Bell Ringer 12/3/12
• How would you describe your voice?
Chapter 6
Section 1
Quote
• “The voice is an instrument which the artist must learn to use with suppleness and sureness, as if it were a limb.”
- Sarah Bernhardt French Actor (1845-1923)
The Uniqueness of Voice
• Musical instruments have timbre or tone color.• These help us identify the source of the musical
sound.• Your voice is part of your personality.• This helps you to identify a speaker without
even seeing the person• This type of identification includes timbre,
register, and range.
Voice
• Timbre describes the tone quality of a voice or instrument. (Chapter 2)
• Registers- vocal ranges• These are usually high, low, or medium in
pitch.• Range- the distance between the lowest and
highest pitches of the voice.
Listening
• CD 4 # 13 “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”• Try to identify the variety of sounds and tone
colors that he makes.
• CD 4 # 14 Interview with Bobby McFerrin• Listen as Bobby McFerrin tells you about his
unique style of vocal performance
Characterize the Voice
• Listen to these recordings and identify their voices in terms of timbre and register.
• CD 4 # 15-20• Bright, dark, harsh, heavy, hoarse, husky, light,
mellow, melodious, nasal, rich, rough, shrill, smooth, strained, sweet, tense, warm
• High, Medium, low
Bell Ringer 12/5/12
• What is the register? What levels are there?
Operatic Voices
• The system of classifying the voice uses soprano, alto, tenor and bass which was developed in the 17th century.
• Operatic voices are categorized according to range:• Range Male Female• Highest Countertenor Coloratura
soprano• High Tenor Soprano• Mid Baritone Mezzo-Soprano• Low Bass Contralto
Female Voices
• Coloratura- the soprano voice that is light and flexible enough to perform rapid scales and trills
• Soprano- the high female register• Mezzo-Soprano- the intermediate female
voice that sings in the lower part of the soprano range
• Contralto- the low female register with a full, rich, dark, and powerful quality
Listen
• Identify these voices using the 4 female voice types.
• CD 4 #21 “Ruhe sanft, mein holdes Leben” from Zaide, Beverly Sills
• CD 4 #22 “Quand je vous aimerai?” from Carmen, Denyce Graves
• CD4 #23 “Oh, What a Beautiful City,” Marian Anderson
Marian Anderson
• 1902-1993• American Operatic
Singer• Contralto• Found many doors
“closed” to her because she was African American
Male Voices
• Countertenor- the highest male voice with a falsetto range and quality and a register in the female alto range
• Tenor- the high male range with a powerful, ringing quality
• Baritone- the intermediate male voice• Bass- a lower male register with a rich,
robust, resonant, and full quality
Listening
• CD 4 # 24 “Venti, turbine” from Rinaldo, David Daniels
• CD 4 # 25 “ Che Gelida Manina” from La Boheme from Luciano Pavarotti
• CD 4 # 26 “Shall We Gather At the River” Sherrill Milnes
• CD 4 # 27 “Oh, chi piange?” from Nabucco, Samuel Ramey
Bell Ringer 12/6/12
• Why wasn’t Marian Anderson famous at the beginning of her career?
Andrea Bocelli
• Born 1958• Italian Operatic Singer• Tenor• Became completely
blind at 12 years old• Career got a boost
when tenors Corelli and Pavarotti gave their approval
Crossovers
• Singers like Bocelli and Charlotte Church crossed over from Classical to Pop
• Church’s record sales topped 10 million albums
• By age 14, she had already performed for former president Clinton and Queen Elisabeth of England.
• Listen to her sing “The Last Rose of Summer” CD 4 # 28
Quiz 12/6/12
• 1. What is the highest female voice?• 2. What is a register?• 3. What is the medium male voice?• 4. Who was a famous female opera star?• 5. What is the distance between the highest
and lowest pitches of the voice?