Technique
The term "belt" is sometimes mistakenly described as the use of chest voice in the higher part of the voice. The chest voice is a very general term for the sound and muscular functions of the speaking voice, singing in the lower range, and the voice used to shout. Still, all those possibilities require help from the muscles in the vocal folds and a thicker closure of the vocal folds. The term "chest voice" is therefore often a misunderstanding, as it describes muscular work in the chest-area of the body, but the "sound" described as "chest voice" is also produced by work of the vocal folds. However, the proper production of the belt voice according to some vocal methods involves minimizing tension in the throat and change of typical placement of the voice sound in the mouth, bringing it forward into the hard palate.
It is possible to learn classical vocal methods like bel canto and also to be able to belt; in fact, many musical roles now require it. The belt sound is easier for some than others, but the sound is possible for classical singers, too. It requires muscle coordinations not readily used in classically trained singers, which may be why some opera singers find learning to belt challenging.
In order to increase the number of high notes one can belt, one must practice. This can be by repeatedly attempting to hit the note in a melody line, or by using vocalise programs utilizing scales. Many commercial learn-to-sing packages have a set of scales to sing along to as their main offering, with which the purchaser must practice often to see improvement.
'Belters' are not exempt from developing a strong head voice, as the more resonant their higher register in head voice, the better the belted notes in this range will be. Some belters find that after a period of time focusing on the belt, the head voice will have improved and, likewise, after a period of time focusing on the head voice, the belt may be found to have improved.
Read more about this topic: Belting (music)
Famous quotes containing the word technique:
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—Aldous Huxley (1894–1963)
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—Raymond Chandler (1888–1959)
“The audience is the most revered member of the theater. Without an audience there is no theater. Every technique learned by the actor, every curtain, every flat on the stage, every careful analysis by the director, every coordinated scene, is for the enjoyment of the audience. They are our guests, our evaluators, and the last spoke in the wheel which can then begin to roll. They make the performance meaningful.”
—Viola Spolin (b. 1911)