Ben-McCoy-Ch5

At first, I thought this chapter about resonance was interesting. Actually, I have previous experience with harmonics because of my amateur saxophone playing. When learning the saxophone, it is common to “finger” a low note—a fundamental frequency—while a note that primarily emanates from the instrument is a note belonging to the harmonic series for the note being “fingered.” It allows one to play notes higher than the highest note allowed simply by pushing buttons (“fingering”), and the practice is thought to instill control over the instrument.

I wonder if the concept of harmonics explains, at least in part, why it is sometimes difficult for me to pick out the precise note that a baritone or bass is singing. Perhaps, as McCoy points out, the fact that a harmonic other than the fundamental frequency is stronger than the fundamental frequency contributes to this.

Reading about the Male Passaggio, I thought about my most recent lesson. Thomas and I talked a bit about a type of “transition” that occurs at G4: it seems that the mechanics behind a successful singing of a G4 would involve “essentially doing nothing,” allowing the G5 harmonic to coincide with a formant—a natural resonator.

I don’t think I fully understand the concept of “engaging the singer’s formant:” I think this would be a good discussion in class.

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