Making a big claim
note: this article is now out of date.
The general premise of this novel approach is that all motion and position elements of the vocal tract, if they have an effect on timbre, have a specific effect on specific overtones. After observing a great deal of vocalization, it occurred to the author that vowels can be produced in three main modes, defined by the necessary position and motion of the tongue and assisting mouth parts to achieve a reinforced and movable harmonic that is generally perceived by the listener as the indicator of a specific phoneme (more or less, a vowel). By taking steps to mute a great part of the timbre, each of these modes can be shown to yield distinct polyphonic overtone scales, sung over a drone produced at the larynx, and with minimal involvement of other parts of the vocal tract.
For the purpose of developing a practical system for solving common vocal challenges such as timbre selection, these three modes, or “tracks” are labeled according to the most prominent bio-mechanical features they exhibit. According to the New School Singing paradigm, these features include position, motion, and attitude. The tracks are named glottal (G), Styloid (S), and labio-dental (L). Of the three, glottal is most commonly used, followed by styloid, and finally labio-dental. An example value might look like [+2, 3L], indicating the +2 lip position (semi-occluded) combined with the 3rd labio-dental track tone above the fundamental (more or less, “italian” e).
The glottal track is generally the most intuitive. It is almost amorphous compared to the other tracks, and it strains the meaning of the word. The tongue forms overtones in this track by forming a constriction between the tongue and the middle of the palate. The tongue is elevated and curved to form overtone 4G, which roughly corresponds to “italian i”, but not exclusively so (for instance it is also present in the german vowel ü). The tongue retract to form succesive overtones, until it reaches position 0G, at which point further retraction only weakens the overtone and is incapable of producing a lower one. The glottal track offers access to all the functions of the vocal tract including pharyngeal constriction, laryngeal elevation change, “twang”, influence of the soft palate including nasality, etc… It does not offer very much acoustic amplification, but it allows for a very strong source signal, and amplification can be achieved via other means. Therefore it is an extremely versatile track.
The styloid track (S) is formed by elevating, flattening, and retracting the tongue. In this configuration the shaping of the vocal tract can be drastically changed by using the root of the tongue to narrow and effectively extend the vocal tract above and behind its usual path. The resulting shape creates intense acoustic activity near the soft palate, and by precise movement of that structure combined with relatively small anterior and posterior movement of the tongue, five phonemes are once again producible. The movement of the tongue essentially creates a “pocket” near the soft palate and pharyngeal wall, which is largest when the tongue is moved in a posterior direction (yielding “italian u”) and smallest when moved in an anterior direction (yielding tone 4S, which can be use to produce the “italian i”). It is relatively easy to produce additional “nasal” vowels even without actual nasality in this track, by narrowing the epiglottic funnel vigorously under an elevated tongue. This mode is less intuitive, because the styloglossus is responsible for elevating the tongue, and can only do so under a narrow set of circumstances that include posture and laryngeal attitude. Because it does not require laryngeal depression to produce a clear and ringing sound, it is particularly effective in the lower register (below B3), but it is also used by many successful singers in their upper register, albeit with added laryngeal depression (most notably, the late Luciano Pavarotti). The well-know commercial method known as Complete Vocal Technique generally recognizes this track as “edge”. It is particularly effective for public speaking. It is also quite versatile, and appears to allow easier access to the lowest notes in a singer’s range (the author believes this is how Enrico Caruso was able to perform bass arias effectively). The distinction in classical singing is that higher pitches sung in S track require a repositioning of the chin and tongue without “falling” into track G. The author suspects this maneuver causes the hyoid bone to descend, and that the stylohyoidus and stylopharyngeus seem to play a role in laryngeal elevation and depression that involves less isotonic tension in the extrinsic laryngeal musculature. It is named “styloid track” because the relative position of the styloid process (via the neck and head posture described in Estill Voice Training as “anchoring”) and the activation of the styloglossus are the chief mode of action.
The final and least intuitive of the tracks is the labio-dental track (L). This track is most easily accessed by slightly raising the upper lip and bringing the tongue far forward as possible, until the overtone is reduced to 0L (more or less “Italian u”). The function from this point is essentially an inversion of the pharyngeal track, such that the pocket formed under the alveolar ridge reduces to brighten the timbre and modulate the vowel. By retracting the tongue while maintaining its elevation with the styloglossus, the tongue is retracted parallel to the palate, which has a curved shape and thus produces an ascending tone. It is counterintutive only because to make a full range of vowels and a clear and ringing timbre, the mouth must be somewhat rounded. However, this causes the terminal opening to be too far from the base of the neck to effectively constrict the pharynx and simultaneously articulate vowels. Therefore in order to maintain a clear and ringing tone capable of matching the timbres of the pharyngeal track, the pharynx must be narrowed via extension of the neck, which risks upsetting the position of the styloid process via the stylopharyngeus. Being attached to the styloglossus and thus the efforts of the tongue, the maneuver therefore risks upsetting the hyoid, which is itself attached to the action via the stylohyoidus.
The values given here are functional and do not represent the sum total of available overtones one can make without opening the velum. The author has successfully and consistently produced 6 tones not identifiable as the fundamental pitch in each of the tracks, but almost always with the assistance of other mouth parts. This set of tracks is meant to be paired with a set of specific jaw-lip postures (+3, +2, +1, 0, -1, -2, -3) as well as the necessary postural support specific to each position. The chief difficulty in what’s termed “body-connected” or “spinto” singing is essentially the transition from the pharyngeal track to the labio-dental track without unintentionally applying the glottal track. Once the tongue begins to lose elevation, the cause is unimportant – nothing can be done to recover a position in the other tracks unless phonation is somehow interrupted (consonants can serve the purpose, but generally an inhalation is preferable).
Generally speaking, the author favors the styloid track below Eb4, the labial track from Eb4 to c5, but with the option of using the pharyngeal track for c5 when the neck is for some reason lacking the correct tone for full extension (for instance when there is inflammation from athletics or long travel times). Above c5 (not applicable in this singer’s professional life), the pharyngeal track is once again preferred, followed by the glottal track. The labio dental track becomes generally unreachable due to limitations of physiology (neck and tongue extension) and possibly skill or conditioning.
A less “spinto” approach is to sing pitches at Eb4 and above in the styloid track, and changing to the glottal track below.
The system of selecting values to create specific timbres can be rightfully described as a kind of tonal chiaroscuro or grisaille such as was employed by DaVinci to create the impression of depth in etchings on dark or light paper. Jaw-lip postures can be briefly defined as humming (+3), semi-occluded “ventriloquist” openings (+2), fully covered (+1), neutral (0), with a lifted upper lip/snarl (-1), a half-smile (-2), or a full smile (-3). They can be precisely tuned using a polyphonic overtone scale modulated by the mouth opening with a relatively stationary tongue. The jaw-lip posture can be considered as a base color, and the lingual overtone selected and applied to make a “vowel” that expresses the singer’s preferences in terms of its acoustic profile or psycho-kinetic properties. It is also potentially useful for selecting a new vowel-timbre progression or updating an old one. It is the central technical feature of New School Singing, second only to the meta-technical system in terms of its importance to the NSS philosophy of voice culture.
Some typical examples of singers whose technique are dominated by each track can be helpful for pointing out the differences without necessarily making the description into a prescription. It’s useful to refer to operatic tenors since their range is the most “awkward” in terms of registration. For primarily G-track singing and the accompanying adaptations, we can observe Alfredo Kraus and the modern singer Jonas Kaufman. The most well-known tenor of all time, Luciano Pavarotti, can be observed relying on the more lyric strategy of using the G and S tracks (when the timbre becomes veiled below B3 we can be quite certain it is a G-track coordination). Franco Corelli, on the other hand, can be observed moving between S (middle and low) and L (above Eb4). Occasionally he can be observed using track S above Eb4, but generally he uses an extended (but still anchored) neck position and track L to achieve the “spinto” sound.
The author submits that any person can learn to sing in any and all of the three tracks, and that doing so will have a radical effect on the timbre, defying all notions of “fach” and “individual sound”.
copyright 2019 Philippe Castagner. All rights reserved