Singing

How people sing. Singing is produced by causing a column of air to vibrate. A person sings by drawing air into the lungs and exhaling it past the vocal cords. The vocal cords are two folds of tissue that stretch across the larynx (voice box) in the throat. The movement of the air against the vocal cords and the surface of the throat and mouth causes vibrations that create the sound of the voice.

Because the vocal cords are elastic, the pitch (highness or lowness) of tones that are produced when the cords vibrate will vary, depending on the degree of tension. The tighter the vocal cords are stretched, the higher the pitch. The more relaxed the cords, the lower the pitch. A man's vocal cords tend to be longer, wider, and thicker than those of a woman. Therefore, a man's voice tends to be an octave or more lower than a woman's voice.

Voice classification. Both men's and women's voices fall into three general categories of pitch--high, middle, and low. Within these categories, voices are classified into six basic types. From highest to lowest in pitch, they are soprano, mezzo-soprano, and contralto for women; and tenor, baritone, and bass for men. Most voices belong in the mezzo-soprano and baritone categories.

Training the voice. Singing is a natural function that requires no training to perform simple music. But serious singing makes special demands on the voice. Therefore, a singer requires special training to perform opera and other difficult music. Singers study and train to develop and improve four basic singing skills: (1) breath control, (2) a broad range, (3) smoothness throughout the range, and (4) good resonance.

Breath control enables a singer to perform entire musical phrases, some quite long, in a single breath. The singer learns to breathe freely and naturally, filling the lungs from the bottom upward and expanding the chest cavity. The singer must learn how to release the air with well-regulated, evenly controlled pressure. The actions of muscles in the abdomen and chest cavities help the singer to achieve this goal.

A broad range enables a singer to correctly produce a wide span of notes from low to high. The singer's range determines his or her voice category. Training helps singers to produce the easy mid-range tones comfortably, and also the highest and lowest tones of which they are capable. Most untrained people can sing over a range of about 1 1/2 octaves or less. But trained singers usually have a range of about two octaves. Exceptional singers may develop ranges of three or more octaves.

Smoothness throughout the range means that a singer produces no audible breaks in the voice when moving from one tone to another. The singer should be able to sing smoothly throughout the range, with no abrupt changes in the quality of the tone.

Good resonance strengthens and beautifies the tone. Resonance takes place as the tone vibrates in the cavities of the throat, mouth, chest, and face. Resonance occurs naturally and by itself. Quality of resonance, however, is difficult to control. To do so, the singer must learn to simultaneously relax and tighten different muscles. The singer must also learn independent muscle control of the tongue, lips, and jaw.

Other singing skills. Singers should learn to read music notation (the signs and symbols) and understand music terms. Singers also learn how to control vibrato, a vibrating sound made up of slight, rapid changes in pitch. Clear diction (speech) is important so the lyrics can be clearly understood.

Contributor: Katherine K. Preston, Ph.D., Assistant Prof. of Music, College of William and Mary.

Related articles include:

Larynx; Music; Voice.

Sundberg, Johan. The Science of the Singing Voice. Northern Illinois Univ. Pr., 1987.

Woodhull, Marta. Singing for a Living. Writer's Digest, 1991.>

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