Vocal register

Vocal register denote physical settings in the human voice, which cause certain pitches and timbres. In different pitch ranges, the impression given by the untrained human voice differs significantly, and it may experience disruptions between these areas. Since it is the ideal of European art song, vocal qualities to compensate for this and to make the transitions imperceptibly, plays the registers term in vocal pedagogy and in the study of human singing voice a particularly important role.

• 3.1 Functional studies
• 3.2 Vocal Pedagogy concepts to the register balance

Definition

For the register definition and disposition are two different approaches:

Since the results from the two definitions Register classifications by no means have to cover, and the first definition has a significant subjective component, it is understandable that there is much confusion and controversy over the registers and their classification. Therefore, action should be taken in the following according to the two definitions.

Register classification

Phenomenological register

The following list attempts to list the most common names and descriptions for the phenomenological register.

• The straw bass registers, Schnarr register or pulse register is the lowest among men, less common among women register. It produces deep creaking noises in the range below about 70 Hz in this frequency range the oscillations as a single "Pulse" are perceived. The use of straw bass register is not common in European art song, but rather, for example, the singing of Asian peoples ( " undertone ").
• The chest electors' register is also referred to as full voice or as Modalstimme and for men is the main register of the middle register, with the woman the deepest register. In women, the chest voice is usually avoided in modern European art song or used as a special means of expression in the lowest position. Multiplier used in pop music.

• The middle voice voix mixte or provides a sound blend of chest and falsetto voice represents the middle voice has with respect to the compensation register as a " mediator " between the registers of particular importance. The middle voice is the main register of the middle register with the woman.
• The term head voice is either used as a synonym for the middle voice or as a synonym for the falsetto, occasionally it is a going beyond their own importance is attached. From the head voice is often spoken at the high tones of the men supported above the male Passaggio. For most singers the Passagio, the transition between chest and head voice particularly important at higher altitudes and in untrained voice is often audible. For singers, he is generally less pronounced.
• The falsetto is, apart from the whistle register, the highest range of the voice. In the male, arises in the untrained voice a breathy, relatively weak one octave superscript sound, just like the imitation of the female voice. The trained falsetto voice is that of the counter tenor or alto and characterized by a good carrying capacity and tonal admixture in depth through the chest and head voice. Synonymous with falsetto falsetto is used occasionally. As a rule, but accessed as falsetto only the breathy, weak falsetto voice of untrained singer.
• The whistle register (also called Flageolettregister ) is the highest register of the human voice. It is usually used to produce sounds from about e'' ' (e3, international designation E6). These sounds do not allow Schwelltöne, articulation and vocal differentiation more. Very rarely men can sing with this Pfeifstimme.

Functional register

Basis of functional classification register on the one hand measuring physiological studies using modern investigation techniques, such as Elektroglottogrammen ( EGG), in which the opening and closing phases of the glottis are measured, or the direct stroboscopic observation of the movements of the vocal folds. On the other hand, the acoustic spectra of the various register areas and in particular the case studied to be measured formant characteristics.

Basically, the following functional registers according to the activities of the vocal folds can be distinguished:

• In the straw Bass function are the Vocalis muscles, and thus the entire vocal folds, short and thick, relaxed and supple. The vocal folds vibrate at very short opening times and long closing stages, they produce this deep, creaking noises.
• In the modal function also swing the entire vocal folds with a vertical phase difference occurs. The vocal folds are thick and have a comparatively large vibrating mass and vibration amplitude. The opening and closing phases are compared with the straw bass function uniform up to the predominance of the opening phases. The sounds produced in accordance with the chest voice.

• In the falsetto function the vocal folds are thin and the vibration amplitude is compared to Modalstimme ( chest voice ) significantly lower. It just swing the mucosal edges ( edge edges) of the vocal folds ( in Figure 2, the mucosa), why is spoken here by edge voice. A vertical phase difference no longer occurs. The opening phase is always longer than the closing phase of the vocal fold closing is often incomplete, especially in behauchter phonation. In the literature, a further mechanism in the falsetto voice is sometimes described: the transition to the falsetto function the vocal folds are to be closed by the position of the arytenoid cartilage to the arytenoid cartilage facing portion such that only about 2/3 of the vocal folds and their can swing the edge edges.

• When Pfeiffunktion the skills are still sketchy at best. Probably the vocal folds are closed except for a small residual opening and the vocal cords do not vibrate or no, the sound is produced similar to the pipes with the mouth through the air turbulence behind the rest of the opening.

Leaving straw bass and Pfeiffunktion out of consideration, there are two functional registers, modal function and the falsetto function. Occasionally there are also three registers hypotheses. The American researcher and vocal coach Lloyd W. Hanson place between modal function and a head voice range, which he referred to as middle voice or mixed voice.

• As an essential characteristic no longer swings Hanson in the middle voice or mixed voice of Vocalismuskel with, but the ligament ( vocal cord ) is still involved in the vibration. Only at the head voice only vibrate the vocal cord edges without the involvement of muscle and ligament. In his opinion, this is the register of the counter tenor. Head voice and falsetto he differs in that in the latter the vocal cord circuit is incomplete and thus the voice is breathy.

Since the terminology especially in falsetto, falsetto, Pfeifstimme is very inconsistent with individual authors, prefer modern vocal researchers to work with more objective nummerierenden names. An example is a work by Henrich et al. The authors conducted Elektroglottogramm measurements through to professional singers and the following four functions could be clearly distinguished:

• M 0 corresponds straw Bass function
• I m corresponds to modal function in women, Modalstimme and head voice in the male
• M II falsetto function
• M III Pfeifstimme in women.

This classification corresponds to a 2- register hypothesis and is currently in the research on the singing voice of common terminology.

After Cornelius L. Reid, the two base registers, chest and falsetto registers come, by the different cooperation of the muscles of the larynx into being: the chest register and or Modalregister based on the dominance of the internal laryngeal muscles with the glottis closed, the falsetto contrast to the dominance of the outside of the larynx located vocal fold Dehner ( musculi cricothyroidei ), namely fully open glottis. The internal laryngeal muscles are functional to the respiratory system, their participation in the tone is obvious, because they open and close the glottis. The externally located vocal cord tensioner on the other hand, which tilt the thyroid cartilage of the larynx are involved in the peristaltic movements during swallowing. The influence of the vocal cord tensioner to the voice, the pitch regulation, as they lengthen and thin the vocal folds.

The independent innervation of these two muscle groups makes Reid a training of the voice possible (functional voice training ): One can namely that alter the interaction of the muscles, and thus affect the properties of the vocal folds during tone generation. These properties, which are the thickness, length and tension of the vocal folds. Since a sound through pitch, volume and timbre ( vowel) is determined, and since in turn cause these properties, the thickness, length and tension of a string ( in this case, the vocal folds ), influenced an altered interaction between the muscles and the sound quality.

Register equalization

Functional studies

In the above-mentioned study could Henrich et al. not differ on the basis of Elektroglottogramms Modalstimme and head voice. Obviously, since the method has its limitations, as it only measures the opening and closing phases of the glottis and no further statements to be made, for example, about which muscular systems are both involved. In a subsequent study ( Castellengo et al. ) They could sing several professional singers of different voice in the Phonationsbereich in which they practice, the middle voice according to specific information. As a result, we found differences in EGG again only the mechanisms m I and m II, which is the modal function and the falsetto function. The mixture is thus probably not at the level of the laryngeal setting, but rather controlled by the breath control, setting the sound intensity and modification of the sound spectrum by exploiting different resonances and in particular training of the singers formant. Obviously learning the singer, with the each one register to " mimic " the characteristics of the other register, and vice versa, so that largely draw the two registers of auditory sensation in the middle voice today. A physiologically separate register is the middle voice, then do not.

Vocal Pedagogy concepts to the register balance

A special major concern in vocal pedagogy is the avoidance of the register break, so the fact that the singer can not go soft from one register to the other, but that there is an audible transition, either with overlap in the vocal range or with a gap. However it is the ideal of European art song, the register transitions to " blind " and not to make perceptible, or allow breaks at best as a special means of expression. Such a special case is yodeling, with the rapid changes of the breast in the head voice and back as a characteristic sound agent is employed.

As a result of register equalization, however, is to develop the so-called unit register. To achieve this however, there are numerous, is also partly contradictory methodological approaches. Accordingly, the view of the number and type of registers and location and intensity of the transitions varies greatly.

Essentially, there are two opposing concepts:

• A holistic approach results from the unit register that the properties of the various registers mixed sound from the outset. The singing student learns from this unit registers in a central, comfortable vocal range, to expand the mixture down to the lowest or highest range. Never want to work with " isolated" registers, unless this is to be used as a special means of expression.

• The functional approach is based on the existence of different registers, which are first separated according to their different physiological bases, developed and practiced. The so strengthened and developed registers are then merged at a single register. A prominent example is Cornelius Reid with his two registers teaching. He ignored the vocals rarely used for straw bass registers and assigns the other hand, the whistle register as a special form of the falsetto. The core of his concept is that there are two and only two registers ( Modalregister and falsetto ), and that the singing teacher has to develop them separately and to strengthen in order to then mixing merge. The falsetto there will be in many forms, and it is to be developed so that something vocally Recyclable, valuable arises from it. If the two base registers are combined with each other, their tonal and dynamic properties change. From the chest register is Reid then the chest voice and head voice from falsetto. These two ingredients together only give the " Voce integra " the lyrical singing. The change between the tabs (" Ponticello " ) is ideally no fracture, but a stepwise switching of the dominance of one mechanism to the dominance of the other. Reid sees himself as, in accordance with centuries of experience and refers for example to Tosi and Mancini.