Vocal Technique Final

Emma Heidenheim

1. Cry Quality and Owl are very similar, and compliment each other well. They

are both dark sounds well suited for intimate or thoughtful moments within

a song. They are not usually used throughout a whole song, but rather during

a beginning /ending phrase or a bridge. Both of these qualities are most often

used in older legit songs with long legato lines (but can also be used in newer

rep if it is written in a legit style). These styles require similar technique as

well; low subglottic pressure, high soft palate, thin folds, high larynx ect.

They both are also best used above the 1st gear change, but can obviously be

brought down below as well.

2. I chose Days and Days from Fun Home. In the last 32ish bars of the song I

used both Owl and Cry Quality. The music is marked Regal, Biting because

it is a very emotional part in the song, and the character, Helen, is an older

character. At this point in the song Helen is in crisis, and she is crying to her

daughter so Cry Quality works very well. The song is contemporary, but it is

written in a legit style with very legato lines.

3. I chose to compare the differences between Belt Quality and Mouse Quality.

The onsets are very different, belt is a lot of glottal onsets where as mouse is

either aspirate or smooth. Belt is used for heightened or extreme emotion,

whereas mouse is more of a light, operatic sound for legit rep. Belt is very

speech and twangy, which is very different to the legato style of mouse.
4. For a song that changes from mouse to belt I chose Oh Henry by Michael

Kooman. The 32 bar cut I chose begins in a very light, operatic sound and

then switches into a belt sound. In this 32 bar cut alone the sound switches

between belt and mouse 4 different times. I have marked the switches on the

sheet music attached. To make the switch I have to go from a very open

throat, with a very high vocal plane and thin vocal folds, to thick folds, high

subglottic pressure and glottal onsets.