QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Q What are these three groups of notes called?
A These are called registers, which can be defined as groups of tones produced by a particular adjustment of the vocal cords, and reflected in a particular quality .

Q What connection do registers have with such things as the heavy and light mechanisms, the thick and thin mechanisms, and the chest and head voices
A Actually these terms indicate whether there are wide and deep, or narrow and shallow vibrations of the vocal cords.

Q What is meant by the chest and head terminology?
A It also describes vibrations: the chest tone or chest voice describes the result of a wide and deep vibration of the vocal cords; the head tone or head voice describes the result of shallow and narrow vibrations. In other words, these terms describe the results of the vibrations of the vocal cords. The chest voice or tone is a heavier, the head voice or tone a lighter quality of tone.

Q What do the terms chest and head have to do then with voice production?
A Actually nothing. The fact that the singer may feel vibrations in his chest does not mean that this is chest resonance; or the fact that he may feel stronger vibrations in his head does not mean that this is head re¬sonance . When the heavy or thick mechanism is used in the lower part of the voice, strong vibrations can be felt in the chest. These vibrations are the result of bone conduction of sound, and are mistaken for chest resonance. This has been termed sympathetic resonance. When the narrow or thin mechanism is used in the middle and upper part of the voice, there would seem to be stronger vibrations in the bony structure of the skull. These are mistaken for head resonance, but this is another form of sympathetic resonance.

Q Why use the terms "head" and "chest"?
A Because of the limited number of descriptive terms available for use without becoming too involved.

Q According to the terminology then, chest and head, thick and thin, and heavy and light there would seem to be only two registers?
A For all practical purposes there are at least three: low, middle, and high voice mechanisms. Actually there are more than three, when the coloratura register and the low bass register are included.

Q What do you mean by the high voice mechanism?43
A It can be described as the register above the head or middle voice register which uses the entire length of the vocal cords. The high voice mechanism uses only the front or anterior part of the vocal cords for vibration, while the back or posterior part of the vocal cords is dampened or held.

Q What do you mean by dampened?44 A Not allowed to vibrate.

Q How can you prevent the back or posterior part of the vocal cords from vibrating?
A An indirect method must be used. This is necessary because the vocal cords have a limited number of nerve centers, and are not subject to direct control. To make a long story short, the singer must approach his high voice as if he were going to sing it open, and then change the resonance placement without losing the basic vowel tension.