Page 16 - ChorTeach vol14-1.indd

Words Are in the Mouth—Quality is in the Throat

close to a voiced consonant such as [z]. As the change from the pitch or sharpening to occur after the consonant. If

vowel to consonant occurs, have students try to maintain the subglottic pressure and airflow are allowed to change as
the overall quality of the sound. Then have singers attend needed to produce a similar quality on each speech sound,
to these onsets starting on a voiced consonant instead of a the change in pitch frequency will not occur.
vowel. Figure 1 depicts an acoustic spectrogram image of three
different sustained consonants transitioning into a vowel.

All three vowels were sung at the same frequency for each
Consonants and Coarticulation example. The first example, [z] to [i], was performed by

While singing the previous “happy” exercise, you may trying to maintain the same subglottic pressure when tran-

have noticed the phenomenon known as coarticulation. sitioning into the vowel. The pitch fluctuated at the transi-
This occurs when production of one speech sound infl u- tion and momentarily sharpened.
ences a surrounding speech sound. For example, the [a] The second example, [s] to [i], was performed trying to

vowel in the happy exercise influenced the “h” quality. maintain the same amount of airflow when transitioning

Try to sustain the “h” in the word “hoot” and then sustain into the vowel. Again, the pitch raised at the onset prior to
the “h” in the word “happy.” You will notice that the “h” coming back to the intended pitch.

sound is simultaneously influenced by the tongue position The third example, [z] to [i], was performed with ad-
and, maybe even more importantly, the larynx position of justments to subglottic pressure and airflow to maintain

the following vowel. These elements may be desirable in the same pitch and voice quality during the transition from
a more contemporary commercial styling such as pop or consonant to vowel. The pitch did not shift.
jazz but need to become independent of one another in a
typical classical voice quality. Remember, however, that the
overarching goal is to train independence of speech sounds
from voice quality.
Another example of coarticulation occurs when a na-
sal consonant such as the “n” in the word “hand” causes
the preceding vowel [a] to become nasalized. In a classical
context, singers typically desire to remove this coarticula-
tion. This takes training and is not suitable for vernacular
styles such as pop. In order to make a pop style sound more
authentic, singers can allow the ending of the [a] vowel to
become nasalized with a lowering of the velum (soft palate)
before transitioning into the “n.”
Figure 1. Spectrogram image of the relationship between
consonants and pitch
Consonants and Pitch
Voiced consonants occur with vocal fold vibration. It
can be advantageous for singers to match the pitch of the C onsonants and Dynamics
voiced consonant with the pitch of the subsequent vowel, Consonants are perceived softer than vowels, so if a con-
especially on an ascending interval. For example, sing the sistent legato is desirable, it can be advantageous to make
word “singing” with the first syllable “sing” on a C3 or C4 the consonants louder, especially voiced consonants. Fred

and the next syllable “-ing” on a G3 or G4, respectively. Be Waring’s book, Tone Syllables (1945), focused on equalizing
sure to sing the “ng” on a G3 or G4 pitch. Now keep the the dynamics of consonants to vowels but did not specifi -
“ng” on the lower pitch, and you might notice the diffi culty. cally discuss voice quality interaction. Since dynamics are a

Consonants can also influence the pitch of a subsequent result of changes in the vocal mechanism, it is important to
vowel. If singers are required to sing louder-voiced conso- consider voice quality in this equation. For example, if sing-
nants such as “z,” they may use the same subglottic pres- ing the word, “sing,” in a classical style, the initial “s” can
sure in the subsequent vowel. This can cause a raising of be made louder by maintaining more constriction in the

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