Page 55 - CJSeptember25

Pedagogical Tools mance venue—more toward mezzo forte to forte—but
In order to establish a working pedagogy for jazz the use of extreme dynamics should still be avoided for
singers, it is important to identify and implement these the most part in order to maintain the integrity of the
features. Keep in mind that the same pedagogy applies styles and avoid lapsing into a “belt” sound. This often
to jazz solo singing and to jazz group singing; the only happens if students are in a school musical and singing
real difference is that a jazz solo singer can use a wid- in the vocal jazz group. They forget to distinguish be-
er palette of colors, timbres, and unique sounds than tween styles.
members of a group can for obvious reasons. Therein
lies an important reason to study recordings. 2) Resonance and the microphone
Measuring resonance in a jazz singer’s tone and
1) Jaw position and microphone proximity comparing it to resonance in a classical singer’s tone
Because the microphone is a part of the character reinforces statement one. VoceVista spectrograms are
of the “whole sound,” the jazz singer should place less usually set at 5000 to 8000 Hertz (HZ) when studying
emphasis on natural/acoustical projection and more vocal behaviors of classical singers but are set at 3000
emphasis on the relationship between the microphone, to 5000 HZ when studying the vocal behaviors of jazz
the voice, and the dynamic content. The vocal tract (a singers. The exact HZ settings depend on whether one
combination of resonating chambers) is not as open/ is looking at a male voice or a female voice and on the
expanded as that of the classical singer. Too much res- category of each voice (e.g., soprano, alto). The natural-
onance and too much volume/intensity will distort the ly projected acoustical properties of the classical sing-
amplified sound. The open/dropped jaw used in tra- er registers significant acoustic activity in the first (F1)
ditional choral singing is only used in jazz singing to through the sixth (F6) Formants (and occasionally high-
sing at loud dynamic levels or for holding certain “long” er) on a spectrogram, while the microphone singer’s be-
notes for an extended time for some dramatic effect. If haviors are mostly registered in Formants 1, 2, and 3. (A
the singer or singers think about the distance between Formant is a group of overtones that indicates bands of
the upper back and lower back teeth (as opposed to how energy on a spectrogram.) We must consider resonance
open the mouth is) as being somewhere between a third in the tone in degrees when teaching jazz singers, and
and a half an inch depending on the singer’s physical this can happen rather naturally by simply adjusting the
makeup, it will assist microphone compatibility, give the jaw opening and adjusting the palate higher or lower.
tongue room to function, and the singer will be able to If the palate is too low, the sound will be nasal; if the
better manage the amount of resonance in the tone and palate is too high, the sound will be too full and too res-
still have a relaxed, loose jaw without it being too open. onant to remain microphone compatible.
As for the relationship between the lips and the micro-
phone, a good rule of thumb might be: a) “mouth to the 3) Tongue activity and tone colors
metal” or one finger’s distance when placing the index There is often weak spectrographic activity in devel-
finger vertically between the lips and the microphone; b) oping jazz singers in Formant 2 (F2), indicating that the
two fingers distance (placing the index and middle fin- tongue is not functioning correctly for this kind of sing-
gers together vertically between the lips and the ball of ing. An argument can be made that the singer might
the microphone) for a fuller, well-balanced group sound be trying to not over-enunciate for fear of sounding
for moderate swinging tunes, and Bebop tunes with lots “too trained” and therefore inauthentic, but an inac-
of lyrics and/or scat syllables; c) a fist’s distance between tive tongue is not the answer. The most efficient way to
the lips and the microphone for gospel and R&B styles. “manage” resonance and diction and increase individu-
Most microphone singing should be executed between al colors/timbres in the tone of the microphone singer,
mezzo piano and mezzo forte. In a thirty-two-plus voice thus strengthening the F2, is to keep the tongue active.
group where close-up microphones are not used, the dy- Even though we are not relying on natural projection,
namics can be adjusted to a slightly more intense degree the tip of the tongue must remain active so as to produce
depending on the strength of the voices and the perfor- clarity of diction. The middle of the tongue cannot re-

CHORAL JOURNAL September 2025 Volume 66 Number 2 53