1. Poor Posture The efficient alignment of the body is of primary importance to voice production. Problems in posture range from "collapse" of the chest and rib cage, with corresponding downward "fall" of the head and neck, to the hyper-extended, "stiff" posture of some singers, that results in tension throughout the entire body. Effective posture evolves from the kinesthetic awareness, that may be developed through the study of a physical discipline such as Hatha yoga or Alexander Technique.

2. Poor Breathing and Inappropriate Breath Support Some beginning voice students seem to "gasp" for air, and exhibit clavicular or shallow breathing patterns. Trained singers, on the other hand, use primarily diaphragmatic breath support. The muscles of the lower back and abdomen are consciously engaged, in conjunction with lowering of the diaphragm. As the breath stream is utilized for phonation, there should be little tension in the larynx itself. Sometimes, in an attempt to increase loudness (projection), a well-trained singer may over- support or "push" the airstream. This extra effort may affect vocal quality by producing undesirable harmonics.

3. Hard Glottal or "Aspirate" Attack "Attack" or "onset" (a preferable term for singers) occurs with the initiation of phonation. Some singers (possibly related to poor speech habits) use a glottal attack, which is too hard (produced by to much tension in closure, hyper adduction. Vocal cord nodules may develop with habitual use of a hard glottal attack. The opposite problem is the "aspirate" attack, in which excessive air is released prior to phonation. While this type of attack rarely damages the vocal cords, it causes a breathy tone quality. (This technique may, however, be utilized to help correct a hard glottal attack).

4. Poor Tone Quality Many terms are commonly used to describe a singer's tone, and among those familiar to singers are: clear, rich, resonant, bright, . . . dark, rough, thin, breathy, and nasal. Although, "good tone" is highly subjective, according to the type of singing and personal preference of the listener, in general, a tone that is "clear" (without extra "noise") and "resonant" (abundant in harmonic partials) is acknowledged as "healthy" and naturally will have sufficient intensity for projection without electric amplification. Opera singers strive to develop a "ring" (acoustic resonance at 2,500-3,000 Hz), that enables the voice to project over a full orchestra, even in a large hall. However, for other styles of singing, the use of amplification may allow a singer the choice of employing a less acoustically efficient vocal tone for reasons of artistic expression. A breathy tone, for example, may be perceived by the listener as "intimate" or "sexy", and even a "rough" sound, such as was used by Louis Armstrong (false vocal cord voice), may represent a the unique persona of a performer.

5. Limited Pitch Range, Difficulty in Register Transition All singing voices exhibit an optimal pitch range. Typically, untrained voices have narrower pitch range than trained singers, due to lack of "register" development. The term "register" is used to describe a series of tones that are produced by similar mechanical gestures of vocal fold vibration, glottal and pharyngeal shape, and related air pressure. Some common designations of registers are the "head" register, "chest" register, "falsetto", etc.

Singing requires transitions from one register to another; each of these transitions is called a "passaggio" ("passageway"). Lack of coordination of the laryngeal musculature with the breath support may result in a "register break", or obvious shift from one tone quality to another. Untrained male voices and female "belters" tend to "break" into falsetto/head voice in the upper range. Regardless of the style of singing, a "blend", or smooth transition between the registers is desirable.

Next page