Greetings Ricardo!
This blog will be exploring all aspects of the voice and how it has been used within a musical context. Including techniques, impacts of technology and analysis of musical compositions featuring the voice as a soloist or an accompaniment. This will include a variety of posts, images and videos for your viewing and educational pleasure.
Enjoy, our little alien friend,
– Sarah
I performed Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps by Doris Day for my assessment. Check out my preparation post here.
I was both happy and disappointed with my performance. Leading up to the performance I was quite sick for at least a week, nearly losing my voice on one of the days. I had a singing lesson a few days prior but I still struggled. I sang in my chest voice the whole time which helped because I didn’t have to use extra support on top of trying to help my weak voice. My breathing was quite good, I think I knew my phrases really well and I didn’t really struggle with this as much as I have before. I know I didn’t execute the notes all correctly. Both my pitch and strength in my vibrato and in general was effected from my illness. I used accents in the chorus and I think I articulated really well throughout the song. I had a change in dynamics from the verses to the chorus. There was also staccato and some legato. I don’t really think I actually performed it that well, I really could’ve done more. I did a little impromptu dance thing but that was terrible. I definitely could’ve prepared more but it was so hard to do in the days leading up to it because I couldn’t sing. I did actually have a plan to sing more but it obviously didn’t happen so I guess the tip for next time is to not get sick. For the HSC I really want to hit those higher notes with force and strengthen my vibrato. Also not to be so totally awkward when performing.
There is a lot of technique involved for singing. It requires use of the vocal anatomy in the throat and mouth, as well as the muscles used to support your breathing.
This is a video of myself demonstrating some of the expressive techniques the voice is capable of. Enjoy!
“In its broadest sense, vocal range refers to the full spectrum of notes that a singer’s voice is able to produce.”
(Definition found here.)
This post explores the six main vocal ranges: Soprano, Mezzo Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Baritone, and Bass. Each singer has their own personal range that can be expanded with repetitive practice and vocal strengthening.
You can find out more about how the voice works here.
What do we mean by transposing music?
Transposing music means taking a score or a piece of music and changing the key that it is written in.
What is a transposing instrument?
A transposing instrument is an instrument such as a clarinet that when playing a C on the transposing instrument, will sound like a completely different note.
Why do we have transposing instruments?
Transposing instruments like the saxophone allow musicians learn certain fingering on, for example, an soprano saxophone and be able to use the same fingering on a tenor saxophone.
Is your instrument a transposing instrument?
No, the voice is not a transposing instrument.
When would you need to transpose music?
When I need to change the key of a piece to suit my voice range.
When would you play with transposing instruments?
I may possibly play with transposing instruments when playing with a band.
How do you transpose music?
To transpose a piece of music, you take the current key such as C Major and find the interval (amount of tones/semi-tones) between the next key. You then increase or decrease each chord or note to be at that interval.
This is music that I have transposed:
Last line of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star from C to E.
The first verse of Amazing Grace from D to A.
(Apologies for the faded writing.)
Music pieces have a number of layers that give the piece a certain texture. If there are more layers, the texture will be thicker.
These five pieces explore the different numbers of layers used through vocals.
Voice: noun
“The sound produced in a person’s larynx and uttered through the mouth, as speech or song.”
The voice is all about breathing. Vocal sound is created through the vibrations caused when we exhale. Our breath is forced out of the trachea and through the vocal folds, which vibrate at a very fast rate. The vibration, combined with the power of exhaling create vocal sound.
The sound is changed through the manipulation of muscles along the vocal tract, such as the position of the tongue and the larynx, etc. The cheeks, teeth, lips and tongue are the vocal articulators. The sinuses, chest, laryngeal and pharyngeal cavities are resonating chambers for the voice.
The voice is trained through the repetition of exercises designed to strengthen the larynx and the diaphragm. Controlling the muscles in the diaphragm and the vocal tract increase the quality of vocal tone and power of vocal projection.
There are six main vocal ranges. Females can be Soprano, Mezzo Soprano and Alto. Males can be Tenor, Baritone and Bass. There are exceptions where males can be sopranos and females can be tenors.
The Voice 