disappear.

34

De Bruyn quotes Lilli Lehmann’s authority for the following statement:

"Do registers exist by nature?

No.

It may be said that they are created throughout long years of speaking in the vocal range that is easiest to the person . . . which means that the notes below and above the habitual speaking voice zone comprise two other registers. So the writer finds that many outstanding teachers have the theory that when a voice is free from disturb­ ances, breaks cannot occur; hence, registers cannot exist.

The great example of this is the voice of Caruso

whose natural voice was so perfect that it escaped the damaging influence of incorrect production and therefore showed no register breaks. However, it seems traditional that breaks or wobbly tones occur whenever the singing voice passes from a stronger to a weaker segment of the range.

These

traditional breaks define the so-called registers. Not only in regard to registers, but in regard to resonance, focus, articulation and the offices and

3^ Fillebrown, o£. cit., pp. 40-41. 35 John W. De Bruyn,

"Historical Schools of Singing,

uses of the various vocal organs, similar antagonistic opinions exist.

Out of this chaos must some time come

a demonstrable system, supported by scientific study, which will either prove or disprove many of these con­ troversial questions.

To further these ends the writer

has donated part of this thesis in laboratory research in the field of registers to attempt to form some con­ clusion, whether it be in favor or not of registers, which will be of some value to the vocal profession, especially to the choral director.

Etude, 60:667* September, 19^0.

CHAPTER IV RECENT EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE ON REGISTERS

Purpose of experiments.

The writer, during the

past year, has undertaken extensive experiments in the fields of vocal production and voice acoustics.

These

tests were not to provide proof of any theory in parti­ cular, but to attempt to discover, through the medium of the finest electronic equipment, something of the operation and function of the registers in the human voice. Through much work with choral groups the writer has noted that there appears to be a certain tessitura in every voice in which the finest quality of vocal tone is generated.

Thus, in "voicing" and choral group, that

is, placing each member in the section most suitable to his voice, perhaps the application of these registers might be suitable.

One of the main purposes, then, of

this experimental work was to ascertain whether these registers, lifts, breaks, or whatever name might be ap­ plied, could be found in all voices whether trained or untrained.

It was immediately noted that it was diffi­

cult to hear a change in tone color in a well trained voice so it was the hope of the writer that the electronic

46 equipment might pick out these changes even better than the ear might. Another objective of this work was to attempt to isolate these changes in color to such an extent that more than one change would be noted in a single voice. If this were possible, then perhaps these changes might follow a pattern in all voices, trained or untrained, and from this we might assume that they would follow an overtone series or some related acoustical pattern.

In

approaching these tests from this standpoint the writer stands quite alone in attempting to justify the registers in the voice as a pure result of the overtones as pres­ ent in any orchestral instrument. The simple laws of physics give us the data that the overtones arrange themselves in a definite order, as follows:

(l) the fundamental or prime tone;

overtone one octave above the fundamental; tone a fifth above the second;

(2) an

(3) an over­

(4) an overtone a fourth

above number 3 (two octaves above the fundamental); (5) an overtone a major third above number 4; (6) an overtone a minor third above number 5. Differences in tone quality

result from the

number of partials present, and their relative intensi­ ties to each other.

A "pure" tone in most cases would

47 be a poor tone for the purposes of music, unless used in combination with other tones.

We demand a certain

amount of the "brightness" produced by the overtones, which are often strengthened by the resonance facilities of the instrument or adjacent equipment.

The upper par­

tials, though extremely difficult to "pick out" of a complex tone as partials, are nevertheless heard by the ear in the composite effect of the tone, and are the chief cause of the infinite number of possible varia­ tions in timbre.

The more upper partials present, or

the stronger they are, the more the tone quality becomes rich, brilliant, cutting or even strident.^ Through the use of the Hammond Organ one might experiment by beginning with a "pure" tone and by adding the overtones in various intensities create imitations of many of the orchestral instruments.

Thus with the

stable theories of overtones as found in any physics text and the vast confusion of concepts from the vocal profession, the writer now attempts to find some solu­ tion to the problem of voice registers, and ultimately to use these findings to the benefit of the choral director.

York:

^ Wilmer T. Bartholomew, Acoustics of Music. Prentice Hall, Inc., 19^2, p. 13.

New

48 Preliminary tests of resonance.

There are two

quite valuable experiments which might be performed to illustrate the necessity of proper resonance space to amplify the feeble sound generated by the tuning fork as the source. Hold the vibrating fork over the mouth of an empty fruitjar and there will probably be little or no reinforcement; but gently pour in water, thereby short­ ening the air column within the jar, and the sound of the fork will be gradually intensified until at a cer­ tain point it becomes quite loud.

If we continue to

pour in still more water the sound will gradually be­ come feebler.

The result of this test proves that for

every tone there is an air column of a certain size that reacts most powerfully to reinforce that tone.

2

To discover the resonance of the oral cavity, apart from the voice, hold a vibrating tuning-fork be­ fore the open mouth.

Vary the shape and size of the

cavity until the sound of the fork suddenly increases in volume, showing that the right adjustment for re­ sonance has been made.

This intensification of the

sound is due to the vibration of the air in the mouth cavity, together with the sympathetic vibration of the

^ Fillebrown, o p . cit., p. 47.

49 surrounding walls.

3

The writer, early in the experiments, found that certain rooms, chiefly those with hard, smooth surfaces on the walls and ceiling, responded to a generated sound at definite pitches to amplify that particular pitch far beyond the intensity of even nearly related pitches. Thus it was found that no accurate work with voices could be done in such a room, for not only did changes in color in the voice appear but also changes in inten­ sity and color resulted from sympathetic vibrations of the room itself.

This phenomenon is quite perceptible

when one attempts to sing in a very confined space such as a telephone booth, for in such a small room the singer finds great amplification of certain pitches.

Outstand­

ing in this test, however, is the fact that these great points of amplification, due to the inherent resonance of the small room, follow in the points of the overtone series. Because of this obvious acoustical premonstration the writer confined all the experimental work to the soundproof recording studio and such rooms as would contain enough covering on the floor and walls, such as thick rugs and heavy drapes, that any vibration set

^ Ibid., p. 48.

50 up in the room itself would be negligible.

This was

most important if any validity was to be given to the experiment, for the only resonance which the writer de­ sired was that set up in the human body. Selection and recording of voices.

It was the

purpose of the writer to select as accurate a cross sec­ tion of voices as possible.

This selection would then

include voices from the soprano, alto, tenor and bass sections of various choral groups with trained and un­ trained voices in each section. three major sources:

Voices were drawn from

the Concert Choir of the University

of Southern California, the choir of* the Wilshire Ward (Mormon) of Los Angeles, and the choir of the First Eng­ lish Lutheran Church of Los Angeles, California.

The

Concert Choir of the University of Southern California is composed of untrained voices, that is, untrained as far as solo work is concerned, and from this group the writer received excellent support from the members and from Dr. Hirt, the director.

From the two church choirs

the writer found some voices in every section that ranged from the singer with absolutely no concept of proper vocal production to those who were quite prepared to do solo work adequately.

Added to these three groups were

several singers with many years of vocal training at

51 various colleges and with varying concepts of proper phonation.

These fellow-students were most helpful to

the writer in solving many of the details abounding in these experiments.

Overall a total of seventy-two voices

were chosen and recorded for study. Some recordings of voices were made on highfidelity tape, later to be transferred to discs.

Al­

though this at first appeared to be quite successful it later proved to be only the second best method. Extreme success was noted in the recordings made in the Audio-Visual studios of the University of Southern Cal­ ifornia, where the very latest in recording equipment is available.

The work was done here in the main studio,

a specially designed and acoustically constructed room for recording the dialogue of sound movies.

It was found

best to use but one microphone in making the recording which was done directly on to the high-fidelity disc. The following procedure was used on every voice tested.

Each person was screened and his background of

training in vocal work was noted.

Each was then asked

what section of the choral group he normally sang, and his reasons for wishing to be in that section.

After

these details each singer then sang on the vowel "0" a two-second tone chromatically, beginning on B flat

52 below middle C for the ladies and the B flat an octave lower for the men.

After singing each scale step from

the starting tone through the highest tone in their range they returned to the starting tone to sing a sliding scale beginning on the same B flat and continuing to their highest tone. Considerable difficulty was experienced in keep­ ing a rather constant level of recording on tones as they were sung from the lowest to the highest.

Much

thanks is here due to the technicians who spent many hours making these tests possible. Singers were told little of the register theory in the hope that there would be no conscious attempt to overcome such changes in vocal color and also that a max­ imum degree of relaxation would be present.

The voices

became mere numbers on the record with the actual name and background data known only to the writer.

Because

of this much greater cooperation was felt than was anti­ cipated.

This privacy was much appreciated by the pro­

fessional and near-professional singers who did not wish an out-and-out expose to be written on their voice. Oscilloscope procedures.

As soon as the record­

ings of a representative group of voices were completed, the next problem was to feed these vibrations through the

53 oscilloscope where they might be photographed and studied. The equipment used was an Allen B. DuMont Cathode Hay Oscillograph, Type 248A.

This oscillograph was

equipped with a fixed camera with pre-focused lens, thus assuring a clear picture once the P settings and the shutter speeds were determined. Super XX 35mm.

The film used was

A brilliant picture was finally obtained

with a setting of F3«5 at a speed of 1/30 of a second. Other portions of the machine were set as follows: Synchronous gain at plus 25 » Vertical sweep at 35> X signal at 125 cps., Intensity at 70 and Focus at 49. The auxiliary power was finally set at 12 KV. The recordings were played from a seventy-eight r.p.m. turntable which was fed into the oscilloscope at maximum volume.

A minimum of distortion was noted from

the surface noise of the records.

Many settings of both

the oscillograph and the camera were tried before the very clear photographs shown in this thesis were obtain­ able. It was soon found that the untrained voices pos­ sessed such distortion and foreign noise in their pro­ duction that they were of little value to the experi­ ment.

Besides the tone generated by the vocal cords

54

they also produced noise from excessive air escape and nasal sounds which only served to hamper the findings. Of the original seventy-two voices tested * about 25 per cent were eliminated at this point.

This was not ser­

ious , however, for there remained an ample cross-section of the voices usually found in the average choral group. This remaining group was then photographed. Each tone on the chromatic scale was observed and the tones just preceding and also those immediately after the changes in color were photographed.

All tones

between the breaks, those in the same register, appeared to have the same wave form.

Therefore it proved to be

a waste of equipment to photograph every tone in every voice. Oscilloscope results.

The writer finds that the

theory on registers can be accounted for on scientific grounds.

If a man were able to produce the entire male

vocal compass, from the deepest bass to the tenor, the following would be quite true.

While for every note

throughout the entire compass there would be subtle changes in the adjustment of the vocal tract, the fol­ lowing would also be true:

that beginning with the low­

est note and throughout the first octave of his voice, the changes in the adjustments of the voice would not

55 materially alter the form of the oscilloscope picture. Within the next five notes of the scale there would be an adjustment of the vocal tract and also of the format of the voice.

Then, in the next four notes of the scale,

a similar change in voice tract and form would be noted. In this concept the changes in color of the tones follows the same pattern as the overtone series.

7'

a

jT

¥■ 'S-

In this thesis these Important tones on which the color changes will be designated as one, two, three, four in the overtone series, rather than calling them by the number of the overtone. In the Figures which follow (I, II, and III) we find photographs of the vocal tone at the second, third, and fourth of the series, respectively.

Only at these

FIGURE 1 VOCAL TO NE AT SE CO ND OV E RT ON E OF THE SERIES

57

FIGURE 2

VOCAL TONE AT THIRD O V ERT ON E OF TH E SERIES

58

FIGURE 3 VOCAL TO N E AT FOURTH OV E RT ON E OF TH E SERIES

59 points

were any appreciable changes noted in theformat

of

the vocal wave, thus showing that between the notes

of

the series the color remains fairly constant. Figure 1 is photographed

at the second in the

series and shows considerable confusion in the tone due to the depth of the pitch which contains most of the over­ tones available in this particular voice.

In all voices

it was difficult to find a clear picture at the second tone because of the complexity. Figure 2 is photographed at the third in the series.

At this tone the complexity has disappeared,

and the fundamentals and overtones still remaining are clearly visible.

This wave form was not available as

much as one whole step below this point.

A change de­

finitely takes place on an absolute pitch. Figure 3 is photographed at the fourth in the series which is four tones above the tone shown in Fig­ ure 2.

Here again a new wave form is presented.

The

fundamental tone noted as the little V inverted in lower part of the form in Figure 2 has disappeared in Figure 3* This procedure proved consistent in EVERY voice tested, whether good or bad, but as stated it was diffi­ cult to read the wave forms of the poorer voices.

The

60

k. A

•?* J

TPVW

FIGURE 4 VO CAL TON E (F E M A L E ) AT EX TR EM E TOP RANGE

1

A A A A A Alil I

imnrmv

FIGURE 5 EXTENSION OF FIGURE 4

62 voice here pictures is one of very fine quality which to the ear has very little change in color through the entire register. The two Figures

( 4 and 5) were included because

of their unusual interest.

It represents a female voice

singing a sliding scale at the extreme top of her range. At this point as she continues upward she completely eliminates one of the fundamentals in the format.

The

period of time represented in the combination of these two Figures is a small fraction of a second. The culmination of the experimental work really lies in Figure 6.

It is a final analysis and pictorial

graph of six voices, trained and untrained, singing a sliding scale from below the second in the overtone series extending past the fourth in the series. That these breaks, or changes in color, occur in all voices is here quite definitely established, without question.

The only editing done on this chart

is to shorten the space between the third and the fourth in the series so as to make it fit the page and the eye more easily.

The changes of color continued to follow

the pattern of the overtone series closely enough to establish the validity of these experiments. The writer in these experiments has not sought

Vv-V/V^^Vv^vvs-' A/V*v/v^ a\'|

FIGURE 6 TrAnAT rtPTTAirq &T THIRD AND FOURTH OF OVERTONE SERIES COMPOSITE GRAPH OF VOCAL BREAKS AT iRiw; a m u

o\ UJ

64 to establish himself as a scientist, but merely to use science as a musician might approach a problem.

The

writer has not found written evidence that experiments in this field have been attempted in this particular manner.

Therefore, many of the results here photo­

graphed may be the first such endeavor. Most outstanding has been the consistency with which the overtones and the changes in color appeared. This is extremely important to the musician for it means that a choir may now be accurately "voiced,11 not by guesswork on the part of the director, but by the un­ changing laws of physics.

CHAPTER V APPLICATION OF REGISTERS IN CHORAL PLACEMENT Having in our possession the knowledge that the voice contains registers, and sections of good and bad quality, can be most useful to the choir director if he wishes uniform quality i n teach voice part.

To ig­

nore the details of placing voices where they blend most successfully Is sheer failure in duty, both to the singer and the entire organization.

As an organ

voicer works patiently to obtain uniform quality of tone color within one rank of pipes, so must the choral director maintain equal color within each voice part. This is not a difficult problem once the simple facts of vocal color and registers are understood. Vocal quality.

Quality is that property in a

musical tone which distinguishes it from another tone having the same pitch and loudness.

Curry describes

tone quality as the subjective Impression of the nature of the sound wave, this impression depending upon the number and relative frequencies, intensities and dura­ tion of its components.

The fundamental of a sound

wave is that component which has the lowest frequency

66 and which usually determines the absolute pitch of the sound we hear.'*' It is generally agreed that concepts of vocal quality are linked up with resonance factors inasmuch as differences of quality are caused by differences in the shape of the resonators or those parts which vibrate 2 in sympathy with the vocal tone that is phonated. Vocal quality depends on individual anatomical peculiarities.

X-ray experiments indicate that so-called

naturally beautiful voices seem to have symmetrical pal­ atal and pharygeal arches, those having flat arches less beauty in the vocal tone than the well arched case. Many sources point out that a well produced voice is categorized by neither quality nor range but nby the 4 area in which its most powerful and useful tones lie." Evetts and Worthington express the opinion that a singer’s vocal classification is determined by the

York:

1 Curry, ££. cit., p. 4l. 2 William J. Henderson, The Art of Singing. Dial Press, 1938, revised edition, p. 57.

New

8 Francis Wheeler, "The Relation of the Paranasal Sinuses to the Singing Voice," Science, 72:630, August, 1930. ^ Stanley, op. cit., p. 323*

67 location of his middle range on the musical scale (tessitura), not by his highest pitches; for the compass 5 of voices may vary within the same classification. The quality of a sound will vary with the area of the vibrating surface, with the substance of which it is composed, with the amplitude of the vibrations and with environment. A loud voice, therefore, is not necessarily a good voice but a soft, clear pure quality is the found7 ation for dynamics, flexibility and good diction. To quote F. Melius Christiansen,

8

. . . it is not only the range which decides a voice; it is also the size and tone color. Thin, light ladies1 voices are invariably soprano; dark, heavy ladies’ voices alto. A thin, light male voice is a tenor and a dark, heavy male voice characterizes bass. The tenor and bass vocal ranges greatly overlap as do the soprano with the alto, but the quality in each of these voices is very much different from that of the other.

^ Worthington and Evetts, op. cit., p. 31 • Louis:

V. E. Negus, The Mechanism of the Larynx. C. V. Mosby Company^ 1 , p“ 3T*n

St.

^ Mabelle Glenn, f,A New Goal in Ensemble Singing," Music Supervisors Journal, 1 5 :6 9 , October, 1928. ® F. Melius Christiansen, The School of Choir Singing. Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1916, p. 5b.

68 Placing voices by the change-of■ -color points.

It

is not always the best practice to depend on just quality of vocal tone to place the singer in a choral section. Because each singer possesses definite breaking points where this change of color takes place it is possible to place him most accurately in his most useful section. It has been noted that breaks occur at definite points and it is possible to hear these breaks clearly with little training. The break most clearly heard is the third in the overtone series.

By listening for this break we place

the voice in the following sections, using the indicated pitches as a guide;

: h ---------/ i ih"^

Second Alto Second Bass Note:

o ----r -----------

First Alto First Bass

Second Soprano Second Tenor

First Soprano First Tenor

The mens' voices are heard one octave below that of the women.

69 Possibly the best procedure to follow in testing a voice for this break is to have them sing a pentachord. Begin as low as B flat, singing five notes up and five down, carefully listening to the top note of the penta­ chord.

Repeat this process a half step higher each time

until a change of color occurs on the top note of the pentachord, this is the break at the third in the over­ tone series.

Using the chart presented in the preceding

paragraph, we then place that singer in his most useful position in the choral group. A word of caution is most appropriate at this time.

In this the writer quotes Dr. Max T. Krone, a

choral expert who has long advocated this procedure in voice placing;^ Avoid the use of the word "break” in talking to students about their voices. They are likely to become self-conscious or to develop some sort of complex about their voices. It may be just as well to say nothing about "breaks" or "changeof-color points" at all. As long as you know what to look for and what to do to place the voice that is all that is necessary. A doctor does not tell his patients all that he knows about them. Successful application of placing the voice ac­ cording to changes in color is not limited to the choral 9

Chicago:

Max. T. Krone, The Chorus and Its Conductor. Neil A. Kjos Company, 19^5* p. £5 *

70 director.

The private voice teacher may well employ

this method in the very beginning stages of vocal culture to determine what the potential, the most useful tessi­ tura, will be.

The vocal teacher who promises for the

student a tessitura which is not already present in the voice, because of the "built-in” resonance factors, com­ mits an act of charlatanism which may ruin the student’s future.

The vocal range at the beginning of study means

little, for it can easily be expanded to cover most lit­ erature.

The factor that is unchangeable is the registers

of the vocal instrument which are stable as soon as the physical body has matured, perhaps at about eighteen to twenty years of age.

The great soloists are great be­

cause they know the bes-t registers of their voice and use them most effectively.

Miss Swarthout would not

attempt to invade the literature written for the col­ oratura soprano for the best quality of her voice does not lie in that register.

Yet, it is not uncommon for

the ill-informed voice teacher to expect results, and even guarantee them, from the student when the inher­ ent potential is absolutely not there and can not be developed. So the application of the knowledge of voice registers is in many ways a safeguard of future possi-

71 bilities;

to the choral director,

for it tells him of

the best immediate use of that singer, fessional estimate

vocal

and to the p r o ­

teacher who may use these means

the potential.

to

CHAPTER VI SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

Summary.

It appears that the unwarranted the­

ories in the vocal profession are due chiefly to pet methods of teaching which seemingly worked In the case of that particular teacher.

These methods are then

handed down from teacher to student, who in turn becomes a teacher and eventually some of these methods get into print to be accepted by the vocal profession.

That

these concepts lack scientific proof is very evident and the vocal profession has not looked to the scien­ tist for guidance in some quite obvious physical properties. It was not at all difficult to find equally famous teachers and soloists to support both sides of most any theory in the fields of phonation, resonance and registers.

However, this strong disagreement is

much more felt between two vocal teachers than between two scientists.

Here the scientist has based his find­

ings on the laws of physics and anatomy, thereas the vocal teacher has relied mostly on the way things "feel" in singing.

The vocal teacher has wanted voice produc­

tion to retain something of the supernatural like the

73 field of medicine. The experimental work was extremely interesting in spite of constant failures.

These failures were due,

first, to the writer's being a musician instead of a physicist, and secondly, to the nature of the experiments. Because there has not been found similar experiments to prove or disprove the validity of the voice "breaks" oc­ curring on the overtone series, the writer had to devise his own methods of investigation. The chief purpose of this thesis is to provide the choral director with something absolute and proven with which to judge the voices as they apply for admis­ sion to the choral group. The theory as here presented for placing the voices is not new or original with the writer.

Many

years ago Dr. John Finlay Williamson, esteemed director of the choral department of Westminster Choir School, taught to his students the concepts of register, lifts or breaks in the voice and how to use them to place the voice.

Therefore, this method has been used for many

years by successful directors and teachers in their choral work. The writer's most immediate contact with this theory has been through Dr. Charles

C. Hirt, head of

74 the Department of Sacred Music at the University of Southern California, and director of all choral organiza­ tions.

During the past nine years Dr. Hirt has noted

through his countless applications of this theory of placement that these breaks, or changes in color seemed to follow very closely the points of the overtone series. However, Dr. Hirt did not find ample time to do the ne­ cessary research in the laboratory to prove that his assumptions were absolute fact. Here the writer has taken the responsibility of proving or disproving that the human vocal instrument operates on the principles of the overtone series.

The

overwhelming evidence now proves that these breaks do occur on the overtone pattern and that what Dr. Hirt has noted through audible means can now be substantiated through the visual resources of the oscillograph. Conclusion.

In this visual approach, and in

that field only, does the writer claim new proof of the register theory.

In view of this new attestation the

writer finds full justification to announce positive findings in the following: 1.

Registers were observed in all voices re­

gardless of training. 2.

Breaks, or changes in color, were found to

75 match perfectly with the tones of the overtone series. 3.

Once the body has fully developed, the poten­

tial of the voice is definitely established by the re­ gisters . The writer humbly admits that the work thus far completed is only the very beginning of the studies needed in this field.

His sincere hope is that the chor­

al director may find some benefit in this thesis as it applies to personnel placement in the choral group. Nature has provided many aids for man in his art­ istic endeavors; it remains now for us to find and apply this assistance as it best suits the problem at hand. Not the least is the voice instrument which generates its beautiful tones by virtue of the fundamental theories of the overtone series provided for any sound.

B I B L I O G R A P H Y

BIBLIOGRAPHY A.

BOOKS

Austin-Ball, Thomas, Answers to Some Vocal Questions. Rochester: Eastman School of Music, 193&• 77 PP* Barbareux-Parry, Marie, Vocal Resonance. Christopher House, 1941> 164pp.

Boston:

Bartholomew, Wilmer T. , Acoustics of Music. Prentice Hall, Inc.” 1942. 2*42 pp.

New York:

Christiansen, F. Melius, The School of Choir Singing. Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1916. 90 pp. Conklin, Maurice, Fundamentals of Vocal Technique. Philadelphia: Dorrance and Company” 193&* 208 pp Curry, Robert 0. L . , The Mechanism of the Human Voice. New York: Longmans Green, 194*0 2U5 PP* Dodds, George, and James Dunlop, The Control of the Breath. London: Oxford Press, 1935* 65 pp. Dossert, Dean, Mme., Sound Sense for Singers. Carl Fischer, 193B. lb pp. Downing, William B . , Vocal Pedagogy. Fischer, 1938. lb pp.

New York:

New York Carl

Drew, William Sydney, Singing: The Art and the Craft. London: Oxford University Press, 1937177 PP* Feuchtinger, Eugene, The Voice. Chicago: Voice Institute, 1935^ PP*

Perfect

Fields, Victor Alexander, Training the Singing Voice. New York: Kings Crown Press, 1947* 337 PP* Fillebrown, Thomas, Resonance in Singing and Speaking. Philadelphia: Oliver Ditson Company, I91I. 93 PP Fuhr, Hayes M . , Fundamentals of Choral Expression. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1944.

78 Hagara, Evelyn, Vocal Secrets of the Ancients. Los Angeles: De Vorse and Company, 1940 . 126 pp. Harper, Ralph M . , The Voice Governor, Give It a Chance. Boston: E. C. Schirmer” 1940. 142 pp. Hemery, Haydn, The Physiological Basis of the Art of Singing. London: H. K. Lewis and Company, 1939* 139 pp. Henderson, William J . , The Ar t of Singing. Dial Press, 1938. 5^9 PP*

New York:

Hopkins, Edwin, Secrets of Voice Production Self Taught. New York: Edwin Hopkins, 1942. llO pp. Johnson, Edward, Styles in Singing. and Doran, 1941. 15T pp.

New York:

Doubleday

Jones, William E . , A Notebook on Singers and Teachers of Singing. Denton, Texas: College of Industrial Arts, 1930. 40 pp. Judd, Percy. Singing Technique. London: versity Press, 1931. 31 PP-

Oxford Uni­

Krone, Max T . , The Chorus and Its Conductor. Neil A. Kjos Company, 1947. 134 pp.

Chicago:

Kwartin, Bernard, Fundamentals of Vocal A r t . New York: Criterion Publishing Company, 1941. 178 pp. Mackenzie, Morell, Hygiene of the Vocal Organs. Belmar, New Jersey: Edgar S. Werner and Company, 1928. 233 PP. Marafioti, Pasqual Mario, Caruso *s Method of Voice Production. New York: D. Appleton, 1933. 302 pp. Miller, Frank Evenezer, The Voice, Its Production, Care and Preservation. New York: G. Schirmer, 1931. 196 pp. Mills, Wesley, Voice Production in Singing and Speaking. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1913. 294 pp. Negus, Victor E . , The Mechanism of the Larynx. St. Louis: C. V. Mosby Company, 1929* 52b p p .

Owsley, Stella, Helpful Hints to Singers. Dealey and Lowe, 193?• 1"^ PP-

Dallas:

Philip, Prank, Philosophy of Vocal Culture. Scribner's, 1930261 p p .

New York:

Redfield, John, Music, A Science and an A r t . New York: Tudor House, 1935307 PP-

New edition

Ryan, Millie, What Every Singer Should K n o w . Carl Fischer, 193797 PP-

New York:

Saraoiloff, Lazar S., The Singer's Handbook. Presser, 1942. 133 PP-

Philadelphia

Samuels, T. Guthbert, Singing and Its Mastery. George C. Harrup, Ltd., 1930. B6 pp. Scott, Charles Kennedy, Word and Tone. Dent and Sons, 1933197 PP-

London:

London:

J. M.

Shaw, W. Warren, Authentic Voice Production. Philadel­ phia: J. B. Lippincott and Company, 1 h 30. 1 c53 PPStanley, Douglas, The Science of Voice. New York: Carl Fischer and Company, 1939327 PPWeer, Robert Lawrence, My Views on Voice Production. Boston: Robert L. Weer, 1941. ICO pp. Wharton, Florence C., Rotary Voice Method. Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1937118 pp. White, Ernest George, Science and Singing. J. M. Dent and Sons, 1938. 72 pp.

London:

Wilcox, John C., The Living Voice. New York: Fischer Company, 194575 PP-

Carl

Wilson, Harry Robert, The Solo Singer. New York: Fischer Company, 1941. Volume II.

Carl

Witherspoon, Herbert, Thirty-six Lessons In Singing for Teachers and Students. Chicago: MeIssner Institute of Music, 1930. 126 pp.

Wood, Henry Joseph, The Gentle Art of Singing. Oxford University Press, 1930, Volume I.

London

Worthington, Robert A., and Edgar T. Evetts, The Mechanics of Singing. London: J. M. Dent and Sons, 192BT 309 PP.

B.

PERIODICAL ARTICLES

Armstrong, William G., "On the Treatment of Vocal Re­ gisters,” Etude, 57:52-196, February, 1939. Austin, Herbert Wendell, ’’Artistic Tones,” Etude, 57* 599, September, 1939. Bergere, Lawrence, ’’Ideals of a Singing Master,” Musician, 3 9 :14, April-May-June-July, 193^. Blatherwick, Barbara, ’’The Futility of Searching for ’The Great Vocal Maestro,1” Musician, 40:15, Feb­ ruary, 1935. Borchers, Orville J. , ’’The Relation Between Intensity and Harmonic Structure in Voice,” Psychological Record, 3:59, January, 1939Butler, Harold L. , ’’Salient Changes In Voice Teaching in the Past Fifty Years,” Etude, 46:220, March,

1928. Clippinger, David Alva, ’’Training of a Singer,” Etude , 49:810, November, 1931* _______ , “Vocal Department,” School Music, 35:11, September, 1935* De Bruyn, John W. , ’’Historical Schools of Singing," Etude, 60:667, October, 1942. _______ , "Technic of the Bel Canto," Etude, 59:597, September, 1940. Douty, Nicholas, "The Singer of the Present and the Future,” Etude, 51:^08-78, June, 1933*

81 Dragonette, Jessica, ’’The Mental Approach to Singing," Etude, 58:510, August, 19*1-0. Faulds, Edward, "Think Straight in Singing," Etude, 1*9:510, July, 1931. Felderman, Leon, "Production of the Human Voice," Hygeia, 11:731, Augufet, 1933Graveure, Louis, "New Theories of Vocalism," Etude, 49:128, February, 1931* Henley, Homer, "Sbriglia's Method," Etude, January, 1933-

51:51,

Hipsher, Edward Ellsworth, "Eliminating the Vocal 'Break,’" Etude, 53:7**0, December, 1935* Holbrook, Curtis H., "Voice Building Etude, 53:115, February, 1938.

and Tone Placing,"

Jacobsen, 0. Irving, "The Vowel Formant in Vocal Edu­ cation," Music Educators Journal, 26:21, December, 1939. LaForge, Frank, "Sidelights on Training of Voices," Musician, 41:142, September, 1936. Lichte, William H., "Analysis of a Perceptible Series of Partials in a Vocal Sound," Journal of Exper­ imental Psychology, 24:254. Lindsley, Charles Frederick, "Psycho-physical Determin­ ants of Individual Differences in Voice Quality," Psychological Bulletin, 30:59**, August, 1933* Metfessel, Milton, "Effects of Removal of Fundamental and Certain Overtones on Vocal Pitch and Quality," Psychological Bulletin, 28:212, May, 1931* Pressman, Joel J., "Physiology of the yngoscope, 49:245, June, 1939*

Larynx," Lar­

Rimmer, Lotti, "Cavities, the Magic Transmitters," Etude, 5§:680, October, 1938. Ruff, Albert E., "Pitch and Timbre," Etude, 46:6l4, August, 1928.

82 Seashore, Carl Emil, "New Approaches to the Science of the Voice,” Scientific Monthly, 49:340, April, 1939* Stanley, Douglas, "Classification of Voices by Range," Musician, 45:74, April, 1940. _______ , "The Science of Voice," Journal of the Franklin Institute, 211:405, August, I931. Ten-Haff, P. A., "Mixing Registers," Etude, 49:935, December, 1931Thorborg, Kerstin, "The Building and Use of a Vocal Instrument," Etude, 57:295, May, 1939* Valeri, Dalia, "Tone Attack and Blending of Registers," Musician, 39:8, August, 1934. Warren, Frederic, "The Control of Vocal Resonance," Musician, 39:8, August, 1934. Waters, Crystal, "Bridging the Voice," July, 1942.

Etude, 60:449,

Wheeler, Francis, "The Relation of the Paranasal Sinuses to the Singing Voice," Science, 72:630, September, 1930. Wodell, Frederick W . , "The Proper Training and Use of the Voice of Persons of School Age," Etude, 47:678, August, 1929* Woods, Glenn Howard, "On Voice Range," Educational Music Magazine, 20:38, March, 1941.

C.

PUBLICATIONS OF LEARNED ORGANIZATIONS

Bartholomew, Wilmer T., "A Survey of Recent Voice Re­ search," Music Teachers National Association Pro­ ceedings for 1937Oberlin, Ohio, 1938, Vol. 32:115. ________ , "Definition of ’Good Voice Quality1 in the Male Voice," Acoustical Society of America Journal, 5:224, January^ 193^•

33 Bartholomew, Wilmer T . , “The Role of Imagery in Voice Teaching," Music Teachers National Association Proceedings for 1935* Oberlin, Ohio~ 1933, Vol. 30:87. , "Voice Research at Peabody," Bulletin of the American Musicological Society, 6:11, August, 1942. Glenn, Mabelle, "k New Goal in Ensemble Singing," Music Supervisors Journal, 1 5 :6 9 , October, 1928. Lewis, Don, "Vocal Resonance," Journal Acoustical Soci­ ety of America, 8:91, October, 1 9 3 ^ Ortmann, Otto, "Notes on Recent Music Research," Music Teachers National Association Proceedings for 1934. Oberlin, Ohio, 1935, Vol. 29:9^1 Redfield, John, "Certain Anomalies in Air Column Be­ havior of Wind Instruments," Journal of the Acoust­ ical Society of America. 6:3^H February, 1934. Wagner, Arnold Henry, "Research in the Field of Voice Training," Music Educators National Conference,

30:343, 1939-40. Witherspoon, Herbert, " D e m onstration of Visual Method of Voice Instruction," Music Supervisors National Conference Proceedings, Ithaca, New York, 1929,

761

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