Harmonics
present in a sung tone can be individually reinforced or amplified and
perceived as discrete pitches (sounding like whistles) as tongue and/or lip
action changes the shape of the vocal tract. The sung fundamental is
produced using Western art music phonation, usually without vibrato so that the harmonics
nasalization, which tends to filter
out the fundamental and focuses greater attention on the harmonics.
The
examples discussed below demonstrate harmonics reinforced over either a single pitch
or a continuously changing fundamental. One or more harmonics may be individually
reinforced over a single pitch, both ad libitum and
as a designated, specific harmonic. The vocalist's skill may even allow the
composer to write a melody with the harmonics. A
rapid movement through a series of harmonics will probably shift the listener's
attention to timbral changes rather than
recognition of specific pitches. A shimmering effect may result from rapid
oscillation between two adjacent harmonics (see below).
Improvisation
over a unison fundamental pitch represents one musical context for reinforced
harmonics. Early improvisations done by the Extended Vocal Techniques Ensemble
during rehearsal sessions were frequently structured in the following manner: A single
pitch comfortable for both men and women was chosen, usually F# (184 Hz)3 or G (196 Hz) below middle C (261 Hz), and sustained without
break by staggered breathing. An approximate duration was set, perhaps 5-10
minutes, during which an emphasis first on the
lower harmonics was to gradually progress to the inclusion of higher harmonic reinforcement
within a specified dynamic structure of perhaps soft to loud. Tape recordings
of a number of these early sessions are filed in the archive of the Center for
Music Experiment
at the University of California, San Diego.
The first notated composition written for EVTE, The Owl and the Pussycat by Deborah Kavasch, includes an improvisatory section on a unison G (196 Hz) built on the last word of the text, " moon." The score (Figure 1) indicates that only those harmonics in a fifth or octave relationship to the fundamental are to be reinforced at first: others can be reinforced later. The instruction "Create a dancing texture, active" is made possible by including several techniques in combination with or as a variation of the basic individual harmonic reinforcement. The "dancing" characteristics arise principally from those techniques which rapidly change the pitches of the harmonics or which interrupt or alter the fundamental and harmonics. The term "glissandi" refers to ascending or descending sweeps through a series of harmonics. An oscillation between harmonics, which is subsequently referred to as " harmonic oscillation," results from a backward and forward movement of the tongue and is quite effective when produced rapidly between two harmonics. If the fundamental pitch is low, two high adjacent harmonics are easily oscillated: if the fundamental is high, two low adjacent harmonics respond well. Oscillation of the fundamental, similar to vibrato, changes the pitch of the fundamental at regular or varying speeds, causing the reinforced harmonic to change pitch at the same rate. The rapid, repeated note effect of ululation (see III. Ululation) rather evenly and quickly interrupts the fundamental, these pulsations help emphasize the harmonics as well. When another voice adds a fundamental pitch one octave higher than the original fundamental, it generates a new but closely related series of harmonics which increases the complexity of the texture'4 (Tape Example 1).
.
Figure 1: Reinforced
harmonics in The Owl and the Pussycat by Deborah Kavasch
(Tape Example 1)
Another
use of reinforced harmonics over a drone appears in Sweet Talk by Deborah Kavasch. In one
section the harmonics are specifically those which result from a slow glide
through the vowel sounds of the syllable "beau" (as in
"beautiful" ), i.e. a slow glide between
[ i ] and [ u ]5. The duration and dynamics of each entrance are notated,
showing specific
breathing points (rests) and definite, perceivable entrances (Tape Example 2). Although a drone results from the continual overlapping of
entrances, the whole is not perceived as a
smooth, unbroken fundamental as in the previous example.
One further
example involving harmonics reinforced over a single pitch drone illustrates
a slightly different usage involving different rates of change in harmonics generated
from similar texts. In the opening section of Deborah Kavasch's Requiem. (Tape Example 3), the
upper three taped voices sing one syllable per measure (B 247 Hz); the upper
three live voices sing the same text on the same pitch at one
syllable per two measures. Harmonics appropriate to each vowel are reinforced without
vibrato. This emphasis of a particular harmonic determined by the specified vowel aids in
tuning the unison and provides a type of countermelody to the drone, in this instance two countermelodies. Amplification with microphones for each
vocalist aids in projecting the harmonics.
Nasalized,
reinforced harmonics ad libitum on specific pitches provide a striking beginning
to Edwin London's Psalm. of These Days II (Tape
Example 4). The intelligibility of the word "Lord" varies due to the
changing harmonics as well as its long duration (three measures).
Although the initial unison D# (311 Hz) expands to a four-note chord spanning a
minor seventh, the fundamental pitches together with their harmonics of the " r" in "Lord" are still close enough to create a rather
dense texture. Compare this with a later example of
reinforced harmonics on the same word, in which the fundamental pitches are spread over approximately a two
and one-half octave range (Tape Example 5).
Both
nasalized and non-nasalized harmonics are reinforced over slowly gliding fundamental
pitches against a background of computer-generated tape sounds in Joji Yuasa's My Blue Sky in Southern California (Tape
Example 6). The fundamental pitch is chosen at random
by the vocalist and gradually ascends or descends as indicated in the graphic score.
Unusual effects are achieved by pitch changes in both the fundamental and
harmonics which may move at varying rates in similar or
opposite directions to each other. In order to be
easily heard in this very loud and dense section, the vocalists tend to choose and
nasalize the higher harmonics (towards UP, creating a
rather buzzy, piercing quality in the long pitch glides.
In another
section of the same composition, the oscillation between several pairs of low
harmonics of a rather high fundamental (approximately A 880 Hz) is heard
against a sparse background of very soft clicks and other similar
short, nonpitched sounds (Tape Example 7). The
higher the fundamental, the more difficult it becomes to reinforce its highest harmonics.
In this instance, the oscillations occur between various combinations of the first three
or four harmonics (including the fundamental), which may acocunt
for the pulsating whistle effect during
part of the example. Oscillations between low harmonics (of a high or low
fundamental) may also be more striking because of the greater intervallic distance
between the pitches of the lower harmonics. For example, the oscillation
between the (1) fundamental (or first harmonic) and second
harmonic covers one octave; (2) second and third
harmonics covers a fifth; (3) third and fourth harmonics covers a fourth; (4) fourth and fifth harmonics
covers a major third, and so on, the distance always smaller.
At one point in Deborah Kavasch's Tintinnabulation, harmonic oscillations occur simultaneously in several voices. The fundamental pitches are each a half step apart (F 350 Hz, F# 370 Hz, and G 392 Hz) with the harmonic oscillations of each pitch determined by the same [ill] vowel alternation (Figure 2). Such a close pitch combination results in an overall pulsating or shimmering effect rather than the perception of individual harmonics (Tape Example 8).
Figure 2: Harmonic oscillations in Tintinnabulation by Deborah Kavasch
A
vocalist's increased skill and accuracy in reinforcing harmonics allows the
corn-poser to specify more particular uses. Simple melodies are possible,
especially when using the lower three to three and one-half octaves of
harmonics (first seven to twelve harmonics). Novices can quickly learn
to reinforce the melody of the traditional bugle call, "Taps," which uses a one-octave span of harmonics, specifying
the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth
harmonics. The lower three octaves of harmonics are more favorable for writing melodies based on reinforced harmonics because it
is easier to distinguish between the lower
harmonics than between those which are less than the interval of a second or
third apart. Generally, the lower the
fundamental the more harmonics can be reinforced with clarity. If the
fundamental is too low, however, the lowest harmonics become difficult or impossible to reinforce. Although this varies with
the individual voice, a comfortable lower
limit for a fundamental pitch within which the vocalist, male or female, can
clearly reinforce the lowest harmonics
can be set at approximately F 175 Hz (below middle C). Fundamental pitches lower than this
arbitrary point are increasingly more favorable for the discriminatory reinforcement of higher
harmonics, particularly those in the third and fourth octaves above the
fundamental.
A melody
formed by specified reinforced harmonics appears in the second "Hosanna"
of the Kavasch Requiem. (Tape
Example 9). Against a taped background of four voices
singing for the most part in octave F#'s (185 and 370
Hz; note that a strong C# 1108.5 Hz is generated by the [a] vowel), the vocalists
form melodic phrases using certain of the lowest seven harmonics of three F#'s
(92.3, 185, and 370 Hz) and two C#s (138.5
and 277 Hz). The score shows regular noteheads
(stems down) for the sung fundamentals and diamond-shaped noteheads
(stems up) for the harmonics. For greater clarity and reliability,
the melody of harmonics is always carried by at least two voices; all voices
are amplified with microphones. The use of voices on tape singing a slowly
paced text to a very simple harmonic structure provides pitch stability
and avoids interference with the audibility of the harmonics produced by the live
performers but helps to mask vowels resulting from reinforcing the specified harmonics of the
live portion (which do not form intelligible words). The harmonics form a melody quite
similar to that which is sung in the first "Hosanna" and should, by association,
be more easily recognized or perceived by the listener than a new melody
would be.
Reinforced
harmonics is one of the few techniques which does not
always, or even most often, require individual or general microphone
amplification. Especially when reinforced over a drone, the harmonics are often perceived as
non-directional, filling the entire space as though surrounding the listener. The
fundamental, however, is usually directional and
perceived as originating in one particular spot. Amplification is recommended when the
harmonics must be heard above a very loud or dense texture, or for better projection of specific melodic
passages.
Ululation
The
technique of ululation is perceived as a rapid, relatively even interruption of
the basic sound. It is articulated by aspiration (puffs of air or "his") or glottal stops and can be applied to virtually
any sound, voiced or unvoiced. Children often ululate
a loud, nasal
sound to imitate the firing of machine guns or the bleating of sheep.
Several
forms of ululation are discussed below: (1) ululation of a single pitch or series of
pitches; (2) nonpitched ululation, or an ululated
whisper; (3) ululated glottal clicks, referred to as "glottal whisper;" and
(4) cross-register ululations, i.e., a very rapid alternation
of two pitches produced by a rather loud ululation in the area of a natural register break.
The opening section of The Owl and the Pussycat, preceding the narrator's first entrance, builds a gradually thickening texture of soft ululations. The score (Figure 3) indicates the progression of time in minutes and seconds and shows a graphic outline of approximate pitch levels and directions. Each box represents from top to bottom the high to low pitch range of the individual vocalist. The taped example (Tape Example 10) demonstrates the effect of several voices softly ululating an aspirated [u] in relatively low pitch ranges. The next example (Tape Example 11) includes ululation of some of the vowels and consonants of the word "pussycat." Appropriate vowels and consonants are deliberately aligned with similar ones in the narrator's text. Ululations can be used not only with short or long passages of a single vowel or to extend and color individual words but to articulate melodic phrases as well. The vocalists ululate several short melodic fragments set to the words, "0 lovely Pussy," "0 Pussy, my love," and " What a lovely Pussy you are." This 90-second section gradually expands in total pitch range and density, and ends with a sudden shift from soft to loud ululations. The taped example (Tape Example 12) is excerpted from the first part of the section.
Figure
3: Ululations in The
Owl and the Pussycat (Tape Example 10)
Ululation
of an unvoiced whisper is used in the "Lacrymosa
dies illa" section of Requiem. In this
section the unvoiced sounds are divided into four categories: (1) a straight or
uninterrupted whisper; (2) measured (sixteenth-note) pulsations or aspirations of a
whisper; (3) ululations of a whisper, which are faster than the pulsations and
result in an almost shivering sound; and (4) measured or
unmeasured "glottal whisper," a term which refers
to a rapid series and/or ululation of glottal clicks. The ululated whispers attempt to
support the imagery suggested by the text (" A day of tears is that day" ) (Tape
Example 13).
The latter
part of Example 13 includes a soft ululation of two alternating pitches. This sound may
be related to the production of a glottal whisper to which voice is added. Although it can be
produced throughout most of the egressive singing
range, it is usually referred to as a cross-register ululation. This type of
ululation usually settles into the interval of a third and is most easily produced on the
vowels [i] and [u]. Because it is not as reliable
as the simple ululation or the louder cross-register ululation, it should be allowed a
certain amount of preparation time. It is least tiring in the lower female
range (approximately middle C to C 526 Hz). (As is true of
certain variations of the EVTE's techniques,
the soft cross-register ululation has been perfected by only one member of the ensemble and is probably less
likely to be produced by a majority of vocalists.)
A more
extended use of the soft cross-register ululation appears in Roger Reynold's A Merciful Coincidence. In Tape
Example 14, the ululations cover a wide pitch range and appear as background material
near the end of the piece. The designation "soft" in the term "soft
cross-register ululation" refers more to the physical sensation of the vocalist
in producing the pulsation, or interruption of the sound, than to the actual
dynamic level. In this example the higher ululations become much louder but
are still softer than a regular cross-register
ululation at a comparable pitch level.
The term
"cross-register ululation" refers to an ululation produced in the
area of a natural register break6. It results in a rapid
alternation of two pitches, which creates the illusion of two pitches ululated
simultaneously. The intervallic distance between the two pitches
varies with the individual vocalist but usually falls into one of two categories. The first
category emphasizes narrow intervals, i.e., approximately a minor second to a fifth. The
intervallic distance can be controlled so that either one specified interval or
a continuous glissando from narrowest to widest interval (or vice versa) can be
produced. The glissando appears to be most easily produced by the
upper pitch, which moves towards or away from the stationary lower pitch.' This
glissando of one of the pitches is best controlled in the register break around middle C. The
second category emphasizes wide intervals, i.e., approximately a sixth to an octave
or ninth. There does not seem to be the same degree of intervallic control possible in the wider
cross-register ululation, which generally
locks into one interval. This type usually occurs in either the male or female voice around the middle C register break area. Either
type of cross-register ululation may occur in
male or female voices but both types do not generally occur in one voice.
Cross-register
ululation, as described above, requires more energy than simple ululation
and is necessarily rather loud. It sounds particularly loud in the male voice since the
first register break at which it can be produced includes pitches fairly high in
the male chest voice range. For the same reason,
cross-register ululations in the female voice around the
second register break area are usually extremely loud. Ululations
crossing into the whistle stop area,
however, are often much softer. Those
cross-register ululations which occur higher in the voice are usually more tiring
than the lower ones and should be used
with consideration.
Both simple and cross-register ululations enhance the text of the " quantus tremor..." ("how great a quaking..." ) section of Requiem. A total of eight voices produces the effect of many more, an effect due both to the pulsations and to the extra number of pitches generated by crossing registers, i.e., alternating two pitches (Tape Example 15). A later example (Tape Example 16, Figure 4) combines several other techniques with cross-register ululations which are indicated by a general pitch level and which end in a quick upward glissando.
Figure
4: Cross-register ululations combined with other extended
vocal techniques in Requiem by Deborah Kavasch
(Tape Example 16)
Ululations
form a major portion of Tintinnabulation. The last section emphasizes high
cross-register ululations alone and in combination with high, wide vibrati and trills on glockenspiel bars (Tape
Example 17).
Tape Example 14
(from Reynold's A Merciful Coincidence), cited
previously to illustrate soft cross-register ululations, also provides an
example of a loud cross-register ululation.
Although the vocalist is probably not crossing registers at all times during
the ascent, the overlap of registers seems to be greatly
expanded with an overall effect of a continuous
glissando of alternating pitches.
Vocal
Fry
Vocal fry
is perceived as dry, clicklike pulses and is often
used to imitate the opening of a creaky door (hence, another common
designation as " creaky voice"). The pulse rate
of vocal fry can be controlled to produce a range from very slow individual clicks to a
stream of clicks so fast that it is heard as a discrete pitch. It can be
produced both egressively (exhaling) and ingressively (inhaling). The individual vocalist may find one mode
easier to control than the other in terms of such parameters as pulse rate, dynamics,
and pitch. The term "pitch," as used here in relation to vocal fry,
refers to the range of perceived pitches rather than to any implication
regarding the mode of phonation. Egressive and ingressive vocal fry can
greatly expand the practical pitch range (singing and -
speaking) of the individual vocalist, male or female.
Egressive vocal fry can be controlled to merge with and extend
downwards the lowest part of the egressive
singing range. It allows the same degree of pulse rate control as
ingressive vocal fry but does not appear to produce individual pitches or
pulses as loudly. Microphone amplification is usually necessary to
project both modes of vocal fry. An attempt to produce ingressive vocal fry very loudly
can result in dryness in the throat or
coughing.
Ingressive
vocal fry can produce very stable pitches, i.e., pitches which can be sustained with
little or no wavering, in the area of E 41 Hz to C# 69 Hz in both male and
female voices. Words are easily articulated in this range, as well as in higher
ranges, although many of the consonants must be performed egressively for greater clarity or to avoid a
lisping effect. As ingressive pitched vocal fry rises in pitch range, it
gradually resembles egressive singing,
especially above the area of middle C, where it seems to lose any resemblance to the click-like quality of the lower pitches or individual
pulses. This area can be
controlled in terms of pitch, duration, vibrato, and dynamics (although not as
reliably as a comparable egressive range) and is
particularly useful in producing very soft, high pitches (area above B 967 Hz).
Ingressive phonation in the range above middle C has greater practical value in producing more unusual sounds
such as complex multiphonics (see VI. Complex Multiphonics).
Pitched ingressive vocal fry in the area between approximately D 73 Hz and
middle C seems to be the least practical for individual pitch control or
other more specific uses, although speech in this range may acquire an unusual
timbre.
Ingressive
vocal fry (or low ingressive speech) is the mode of voice production used by
the narrator in The Owl and the Pussycat. Tape Example 11
(see III. Ululation) demonstrates the resultant voice quality and
illustrates the possibility of wide speech inflections. Later in
the piece, all the vocalists are required to speak a short phrase ingressively, the group as a whole covering a
wide pitch range from low to high (Tape Example 18).
Specific
low pitches are produced by ingressive vocal fry in long passages of the "Dies
irae" ("Day of wrath"
) section of Requiem. The buzzy quality
of the ingressive pitch B
61 Hz, combined with the characteristics of the other techniques, seemed to the
composer particularly appropriate to the
mood suggested by the text (Tape Example 19). The ingressive pitched vocal fry which doubles the lower note of
the octave chanted (see V. Chant) by another
vocalist is more reliable than the chant and insures that the low B will always
be present.
One
instance of ingressive vocal fry in John Celona's Micro-Macro
demonstrates an unusually accurate imitation of the taped
computer-generated sweep of harmonics on the pitch
Db 69 Hz. In accordance with the instructions to blend with and imitate the tape, the vocalist sustains the
same Db and reinforces harmonics in a wide ascending and descending sweep (Tape Example 20), creating a timbre
very similar to the taped pitch. A short excerpt from the "Libera animas"
(" Deliver the souls" ) section of Requiem
requires fast pitch and text
changes of low ingressive pitched vocal fry in the lowest voice to create an organ
pedal effect (Tape Example 21).
Loud, nonpitched vocal fry begins the "Rex tremendae majestatis" ("King of
fearful majesty" ) section of Requiem
(Tape Example 22). The unison rhythm of the taped voices is answered in
unison by the live voices, both at a fortissimo level made possible through
close-miked amplification. Immediately preceding this
section, a very different effect is created through a single voice producing a softer, slower
vocal fry against a background of sparse
whispers (Tape Example 23).
Very slow,
individually pulsed nonpitched vocal fry forms the
basis for text articulation in Roger Reynolds' Still (Tape Example 24).
Syllables and words are formed and gradually
perceived over long, fairly even pulse streams. The eerieness
of inflected but unvoiced, pulsating words is often increased by overlaid
whispers and by the air sounds between pulses of the vocalist's slowly indrawn breath. A
slightly different example of nonpitched,
individually pulsed vocal fry from the middle of David Evan Jones' Pastoral (Tape
Example 25) demonstrates an interplay of varying pulse speeds between live and taped voices.
Chant
The term " chant" refers to one technique of singing an
octave multiphonic, i.e., one voice
producing simultaneously two pitches one octave apart. Low-pitched chant (the lower pitch
in the area of B 61 Hz to D 73 Hz) resembles chant used in certain Tibetan Tantric Bhuddist schools. This Tibetan
chant sounds like a three-note chord because of a strong
reinforced harmonic above the octave multiphonic.
When chant is produced with higher pitches, the harmonic content is less noticeable
and the sound is thinner and buzzier. The vocalist's physical sensation of chant may be
described as a light singing tone combined
with vocal fry. The sung tone is the upper pitch of the octave, and the vocal fryseems to lock into place with it to produce the lower pitch.
This rather delicate process renders
the chant less reliable than other techniques; the least amount of phlegm may necessitate considerable clearing of the throat to
produce a clear, unbroken, resonant sound. In
some instances, a loud sung tone preceding a chanted octave seems to prepare
the vocalist in the same way that clearing the throat would remove a mucus
obstruction. One example of this occurs at
the end of Psalm of These Days II (Tape Example 26). The vocalist generally
has little or no trouble chanting a C (130 plus 65 Hz) after several seconds'
rest following a quadruple forte Bb 233 Hz. In this example the original
notation showed only a low C (65 Hz). The. vocalist could not produce this note in his normal singing range and chose chant as the technique which would
produce a C 65 Hz that would blend best with the other pitches. Chant is
used effectively by both men and women to produce pitches lower than those in
the normal singing range.
Chant seems
to require an extremely steady airflow to maintain a smooth, unwavering
tone. It is best produced with straight tone. The addition of vibrato, which alters
pitch and/or intensity, or ululations, which regularly interrupt the airflow,
might upset the delicate balance of whatever vocal adjustment produces the
chant. Fast pitch changes are less dependable than long or repeated notes
and may result in the loss of the lower
chanted pitch.
One or more
of the following suggestions may insure a reliable chant production at a
specific point in a composition. The chant may be: (1) prerecorded on tape; (2)
performed by several vocalists simultaneously; or (3) used in combination with
other techniques which would double the pitches of the chant. The
lower chanted pitch is usually the
first to disappear, leaving a weak or unsteady upper pitch.
The opening
of Requiem uses chant to highlight certain portions of the text. A solo voice
on prerecorded tape provides a reliable basis for the live soloist to double selected
words with chant. Refer to Tape Example 3, in which the soloist chants with the
tape on the words "Domine"
and "Deus in Sion," as well as the entire last
sentence (Tape Example 27).
The
"Dies irae" section of Requiem begins
with chant and pitched ingressive vocal fry
combined on tape (refer to Tape Example 19). The texture gradually thickens with additional
taped voices chanting on higher pitches (each F# and B up to B 493 Hz). Some chanted
pitches are doubled with egressive singing or
ingressive pitched vocal fry; the live voices use
either chant or vocal fry on the lowest pitches. Tape Example 28 provides a short excerpt from the most dense part of the section.
Nonpitched chant
combined with vocal fry and glottal whispers produces a quite different
total sound. These techniques are combined in both live and taped voices in Requiem (Tape
Example 29), using the words "dona eis
requiem. Amen" at the end of the " lacrymosa" section.
Low chant,
even when soft, is generally quite resonant and full. This may explain in
part why it can effectively produce a settled feeling or a cadential
sense of resting point or arrival. Isolated examples of this cadential quality appear at the end of Psalm of These
Days II on the last syllable of " forever"
(refer to Tape Example 26) and on the word "sleep"
in Pastoral (Tape Example 30). A more extended use of chant to produce the
sense of a strong final cadence appears in the continual overlapping
of live and taped voices chanting a
low B (123 plus 61 Hz) in the last section of Requiem (Tape Example 31).
Two
instances of chant in Psalm of These Days II illustrate a sudden shift
in several parameters when chant immediately follows normal sung tones
without vibrato. In both examples (Tape Example 32, 33) pitches become much
lower and dynamics much softer, and there is an obvious timbral
shift to a thinner, buzzier quality. Even though
three of the four voices in the first example drop only one pitch, the addition
of the lower octave suggests
a large intervallic leap. The pitch shift in the second example is much more extreme,
the distance in each voice covering two to three octaves. In both instances,
the sudden dynamic reduction is a function of
the chant technique, especially since only general rather than
individual microphone amplification is used.
Chant
functions as an ornament to the word "my" in Psalm of These Days
11 (Tape Example 34). In this
instance, the instructions for two of the four voices indicate "multi-phonic
chant on and off." Each voice sustains one pitch with several similar ornamental
figures of rapid pitch changes resembling a trill, the chant adding a lower
octave at random.
Complex
Multiphonics
The term
"complex multiphonics" rather loosely
designates a cluster of sounds produced egressively or ingressively by one voice. The cluster may be perceived as
a number of non-intervallically related pitches
resembling noise or as a complex mixture of vocal fry
with other sounds or pitches. The total mixture can cover a narrow or wide band of
sound at various general pitch levels (low, medium, high) as well as on and around
specific, perceivable pitches. Complex multiphonics vary greatly among individual vocalists
but are fairly consistent for each individual. Those which are most reliable
for the individual vocalist can generally be reproduced with
a similar degree of complexity at approximately
the same pitch levels.
The major
difference between complex egressive and ingressive multiphonics lies in the amount
of air used to produce them. The egressive version,
referred to as " forced blown" by EVTE, requires a large amount of air, is
usually fairly loud, and can be sustained for a short time only. Although it is possible to
produce complex ingressive multi-phonics with a large amount of air, this yields a gasping
sound and may lead to coughing or choking. However, if a very small amount of air is
gradually drawn in, very complex multiphonics can be
sustained for a much longer time (one long breath). The physical sensation is
similar to ingressive vocal fry. Both types of multiphonics
are best amplified with microphones to avoid undue strain on the vocalist in
an attempt to make them louder. Both ingressive and egressive
multiphonics tend to tire the voice more quickly than other techniques and
should be used carefully.
A short
burst of multiphonics supports the climax of a middle
section of Requiem at the words " confutatis
maledictis, flammis accribus addictis" (when
sentence is passed on the damned and all are sent to piercing flames" ).
The upper two of four taped voices hold a long, high ingressive multiphonic while the lower two have several repeated lower
egressive bursts
(refer to Tape Example 16). The combination of these multiphonics with high whistles, vocal
fry, and cross-register ululations creates a complex texture covering a wide, approximate
pitch range. In a much longer section in Still (Tape Example 35), the
illusion of a light wind gradually developing to hurricane proportions
is achieved through various combinations
of whistles, high ingressive pitches, and complex multiphonics.
Since complex multiphonics do not always "speak" immediately, it is wise to allow for some preparation. Several possible types of preparation may include: (1) using other loud or complex sounds to cover the entrance of the multiphonic; (2) instructing the vocalist with the most reliable multiphonic to enter first if several voices are to produce multiphonics; (3) preceding the multiphonic with a sound from which it is relatively easy to build the multiphonic. One example of the last suggestion occurs in Requiem in the "Rex tremendae majestatis" section (Tape Example 36). In both taped and live parts, vocal fry is followed by high, complex multiphonics. The physical sensation in producing both techniques is somewhat similar, and one seems to follow the other quite easily. The long sustained multiphonic on "salva me" near the end of the example is prepared by the shorter preceding multiphonics in the same voice and its entrance is covered by multiphonics in other voices.