The Falsetto - What Does It (Or Can It) Express?

What does the falsetto express? Initially, one might think that singing in such a high register would be expressive of 'femininity'. That is, to sing in such a high voice is to express one's feminine or more youthful nature. However, as we saw through the course of our interesting discussion in class the other day, there's nothing essentially 'feminine' about the falsetto. For instance, Maxwell features the falsetto in "This Woman's Work", but I don't find this song feminine at all. I think what Maxwell expresses in "This Woman's Work" is not femininity, but rather vulnerability. But vulnerability needn't be feminine; for instance, a man's most courageous moment can be exactly when he's expressing his vulnerability towards the person he loves. In this sense I find Maxwell's use of the falsetto expressive of both masculinity and vulnerability. So what is the nature of the relationship between the falsetto, femininity, and vulnerability? Is there some single fixed relationship, or are there several cross-cutting relationships? Maybe the falsetto is expressive of vulnerability, since in singing in that register one's voice is more likely to crack or break. Since falsetto is by definition a non-standard register in which to sing, to sing it is to take a risk and deviate from a norm, which may make one vulnerable. And maybe it's because falsetto is associated with vulnerability, that it's also associated with femininity. Or no? What do you think?

Miller, Chapter 2: Travels to the Center of the Square

In Chapter 2 of Sacred Harp Singing and American Pluralism, Miller goes into detail about the tradition of Sacred Harp conventions and singings. Originating in the Southern U.S. the late nineteenth century, this tradition draws people from all over the country to join in singing anthems and hymns according to a notation system specific to Sacred Harp singing. This reading focuses particularly on the interaction between those who attend the singings and the formation into which they arrange themselves while singing. An entire convention (2+ days) or a singing (1 day) is geared around this formation, the "hollow square". A song leader stands in the center of this square with his back toward the alto section, facing the tenor section, with basses to the right and trebles to the left of him or her. The front row singers are almost always of higher experience levels and seniority. There have been times in the past when these singing events would draw crowds of around 1000 people, but these days they typically have an attendance of around 300 people. However, it seems that the energy, loyalty and attraction to this tradition is still very much alive.

A typical singing day would start with women waking early to begin preparing food for the "dinner-on-the-grounds." The convention chairman then might make announcements or signal the start of singing. At this point, people would take places in the hollow square and follow lessons led by the leader at the center of the square or sing the songs led by them. Anyone can volunteer to lead a song, but for most it takes a good amount of time and experience to work up the courage and skill to lead. Most members consider their first lead a turning point in their spiritual experience with Sacred Harp singing. After the singing, there is a memorial service for those members who have passed away since the previous singing event, followed by dinner-on-the-grounds.

Miller describes many facets of this event in great detail. There is definitely a sense of community fostered by the way in which the singers are arranged and the way newcomers come into the group. For example, there is a lot of play in group dynamics based on voice part, genders within the voice part, and physical orientation of that voice part during singing. Also, Miller touches on the idea of place vs. people as the primary driving force of a singing event. An indoor venue in Chicago for example tends to emphasize the importance of people joining together, whereas a beautiful rural space in Georgia plays a lot more into the event than the Chicago venue might.

There is also a lot of discussion about the different roles that members can take on during a singing. People can volunteer to lead songs, act as executive members, serve as arrangers, or serve on a committee. There is a lot of thought and planning that goes into making a singing or convention as powerful for the participants as possible.

Female Falsetto?

Opera singers often talk about the "whistle register," in women, which includes the E above high C and higher. People sometimes call this the "falsetto" register of a woman's voice.

From wikipedia:

"In European classical music, the whistle register is used primarily by coloratura sopranos. Many parts in the coloratura soprano repertoire extend beyond "high C" and often extend up to high F (F6). Although many coloratura sopranos use whistle tone vocal production to sing these notes, some operatic sopranos are capable of singing up to "high F" (F6) without utilizing the vocal production associated with the whistle register but remaining in the modal register. That being said, most coloratura sopranos do utilize the whistle register, particularly when singing staccato notes in rapid succession, during high trills, or other elaborate coloratura ornamentation in the upper tessitura. Rarely will coloraturas use whistle tone when doing high extended notes. However, singers like Mado Robin were noted for doing so. Also, some rare coloratura sopranos do not need to use whistle register at all. Probably the best-known example of the whistle register in European classical music is in the "Queen of the Night" aria (properly titled "Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen") [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ufeyarJxNQ] from the Mozart opera Die Zauberflöte; it calls for pitches up to F6"

Atma Means Soul

Come join us for Atma's 7th Annual Sping Show!

(and see if you can find the grain of our voices, haha)

Show Info

Rolling Stone: Atma Exposé

February 26 and 27, 2010

Doors open at 7:30pm | Show starts at 8:00pm

Class of '49 Auditorium

Houston Hall

3417 Spruce St.

Philadelphia, PA 19104

If you guys could come on Friday, that would be best! Tickets are typically $8 presale and $10 at the door, but if you let me know which night you would like to attend by Thursday, I will have tickets reserved for you at the door for $7 (just tell them you're with MUSC251)

Here's a little bit of musical background about Atma for you guys:

Atma, Sanskrit for soul, began 6 years ago when a bunch of girls who specialized mostly in South Asian music (both Hindustani and Carnatic) decided to start an a cappella group in which they could experiment vocally with new styles while preserving the traditional sound of Eastern music. Since then, Atma has incorporated a wide variety of Eastern and Western music, fusing all kinds of cultures and backgrounds to produce a sound that is uniquely our own.

One thing most people don't know about our a cappella group that is different from most is the way in which we arrange our music. Most other a cappella groups rely pretty heavily on notation for learning parts, but our group arranges everything aurally and vocally through recordings. Though this method may have been chosen for convenience or because it was the only way the original group founders knew how to arrange, I believe it has become integral to our sound and our awareness of the songs we perform. It forces us to know the songs in a different way -- we make corrections and sometimes change arrangements around based on the sound we collectively produce -- not because one member is singing a C# when she should be singing a D.

I could probably go on far too long about the little oddities that make Atma a group I really enjoy being a part of but I'll catch myself and end it here... in any case, I really do hope you guys come out to see the show if you have some time this weekend.. in the very least, it's definitely something different to do on a Friday night!

The Voice: Den Tandt and Frith

Please post your responses to the Den Tandt and Frith articles as comments to this thread.

Miller and My Saxophone Experience

In his article, "The Moan Within The Tone...", Doug Miller accesses the reasons of why the saxophone, once a pure Western Classical military instrument, was and continues to be incorporated into African-American popular music. One of the key points in his paper highlights the unique physical aspects of the saxophone in regard to vocalization of pitch. He writes that as a result of the characteristic structure of the saxophone and nature of a performer - the reed used, the embouchre, the voloume and column of air - unlike other instruments, the saxophone can be utilized to produce incredibly high pitches, bend pitches or flutter pitches. The nature of the instrument, therefore, provided a means by which African American sax players could break away from the confines of Western Classical music (which stressed a rigid embouchre and being in tune).
After I read these examples I could not help but completely identify with Miller's assessment in regard to my own musical background. I began playing the piano at the age of 7 and, like most practicing piano students at that age, wholly and completely stuck to playing the 'essentials' - Classical music that would establish my ability to sight-read, internalize rhythm, and establish dexterity. However, similiar to my piano-playing peers at the time, I truely hated playing said pieces as well as my instrument - I found that I could not relate to the music I was playing nor give my performances any piece of my own personality.
Now during my third grade year in elementary school, I went to an assembly where the band director gave a musical tutorial of all the instruments available in the band, hoping to recruit some new members. I watched my teacher play the flute, trumpet, drums, and clarinet and was not very impressed. He then picked up a tenor saxophone and played the sweetest, fat, jazzy, bluesy riff I had ever heard, exentuating each 'blue' note and adding his own dazzling personal timbre. At that moment I knew I had to play saxophone. The prospect of not having to stay within the confines of an eight note scale on the piano (through pitch bending and additional vocalization) excited and inspired me to establish my own sound.
From that year on I played alto saxophone in every band, marching band and jazz band I could be a part of and to this day, I revel in the fact that my saxophone is uniquely 'mine' and can only sound the way I want it to - something I'm sure the African-American jazz performers of the 40s and 50s would agree with.

Responses to Readings on the Body and Instruments

Please post your short responses to the readings (Baily and Miller) as comments to this thread (in order to avoid having multiple new threads).