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i$s TRAINING THE SINGING VOICE
spheres emanating from the vibratory source. [Hemery 238, p. 40] As Re«i' field describes it, sound is a kind of shivering or trembling of the atmosphere that is propagated in all directions at once. [462, p. 266} The action of a resonator, although it does not produce the vibratory energy itself, is to
reduce the resistance of the medium in which the vibration is propagated-[Curry 124, p. 53] Clippinger adds that the office of the resonator is "t.<y reinforce the tone and give it quality."[i 12] All sounds whether vocal or not possess four main characteristics: pitcfe.*
loudness, time and quality, representing the frequency, amplitude, period
and form of the sound wave. [Seashore 505]
Vocal quality or timbre is determined by the form of the sound wave
issuing from the singer's lips and the relative frequencies and intensities of its harmonic constituents or overtones. [Evetts and Worthington 167* p. 39] Quality, according to Stanley, is a generic term that really includes two independent factors: a) the tonal or vowel spectrum which is determined by the distribution pattern of fundamental and overtones in a. given note and b) the aesthetic effect or beauty of a tone. Apparently, the tonal spectrum does not influence the beauty of a tone. [577, p. 299] The distribution of tonal frequencies in a vowel spectrum is called its formant, Borchers describes the timbre of a vocal tone at a given moment as a combination of three factors, absolute pitch, absolute intensity and vowel characteristics (tonal spectrum or formant). [58] According to Seashore, tone quality depends entirely upon "the prevailing tone spectrum." [507] Curry describes tone quality as the subjective impression of the nature of the sound wave, this impression depending upon the number and relative frequencies, intensities and duration of its components. The fundamental of a sound wave is that component which has the lowest frequency and which usually determines the absolute pitch of the sound we hear. [124, p. 41] It should be noted that the complex frequency and intensity composition of voice varies continuously during oral expression and it is not easy therefore, to take objective measurements of vocal quality. [Fams-worth 169] Lewis reports that the vocal tract in singing or speaking is constantly changing. "The evidence as a whole indicates . . . that there are no fixed vocal resonators of any appreciable importance.** [340]
Good vocal quality in singing is usually accompanied by minute imperceptible fluctuations of pitch and intensity (about six per second) around the central pitch of the note as a norm. This fluctuation of a vocal tone is called its vibrato. (Chapter TV) When the pitch center shifts unduly the effect h unpleasant to the ear of a listener. [Stanley 577, p. 301] The vibrato seems to add life or warmth to a tone. Intensity lends volume or dynamic properties, a low formant or distribution of ire- |
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