Page 56 - April.indd

• Emphasized “middle” harmonics band, referred to as the “Singer’s to in the list of overarching timbral
with attenuated upper and lower Formant.” This frequency is boosted categories in this paper.
harmonics (Narrow Band) through a narrowing of a tube above Two primary factors that aff ect
the vocal folds (the epilarynx) and the spectral envelope for the voice
• Individual upper harmonics dom- creates an acoustic boost to the voice are the shape of the vocal tract—
inant with attenuated fundamental that allows singers, in combination specifi cally the size and shape of the
(Overtone Dominant) with vibrato, to be heard without mouth and throat—and the amount

amplification over an orchestra. The of vocal fold mass touching during
Those familiar with the term Bel four timbres I have described are phonation. While there are a num-
Canto may notice that I have not in- generally based on the spectral enve- ber of formants in the voice, the
cluded it among the vocal timbres lope of harmonics below the singer’s fi rst and second formants, generally
outlined in this paper. For those un- formant range. Because of Bel Can- considered to be created in the space
familiar with the term, Bel Canto can to’s pedagogical prevalence in West- between the tongue and the vocal
generally be thought of as the “op- ern classical training, and because it folds (formant 1) and in the space in
eratic” style of singing. In addition is possible to narrow the epilarynx the mouth between the back of the
to emphasizing lower harmonics, and create this boost in the singer’s tongue and the teeth (formant 2),
Bel Canto singing boosts the harmon- formant with the timbral categories I have the largest eff ect on the spec-
ics around the 3,000hz frequency propose, I have not included Bel Can- tral envelope, and hence the overall
sound.
Perhaps the most readily avail-
able means for understanding the
Behind great music results of changing the vocal tract

is through our perception of vowels.
since 1993. Each vowel is formed through a dif-
ferent placement of the tongue, lips,
larynx, and every other adjustable
For more than half a million choral singers, conductors, aspect of the vocal tract. These ad-
bands and orchestras around the world, the music folders justments change the spectral enve-
and accessories of choice are from MUSICFOLDER.com. lope of the sound, emphasizing spe-
cific frequency bands and boosting

or attenuating certain harmonics in
a sung pitch. Below are the various
3
spectral envelopes for the fi ve Latin
vowels sung on the same pitch (Im-
age 1 on page 55). 4

Fundamental Dominant
with Attenuated Upper
Harmonics Timbre
(Fundamental Dominant)
The Fundamental dominant
ORDER ONLINE TODAY AND GET FREE SHIPPING with attenuated upper harmonics
to the U.S. and Canada for orders $200+ until sound, which I will call the Funda-
April 30, 2021 using order code GETFASTAPR21 mental Dominant sound, is a timbre

54 CHORAL JOURNAL April 2021 Volume 61 Number 9