“Vocal Advantage: Tone (part 2)” by Dina Else

VOCAL ADVANTAGE: TONE (part 2), by Dina Else (no. 21 in a series)

 

As we begin our discussions on tone I’d like to share McKinney’s opening statements on the topic in his book Diagnosis and Corrections of Vocal Faults:

 

Musical tone has five characteristic properties or essential elements: duration, intensity, pitch, sonance, and timbre.  Each of these properties has a specific meaning, which can be expressed in concrete objective terms, in other words, each is capable of accurate measurement by scientific methods.

 

Duration:  is how long musical tone lasts

 

Intensity: deals with the amount of energy in the sound—the strength of the sound—and can be measured objectively by its decibel level.  The intensity of a sound is represented by the amplitude of its wave.

 

Pitch: is the frequency of vibration of a musical tone as expressed in the number of vibrations per second.

 

Timbre:  is the primary factor which enables you to distinguish between two instruments or voices performing the same pitch with the same intensity. 

 

Sonance:  is also concerned with the identifying characteristic elements of sound; however, instead of being limited to the r=frequency structure of the sound, it is related to patterns of change in the sound, including changes of timbre.

 

Here is what McKinney shares in regard to the characteristics of vocal sound. 

 

Freely produced

Pleasant to listen to

Loud enough to be heard easily

Rich, ringing, and resonant

Energy flows smoothly from note to note

Consistently produced

Vibrant, dynamic, and alive

Flexibly expressive

 

Constricted, forced, or strained

Strident or rasping

Too loud, resembling shouting or yelling

Hoarse

Breathy

Weak, colorless, or devitalized

Inconsistently produced

Shaky or wobbly