Can A Contralto Have A Whistle Register

How often accept you attended a concert and felt the excitement of the audition, as a real Contralto was well-nigh to take the stage? Whether in opera or oratorio, the sound of a truthful rich and ringing Contralto can exist a special musical feel. Many teachers and singers have a want to learn more nearly the Contralto voice and how it should exist appropriately trained, only there is not a lot of bachelor information on the subject. I major question: "What defines a truthful Contralto?" Many would hold that while the Contralto vox can be disruptive, information technology is a fascinating voice, frequently reflecting a haunting and unusual colour or vocal quality.

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Due to the rareness of the voice type, more than oft than not, Mezzos or Counter Tenors cantankerous over into the Contralto repertoire. While Mezzo Sopranos make their own unique contributions to the world of singing, the Contralto experience is quite a different 1 altogether. And while Counter Tenors are often hired in place of Mezzos or Contraltos, especially in oratorio, they offering however some other auditory experience beyond the true Contralto.

Characteristics that distinguish the Contralto from other voices are specifics in timbre, colour, and intensity of power in the centre and chest registers. Some song professionals may find information technology difficult to make up one's mind whether or not a singer is a true Contralto. The confusion about this vocalisation type sometimes leads to a true Contralto singing in an wrong vocal fach, a mistake that can be extremely dissentious to the vocalizer's vocal health, and oftentimes to her cocky-esteem.

Beyond the basic qualities of the Contralto, what are the specific characteristics of this vocalization? What tessitura is comfy for the Contralto? Why is it sometimes and so difficult to release the upper range? And finally, how is this vox properly exercised to develop correct or healthy song rest? Agreement the distinct differences between the Mezzo or Counter Tenor and the Contralto may assist those who are dealing with the issue of determining vocal fach. Typically, the basic elements that define vocal fach are (1) timbre, (2) individual color, (3) specific tessitura, and (4) personality or temperament. (Personality and/or temperament are critical factors because many singers have a deep inner instinct of their voice.) A dedicated vocal teacher works toward assessing and balancing these factors, which leads to making a careful diagnosis of song category.

Nevertheless, many Contralto singers become frustrated after years of study because they take not been placed in the correct vocal fach. Equally a consequence, they often endure long-term vocal problems that make performing difficult or intimidating. The purpose of this commodity is to try to clarify the specific characteristics of the Contralto singer and offering exercises with which to guide the Contralto's technical health and growth.

Characteristics of the Contralto Voice
A true Contralto experiences similar register changes as a Bass. (Meet article on the Bass Vox.) Some of the common characteristics of the Contralto include (one) long breast register extension in the low range, (2) need for larger expansion of the pharyngeal space in the middle register in order to phonate fully, (three) a unique dark smoky colour in the center and breast registers, (iv) apply of breast register college in pitch than many other voice types, (5) short middle annals, (6) overly vivid upper register or disconnected head vocalism, and (vii) tongue tension in the middle and chest registers, accompanied by a thicker function of the vocal folds.

Excellent instructors realize that within every vocal fach, there are individual vocal characteristics. Every singer will not work in exactly the same fashion mechanistically, making the responsibility of determining vocal fach an even more than daunting task. The following section of this commodity offers concepts that may help in achieving salubrious phonation and assist the professional teacher in determining right song fach.

Important Factors in Grooming the Contralto Singer

Bones Registration in the Contralto Voice: Proper understanding of registration in the Contralto singer allows for an agreement of how to vocalize this vocalization type in a good for you fashion. As stated before, the Contralto has similar register transitions every bit the Bass singer. Caput vox often transitions at F4, upwardly to a minor 3rd lower than the Lyric Mezzo Soprano. While taking the chest register college in pitch could be detrimental for other vox types, the Contralto often feels quite comfortable singing as high every bit F4 in chest register (heavy mechanism).

Registration Outline:
Chest register: D-3 to F-4
Middle Register: F-4 to A-flat-5
Head Register: A-5 to D-5
Upper Range: Due east-flat-five to B-apartment-vi (Some Contraltos have the high C, but this is a rare occurrence.)
NOTE: The registration description above represents nigh Contralto singers. At that place are e'er exceptions. EVERY vocaliser is unlike depending upon the length, thickness, and shape of their song folds and other concrete differences. There are almost as many types of voices in a single vocal fach as there are individual singers. I strongly advise that song instructors consider the individuality of each voice and allow for tailored technical instruction. The singer may exist dependent upon the instructor'southward diagnostic ear in determining specific registration changes.

Careful Training of the Eye Register: Usually the center register of a true Contralto is quite short in range, oft involving only about 2 to iii steps of transition range before caput voice dominates. The head voice may come into play as depression as F4 or as high as G4. The Contralto (like the Bass) MUST develop a large acoustical stretch of space in the throat (with tongue forward) in order to expand the ring factor in this short middle register with proper string approximation. Most singers (of other vocal fachs) need a certain amount of relaxation of the stretch equally they arroyo the middle register in order to keep the ring factor in the voice. While information technology is true that ring comes from the open pharynx, many singers cannot proceed a full stretch in the pharynx in the middle register without tongue tension developing. In the Contralto vocalist, the more stretch in the centre annals, the more presence and fullness of audio. Then the ability to crescendo in the middle register develops, another of import characteristic of the Contralto vox.

Use of Laryngeal Pivot Concept in Middle Annals: The laryngeal pivot exercises found on my instructional CD tin, with proper understanding, help any vocaliser to balance his or her eye register. The Contralto is no exception and the laryngeal pivotserves to build a stronger vocal fold approximation in the centre register. Working with the laryngeal pivot as well assists a singer in achieving pharyngeal vowels instead of just mouth vowels. Specific exercises for the proper laryngeal pivot can exist found on "An Introductory Lesson with David Jones: A Resource for Teachers and Singers". (Sound bites can be accessed and the CD may be purchased at www.voiceteacher.com or www.cdbaby.com.) Renowned pedagogue William Vennard speaks at length of the laryngeal pivot, or rocking motion of the larynx, in the middle register. This pivot is critical to healthy singing in the middle voice and information technology helps the Contralto especially to achieve a fuller audio in the middle register. (Note: A vocalist cannot access the pharyngeal stretch without the apply of the laryngeal pin.)

Do: Laryngeal Pivot
1….3…..1
o….u…..o

Identify a fingertip at the base of the larynx. Every bit you sing from the lower note to the upper note, imagine that the vowel drops deeper in the larynx, keeping the tongue in the NG position. Remember to make the NG with the centre of the tongue, NOT the dorsum of the tongue. As y'all slide upwards from the lower pitch, experience the larynx slightly drib down and forward. This is the laryngeal pin. After achieving the exercise above, stay on the upper note and sing the v Italian vowels, keeping the depth of the larynx. This volition train the proper larynx position after every consonant in pronouncing text.

Utilize of the Chest Register at College Pitch Level: The Contralto's comfort in using a breast mix (low-cal chest) up to F4 is not ofttimes shared with the Mezzo and/or Soprano. Often the Contralto must utilise a fuller chest mix in order for the middle vocalisation to speak with a fuller sound. (Notation: Although the middle voice can exist quite short in range, information technology is of import to practice this mechanism equally low as possible.) While information technology varies from individual to individual, many Contraltos volition downshift into chest annals quite a flake college than many other singers. In fact, they are typically much more comfortable with slightly college chest function than with bringing the head machinery lower.

Like the Bass vocalizer, the Contralto is often a thicker voice. Ane factor in achieving register residue is accomplished by grooming the thin edges of the vocal folds in the middle and chest registers, and is peculiarly important in the higher chest register. Training the sparse edge function in the upper breast register oftentimes requires a lighter feeling as in speech. When a Contralto vocalizes from heart voice downward into breast register, she must feel a 'drinking sensation' at the transition of registers in gild to smooth the intermission or transition signal. At the same time, every bit the vocalist transitions into the chest register, in that location must exist a feeling of tremendous elevator and width in the soft palate. Working the thin edge office of the song folds makes for a smoother transition from chest to middle register when descending or ascending in music, a goal that most female singers wish to achieve. (Note: When working with the thin edge function, it is disquisitional to go along the pharynx or acoustical space very open up.)

Exercising the Sparse Edge Part of the Cords:
The Contralto besides frequently sings on the thicker edges of the vocal folds rather than the thin edges. The thin edge function is disquisitional in balancing registration for all voice types. If the thin edges are not employed, the singer pushes more air force per unit area through the vocal folds than is necessary, which cuts the high range by driving the larynx upwards in a higher position. This driving of breath pressure disturbs the healthy adduction of the song folds.

Exercise #ane: Sparse Edge Office
Perform the following exercise using the image that you are going to barely touch the finest edge of the song folds. The first 4 notes should be staccato and the following scale legato, keeping the sparse edge function and the force of the vowel in the pharynx (and not in the mouth). In the following practise, experience an 'o' or 'uh' vowel backside the 'a' vowels.
. . . .
1…1…1….1….1..2..three..4..v..4..iii..two..ane…
e….e…eastward….e….e...a...east...a...east..a..due east..a..e…

Exercise #2: Working the thin edge office in the upper chest register is disquisitional to registration residuum, especially in considering proper alignment of the lower passaggio. The following exercise is to be performed with very trivial jiff force per unit area and the vowel will feel lighter and higher in the caput every bit the vocalist ascends.

1…..3…..5….3…..one
Kio.Kio..Kio.Kio..Kio

Perform the in a higher place exercise using a lite chest annals feeling. Ane concept that may assist the singer in achieving caput resonance in chest mechanism is using the concept of calorie-free speech, especially when budgeted D4, E4, and F4. The vocaliser will experience as though there is a slight gearshift going from middle into chest. If there is a sudden feeling of lift in the soft palate in the high chest voice mechanism, and then this transition will exist smooth. It is also important to apply very little air when transitioning between the 2 lower registers.

Role of the Natural language-tip in Proper Vowel Production and Register Balance: It may sometimes seem that every singer who walks into a vocal studio has tongue tension. The causes can range from speech issues to incorrect body posture. (Alexander Technique can assist a vocaliser in defining blockages.) Neck tension is often a big factor in tongue tension, especially in the root of the tongue, and is oftentimes sourced in the lower dorsum. Corrected posture can play a big function in releasing tension at the root of the tongue. But there is some other cistron that is especially critical for the Contralto (and every vocalisation type, for that matter). This is the proper training of the tongue-tip (forepart of tongue) in vowel production. The following list describes the right placement of the tongue-tip for correct vowel production. There may be slight variations due to differences in physical structure, but for near singers, the post-obit list is accurate.

A & O Vowels (AH or OH): Natural language-tip should exist lower than the back of the lower teeth allowing for a feeling of the NG with the heart of the natural language. The tongue-tip should be quite a bit downwards below the lower gum line (where teeth and gums come together).
E Vowel (E or EH): The tongue-tip should exist approximately where the gums and teeth come together. I call this the mid-position or the bridge position.
I &U Vowels (EE and OO): Both of these vowels demand a college tongue-tip than the other vowels, at the lower teeth. An incorrect U vowel often creates a bunched back of the tongue. It tin be helpful for the singer to paradigm a wide tongue-root equally the tongue-tip stays at the lower teeth.

(Notation: Information technology is critically important to realize that Non ALL vowels require that the tongue be placed directly at the lower teeth. This incorrect concept is over-taught results in a tremendous tension at the root of the tongue. )

Natural language-tip Exercise: This exercise teaches the right placement of the tongue-tip for the v Italian vowels. Speak the v basic Italian vowels with an unhinged jaw. Brand the tongue responsible for the vowel changes with a stabilized jaw. So feel where the tongue tip is for each of the vowels. For the Contralto (and for the Mezzo with a weak middle register) this is a crucially of import training, one that is necessary for a full and healthy middle annals.

Types of Contraltos
Butt Different types of Contralto singers range from Wagnerian Dramatic Contralto to Lyrical Contralto to center weight Contralto. Information technology is well-nigh important that as teachers we exercise not generalize in terms of singers and their voices. Embracing the unique characteristics of a singer's voice allows that singer to explore the individuality of their instrument. This and so inspires a singer to notice their ain timbre, colour, and range. Information technology tin can exist a good exercise for confirmed or dislocated Contraltos, to mind to recordings of other Contralto singers. (It is quite easy to observe examples on the Net, just think to heed without imitating the sound of whatever given singer.) Mind with specific questions in mind, i.eastward., where does the singer go in and out of chest register? How much audio is used in the middle vocalism? How much intensity is used in the middle register or breast annals? Does the vocaliser demonstrate flexibility? Is there a common color or timbre between the different singers? These questions will educate the listening ear. (Some suggested singers to written report: of the earlier singers, I recommend Clara Butt for registration, color and timbre; a later singer to study would be Kathleen Ferrier; a contemporary Contralto is Ewa Podles, a singer with great flexibility and color. (Each of these women has a distinct and individual sound.)

Vocal Traps of the Contralto Vocalizer

In that location are vocal traps for the Contralto singer just every bit there are for other vocal types. I would like to warn both instructor and singer almost two song traps into which Contraltos may fall. While I have witnessed these song issues in many Contralto singers, they tin hands be corrected.

(i) False Color: The beginning trap is that of false colour. Nearly Contraltos (and often Mezzos every bit well) create a false colour, often by bunching the root of the tongue. This vocal problem is a direct response to the belief that a lower phonation MUST have a lot of color. Alan Lindquest once told me that, "A singer'southward color comes from the ring!" At the time, I establish that statement disruptive. It took time for me to empathise that if the vocaliser relaxes the natural language and the lower laryngeal muscles, it volition be possible for the vocaliser's true color to be realized. (Or, the color is in the overtones. Overtones are accomplished when resonance is unfettered past muscle tension or a crowded pharynx.) Imitation colour with the back of the tongue can be corrected by using the right placement of the tongue-tip (every bit discussed in the previous section of this article) in conjunction with an awareness of width at the root of the tongue. NG exercises likewise help in correcting this trouble with many singers. It is important to realize that a singer may develop an emotional attachment to this false color and it may take time to convince them to requite information technology up. I know a vocaliser who chosen herself a Mezzo-Contralto. This New York based vocalist displayed petty of her truthful color because she was really a Soprano using the back of the tongue to produce this false color. She had to increase her breath pressure to force phonation. The result was consistent vocal fatigue and very little resonance in the voice.

(2) Over-singing the Eye Annals: The 2nd trap for the Contralto is that of pushing too much jiff pressure through the middle annals in order to create more sound. Considering a vocaliser only gets about one-half as much sound equally the audience in their inner-hearing, the singer must develop a trust that the resonance will aid the vox speak sufficiently. Developing this trust can exist hard, but every singer must exist trained to feel and Not listen. As well the disturbance of proper vocal cord closure, some other negative result of besides much breath pressure tin can exist a fast or uneven vibrato. If the vocaliser is taught to diminish the amount of breath pressure used in the eye register, so the cords volition estimate more efficiently, assisting in correcting whatever vibrato problem. Call back the previously discussed tongue-tip preparation. If the tongue-tip speaks the vowel correctly, then the back of the tongue can relax. When a singer experiences tension at the root of the natural language, he/she volition compensate by using as well much breath pressure in club to phonate in a given range.

Perfect Onset or Vocal Cord Approximation:
Salubrious vocal cord approximation is not only dependent upon proper depth of pharyngeal vowel forms, but besides upon the closure of the vocal folds after inhalation. As well ofttimes, the folds practise not close properly after inhalation. This is a hard concept to teach . Alan Lindquest used two helpful images in order to teach this concept: (one) "Take your breath as though you are about to bound into a pond pool. You volition feel the pharynx open and something cap the breath. This is the healthy closure of the song folds." (two) "Imagine you take just taken a quick breath as though y'all are about to say something to a friend, then you lose the thought of what yous were about to say! Again yous will feel something cap the breath resulting in the healthy closure of the vocal folds." Singing without healthy closure of the folds normally results in song fatigue. For the Contralto it can mean an disability to access the high voice. If the cords do not come together appropriately after inhalation, then the singer has no option but to push air through the cords, making healthy access to the upper range impossible.

Causes of Improper Adduction and Subsequent Over-Blowing the Vocal Folds:

Breath taken also loftier in the body. This blazon of breath encourages too much jiff pressure under the vocal folds.
Noisy breath instead of a silent breath. This can raise the laryngeal position.
Lack of awareness of narrowing the vowels while ascending in pitch toward the upper passaggio. Exercise: sing in ascending 3rds while imaging the vowels narrowing nether the nose os or septum. Feel the base of the larynx and you volition observe that the larynx pivots and tilts slightly forrard and down as the pitch ascends. Narrowing is actually an acoustical event of the laryngeal tilt. This also results in proper head voice transitioning at the appropriate pitch for that individual singer.
Tongue pressure caused by coloring the voice artificially. In lodge to create phonation, the vocalist so must accident besides much breath pressure through the vocal folds.

Training Pharyngeal Vowel Forms:
In order to hear the purity and clarity of any voice it is critical to release the larynx without depressing information technology with the root of the tongue. This is accomplished by developing the vocalist's understanding of vowel origin, or the pharyngeal vowel stretch. The vowels must feel as if they originate below the vocal folds, every bit Caruso described to Alan Lindquest in 1914. When the singer inhales, the base of the larynx and the surrounding muscles need to widen, attaining a broad feeling at the base of the larynx. The natural language should motility forwards toward the NG position to discourage whatever low of the larynx with the root of the tongue. At vocalisation or the onset, the singer then needs to epitome the down and dorsum vowel space without depressing the larynx with the natural language. (This can be accomplished using a hum with the natural language between the lips.) As the singer approaches the upper passaggio, the vowel space may transfer toward a 'back and up' sensation. The vocalizer must besides hold back the breath pressure level with the lower dorsum, while fueling a small consistent breath stream. (This duality can be achieved by using a sustained 'hiss' exercise.) If this depth of the vowel forms is achieved, then the vocalizer will well-nigh probable automatically feel the body expand in order to hold back the breath pressure.

The High Range: Contralto singers often speak most difficulty in expanding the high range. A free loftier range is dependent upon the open pharynx in the center voice and chest voice registers, especially for the Contralto. Achieving proper depth of vowel formation is the footing for healthy singing, but for the Contralto it is disquisitional. A complete understanding of the middle register is the platform for the high range. For example, when the vowel lacks proper pharyngeal infinite and the larynx is slightly high in the middle voice, the vocal cords cannot approximate properly, making it impossible to phonate correctly in the high range.
A master of cord closure, Caruso spoke of a slight 'coughing function' under the vocal folds to feel the depth of the vowel. This was a cough role with hardly any breath coming through the folds. We all know that coughing is abusive to the cords, but with little or no jiff through the cords information technology simply offers the vocalist the feeling of proper vowel depth at the base of the larynx, necessary for proper formation of pharyngeal vowels. I oftentimes speak of Lamperi's statement: "A singer's pronouncer is in the pharynx, Not the mouth!" What he is saying is that the singer must accomplish pharyngeal vowel forms in guild for truthful resonance to be properly realized. Today we know that vocalism science has proven that the principal resonator is in the pharynx, not the mouth. Many instructors strive to aid their singers achieve an open throat without the tongue pulling back. The following exercises are suggested in gild to assistance the singer achieve pharyngeal vowel function.

Exercise #ane: Place fingertips under the base of the larynx. Then using inappreciably any breath, create 3 small cough reflexes. Yous will feel the larynx widen and driblet and you lot will experience the depth at which the vowels need to experience in origin. And then speak and sing staccato 'i' vowels without losing the opening that the slight cough feeling created. This was ane of Caruso'southward tools to feel the base of the larynx release. The cough reflex lowers the larynxgeal position automatically. Remember that this do should merely exist done with VERY little breath. So become from staccato 'i' vowels to a legato 5-tone scale. Keep the depth of the vowels as yous sing this scale.

The terminal office of this exercise is designed to align all the vowels in a similar depth. Over again produce 3 small cough reflexes under the cords using inappreciably any breath. Then perform the next step: the staccato on the 'i' vowel. Then go from the staccato 'i' vowels to sustaining a single notation, going through all the vowel changes. The singer will experience a like resonance between staccato role and legato role. The singer will also experience a similar resonance in the vocalism through the vowel changes. Then sing the 5 vowels on an ascending scale, feeling the sensation of narrowing the ring under the span of the nose.

Example:
. . . .
1…1…1….i….1…1…i…1….1.
i…..i….i….i….i…..e….a…o….u (make the showtime iv notes staccato, then sustain with lower vowel feel).

Practise #2: Laryngeal Pivot Do
1…..iii…..ane
o…………

In this do, feel the base of the larynx with the fingertips in one case again. Every bit you lot ascend to the upper annotation, feel a slight dropping downwards and forward of the larynx. William Vennard speaks about the laryngeal pivot in his book in order to align registration. This is a wonderful tool to use with singers who endure from a history of high-larynxed singing. While performing this practice, remember that the tongue must remain generally in the NG position, making it difficult to depress the larynx with the root of the tongue. It may too be helpful to widen the root of the natural language in guild to free the resonance.

Exercise #3: Depth of Vowel Class on Descending Passages: When performing the following practise, make certain that the strength of the vowel is kept stable at the base of the larynx. Again use the fingertips below the larynx to feel a deep and wide awareness in the muscles.

5…..3….4….2….3….1….2….7….one……….
o…………………………………………….

Make sure that in this descending passage that the vowel-stretch remains and the strength of the vowel is kept in the pharynx at all times. Keeping the strength of the vowel on a descending passage may seem easy, but most singers relax the stretch too much as they descend, which allows the larynx to rise likewise much.

Instance Studies: Five Contralto Singers:

Case Study #i: High german Contralto: This vocalizer forced too much air through the folds. She suffered from neck issues after an blow, which shortened the muscles in the forepart of the larynx. Equally a result of the injury, the lifting of the larynx was agonizing healthy vocal fold phonation and fabricated proper approximation difficult.

After having a long successful career, this singer was having great difficulty performing. The upper range had become difficult, mainly due to the shortening of the muscles in the forepart of the larynx and the loss of vowel depth. Nosotros worked on the vocal cord approximation exercises and the laryngeal tilt in the center register. In approximately 12 sessions this singer was singing in a balanced function and with a greater understanding of her instrument. Knowledge is powerful and when a Contralto understands how to vocalize with proper vowel forms, the result is success.

Case Study #two: New York Contralto: This singer came to the New York Studio approximately two years agone. Her main trouble was a registration imbalance. A graduate of a major Conservatory, she had NEVER been instructed about registration or song cord closure. Her vocalisation had been categorized improperly and her teachers had attempted to train her as a Mezzo Soprano, a fault that sacrificed her lower throat space, the basis of healthy singing for the Contralto. This singer suffered from a large imbalance in registration and nifty of the voice in the upper passaggio. She also had little understanding of the Italian appogio or connectedness to the trunk. Because she had never been taught proper cord closure, she suffered breathiness in the middle annals, specially in the low head voice part. This breathiness was a weakness in the cords and they had to be strengthened through cord closure exercises and through education the torso to agree back the jiff pressure. Using the NG-to-vowel exercises helped to close the cords in the middle annals. Also we worked on narrowing the embouchure to avoid spreading. We also used the sunken cheek posture (sinking the cheeks at the back teeth), which allowed for more resonance in the middle register.

Case Report #3: British Contralto: I outset met this vocaliser three years ago while she was still singing as a soprano. She had been singing soprano for about 25 years and suffered from a lack of song command and she could never sing high and soft. This should exist a big business organisation for any singer and/or teacher. There was a lack of proper phonation in the lower middle annals, a problem for many lower female person singers. In her last visit to the New York Studio, I worked with her on the proper placement of the natural language-tip for the 5 Italian vowels. The change in phonation was dramatic. By offer the tongue-tip the ability to move, the natural language-root released, making natural vocalism possible. The lower head voice began to speak in a much fuller audio. After she accomplished proper tongue-tip placement for each vowel, nosotros moved on to the upper chest annals using sparse edge exercises and high palate exercises. This allowed her to match the color and timbre between chest and head registers. Nosotros achieved this past using a descending 5-tone scale on the five Italian vowels (i,e,a,o,u). Making certain that the natural language-tip was in the proper position for each vowel allowed the lower head voice to be fuller and the upper chest register to elevator and lighten as she came beyond the transition between the two registers. A Contralto must feel a dramatic lift in the palate in order to match the upper chest voice tones to the head voice audio. The effect of this exercise was amazing. The middle and lower voices became much more clear and were both night and ringing.

This vocalizer had a brusk chest voice register, making her announced to exist a Mezzo or Soprano. When the middle and breast registers were matched, the lower chest voice opened.

Case Study #4: Dramatic Contralto: Several years ago, a singer came into my studio who had sung in major opera houses (including the Metropolitan Opera) and was suffering from problems in the middle register. She was of Swedish descent and had a huge voice, and like many with large voices, she was suffering from imbalance in registration. Her major event was breath pressure, and the cause was a lack of the thin edge function of the cords in the middle vox. In fact, she had never heard the term "thin edges' in her history of song written report. I immediately placed her on staccato thin edge exercises in the middle voice and chest registers and suddenly her registers began to blend. Almost immediately her wobble or broad vibrato began to disappear, something that had plagued her for years. Then we began the process of balanced cross registration exercises or speaking from chest register through middle register and into head register. This had previously been a daunting and threatening concept for this vocaliser. Only later on having felt the thin edge function and after removing the tremendous breath force per unit area, the musical instrument spoke perfectly through the registers.

Case Report #5: Dramatic Soprano to Contralto: This vocaliser demonstrated tremendous over-compression of the breath, which resulted in pushing as well much jiff pressure through the folds. After switching from Dramatic Soprano to Contralto, the cords began to speak with meliorate approximation. She then was able to release the over-pinch and musical phrasing became much easier equally a result. This singer at present performs with regional opera companies in the U.Due south. Near of her song difficulties were continued with singing too loftier a tessitura, in the wrong vocal fach.

Last Idea: The Contralto voice is ane of the most misunderstood because it is so rare. Contralto singers often have been trained as Mezzo Sopranos or even Sopranos. Many Contraltos suffer from depression vocal self-esteem because their voices have not been trained correctly. They, equally many singers, begin to think the issues are their fault, or that they are flawed as a singer. Every singer and every instructor must realize that every voice has physical and acoustical advantages and disadvantages. Each vocalism has concrete and acoustical limitations, notwithstanding every vocalization is trainable. Even though the Contralto vocalization tin can be difficult to diagnose, hopefully this article will clarify concepts that can exist helpful for both teacher and vocalist.

Many of the concepts and exercises described in this article may be constitute on David Jones' instructional CD, "An Introductory Lesson with David Jones: A Resource for Teachers and Singers", which may exist purchased at world wide web.cdbaby.com or on the link at the homepage at www.voiceteacher.com.