Basic PhysiologyHUMAN VOCAL SYSTEM

AIR PRESSURE SYSTEM:diaphragm, chest and abdominalmuscles, lungs, ribs

VIBRATION SYSTEM:voice box (larynx) and voice folds

RESONATING SYSTEM:throat (pharynx), nasal passagesoral cavity

ARTICULATING SYSTEM:jaw, lips, tongue

Basic PhysiologyAIR FLOW “SIGNAL PATH”

1. Enters LungsThrough oral cavity / trachea

2. Exits LungsExpelled by diaphragm / abs

3. Encounters & Vibrates Vocal FoldRepeating alternating pressures from top and bottom create audible cyclical pulses of air

4. Enter Vocal ResonatorsThroat / Mouth / NoseDevelop Timbral Qualities

6. Articulated by jaw, lips, & tongueinto language and other sounds

Basic PhysiologyLOW TENSION:Air escaping a relaxed vocal fold (open through the midline) creates a “breathy” sound.

HIGH TENSION:Overly tense vocal fold will struggle or strain at higher frequencies.

CHANGES IN MASS:Swelling in soft tissue can alter vocal fold tension.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9Wdf-RwLcs

Vocal TimbreELEMENTS OF VOCAL TONE

PHONATION:Air flow levels and changes of the quasi periodic vibrations ofthe vocal fold.

FORMANTS:Unique and fundamental characteristics of vowel shapeand chiaroscuro (balance of high tones to low tones).

RESONANCE:Size, shape, & mass of the body's resonant cavities.

Formant Types

city sit bed bad father ? you put flood ?city sit bed bad father ? you put flood ?

Formants ContinuedPHISICAL CHANGESPHISICAL CHANGES for VOWEL FORMANTSfor VOWEL FORMANTS

Formants in the Mix

Vocal RangeQuick Vocal Range Tips1. Defined as the lowest to highest note a particular voice can produce.

2. Should be defined as the lowest to highest musically useful pitches a performer can produce.

3.Being able to define a performers musical range will help you play to their strengths.

4. The strength zone (tessitura) is generally found in the middle of a performers range.

5. SSATBB Ranges overlap, but not tessituras. Hz charts coming up :)

Vocal Ranges SSATBBCommon Vocal Ranges in Hz

Soprano: C4 – C6 = 261Hz-1046Hz

Mezzo-Soprano: A3 – A5 = 220Hz – 880Hz

Alto:F3 – F5 = 175Hz – 698Hz

Tenor: C3 – C5 = 131Hz – 523Hz

Baritone: F2 – F4 = 44Hz – 349Hz

Bass: E2 – E4 = 82Hz – 328Hz

Vocal RegistersVocal Register Tips1. Not to be confused w/ vocal range

2. Defined as a span of pitches that are produced by one (of the four vibratory patterns of the vocal fold.

3. Everyone can produce some of them. No one can produce all four.

4. Each register has it's own vibratory pattern, common pitch range, and characteristic sound.

5. The four vocal registers are categorized confusingly from lowest pitch range to highest as: Fry, Chest, Head, and Whistle.

BASIC ROUNDED OFF VIEWBASIC ROUNDED OFF VIEWof the FOUR MOST COMMON of the FOUR MOST COMMON VOCAL REGISTERSVOCAL REGISTERS

Moar Vocal RegistersSome Vocal Register Types and Subtypes

FRY/RATTLE/SCRAPE: Lowest vocal register. Many cannot reach it. Very tight vocal fold vibrating irregularly. Too much use can get unhealthy.CHEST (LOW/MIDDLE): Refers to the natural manner of actions of the vocal fold. Tends to have warmer darker timbres. Often divided into Lower and Middle chest sub registers. Lower chest often associated w/ “chest resonance” around 100Hz. Middle Chest ofter associated with male vowel sounds and with singers transitioning from Chest register to Head register.HEAD:Often called “head voice” due the common feeling that the resonance of the vocal sound is primarily occurring in the head and has a characteristic ringing tone. Head register can be carried down and maintained lower, to what would be the Chest register, but the tone of the voice will generally become thinner and lower pitches and resonate more poorly than it would if the natural Chest register were being employed.WHISTLE:Excessively bright & edgy, requires full extension of the vocal fold. Fairly rare register.

Why Warm Up?I Work Out

1. Need to retune every day

2. Much like Working Out

3. Vocal chords Heal during Sleep

4. Need stretch just like muscles

Warming Up1. Most Vocalists feel

silly warming up in front of people.

2. Find a nice isolated space for them to warm up.

3. Vocalists are born with their instrument which makes them very sensitive about it.

Warm Up Time?How long?

1. Vocal warm ups can range from 5-20 min

2. Any longer and it starts to cut down on how long they will be able to sing

3. Monitor time and make sure they don’t warm up to long

TechniqueWhat to do / not do

1. Try to keep vocalist from forcing a tone

2. If it sounds like it hurts, it probably does

3. The singing voice should sound like the talking voice

4. No two humans are alike. Your tone will be unique as long as you don’t try to sound like Eddy Vedder.

“The Voice”I want to sound like HIM!

1. Every persons voice is unique.

2. Have the vocalist speak the line and then sing the like the way the spoke it.

1. Try not to mimic someone else’s voice because it’s already been done.

How To HelpMonitor Fatigue

1. Always have water at the session.

2. Figure out what level of training they have had

3. Pros will know when there tired and they will let you know.

4. A rookie might not know and it’s the engineers job to monitor their fatigue.

Signal Processingcommon techniquesWHILE TRACKING 1. use of a plosive (pop) blocker.

2. use of a larger diaphragm dynamic or condenser microphone

3. use of an colorizing pre-amplifier

4. use of an isolated environment

5. use of an appropriately volumed headphone send

6. use of an appropriately ego-boosting “vocals+processing” send

Signal Processingcommon techniques

WHILE MIXING 1. editing best performances to a comp track. editing out unwanted mouth sounds and other noise/bleed

2. usually some form and amount of tuning

3. equalization to de-emphasize low mids, nasal sounds, and unwanted sibilance

4. equalization to emphasize warmth, presence, and/or breath

4. compression (also common to compress before EQ) often to reduce the dynamic range and to add punch and maintain consistency.

5. reverb send / delay send (standing out potential)

6. scooping out vocal frequency space using EQ. scooping out stereo image space with pan or MS.scooping out using side chain compression

Vocal Damage & Abuse

VOCAL FOLD NODULES VOCAL FOLD CYSTS VOCAL FOLD POLYPS

EACH CAN BE CAUSED BY OVERUSECan lead to:

FatigueHoarsenessLimited RangeLimited Breath Control