Karin- McCoy- Ch4

 I find it so helpful to know exactly what is going on in someone's voice to know how to fix it. I have had multiple students who need to know exactly what is happening physiologically in their voice to understand how to make the correct sound. I have never quite known what to tell a breathy singer to do to sound clearer, now I know that they need to work on tightening their glottis and starting and stopping the airflow when the glottis adducts and abducts. 

I like the examples the text gives for changes in intensity. I understand the relationship between volume and adduction speed and closed quotient. The example given was clapping one's hands both in slow motion and then faster. The intensity of the slow-motion clap is lower; therefore, the resulting sound is quiet and muted. Clapping faster increases the intensity and results in a louder clapping sound. I plan on using this in my future lessons when a student struggles with projection and volume. 

I also never understood how increasing the thickness of the vocal folds increases the surface area in which the sound can be created resulting in more volume. My question is, how can I be aware of and teach being aware of using the TA and the CT muscles at the same time to create this sound? What exercises can I do to myelinate this skill? Could singers be made aware of the sensation this causes? If so, what does this feel like? How do I describe to a singer with quiet high notes how to flex the TA muscle just enough to add volume?

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