Singing voices - characteristics, classification and types

Properties of professional vocals

There are 8 octaves within which singers perform songs and arias. Each performer has his own range - the distance from the lower notes to the upper ones that he can sing. A professionally trained voice easily creates homogeneous sounds within two octaves. This is considered a good range for a music career.

There is a distinction between the full range - those notes that the singer can hit, and the working range - in which he is comfortable singing. An important characteristic is the timbre of singing voices, they are:

• soft;
• sharp;
• head;
• chest;
• mixed.

The quality of flight is important for the performer - such a voice can be heard without a microphone. It appears when there are high overtones in the voice, which impart smoothness and sensuality. Another quality of the operatic voice is strength, because the singer must solo against the background of music performed by the orchestra.

The vocal apparatus of men and women operates in different registers, producing sounds that are uniform in timbre. The female voice has the following registers:

• head - located in the upper range part;
• chest;
• central - combines chest and head sounds.

In male performance, musicologists distinguish two registers: chest and falsetto. The first is characterized by a rich sound and is located at the bottom of the range, and the second is weak and is located at the top.

For professionals, the transitions between registers are smoothed, and in order to sing naturally and hit high or low notes, the singer must have a reserve of musical and physiological capabilities. In addition, male and female singing voices are divided into groups.

How does a teacher determine your voice type?

If we are talking about classes with a teacher, then we can put forward four criteria for determining the type of voice:

• Firstly, this is the timbre, which is the individual coloring of a person’s voice;
• Secondly, there is the range mentioned above;
• Thirdly, it is the key in which it is easier for a person to sing;
• Fourthly, this is tessitura - pitch load on the voice.

As a test, the teacher can start playing the lower and then the upper limit of the range, as well as its middle. The student's task is to try to repeat the notes. For example, he can repeat them while humming the sound “m”.

You can also determine your voice by the length of your vocal cords. The voice is higher if the chords are shorter. For a soprano, for example, the length of the chords is in the region of ten to twelve millimeters, and for a bass it is twenty-three to twenty-four millimeters.

Voice classification

Types of singing voices can be classified according to different parameters. The first attempts to implement this were made in the 12th-13th centuries. The currently accepted characteristics of singing voices took shape in the 14th century. with the development of polyphonic choral singing. That's when they were divided by performer's gender and range. At first there were 4 main voices accompanying the music - two male and two female (bass and tenor, soprano and alto).

The increasing complexity of the repertoire led to a more detailed differentiation of voices, which first appeared in the Italian opera school. The characteristics took into account tonality, timbre, working range, tessitura (comfortable singing zone).

Women's singing

Depending on the timbre coloring, female voices are divided into 3 main groups - soprano, mezzo-soprano, contralto. They differ in lightness, transparency, strength and richness of sound.

Singers whose range and tessitura are unusually wide become legends. One of the most famous performers is Ima Sumac from Peru. She sang soprano and contralto easily, using 5 octaves.

Soprano differences

This is the highest voice, singing the note C from the first to third octave. Such vocals are distinguished by transparent lightness, sonority, open, mobile sound, and flight. Due to the variety of performing capabilities, sopranos are divided into several varieties:

1. Coloratura. The name comes from the Italian word for "over". Distinguished by the ability to perform fast and complex passages and graces, melismas, roulades. It sounds from C of the first octave to F of the third octave, and can be supplemented at the top of the range with a brilliant fourth or fifth. Such a voice easily captivates with its purity and sonority, resembling a violin or flute. It does not merge with other voices, therefore it is practically not used in choral singing, and its timbre is the basis for selecting other performers. Many wonderful roles have been written for coloratura sopranos: Violetta (La Traviata), Queen of the Night (The Magic Flute), Antonida (Ivan Susanin), Lyudmila (Ruslan and Lyudmila). Modern opera divas A. Georgiou, Y. Lezhneva, A. Patti, Evgenia Miroshnichenko sing coloratura soprano.
2. Lyric coloratura. They are classified as a separate type due to their melodiousness and technical agility, which allows the voice to merge with the choir. The midrange is stronger than in a coloratura soprano. Takes the range from C first octave to E third. Among the singers, Sumi Yo and N. Dessey became famous.
3. Lyrical. It sounds bright in the upper register, reaches the note E of the third octave, the timbre is soft, light, silvery. In the second octave it resembles the sounds of an oboe. G. Vishnevskaya, M. Freni, B. Nilsson, M. Caballe, A. Netrebko have lyric sopranos. The roles of Mimi (La Bohème) and Tatyana (Eugene Onegin) were written for this singing voice. Sounds good in a choir.
4. Lyrical-dramatic. The rich chesty timbre allows you to perform a variety of roles: Maria (Mazeppa), Tosca in the opera of the same name by G. Puccini. Performers - M. Callas, L. Marshall, R. Tebaldi.
5. Dramatic. A thick, powerful voice allows you to demonstrate emotional uplift. It is distinguished by the richness of the middle and lower registers; its owners are able to produce mezzo-soprano sounds. Perfectly distinguishable against the backdrop of orchestral accompaniment. Typical roles are Aida (“Aida”), Lisa (“Queen of Spades”). Singers - M. Gulegina, M. Callas, G. Yanovits.

Composers prepare the roles of young girls or fairy-tale creatures for those with a soprano voice.

Features of the mezzo-soprano

The working range of this female voice ranges from the note A of the small octave to the A of the second. Distinctive features are saturation in the middle registers.

The overall impression of the vocals is depth and even some heaviness of the sounds. Those with a mezzo-soprano voice can sing contralto or soprano roles. In operas they often play the roles of young people, the so-called trouser parts. Mezzo-soprano can be high (lyrical) or low (dramatic). Some experts also distinguish the coloratura mezzo-soprano.

The most famous role for mezzo-soprano of the dramatic type is Carmen from the opera of the same name by J. Bizet. Also written for this unusual voice are the roles of Siebel (Faust), Cherubino (The Marriage of Figaro), Laura (The Stone Guest). Usually these are the roles of strong, brave and strong-willed women. Among the famous performers are M. Kozhena, E. Obraztsova, T. Sinyavskaya.

Contralto sound

Contralto operates in the range from small octave E to F second. This is a low voice in women. Distinctive qualities are full, dense notes in the small octave and resonance in the middle register. The upper register is small, but the low notes sound great, bringing the female voice closer to the male tonality.

The voice is very rare; not all opera houses have performers with such vocals. Composers created roles for young men for contralto, for example, the roles of Vanya in Ivan Susanin and Orpheus in Orpheus and Eurydice. Famous female roles are Olga (“Eugene Onegin”), Marie (“The Flying Dutchman”), Lucia (“Rural Honor”). Singers with contralto voices are E. Poldesh, M. Anderson.

Voice formation

In 1835, I. Müller expressed the opinion that the bringing together of the vocal folds occurs due to the work of the muscles of the larynx, and their vibration is a result of the flow of air from the trachea into the larynx. This is how the theory of voice formation arose, called myoelastic (mechanical, Müllerian). According to this theory, the vocal folds vibrate passively under the influence of air flow passing between their closed edges. The frequency of vibrations is determined by the elastic capabilities of the vocal folds. The basis of phonation, according to the myelastic theory, is the force of air pressure in the trachea and the tension of the internal muscles of the larynx. The pitch of the sound depends on how often the vocal folds vibrate, and the volume of the sound depends on the force with which the air is exhaled and on the strength of the muscles closing the vocal folds. The peculiarity of the muscles involved in breathing is explained by the fact that they are able to maintain air pressure in the trachea and bronchi at the required level, and therefore various variations in voice formation are possible.

However, the myelastic theory could not fully explain the complex mechanism of voice formation, in particular, answer the question of the reasons for changes in the pitch of the Voice.

In 1950 the French. physicist R. Husson proposed the so-called. neurochronaxial theory of voice formation, according to which the vocal folds actively participate in oscillatory movements; they periodically contract and relax, regardless of the air pressure on them, and these movements occur with the frequency that corresponds to the frequency of the fundamental tone of the sound emitted. The anatomical basis of his theory was the work of G. Goertler (1950), who revealed that the muscle fibers of the vocal muscle do not run parallel to the vocal fold, but at an angle to the lumen of the glottis. These data were later clarified in the work of M. S. Gracheva. Husson believes that the phase of opening of the glottis due to the contraction of the vocal muscle, in addition to the other muscles of the larynx that expand the glottis, is not only the main one, but also occurs actively under the influence of impulses emanating from the c. n. pp., in particular from the cerebral cortex. Some experts accepted this theory completely, others identified significant contradictions in it.

Vibrations of the vocal folds occur not in the lateral direction, but in the medial direction; vocal folds vibrate in different directions depending on the register and pitch of the Voice; the direction of the fibers in the vocal muscle is such that during their contraction they cannot provide the necessary amplitude of oscillations: the refractory phase of the nerve does not allow a large number of impulses to be carried through it to the vocal muscle. A complete denial of the influence of subglottic air pressure on the frequency of vibrations of the vocal folds is not confirmed by wedge and experimental studies.

Since the mid-60s. 20th century Among most experts, the prevailing point of view is that in the process of voice formation there are both active movements of the vocal folds (under the influence of central nervous system) and passive ones - from the influence of air passing through the glottis. Voice formation is also affected by the condition of the internal and external muscles of the larynx.

Under normal phonation conditions, the vocal folds are constantly under the control of the c. n. With. The change in the frequency and amplitude of their oscillations is associated with irritation of the receptors embedded in the muscles, folds and joints of the larynx, and is carried out according to the feedback principle. Irritation of mucosal receptors associated with changes in subglottic pressure is of some importance.

The voice is characterized by pitch, strength and timbre. The height of the sound produced depends on the number of vibrations of the vocal folds in 1 second. The vocal folds have the ability to enter into oscillatory movements not only as a whole, with their entire mass, but also in individual sections; Only this can explain the fact that the same vocal folds can vibrate at different frequencies: from approximately 80 to 10,000 vibrations per second. and even more.

The strength of the sound delivered is determined by the intensity of the tension of the vocal folds and the magnitude of the subchordal air pressure. Both processes are regulated by c. n. With. The control is carried out by a sound analyzer. If the relationship between these processes is disrupted, for example, during a cry of horror, then the prevalence of intratracheal pressure causes a sound that is characterized by the absence of pure tonality. The strength of sound is determined in decibels.

The timbre of the Voice is determined primarily by the addition of additional tones to the main tone of the emitted sound - overtones, which can be harmonic, vocally decorating the main tone, and inharmonic, worsening its timbre coloring. The number of overtones that appear around the fundamental tone can be very different. The voice's timbre is greatly influenced by the movements of the muscles of the pharynx, soft palate, lips, cheeks, tongue, and lower jaw associated with the articulation of both vowels and consonants, as well as the movements of the epiglottis, the larynx itself, the activity of the respiratory muscles, etc. Voice acquires its characteristic strength and timbre in the resonator cavities. The Morganian ventricles, the space under the slightly lowered epiglottis, the pharyngeal cavity, the oral cavity, the nasal cavity and its paranasal sinuses constitute the upper resonator of the G.; bronchi and lungs are the lower resonator G.

Breathing during speech and singing differs sharply from breathing at rest, which is done in ch. arr. through the nose. Inhalation at rest is almost equal in duration to exhalation (the duration of inhalation is related to the duration of exhalation as 3 to 4). When inhaling at rest, the vocal folds take an average position between maximum abduction and maximum adduction, the glottis takes the form of an isosceles triangle, showing a tendency to a certain narrowing. The volume of exhaled air during breathing at rest is 500-600 ml. When speaking and singing, the breathing conditions change: the glottis is in a closed state most of the time, as a result of which the air introduced into the lungs during inhalation, without having a free exit out, puts pressure on the vocal folds and causes them to vibrate. Speech breathing, as a rule, is learned independently; To master singing breathing, special training is required.

According to the mechanism of voice formation, as well as from the point of view of the methods and purposes of use, vocalization is divided into spoken and singing.

Spoken voice

There are several stages in the development of the spoken Voice.

The voice of newborns and infants is an expression of one of the unconditioned innate reflexes of a person, caused by exposure to a wide variety of stimuli on the body, emanating from both the internal and the environment. The sounds produced by newborns can vary in strength, but they, as a rule, differ little in pitch (A of the 1st octave). However, their timbre is not the same and already on the second or third day after birth, not only the mother, but also the attendants can distinguish the children’s voices.

The voice of toddlers. It is characterized by rapid development of speech activity. Conversational G. during this period is distinguished by the narrow range of sounds used in the pitch of F, A of the 1st octave).

The voice of preschool and school-age children is distinguished by a noticeable expansion of the range of sounds used, both in pitch and strength.

In conversation, children use special techniques to make G. more expressive.

The voice of the period of mutation.

Between the ages of 11 and 19, a number of features appear in the voice—a period of mutation begins. In southern countries it usually begins earlier, and in northern countries - later. In girls, the mutation occurs 0.5-1 year earlier and proceeds more calmly than in boys. The duration of the mutation period ranges from one or several months to 5 years. Its usual duration is 1.5-2 years. The course of the mutation period is accompanied by significant changes in the larynx. During this time, in boys, the larynx increases by more than 1.5 times, in girls - by 1/3, the vocal folds, as a rule, are hyperemic to one degree or another. In some cases, the mutation occurs slowly and is hardly noticeable both for the adolescents themselves and for those around them. Only sometimes there is increased fatigue during voice work and often causeless hoarseness. A calm course of mutation is usually for all girls and for some boys. In cases of an abrupt mutation, unexpectedly during singing or talking, the voice begins to break down, low notes of a bass timbre appear, completely unforeseen by the person singing or talking, often of a rough, barking nature, suddenly jumping to falsetto. At the beginning of the mutation period, such phenomena are observed quite rarely, with the development of the mutation more often, and as the mutation is completed, less and less often, and finally disappear when the children's voice is completely replaced by the voice of an adult. Quite rarely, the most acute form of mutation is observed. It is expressed in the fact that a typical child's G. suddenly becomes repulsively rude and unpleasantly hoarse. In some cases, this type of development of the mutation is accompanied by a complete loss of the voice. After a certain, relatively short time, the hoarseness that oppresses the teenager disappears and he develops a fully formed voice of an adult; however, hoarseness may remain for some time even after the end of the mutation. Sometimes G. remains childish in an adult man (the so-called eunuchoid G.). In this case, appropriate treatment and phonopedic exercises are required.

Voice of adults

over the course of 20-30 years it is usually stable, with individual timbre characteristics. It is characterized by a fairly wide range of both height and strength. Thanks to this, every person has the opportunity to widely use sound modulation in order to give their voice greater expressiveness. The tonality of ordinary conversational speech varies within the range of 85-200 Hz for men and 160-340 Hz for women (V.S. Martynov, 1962); The average fundamental frequency for men is approximately 136 Hz, for women it is 248 Hz.

Colloquial G., used for professional purposes, e.g. G. teacher, propagandist, agitator, lawyer and prosecutor, announcer, stage worker, can be distinguished as a special type of spoken voice of adults. It should be distinguished by a wider range of sounds both in height and in strength, and with maximum expressiveness.

The conversational voice of the elderly is characterized by a narrowing of the range of sounds used, both in pitch and in strength, as a result of which their voice is weak and monotonous. As the body ages, the vibration of the voice intensifies, and gradually turns into tremor (swinging of the voice). In this regard, senile G. acquires a special coloring, so pronounced that sometimes the G. of an old person turns out to be completely different from his own G. in the past.

The reasons for G.'s changes in old age are the following: ossification of the cartilage of the larynx; atrophic changes in the respiratory muscles, diaphragm, laryngeal muscles in general and in the vocal muscle in particular; various, including atrophic, changes in the pharynx and oral cavity (including changes in the dental arches).

Singing voice

Special studies aimed at studying the state of the vocal folds and glottis in singers during the formation of sounds of different pitches, in particular film photography of the glottis, revealed the following details of the complex mechanism of voice formation. When low and medium sounds are formed, the vocal folds look like two thick, tense muscle ridges, tightly pressed against one another. The opening of the glottis during voice production occurs only for a very short moment (during a small part of the period of sound vibration of the vocal folds), when air breaks through the glottis with force. During the rest of the vibration period, the vocal folds are pressed tightly against each other. Vibrations of the vocal folds occur in a direction perpendicular to the direction of air flow. This method of voice formation ensures the appearance of a sound rich in overtones and characterized by fullness and a metallic tint of sound.

There are three registers of voice: head (falsetto), chest and mixed. When high-pitched sounds (head voice or falsetto) are produced, the vocal folds have the appearance of flat, highly stretched, wide, thin strips, and between them there is a gap similar to that observed between stretched rubber strips. In this case, vibrations of the vocal folds occur in a direction almost coinciding with the direction of the air flow; the resulting sound is poor in overtones, weak in strength and lacks a metallic tint.

The formation of low and partly medium sounds is accompanied by a peculiar sensation of trembling of the chest. Considering that the mechanisms of voice formation when extracting low and medium sounds are largely similar, it is customary to combine them into one group - the chest register.

A group of transitional sounds, for the formation of which the singer has to use special techniques and settings, are combined into an independent register - mixed, or mixed.

Observations have shown that most of the range of male voices belongs to the chest register, and only the upper third of the range belongs to the head and mixed register. In female G., the relationships between the registers are reversed: the lower third of the range belongs to the chest register, and the upper two thirds to the mixed and cephalic register. The ability to present equally artistic sounds in different registers is considered one of the main signs of a singer’s qualifications. For the preservation of vocalization, the attack of sound (voice)—the method of activating the vocal folds—is important. There are hard, soft and aspirated attack of sound. With a firm attack of sound, the vocal folds close tightly and vibrate only under the pressure of exhaled air. The sound of G. appears sharply. With a soft attack of sound, the vocal cords vibrate at the moment of their closure; the beginning of exhalation and the moment of closure of the vocal folds may coincide. The sound of G. occurs less sharply. An aspirated attack of sound is characterized by the fact that the sound of a breath is preceded by a noise (aspiration) that occurs from the passage of exhaled air through the glottis to the closure of the vocal folds and their vibration. There are also several stages in the development of singing speech.

The voice of toddlers. The range of singing for toddlers is so narrow (F - A of the 1st octave - for children under 2 years old and D - A of the 1st octave - for children from 2 to 3 years old) that singing is practically inaccessible to them.

The voice of preschoolers and schoolchildren before the onset of mutation is distinguished by the following features: the narrowness of the range available to them: in children from 4 to 5 years old it is equal to 4 tones (D - B flat of the 1st octave), in children from 6 to 8 years old - 5-6, 5 tones (B of the small octave below - D of the 2nd octave above), for children 9-11 years old - 6-8.5 tones (A of the small octave below - D of the 2nd octave above); for children 12-15 years old - 8-9 tones (A of the small octave - F of the 2nd octave); almost complete absence of difference in range between boys and girls; using only the falsetto register to form the G., which is why this G. sounds high, piercing and poor in overtones.

Children of primary school age (up to 10-12 years), as a rule, use the type of breathing that is characteristic of them at rest. Only at an older age (12-15 years) do some features of singing breathing become quite easily acquired and successfully used when singing. In addition, preschoolers and schoolchildren do not clearly articulate both vowel and consonant sounds when singing.

The voice of the mutation period is characterized by the gradual or sudden appearance during voice formation of a number of previously unobserved signs. Boys are strictly prohibited from singing during this period; girls are allowed, but with the obligatory observance of all the rules of special sparing of the vocal apparatus.

The voice of adults. Only in a minority of adults is G. suitable for professional use. In this regard, they talk about everyday singing singing for adults and professional singing.

A professional singing voice differs from a household voice in its fairly wide range (volume of at least 2 full octaves), sufficient strength of sounds produced, beautiful timbre, and the ability to seamlessly move from one register to another.

Male and female voices are divided into high (tenor and soprano), medium (baritone and mezzo-soprano), and low (bass and contralto).

The senile singing voice is characterized by a narrowing of the range both above and below, a weakening of strength, a certain change in timbre and increased vibration or even the appearance of tremors. These features are caused by atrophic changes in the muscle fibers of the muscles of the larynx, diaphragm, all other respiratory muscles, as well as smooth muscles embedded in the mucous membrane of the trachea and bronchi, the loss of these muscles to a certain extent of their inherent elasticity, ossification of the cartilage of the larynx, etc. The onset of age-related degradation of singing ability dates back to the age of 50–60 years. However, for some singers it begins a little earlier, for others much later.

The physiological process of withering of the Voice can be delayed with the help of good staging of the voice and appropriate phonopedic exercises. It is known that with a good performance of G., singers can sing in a relatively good voice even at 70 years or more.

Whisper

Some authors call whispering whispering G. This term cannot be considered correct, because, essentially, during whispering there is no G. This is how it differs from spoken or singing speech. During whispered (voiceless) speech, the vocal folds do not vibrate; they come closer together, leaving a significant gap between them, through which air passes freely and, thanks to the articulatory apparatus, is formed into vowel and consonant phonemes. In some cases, the vestibular folds come together at a certain distance, forming the so-called. pseudoglottic fissure. Sometimes, when the vestibular folds come into contact, gas may form, but it will be hoarse.

Pseudovoice

- the voice of people whose larynx has been removed due to one reason or another (most often a cancerous tumor) (see Pseudovoice).

Ventriloquism

- the ability to speak without moving the lips, as a result of which the spoken words seem to come from other persons. During ventriloquism, the mechanism of voice formation is unusual: both the vocal and ventricular vocal folds are very close together, the entrance to the larynx is almost closed by the epiglottis sharply deflected posteriorly; articulatory movements of the organs of the oral cavity are carried out in such a way that they are invisible to outsiders, while the lips remain completely motionless. G. during ventriloquism is characterized by less intelligibility, monotony and weakened strength.

Male performance

Experts divide the vocals of the strong half of humanity into tenor, baritone and bass groups. This corresponds to high, middle and low registers. Each group has a more detailed gradation, which takes into account timbre, sound, lightness, and features when playing the upper and lower notes of the range.

In the world of music, not long ago there was a real discovery that cannot be imitated - this is the Kazakh performer Dimash Kudaibergenov, who works in 6 octaves.

Tenor group

This is a popular and beautiful male voice, capable of taking “royal C” in the upper octave. The range is very wide and covers octaves from minor to second. A distinctive feature of tenor soloists is a strong upper register. There are several high-pitched voices in this group:

1. Tenor altino has the highest notes to F of the second octave. Rare voice. The timbre is light, light, with silvery top notes. Part of the Astrologer in the opera The Golden Cockerel.
2. Lyrical. Performers work in the range up to the first octave - B of the third octave. The voice is mobile, with graceful light coloraturas, the sound is melodious, carefree, warm. Typically, musicians with such abilities perform arias of hero-lovers (Lensky in Onegin, Count Almaviva in The Barber of Seville).
3. Characteristic. Has a sound effect, such as a slight ringing of bells or a silvery tone. Indispensable for creating a bright, memorable image.
4. Dramatic (sometimes distinguished as lyrical-dramatic). More dense and dynamic in the lower register, and sounding strong and powerful in the upper register. Such metallic-tinged vocals perfectly convey the drama of events. May not take the upper C. The composers created the roles of Herman (The Queen of Spades), Calaf (Turandot), Othello (Othello), and Manrico (Il Trovatore).
5. Countertenor. Sounds like a mezzo-soprano. The ability to sing in a developed falsetto technique is valued in the music of the Baroque period.
6. Baritone tenor. It is located on the border between tenor and baritone, but the upper range part is less developed. Mime part (The Ring of the Nibelung).

Many wonderful classical opera roles have been written for tenors by Russian and foreign composers: Gounod (Faust), Jose (Carmen), Prince (The Love for Three Oranges). Famous tenors - P. Domingo, M. Lanza, E. Caruso, S. Lemeshev, I. Kozlovsky, E. Pavarotti, L. Sobinov.

Baritone Characteristics

The average male voice captivates with its velvety sound and ability to demonstrate dramatic emotional intensity. The range of baritone singing voices covers from A of the major octave to the next A of the first octave. The baritone is conventionally divided into the following types:

1. Lyrical. It is close in timbre to the tenor, but has a peculiar dense tone and high tessitura.
2. Lyrical-dramatic. The brightness of the sound, rich timbre and strength allow performers to take on a variety of roles.
3. Dramatic. Sounds powerful in the upper range and central register. The sound is dense and dark. It differs in that it has a low tessitura, but at the climax it easily hits the extreme notes. Opera characters performed by a dramatic baritone are always strong personalities, positive or negative.
4. Bass-baritone. Some experts distinguish it as intermediate between bass and baritone due to the intense sound in the central register of lower notes that are more massive than those of a regular baritone.

The baritone roles do not leave anyone indifferent - these are Eugene Onegin in the opera of the same name, Prince Igor (“Prince Igor”), Andrei Bolkonsky (“War and Peace”), Aleko and Iago (“Othello”), Demon (“The Demon”). Famous baritones - G. Pray, D. Hvorostovsky, T. Hampson, V. Skorobogatov, V. Petrov.

Types of Bass

The bass voice has the greatest amplitude of sound vibration, so it can more dynamically indicate contrasts when singing. A low voice in men is very rare, so such vocals are indispensable in church choral singing. It is distinguished by rare beauty, depth, and richness of sound.

Bass is submissive to notes in the range from F of the major octave to F of the first. There are 4 types of bass voices:

1. High (cantata). Reaches F of the first octave. Reminiscent of a baritone bass, it sounds bright and strong, but is soft and compact in the upper and midrange.
2. Central. Performs high tessitura notes, as well as low notes up to F of the large octave. The voice sounds full and spacious, the timbre is beautifully filled.
3. Low (profundo). It is distinguished by a velvety timbre and rich color; low notes sound unusually strong right up to the D of the first octave. They are not characterized by grace and passages.
4. Octavists. Such performers use the lower register up to the counter-octave note. The voices are inactive, dense, heavy. This type of singing is practically not used in modern opera.

Some experts believe it is appropriate to distinguish bass voices by timbre and distinguish baritone, characteristic, deep, comic.

Composers create musical parts specifically taking into account the sound characteristics of bass voices, because some hum like bells, others are heard harshly, and others give a long peal. For this reason, the characters performed by the singers are also different - these are majestic heroes, respected fathers of families, and funny grotesque images.

Famous roles include Susanin (“Ivan Susanin”), Melnik (“Rusalka”), Moroz (“Snow Maiden”), Sea Tsar and Varangian Guest (“Sadko”). The owners of such voices are I. Petrov, Yu. Statnik, F. Chaliapin, B. Shtokolov, Jose van Dam.

How to control the timbre and pitch of your voice

So, how do you control the timbre and pitch of your voice? As you understand from the above experiments and studies, almost every person can slightly raise or slightly lower the pitch of their voice, even without special training in voice production. Various psychological factors can also influence in such a way that a person begins to speak more quietly or higher.

Since the tonality and timbre of the voice, in principle, can be influenced, why not take this fact into account and try to influence the voice consciously and meaningfully? And not just a little bit, but as much as we need to achieve a beautiful timbre... The idea is tempting and, most importantly, completely realistic for implementation within reasonable limits!

What does “within reasonable limits” mean? This means that you should not try to drive your voice to a height at which it cannot sound fully, with the participation of the necessary resonators. If you want to get a subtle and sonorous timbre, but you naturally have large and not very mobile vocal cords, and at the same time you have not worked on connecting the resonators, then you can only hit high notes in the head resonator.

A voice that is formed exclusively “in the head” without the participation of the chest resonator will be either weak and squeaky, or breathless and unintelligible, or shrill, or even simply break.

If you want to speak in a low, velvety voice, but you have a naturally metallic tenor, then the lower range without training the connection of the resonators will either be creaky, or hoarse, or you will lose your voice altogether.

In addition, to make your voice (any voice!) sound beautiful and convincing, you should always remember to breathe deeply into the lower part of your lungs . This type of breathing is also called diaphragmatic or diaphragmatic breathing.

You should also remember about diction and articulation , which should be sufficient, but should not be redundant. So, if you barely open your mouth and don’t use your articulatory muscles, the sound will get stuck in your mouth and you won’t get a full sound. If there is too much articulation and you open your mouth too wide where it is not needed, the sound will be rough.

We studied all these aspects of working with the voice - breathing, support for sound, diction, articulation, connecting resonators - in lesson 2. This is the basic knowledge for setting the gloss, which we have already needed more than once and will need in the following lessons too. Therefore, if something remains unclear, read and work through the material in Lesson 2 again.

In principle, in order to skillfully control the pitch of your own voice, you need to remember and put into practice two important points :

• For a beautiful high voice you need both head and chest resonators. The head resonator provides access to high sounds, and the chest resonator makes high notes more expressive and allows you to get rid of the squeaky sound in your voice, as if only the head resonator is working.
• A beautiful low voice also requires the joint work of all resonators. The chest resonator gives access to low notes, providing a powerful sounding voice at the bottom, and the resonance in the upper resonators provides lightness and flight of the voice.

In addition, do not forget that the oral resonator provides a more open, loud sound of the voice, helps remove tension from the throat, helps to speak more freely, and the nasal resonator acts as a connecting link for all resonators, giving clarity and clarity to the sound of each resonator and the voice as a whole.

Let us remind you once again that resonators are natural amplifiers of our voice inside our body. They allow you to make your voice higher or lower, louder or quieter, and enrich the color of the timbre. By learning to control the flow of air and direct it into a particular resonator, you can open up your voice in a new way and instantly change many of the characteristics of your voice that you learned about in the first part of the lesson.

Therefore, if you want to expand the range, work on the resonators , and over time you will be able to sound higher or lower than now. Moreover, when working on one or another part of the range, you can often observe some symmetry in the results. If you work on the higher notes and expanding your range upward, the lower notes begin to sound more confident and your working range expands not only upward, but also downward a little.

And one more important aspect. It was not for nothing that we began the practical part of the lesson with the topic of meaningfulness and awareness in working on timbre. The fact is that you can plan not only the content and structure of speech, pauses and logical stress, but also all aspects of sound production! We touched on this point briefly in previous lessons, but now is the time to continue.

In your mind and then out loud, you can rehearse not only the text of the future message, but also its emotional intensity, volume, pitch, and tempo. You can try to set one or another timbre and rehearse speech with different intonations. Knowledge of the anatomy of the voice gained in our course and an understanding of how certain movements and positions of the sound production organs affect your voice and your speech will help you with this.

An interesting point: the dictionary of associations offers about 70 possible definitions for the word “timbre” [Dictionary of Associations, 2020]. Therefore, if you find it difficult to figure out how to diversify your speech, such a selection of associations may well help you.

In addition, special exercises offered by French professor Philippe-Nicolas Melot, who teaches singing to professionals and amateurs, will help you develop a meaningful approach to sound science, learn to control pitch and change (within reason!) the timbre of your voice.

Exercises to control the timbre and pitch of your voice:

You can see how to do these exercises correctly in a specially prepared video:

The advice of Lillian Brown, a professor at Northeastern University in Boston (USA), will help you set the desired timbre for your voice and learn how to adjust its pitch depending on the situation. She addressed her advice to her English-speaking compatriots, but in a form adapted for a Russian-speaking audience, these recommendations are completely acceptable. She believes that no matter what kind of gloss a person has from birth, he can always improve it with practice [L. Brown, 2020].

Tips for improving your voice from Lillian Brown:

1. Inhale deeply, using the diaphragm.
2. Maintain an even posture so as not to compress the internal organs and allow the body to be fully saturated with oxygen.
3. Distribute the weight evenly on your legs, straighten up to your full height, slightly moving your head back. In this position, you can control the speech apparatus in the best possible way.
4. You can lower your voice if you speak “straight from your socks,” i.e. pressing your heels firmly into the floor. If you maintain an even posture, the diaphragm bends on its own, giving the air flow more space.
5. Cover at least an octave with your voice, i.e. 4 notes above and 4 notes below your most comfortable middle note.
6. Visually represent what you are talking about. This will make the speech more lively and emotional.
7. Read aloud at least 10 minutes a day.
8. Read aloud your text, which you are about to speak publicly, and refine the fragments that do not sound very good.
9. Articulation should be clear, but mannered articulation should be avoided.
10. Speak calmly and measuredly, without rushing. You can slow down your speech by using clear articulation of words.
11. Avoid filler words, long unreasonable pauses and interjections in speech.
12. Be sure to rehearse the pronunciation of difficult and unfamiliar words before speaking them in public.

And, of course, the timbre of the voice and the ability to sing higher and lower are of great importance for vocalists . In our course, a separate lesson is devoted to vocals, but you can start training now. You remember that the head resonator is responsible for accessing high notes, and we sing low notes using the chest resonator. Therefore, it is worth additional work on the chest and head resonators.

Tips for beginners on how to cope with high notes:

• Try opening your mouth wider. For beginners, this is usually a big problem due to either lack of skill or forgetfulness. Therefore, control the width of your mouth opening as you approach high notes. If necessary, work through the exercise from Lesson 2 on opening your mouth with 2 fingers again.
• Try squatting slightly or leaning forward a little when approaching high notes, as many pop singers do. In the lesson dedicated to vocals, we will focus on such a concept as anchoring (from English anchor - anchor), i.e. the use of body muscles to support (anchor) the sound flow. For now, just remember that you can use your body to help you reach those high notes.
• Use your imagination and imagine that you are singing “into yourself”, maintaining support for your voice and not letting air out. Develop your success and try to “breathe” your voice into yourself.
• Imagine that there is a candle flame in front of you, and you need to sing so as not to blow out the candle.
• Add a meowing or whining intonation to your voice. If you carefully and completely watched video lesson No. 3, given by Russian singer Polina Gagarina as part of the “Generation M” charity project, you already know that natural sounds – crying and moaning – contribute to the opening of resonators.

More courageous crying, as well as other exercises, was demonstrated in his video by singer, musician, author of a blog dedicated to vocals, Ivan Radkov:

By the way, pay attention that when they show you on video how to open your mouth, the singer’s tongue lies flat, and the tip of the tongue is located at the lower teeth. Don't forget to repeat (and apply!) the material from previous lessons in practice. And remember that each new topic is not a reason to forget what you have learned previously. If you succeeded in the exercises from the previous video, you can try more complex exercises:

Similar thoughts and, in addition to this, tips on how to remove clamps from your voice can be found in the singer, blogger and vocal coach Alexandra Stroitseva. Please note that you need to treat your voice adequately and not demand from it those high notes and those shades of timbre that it does not yet have. Both notes and shades of sound are achieved through persistent training and conscious control over your voice:

It has long been known that owners of low voices dream of getting their hands on high notes, and owners of high voices almost always want to master the lower range. In fact, you can help both.

Tips for beginners on how to cope with low notes:

• Lower your larynx slightly. To feel the correct position, you should put your hand on the front of your neck and yawn with the sound “a-a”. The palm will feel the larynx going down. This is the desired position of the larynx.
• Maintain resonance in the nasal and head resonators, which is felt as resonance in the front part. In the lesson on vocals, we will tell you what a vocal mask is. For now, remember that on low notes the upper resonators also work, although not as intensely as on high notes.
• Practice singing with your larynx slightly lowered and a pencil held between your teeth. Don't strain your jaw! This will allow you to develop proper coordination between the larynx, facial muscles and jaw.
• Train the work of the chest resonator by placing your hand on your chest and placing your voice on a support. You need to pronounce something between “ge” and “he” (similar to the letter “g” in Ukrainian). You can practice on the syllable “gem-ma” or “hem-ma”.

And, of course, a video on this topic:

So, in this lesson we dealt with such characteristics of the voice as pitch and timbre, and understood how to influence these characteristics of our voice. If nasality interferes with the formation of a beautiful voice and timbre, here is a video for you on how to get rid of nasality in your voice:

All we have to do is consolidate the acquired knowledge with the help of a verification test and continue working on other characteristics of the voice in the next lesson.

Vocal abilities in children

Children's voices sound higher than adults'. This is explained by the fact that the vocal muscle in a child under 11-13 years of age is not fully formed. Children's vocals are classified according to their range, regardless of the gender of the child:

• alto - low notes;
• soprano - high notes.

A boy's thin child's voice is called a treble and is divided into low, medium, and high. During the process of mutation of the vocal apparatus, the vocal abilities in children change and may completely disappear.

Exclusive on stage

Sometimes singers are so professional that they are able to perform parts with different characters. Such votes are usually called “absolute”.

For example, the famous singer Maria Callas was able to master all soprano roles - from dramatic to coloratura. Her appearance on stage in exquisite outfits and furs caused a sensation. But such opportunities open up only to unique voices with careful development of sound techniques.

It is almost impossible to determine the type of voice of a beginning singer, since the degree of range and timbre change during training.