Open Throat: Acoustic and Perceptual Support for Pedagogic Practice

INTRODUCTION Open is a term regularly used in the singing studio. is a pedagogic concept transmitted through the oral tradition of singing. Mitchell and Kenny examined the technique in the modern singing studio using qualitative, acoustic, perceptual, and statistic analyses to relate singing instructions, terminology, and spectra to the sound qualities produced by instruction in this technique and validated its role in singing pedagogy.1 How are beautiful singing voices developed? What features of the singing voice define a voice of quality? Can these features be measured accurately and, more importantly, specifically taught? Historically, teaching and evaluating singing have been guided by an oral tradition in which pedagogic techniques are handed down from one generation of singing teachers to the next. Today, empirical research into the singing voice has the potential to benefit the singing community by documenting and systematically assessing the acquisition of vocal mastery. Since the 1980s, technology to measure vocal acoustics has become steadily more sophisticated and has been increasingly used in experimental research, with findings now incorporated into texts on singing.2 International authority Richard Miller asserts, It is the responsibility of the singing teacher in a scientific age to interpret and expand vocal traditions through the means of current analysis so that the viable aspects of tradition can be communicated in a systematic way.3 However, it often is difficult to see how the general principles established in scientific studies can be applied to the subtleties of developing individual vocal quality. To date, few studies link the vocal strategies used by singers to acoustic studies and perceptual judgments by pedagogues. This makes it difficult to draw firm conclusions about the implications of these scientific studies for singing pedagogy, as they rarely identify the teaching/learning approach of the subjects.4 This paper reports the first body of work to track a singing technique as practiced in the singing studio using a comprehensive approach to all aspects of singing research.5 As it is pedagogically informed and verified, this series of studies has the potential to advance substantially the fields of acoustic and perceptual assessment of voice in order to benefit the wider singing community and enhance pedagogic approaches. DEFINING OPEN THROAT TECHNIQUE Concepts relating to open throat can be traced throughout pedagogic and scientific singing literature.6 is defined as a complex process that is both a pedagogic instruction and a perceived sensation or action that results in a specific sound quality. Use of the technique makes a difference to vocal quality. Indeed, Vennard defined open throat as the condition agreed upon by most voice teachers as desirable for resonance.7 Current support for the use of open throat in singing technique is widespread.8 elicits a sound quality which is perceived as resonant,9 round,10 free,11 pure,12 rich and warm,13 and is attributed to freedom from constrictor tensions.14 The sound quality is linked to vocal actions: the preparation to sing or inhalation;15 through the surprise breath or smelling the rose imagery;16 and visualizing space within the throat, through an air-ball or soap bubble.17 Do expert singing teachers actually agree on the definition of open throat technique, and if so, on what such a technique was meant to achieve? Subjective terminology used in singing pedagogy does not always indicate a specific vocal instruction or action. Often terminology and meaning are not the same for each teacher. Communication of techniques in voice pedagogy can be improved by attempts to gain consensus on the use of terminology. This was the goal of our first study on open throat. We interviewed fifteen expert voice pedagogues to explore current thinking regarding terminology, pedagogy, sound quality, and the perceived physiology associated with open throat technique. …