Flexion & Extension

You'd think the world was coming to an end if you believed all that's been written about women's voices and the production of musicals on TV the past few weeks.

No more legit singing allowed. That's what I've been reading from colleagues and friends on social media and blogs. Instead, producers want real voices. Not those cultivated hot-house conservatory ones with an ample amount of head voice. Nope. It's all about throwing grind and grit into the stratosphere. Of course, it ain't pretty. But then, it's not supposed to be, is it? It's all about keeping the vocal folds dense, shortened and thick, and producing mind-numbing amounts of vocal intensity. Super-belt even. This, my friends, is flexion at its finest. 

The other avenue is extension, which is all about obtaining "loft" in the voice, ethereal vocal tone where the vocal folds are stretched taut, rigid even—a must for the early music singer. It's production is considered real too—but in a very different manner than that of the Broadway super-belter. Closer to heaven, it is considered Platonic—an echo of the Real. 

Of course, both of these approaches can be seen as being diametrically opposed, which they are, when viewed from a functional perspective.

Alfred A.Tomatis is the only person I know who made clinical observations about the singing voice in terms of how the two muscles of the ear integrate with the body.

One of his observations was that the audition of high frequencies initiates the extension of the spine. Another is that the voice can only produce the frequencies that the ear can hear. What does this have to do with the production of super-belt and straight-tone?

In straight-tone singing, there is the tendency towards stiffened extension of the muscles of the body, while in super-belting, there is a tendency towards stiffened flexion. For many vocal pedagogues, this stiffness is often addressed by having the student "relax." But this mental maneuver cannot bring the singer into balance. For that, there must be a change in the conception of tone. 

Tomatis also observed that when the singer's ear is open towards higher frequencies there is a resultant depth and warmth present in the voice—be it the monk who sings his prayers or the secular artist who sings on stage. This is the Middle Way which is reflected in balanced muscle tonus of the body.