At the beginning of the twentieth century Ernest George White developed the technique now named after him when he lost the ability to either sing or speak as a result of misguided singing teaching at two London music schools. Through extensive self-observation he worked out what had caused the problem, and an effective way to remedy it.
White concluded from his study of anatomy that the small pieces of tissue making up the vocal cords (more correctly called the vocal folds) could not possibly be producing the human voice, so looked for possible sound-producing structures in the head.
The skull is not solid, but permeated with a system of air-filled cavities (the paranasal sinuses and nasal cavities) behind the forehead, a substantial proportion of the upper skull, nose and cheeks. These are all interlinked and ultimately connect with the outside through the nostrils. White believed it is these sinuses and the nasal cavities that act as resonators to amplify the sound of the voice – just as other musical instruments rely on a hollow space or spaces within them to amplify their sound.
In his view the vocal folds do no more than provide a vibrating column of air to be developed into a voice in the head cavities.
Current thinking is that the voice is probably produced by the complex integrated activity of various components of the ‘vocal tract’, which extends from the lungs to the head sinuses. But in practice this doesn’t affect how White’s Technique is taught. It does not matter whether or not it is a physiologically accurate description of voice production. It is a teaching metaphor that has been found to be very successful.
White’s Technique, and now Better Voice, therefore treats the voice as coming from the head, while the throat is simply ignored. This makes full use of the head’s resonant qualities and takes the strain off the vocal folds.
So:
Don’t be put off when you see the early exercises are sung. Contrary to what most people think:
Singing is simply speaking on a flow of a larger range of notes and (usually) with longer vowels.
Be assured that all the voice exercises you’re going to be doing have been carefully formulated to work on your voice for speaking. The sung exercises are simply an effective step in that process. (But if you are a singer Better Voice will also improve your singing, so you’ll get a double benefit.)
The exercises are all very simple and no musical ability is needed to do them successfully.
Q: What are your initial reactions to this way of looking at your voice?
At the beginning of the twentieth century Ernest George White developed the technique now named after him when he lost the ability to either sing or speak as a result of misguided singing teaching at two London music schools. Through extensive self-observation he worked out what had caused the problem, and an effective way to remedy it.
White concluded from his study of anatomy that the small pieces of tissue making up the vocal cords (more correctly called the vocal folds) could not possibly be producing the human voice, so looked for possible sound-producing structures in the head.
The skull is not solid, but permeated with a system of air-filled cavities (the paranasal sinuses and nasal cavities) behind the forehead, a substantial proportion of the upper skull, nose and cheeks. These are all interlinked and ultimately connect with the outside through the nostrils. White believed it is these sinuses and the nasal cavities that act as resonators to amplify the sound of the voice – just as other musical instruments rely on a hollow space or spaces within them to amplify their sound.
In his view the vocal folds do no more than provide a vibrating column of air to be developed into a voice in the head cavities.
Current thinking is that the voice is probably produced by the complex integrated activity of various components of the ‘vocal tract’, which extends from the lungs to the head sinuses. But in practice this doesn’t affect how White’s Technique is taught. It does not matter whether or not it is a physiologically accurate description of voice production. It is a teaching metaphor that has been found to be very successful.
White’s Technique, and now Better Voice, therefore treats the voice as coming from the head, while the throat is simply ignored. This makes full use of the head’s resonant qualities and takes the strain off the vocal folds.
So:
Don’t be put off when you see the early exercises are sung. Contrary to what most people think:
Singing is simply speaking on a flow of a larger range of notes and (usually) with longer vowels.
Be assured that all the voice exercises you’re going to be doing have been carefully formulated to work on your voice for speaking. The sung exercises are simply an effective step in that process. (But if you are a singer Better Voice will also improve your singing, so you’ll get a double benefit.)
The exercises are all very simple and no musical ability is needed to do them successfully.
Q: What are your initial reactions to this way of looking at your voice?
