Practical Vocal Acoustics: Pedagogic Applications for Teachers and Singers

Abstract

Kenneth W. Bozeman, Practical Vocal Acoustics: Pedagogic Applications for Teachers and Singers. Hillsdale, NY: Pendragon Press, 2013. Paper, xiv, 138 pp., $35.00 (DVD included). ISBN 978-1-57647-240-8 www. pendragonpress.comFor more than three decades, Kenneth Bozeman has contemplated and studied the relationship of singing and vocal acoustics. Bozeman, who is the Frank C. Shattuck Professor of Music at Lawrence University Conservatory of Music, encapsulates his observations in Practical Vocal Acoustics. The subtitle, Pedagogic Applications for Teachers and Singers, succinctly states the purpose of the volume: to summarize information gleaned from voice research that is useful to voice pedagogy in way that is accessible to teachers and singers. Bozeman presents methodic explanation of harmonics, formants, and how they interact to create resonance. After clearly elucidating the principles of voice acoustics, the author shows how this information can direct effective pedagogy.The volume consists of sixteen brief chapters (the longest is mere dozen pages) that lead from general understanding of acoustics to specific exercises built upon the science. Bozeman begins with primer on harmonics, fundamental frequency, and the components of voice acoustics. He explains that the voice consists of source that produces set of harmonics, and resonator that selectively strengthens or weakens frequencies from the source. He compares the three theories of vocal resonance, and describes how resonance creates formants. Most importantly, he explicates how this information is critical to beautiful singing. The longer the vocal tract-which is the resonatorthe more formants are heard. As the vocal tract shortens, fewer formants are heard. Bozeman puts this acoustic fact into pedagogic context, warning that allowing the larynx to move with pitch changes will prevent unified He also defines articulation in relation to acoustics, describing it as tuning the shape of the vocal tract. Exaggerating oral shape differences, which he characterizes as instinctive, is faulty resonance strategy.Open timbre results from two or more harmonics lying at or below the first formant, Bozeman explains, while close timbre occurs when the second harmonic crosses above the first formant. The author calls the first (which is dominated by the thyroarytenoid muscles) the yell and the second (which is dominated by the cricothyroid muscles) the timbre. In the whoop timbre, when the second harmonic crosses above the first formant, the voice turns over-a critical event in male voices. The author offers strategies for developing resonance in female and male treble voices, and methods for training the male passaggio. The two critical aspects for the latter are maintenance of the resonator and allowing passive vowel modification. Passive vowel modification, explains Bozeman, is a change in vowel quality accomplished by retaining the vocal tract shape, but moving the pitch with its set of harmonics. He dedicates chapter to the perceptions of turning over, and directs the reader to examples of professional singers on YouTube who demonstrate skillful transitions. Finally, he applies the principles of acoustics to belting.Studio teachers will appreciate that Bozeman does not dismiss the role expression plays in singing. …

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