BVA ARCHIVE: Choice for Voice 2008; 10, 11 and 12 July
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Day 1 Report
by Jeffrey Davies
As emphasised in the warm welcome given by BVA president Linda Hutchison and conference chair Janice Chapman, "in true BVA style", the programme is multidisciplinary, ranging across aspects of performance, health and research, and it goes without saying, teaching. For the first day, which related mainly to singing, I was interested in interactions between disciplines and chose workshops on singing as viewed by speech and language therapists, researchers, a psychologist, and a vocal coach.
How appropriate to begin the day with Ron Morris (left), speech therapist and audiologist who is also a singer, giving the plenary lecture "My tongue goes where (and does it matter)?" He guided us entertainingly through the anatomy of the intrinsic and extrinsic muscles and their interactions. Misuse of tongue blade or tip, or tongue root constriction are among problems in speech and singing which must be corrected. Some thought-provoking points were made. The IPA system (relating to tongue positions) works well for teaching consonants; but "vowel quadrilation is rubbish". Vowels have acoustic cues and vocal tract shape is important. For classical singers, the tongue needs to be high towards the back, the tongue root free, and the larynx allowed to drop. If the tongue is low, it pulls the soft palate down. Likewise the jaw should be loose, but good articulation and vocal quality require little mouth opening. Ron answered his subsidiary title question "does it matter", with an emphatic "yes, yes, yes!" In his workshop, he demonstrated tongue exercises for remediation of speech and for free, well-articulated singing. These included poking out the tongue, stretching and holding out the tip, raising and lowering the tip, and syllables for tip-blade or front-back alternations. A hand-out of exercises was provided and also a seven page diagnostic "Articulation efficiency assessment for singers". Many attendees at this will be keen to practice and learn more.
Speech therapist Hugo Lycke’s workshop (right) on "Voice classification by phonetography" was a preliminary study involving measuring vocal sound intensity extremes over a range of sung pitches. The maximum and minimum intensities in the range overlaps vary for different voice types and contribute to their classification. What is the importance of this compared to tessitura and passagio? Other technologies and further investigation are needed. Gillian Kayes (singing teacher and researcher) and Sarah Harris (speech and language therapist) presented a clinically-based paper on "Can vocal gesture "pictograms" be used to help identify vocal behaviours in singers of different genres? Do gestures (laryngeal areas as revealed by nasoendoscopy) change over range? How do singers of different genres compare? What factors influence gestures? Classical and musical theatre singers of similar voice types were given song and scale tasks. The observation area extended from the arytenoids and hyoepiglottic ligament, to the posterior pharyngeal wall. Genres were validated by seven judges. Clearly qualitative comparative data are obtainable for different singing styles, and perhaps a norm for these can be established enabling quantification by area measurements. Katrin Neumann presented "Attractiveness of the high singing voice", a pilot study from a psychologist’s angle. Speech can suggest personality, behaviour, age or size. A low male voice (high testosterone?) can suggest status and dominance, masculinity. A high pitched voice (low testosterone?) might imply a more paternal character, more suited to a long term relationship. Why in opera are tenors romantic heroes and male pop singers engaging a high falsetto so popular? Thirty two females (and thirteen males) were asked to rate recordings of various singers on personal or behavioural parameters. The results were not conclusive.
Speech and language therapist Rosemarie Morgan-Watson contributed "How can I express who I am when I can’t tell you", a reflection of personal experience, incorporating some aspects of Feldenkrais teaching. Her journey moved from loss of voice through recovery, "renewing the inner and outer voice" and relating to an awareness of the physicality of body and movement. "As long as we may be able - to hear who we are - this may inspire others recover their true potential". Stuart Barr (vocal coach and music director) gave a workshop on "Directing the naked voice: how emotional content changes the singing voice". He demonstrated with an actress singing in musical theatre style, eschewing a technical approach. He probed for the character, thoughts, emotions and situation. "Who is she?", "What has happened?", "How does she feel about that?", "Where is she?". The singer improved with each idea, building a believable performance with more expressive vocal colours. Interestingly, her register change was less noticeable. "Find how the body accesses what is needed naturally".
The Artistry in Action was indeed that, with Guildhall students from years 1 to 3, plus the advanced opera year, singing songs, opera and oratorio arias. A delightful and yet informative way to end the day. Linnhe Robertson led the session, joined by Janice Chapman, Penelope MacKay, and Rudolf Pierney. There was discussion about repertoire for young voices which led to agreement as to the importance of always singing "within the comfort and quality zones". Concerning the length of training (differing for individuals), a minimum of "at least five years" and "seven years, eight for opera" were suggested. In practice, this might relate to tuition hours provided, and hence funding.
I was hoping to find stimulating cross-talk between disciplines, practitioner-driven research, and new thoughts on familiar concepts and problems. I was not in the least disappointed, but rather enthused to experience and discover more. If only it were possible to attend all choices of sessions.
Top left: Ron Morris, pleanary speaker. Middle right: Hugo Lycke
Left: Linnhe Robertson. Right: Stuart Barr
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