Register and covering: art and science in singingPurpose: to investigate the way that singing teachers explain concepts of voice register and coverage and the extent to which they are based on scientific models.
Methods: research of singing and laryngology literature and non-structured interviews with 12 singing teachers (8 specialized in classical singing and 4 specialized in popular singing).
Results: seven interviewees utilized the term resonance when describing the register; two mentioned timbre and vocal quality; three referred to the vocal musculature; all defined coverage as a way to adapt the emission of high notes in the region of the passage of registers; two mentioned adjustments of vocal tract; four classical singing teachers spoke about motor and facial adjustments; three mentioned resonance and four emphasized the need for training
Conclusion: singing teachers refer to vocal register and covering by utilizing references that at first appear to be based only on practice and on sensations produced by singing. When we analyze the interviews as a whole, we find that they have knowledge of scientific studies related to vocal production, and they believe that this information is important for better singing teaching.
KEYWORDS:
Voice; Voice training; Vocal cords