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Minnie Mouse MezzosDate: August 29, 2009
I have a high school women's choir of 23 voices, currently singing 2-part music. In the 2-part split, there are 9 sopranos and 14 altos (really mezzos singing a mid-range alto part). In spite of the numbers, the lower voices don't even come close to the volume of the higher voices. I have heard all of these girls sing in small groups, and most of the altos sing with a very quiet and thin tone. Are there some exercises or approaches that would help them lock into a stronger resonance?
Michael Replies (8): Threaded | Chronological
Patricia Pates Eaton on August 29, 2009 2:31pm
Michael:
I would split this choir in half, 12 and 11. Rename them part I and part II. On some songs allow one group to sing the upper part and reverse it on the other song. In that way everything will be balanced.
And, your 'light, mid range altos' are probably sopranos anyway. Vocalize everyone on the same notes. If you need anyone to sing a very high note, single out those few girls who sing them beautifully and allow them to sing the high A,s upward.
on August 30, 2009 8:21am
While it may not work so well to describe this in writing (it's more easily demonstrated), mezzos and altos of all ages often need help with presence in the tone. It's partly owing, I think, to the register in which they sing--it's just hard to hear.
The way to correct it is to get them to produce a brighter, more focused tone in the mask. This is what Bill Vennard called "the professional mezzo sound"--it has a distinct buzz. To find it, I have done this successfully with choirs:
1. Have them make the nastiest possible "nyaa-nyaa-nyaa-nyaa" sound, like they're teasing someone very cruelly on the playground. (Usually they will do this too politely at first, and you can have some fun encouraging them to be nastier.) Make sure to choose a pitch that's in the middle range (not too low) so that they don't do it "on the cords." Your kids might call this "neener neener," but you know the kind of thing I'm suggesting.
2. Once they've found that and really have it buzzing, have them sing a passage of the music on the same "nyaa" syllable. This usually gets a few laughs. Once they're doing this well, ask them to do it one more time, and to pay attention to how it feels. Sensation is important here.
3. Change from "nyaa" (the A sound in "bat" or "cat," but very nasal) to "nyah" (the A sound in "father"). Have them keep the same feeling they had with "nyaa." This helps them find that much more forward and even nasal placement, even with a vowel that will tend to go back and be a bit woofy.
4. By now, they should be making a pretty substantial sound, and with the better vowel, it will sound pretty good. You should now be ready to add the actual text, again with the same feeling as "nyaa." It should sound quite a bit louder and more present.
All of this assumes that they already have good body alignment, that they are keeping their tongues and jaws released and out of the way, and that they're using the breath well. The trouble for altos is that they can be doing all of that good stuff, but still have trouble being heard.
(By the way, this same technique works well for basses who want to be too woofy.)
Good luck!
on August 30, 2009 11:36am
Hello, Michael.
Thought I'd mention my favourite resource book.
When I need to give my singers a boost, or need inspiration to fix a technique problem, I find myself going back again and again to Tim Seelig's book, 'The Perfect Blend." His words are fun to read, energizing (for both me and my singers), and make so much sense! I have had success with all of his warm-ups/exercises that I have tried. I see he now has a DVD as well (I checked on the J.W. Pepper site), & that would be well worth the money, too. What's in the book really make sense when he demonstrates. Although I haven't seen the DVD, I've seen him in person twice, and really enjoyed him both times. I think that many of his suggestions would bring out the best in your developing altos.
Paula Roberts
(& I don't work for Tim!!!)
on October 5, 2009 9:27am
I am a middle school choral director, and I use an approach similar to what David describes above (though it's modified so my middle schoolers won't try to do things their young voices cannot).
I have one alto section, though, that just doesn't make any sound. I think it's a self-image thing; even when I try to do some of the silly nasal vocalizing to get them to focus their tone, they're too shy to even engage in the silliness. And if you can't get them to that first step, it's impossible to follow the rest of the sequence. Any suggestions?
Stuart C. Hill
on October 5, 2009 8:15pm
Stuart:
It's entirely possible that you've run into a different problem altogether. Girls' voices go through a change at puberty, just as boys voices do. It isn't nearly as dramatic, and if you're not aware of it you might miss it, but one of the signs is that the voice fuzzes out, and at that point you probably should NOT try to get them to force their voices to do something they simply can't do yet.
With the age of pubert steadily moving downward, middle school might very well be where this shows up. (It's said that Bach's sons sang treble until they were around 17, which shows how much modern nutrition (and flourescent lights?) had changed things. (Another discussion entirely!)
Even college ager women show a distinct difference in vocal development, caused partially by voice lessons or the lack of them, of course. When I took over The Belles of Indiana at I.U., I experiemented for the first year, and then settled on an unusual spread of voices: 3 1st sopranos; 4 2nd sopranos; 5 mezzos; and 6 altos. Since I'm not a big fan of a soprano-heavy sound, this inverted pyramid gave me the richer sound I wanted, and of course college-age 2nd altos have generally not had a lot of vocal instruction (since no voice teacher will even admit that the contralto voice exists!!!), while 1st sopranos have generally had the most. it DID make it critical, however, that I pick my 1st sopran voices very carefully for balance and blend, and no wobbles need apply! And I was incredibly lucky always to have one 1st soprano with a voice that could sing high descants, and by high I mean up in the high c''' and d''' range!
John
on October 6, 2009 2:47am
Hi Stuart,
Well, on the bright side you have a section that really is working as a section ;-)
I think in this case, Patricia's suggestion above about re-grouping and giving neutral part labels will help you here. If the altos have managed to build a self image under that label as quiet and shy and vocally anonymised, you may need to help them develop new groups identities before they'll be willing to engage in the vocal solutions.
John's point about voice change is also a useful one, and it's entirely possible that's where the vocal behaviour originated - but it's also very possibly for a group to perpetuate away of being long after the inital cause of it has stopped.
Let us know how you get on?
liz
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