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CONCEPTS OF RESONANCE |
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Edgerton believes that "part of every tone must be sung through the nose." [156] Warren favors the conscious use of nasal resonance because "it performs the service of amalgamating" the various vocal resonances "into a composite, artistic tone," [632]
Henderson definitely is against consciously controlling nasal resonance and advises that the best way to utilize the nasal cavities is to "let them entirely alone." [243, p. 60] Bartholomew vaguely asserts that objectionable nasality is not caused by a relaxed velum but by having strong nose resonance while the throat resonance remains weak. [39] This statement needs clarification by the author. He further states that the velar passage to the nose should be kept open when singing all vowel sounds, for this spells the beginning of vocal quality. [Ibid. 37] Shaw likewise claims that we lose about half the carrying power of the voice when the soft palate is unduly raised. [534, p. 156] To Sbriglia, famous Italian singing master, the nasal tone was anathema. He therefore settled the matter by always advocating keeping the voict in the chest. [Huey 290, p. 610]
Mouth and throat cavities. In defining the functions of the various vocal resonators, the mouth or oral cavity is distinguished from the nasal caviky and the pharyngeal or throat cavity is distinguished from the laryngeal and chest cavities. The boundary lines of these various cavities are not finely laid except possibly for the vocal cords which form an accurate line of division between the chest and laryngeal cavities. The simplest physiological concept regarding these cavities is that they form a more or less continuous passageway interrupted only by the various curves and contours shaped by muscular and cartilaginous protuberances. Instances of these valve-like protuberances are the tongue in the oral cavity, the uvula and velum in the nasal cavity, the epiglottis in the pharynx or throat cavity and the vocal cords in the laryngeal cavity. The contours of the vocal resonator are analogous to the walls of a horn loud speaker, the larynx being the sound generating unit. The passage through which the voice passes from larynx to lips is the resonance cavity, formed in large part by the shape of the throat and mouth. [Evetts and Worthing-ton 167, p. 35] But here the analogy ends. One theory, not widely held, is that the pharynx, nose and mouth are the only resonance cavities; that the head and body bones cannot resonate because they are damped by overlying tissues. [Ibid., p. 37]
Even physiological and acoustical experts find it difficult to decide the respective resonating functions of the oral and pharyngeal cavities during singing. [Curry 124, p. 56] Stanley insists that the mouth is unimportant and that one of the chief aims of the vocal teacher must be to throw the mouth out of action, thus rendering it passive to vocal tone. According to |
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