Vocal Production: Anatomy and Voice Classifications
Classified in Music
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Music and Speech Apparatus
Air Suppliers (Lungs)
These cause inspiration (air collects via dilator muscles of the diaphragm and intercostals) and expiration (expels air, muscles relax). Breathing is the sum of these two moments.
Classes of Breathing
- Costal (upper chest)
- Diaphragmatic (the most importante for singing)
Sound Producers
The vocal folds. The height of the sound depends on the length and tension of the vocal cords.
Vocal Repertoire Examples (Lyrics)
Song: "I Will Love You"
- Songwriter: Dolly Parton
- Century: XX
- Style: Pop
- Tempo: Andante
- Rhythm: Binary (4/4 time signature)
- Features: Mezzo-soprano voice
Zarzuela: Doña Francisquita
- Composer: Amaedo Vives
- Era: Century XX
- Style: Zarzuela
- Rhythm: Ternary
- Tempo: Andante
- Instruments: Tenor
- Characteristics: Alfredo Kraus
Opera: Carmen
- Composer: Georges Bizet
- Century: Nineteenth-century
- Style: Romanticism
- Rhythm: Ternary
- Tempo: Allegro, Andante
- Instrument: Lyrical Mezzo-soprano Voice
- Characteristics: Teresa Berganza
Opera: Ramfis
- Composer: Giuseppe Verdi
- Century: Nineteenth-century
- Style: Opera
- Rhythm: Ternary
- Tempo: Andante, Adagio
- Instrument: Low Soloist Voice
Opera: Il Trovatore (The Troubadour)
- Composer: Giuseppe Verdi
- Century: XX (Romanticism)
- Style: Opera
- Rhythm: Ternary
- Tempo: Allegro
- Instrument: Mixed Voice Choir
- Characteristics: Voices of men and women
Tessitura and Extension
Tessitura: It is the range where a voice moves with the most facilidad (ease).
Extension: The total range of sounds a voice can produce, from the most acute to the most severe.
Voice Classifications
Baritone
Two types:
- Lyric Baritone: More coloratura timbre.
- Dramatic Baritone: Much darker timbre.
Tenor
The highest male voice. The most acute.
- Light Tenor: The most lyrical.
- Lyrical Tenor: Pitched voice but with more consistency than light.
- Dramatic/Body Tenor: The most powerful and forceful of the tenors.
Contralto
Can be lyrical or dramatic.
Mezzo-soprano
Can be lyrical or dramatic (Lyrical Mezzo-soprano and Dramatic Mezzo-soprano).
Soprano
The highest female voice (acute).
- S. Light (Coloratura): The brightest with the most sharpness.
- S. Lirica: One of the most beautiful.
- S. Dramatica: Less agile voice but vibrant, sharp, and powerful.