Building Vocal Strength With Sustained Tone Warm-Ups

Author(s): Duane Cottrell

Source: The Choral Journal, Vol. 56, No. 3 (OCTOBER 2015), pp. 73-79
Published by: American Choral Directors Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/24580635
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 7"

On the Voice mm
SHARON HANSEN, EDITOR V

Building
BuildingVocal
VocalStrength
Strength
With
With
Sustained
Sustained
Tone Warm-Ups
Tone Warm-Ups

By
By Duane
DuaneCottrell
Cottrell

I am not a runner. But several long-term conditioning and the right In an article titled, "First T
years ago, in my youthful naivete, kind of exercise. First," voice teacher and pedag
I signed up for a 5K race without In a recent conversation, a col- Stephen Austin begins, "M
undergoing any physical training be- league who teaches middle school Cal methods begin with perh
forehand. The race was short enough choir asked what might help his simplest of all vocal gestu
that I was able to walk across the young singers develop vocal strength, sustained tone. The practi
finish line, but I felt terrible, and for Further conversations with other col- common to be accidental and
days afterward my body punished me leagues revealed this to be a common found in treatises from the eig
for my foolishness. Serious runners question among choral directors of century to the present day."1 He
know that you must follow a detailed all levels. The answer lies in the fact on to explore the practice as
and specific training regimen when that the vocal mechanism mosdy con- in the writings of many grea
preparing for a long-distance race, sists of muscles, and while there may teachers from the past to the
The lungs, muscles, joints, and other be some natural variation in size and including Giambattista M
body systems must be conditioned shape from one person to another, Laure Cinti-Damoreau, Dom
gradually over time until running the these vocal muscles can be developed Crivelli, Julius Stockhausen, Fr
desired distance becomes easy. At- and strengthened in any singer of any W. Root, Edmund Myer,
tempting to run an endurance race age. Just like a runner training for a pinger, and Richard Miller. He
of any distance without training is race, those who are not gifted with the Mancini, who stated:
nonsensical, and for the large major- kind of deep, rounded vocal folds that
ity of people, success is impossible, naturally produce a beautiful tone It will prove to be of gre
Yet this is often precisely what we ask Can develop them through the right help to a pupil who h
our young singers to do. Singing is a kind of training. weak and limited voice,
complex physical activity of strength whether it be soprano or con
and endurance that takes coordina- _ _ tralto. He must exercise with
tion of muscle activity and physi- An Historical Approach a solfeggio with sustained
ological processes that require specific Fortunately, teachers of singing notes in his daily study. The
training to develop. Success cannot be have been including this kind of vocal result will be further assured
achieved without a commitment to training in their practice for centuries. jf sucp solfeggio is kept

CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 56 Number 3 73

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 within the limit which the up canon. Many choral warm-ups builder of the instrument. Sustaining
voice permits at that time. It include scales and arpeggios, but power will increase vocal stamina and
must be suggested to those few promote the use of the simple ensure vocal health."4
who are confronted by these sustained tone. (Although, in a 2007
conditions, to increase the article appearing in the On the Voice
volume of their voices each article series, Austin lists "sostenuto" Recent Research
day little by little, directing as the first of twelve exercises choral The benefits of this historical
them thus, with the aid of directors can use to build strong training exercise have been suggested
art and continuous exercise, voices.3) If sustained tones were used in numerous modern research stud
until they become vigorous in the voice-training regimen of such ies. In the 1980s, speech language
and sonorous.2 a significant number of teachers pathologist Joseph Stemple developed
from the eighteenth and nineteenth a protocol he called the "vocal func
Although a significant number centuries, would they not provide tion exercises."3 These exercises were
of teachers throughout history have the same benefits today? As Richard developed for use by patients who
used this simple exercise to build and Miller states, "Where voice technique had speaking difficulties, and were
strengthen the voice, somehow it is is founded on systematically acquired designed to improve function and
not part of the typical choral warm- skills, sostenuto fills its role as a efficiency in the voice by giving the
laryngeal and respiratory muscles a
refined, sustained isometric workout.
(Isometric exercises are based on sin
gle, maximum contractions of muscle
WINGATE UNIVERSITY groups in which the contraction is
sustained for a period of several
Department of Music seconds without motion. In contrast,
isokinetic or isotonic exercises allow

the muscle to change length at a

Wingate Music Press
very slow rate, and calisthenic-type
presents:
exercises are composed of numerous
Folk Songs
of South Africa short muscle contractions.6)

Vocal Function Exercises

Educational Resources
wingatemusicpress.com (Repeat each exercise twice):

Dr. Kenney Potter

Sustain the vowel [i] as long as
possible on a comfortable note.
Director of Choral Activities

Glide from the lowest to the highest

note in the frequency range, us
ing [o] or a lip trill.

Glide from the highest to the lowest

note in the frequency range, us
ing [o] or a lip trill.

74 CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 56 Number 3

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• Sustain the musical notes middle C epiglottis ve«tlbuk» of the larynx

and D, E, F, G above middle C

hyoid bone
(one octave lower for males) for as
long as possible, using [o].
jlhyrokl cart. \ ■ vestibular fold
vocal fold
These exercises were found to be
vocal ligament t " . vocall. muscle
effective in improving vocal efficiency,
which is essentially an ideal ratio of
acoustic output and aerodynamic infraglottic space

energy. An efficient voice is one that THE LARYNX

produces the maximum sound with

the least amount of effort. Because

these exercises were effective with pa

Figure 2.
Figu
Cross-section of the Larynx.
tients exhibiting speech pathologies,
Oregon Oreg
Health and Science University
researchers Sabol, Lee, and Stemple I I Ear, Nose and Throat. "Voice and Swal
Ear,
conducted a study using healthy sing- Figurt LThyroarytenoid
Figure
low Henry .. 0HSUeJ
ers in order to determine whether ~ ■ - • " - ■ — •*
Gray,Gray,
Anatomy of the Human A
Body (Phil- _ohsu.edu/xd
www
these exercises could improve the ef- adelphia:
adelph Lea & Febiger, 1918), 1083.
services/nw-clinic-for-voice-and-s
serv
ficiency of the singing voice.7 It was
lowing/anatomy,
lowi cfm (accessed on
found that the subjects using the vo- the eighteenth and nineteenth cen
31, 2015.)
cal function exercises "demonstrated turies we can improve the quality
significant improvements in posttest and efficiency of our singers' voices.
aerodynamic measures of flow rate, even breath management, and these
phonation volume, and maximum muscles need to be conditioned and
phonation times, suggesting an in- Strength, Tone, and strengthened. The thyroaryten
crease in glottal efficiency." The vocal Breath Management muscles (also called the vo
function exercises were studied again One of the primary benefits of muscles) are attached to the thy
in 2011 by Tay, Phyland, and Oates sustained tones in voice-building cartilage in the anterior (front)
with the aging voice and again were exercises is to develop the intrinsic the arytenoid cartilages in th
found to have significant effect on the musculature of the vocal mecha- terior (back) of the larynx, (figur
efficiency of the voice.8 nism, which builds vocal strength. These muscles form the core o
It is significant to note that the pri- As young singers gain vocal strength, vocal folds. (Figure 2)
mary emphasis of the vocal function they are able to sing with greater When a singer sustains a t
exercises is sustained tones. Sustained intensity (volume), and their tone and these muscles are engaged
tones provide the kind of isometric becomes richer and more robust, ticularly when singing in the l
exercise that develops muscle tone The process by which this happens is register, they contract and be
and strength in the laryngeal muscles somewhat straightforward, so long as thicker, just as any muscle wo
used for singing, including the man- one remembers that the vocal folds, when you flex. Continuing
agement of breath flow. Singing at their core, are muscles. The vocal tain the tone is an isometric exe
teachers used this historical practice mechanism is composed of numerous that builds strength, just as hold
for generations with great success, yet component parts some cartilage, a heavy weight in a fully ext
it somehow fell into disuse. Modern some soft tissue, and some muscle, arm would build arm and sho
science has suggested that by us- The muscles of the larynx are used muscles. Ingo Titze describes it
ing sustained tones in our training to manipulate numerous variables way: "As the bottom of the v
regimen—as many teachers did in such as pitch, timbre, register, and fold bulges out, the glottis bec

CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 56 Number 3 75

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 On the Voice
more rectangular than wedge-shaped
(convergent). During vibration, then,
glottal closure can be obtained over a
greater portion of the vocal fold, and
thereby over a greater portion of the
cycle.. .The result is a voice of richer
timbre, which we call chest or modal
voice."9 (Figure 3)
Without a well-developed chest Falsetto Modal
voice, the voice can be breathy and
uneven, and the upper register weak.
Tense
Singing sustained tone exercises in Lax mucosa
& s . (11 mode) ligament
Lax cover Tense
the low register strengthens the thyro
(11 mode) muscie
arytenoid muscle, which enhances the
tone quality of both the chest voice
and the head voice.10 In addition,
because intensity (volume) is primar
ily increased by a greater flow of air Figure 3.Figure
Cross-Section of Engaged
3. Cross-Section of Engaged TA Muscle.
TA Muscle.
over the vocal mechanism, stronger Reprinted Reprinted
from Ingo Titge,
from Principles
Ingo Titge, of of
Principles Voice
Voice Production
Production
vocal musculature allows the larynx (Englewood Cliffs,Cliffs,
(Englewood New New
Jersey: Prentice
Jersey: PrenticeHall,
Hall, 1994), 291.
1994), 291.
to function efficiently while resisting
greater levels of lung pressure. This some learned, but one of the goals of as measurements increase above 0.6,
translates to louder singing without a vocal training is to minimize or elimi- the voice becomes more breathy,
loss of tone quality. natc this breathiness by encouraging while measurements decreasing
In addition to vocal strength, firm glottal closure.11 Firm glottal clo- below 0.5 show a voice becoming
sustained tones help to develop a sure can be achieved by firm adduc- more pressed.1 ~ This measurement
cleaner, better, overall tone quality by tion of the vocal folds by the action of is significant because the degree of
eliminating breathiness. Breathy voice ffiti lateral cricoarytenoids and the in- glottal closure determines the relative
is caused by incomplete closure of the terarytenoids, two muscle groups that quality of the voice from breathy to
glottis during each vibratory cycle, bring the arytenoid cartilages, and pressed, and glottal closure is deter
There are several physiological causes thus the vocal folds, together for sing- mined by the action of the muscles
of this, some naturally occurring and ing- One helpful measurement of this of the larynx muscles that can be
is called the "open quotient," which is strengthened and developed through
a measurement of the open-to-closed the use of sustained tones. By using
ratio of the vocal folds during each sustained tones to strengthen the

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vibratory cycle. Each time the vocal musculature of the vocal mecha
folds open and close is one cycle. If nism, singers are more likely to be
the vocal folds are open longer than able to sing with firm glottal closure,
they are closed during each cycle, the which will result in an elimination
open quotient will be greater than of breathy singing and an enhanced
0.5; if they are closed longer than acoustic output.13 To the listener, this
they are open, the open quotient will means clear, brilliant, and focused
be less than 0.5. Optimal power and tone with an increase in resonance,
efficiency occur between 0.5 and 0.6; Finally, sustained tones can help

76 CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 56 Number 3

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develop effective breath manage- be immediate. However, sustained time—meaning your singers will not
ment. William Vennard described tone exercises will lead to a more need to breathe mid-phrase quite as
breath support as good control of well-developed vocal mechanism that often,
subglottal pressure.14 The vocal folds will yield longer maximum phonation
manage subglottal pressure by co
ordinating vocal fold resistance and
breath flow. As the expiratory muscles
of the rib cage and abdomen push air
out of the lungs through the glottis,
a singer regulates the breath flow by
altering the glottal configuration.15
This is accomplished by subtle ad
justments to the balance of tension
between the cricothyroid (pitch) and fei
thyroarytenoid (register) muscles. The
more developed and coordinated
those muscles are, the better con
trol the singer has over the airflow.
When performing a sustained tone, WESTMINSTER CHOIR COLLEGE OF RIDE]

the singer must maintain pitch and
intensity as the airflow from the lungs
gradually decreases over the duration
of the tone. As the airflow decreases
toward the end of the tone, there is
less pressure below the glottis, and
Winner of First Prize and Audience Prize, B.M. University of California
the vocal folds have to make subtle
adjustments to keep pitch and tone
consistent. Young singers tend to go
flat toward the end of long phrases,
primarily due to undeveloped fine
muscular coordination in the vocal
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Organ Performance. specialist in historical performance.
CONDUCTING, ORGAN, SACRED MUSIC FACULTY
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appropriate degree of resistance by
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the laryngeal musculature, and the
pitch is not held steady. Sustained WESTMINSTER
CHOIR COLLEGE
tones, used over time, will develop
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dynamic ranges. This development
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of consciousness, and results may not

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 On the Voice
Practical Considerations ment.16 By engaging the TA muscle sustained tone can—and probably
It is somewhat curious how a in the low register, all registers of the should—be accompanied by some
simple exercise that is so fundamental voice will be improved and strength- sort of harmonic progression. This
to good singing technique can be for- ened. The specific pitch defined as helps to encourage the singers to
gotten so easily. Without speculating "low voice" will depend on the en- sing each note as if singing a phrase,
on the reasons for its disappearance, semble, but for female singers it could Mathilde Marchesi used a simple
from this author's practical experi- be appropriate to start somewhere in accompaniment in her exercises,
ence it can certainly be said that the range of A3-D4, depending on (Figure 4)
singing a sustained tone is not a very the age of the singer. The important The progression is a basic I-IV-I
exciting exercise. As a choral direc- thing is that female singers begin in progression followed by the dominant
tor in search of warm-ups that are the chest voice. For males, one octave of the next semitone, so each chord
fun, engaging, stimulating, and can lower would be appropriate, again includes the common tone being
serve as a "wake up" for our singers, depending on the age of the singer. sustained. Any accompaniment will
it can be challenging to implement Another principle to keep in mind work sufficiently so long as it feels to
such a simple and seemingly "pas- is the vowel. In order to foster good the singer like their tone is part of
sive" warm-up. However, there are vocal production with a low larynx the harmony. If accompaniment is
innumerable ways to incorporate and raised soft palate, the best vowels not practical or possible, sustained
sustained tones into your warm-up to use are [o] and [u]. These vowels tones could be integrated into many
exercises and rehearsals if you allow encourage an open throat, are easier other parts of rehearsals or warm
yourself to think creatively about to unify, and yield the best vocal effi- ups. Singers in a choir could sustain
their implementation. There are ciency.17 In the vocal function exercis- a chord, and the director could alter
no "quick-fixes" or one-size-fits-all es, Stemple encouraged his patients to the chord by moving certain voice
warm-ups, but the following prin- use the very rounded vowel sound of parts up or down and taking breaths
ciples can help guide the implemen- the word "knoll." as necessary. This works as both an
tation of sustained tones in most Once you begin in the low reg- intonation exercise and a sustained
contexts. ister, progress upward by semitone tone workout. (Figure 5)
First of all, sustained tones should or whole tone or by scale degrees, Ultimately, choral direct
begin with the low voice. The reasons holding each note for a significant wish to work toward th
for this are numerous but primar- duration. Continue this for at least goal of singing a well-for
ily come down to muscular develop- an octave but not much more. Each di voce, often considered

1. Slowly and evenly

Voice

Piano

Figure
Figure4.4.Sustained
Sustained Tones.
Tones.
Mathilde
Mathilde
Marchesi,
Marchesi,
The Marchesi
The Marchesi
Vocal Method,
Vocal Method,
Op.
Op. 31
31(New
(New York:
York:
G. G.
Schirmer,
Schirmer,
1887),1887),
11. 11.

78 CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 56 Number 3

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 NOTES
Major | minor chords (also start with minor chord and transpose upward)

' Stephen
1 Stephen Austin,
Austin, "First
"First Things First,"
First,"
Journal of Singing 64, no. 1 (2007): 89.
etc. 2 Ibid.
J U
3 Stephen Austin, "Building Strong Voices:
Twelve Different Ways!" Choral Journal
48, no. 7 (2007): 55-66.
3 Richard Miller, The Structure of Singing (New

r lfcr ^ etc.
York: Schirmer Books, 1986), 109.
5 Joseph Stemple, Voice Therapy: Clinical
TV V f T..T L l?J | Studies (St. Louis: Mosby, 1993).
66Julianna
Julianna Wrycza
Wrycza Sabol,
Sabol, Linda
Linda Lee,
Lee, and
and
Joseph C. Stemple, "The Value of
Figure 5. Sustained Tone Warm-up. Reprinted from Robert
Robert Sund,
Sund,
Vocal Function Exercises in the
Workshop handout on vocal warmups, March 2007.
Used
Used by permission.
by permission. Practice Regimen of Singers,"
Practice RegimenJournal
of Singers," Journal
of Voice
Voice 9,
9, no.
no. 11 (1995):
(1995):27-36.
27-36.
7 Ibid.

8 Evelyn
of the most difficult vocal exercises, florid vocal work—sustained tones Evelyn Ya Lian Tay, Ya Lian
Debra JeanTay,Phyland,
Debra Jean Phyland,
and Jennifer Oates, "The Effect of
This exercise, which "requires a co- will build the physiological founda- arK' Jenmfer Oates, The Effect of
... n , . . -piii i i l • Vocal Function Exercises on the
Vocal Function ExercisesVoices
on the Voices
ordination of laryngeaf, respiratory, tion for heafthy an
of
ofAging
Aging
Community
Community
Choral Singers," Cho
and resonance factors," combines Using voice-buildin
Journal
Journalof Voice of
26, no.
Voice
5 (2012): 672.
26, no. 5 (
the workout of a sustained tone with ignore this wisdom
' 'Ingo
Ingo
Titze, Principles
Titze,ofPrinciples
Voice Production of V
the challenge of a crescendo and decre- singing
(Englewood
(Englewood teachers
Cliffs, New Cliffs,
Jersey: Prentice o
New Jer
scendo.1!i As singers gain more strength
Hall,
Hall, 1994),regard
1994),
261. our scient
261.
with the sustained tone exercises, the of Austin,
10 Steve the vocal
"Treasure Chest mechanism
J Journal of
messa di voce is a worthy goal. poor vocal
Singing 61, no. 3 (2005):production
241-251.
' ' Duane
cal injury. Just like a Cottrell,
runner "Voice Science in the
training ''
Choral
for a distance run, Rehearsal: Examining
using the right Glottal Ch
Conclusion exercises to develop the
Onset," The Choral right
Scholar 1, no. 1 m
(2009): 31-40.
While simple and perhaps even groups little by litt
Ingo Titze, Principles of Voice Production (Iowa
uninteresting, the sustained tone has significant compounding
City, LA: National Center for Voice and
been used for centuries to strengthen sustained t
Speech,
Speech,2000),
2000),252.
252.
the voice and teach breath man- instant answer to co
'3 James
13 Stark,
James Stark, BelBel Canto
Canto (Toronto:
(Toronto: University
University
agement. Its application to choral lems,
of Toronto but,
Press, 1999), 31. where
singing as part of a well-balanced the long-term,
° ° r William Vennard, singing, the
William Mechanism
Vennard, Singing, the Mechanism
voice-building regimen, particularly
and
and the
theTechnic
Technic have
(New
(New
York:
York: a
Carl Carl more
Fischer,
Fischer,
if used in every rehearsal, can
1967). build sound of
a Strong, vibrant sound with little
15 A. Sonninen et al., "Evaluation of support else yo
breathiness and a wide degree of in singing," Journal of Voice
in singing," 19,19,no.
Journal of Voice no. 2 2
dynamic range. But perhaps even Duane Cottrell is assistant
(2005): 223-237. profes- (2005): 223-237
16 Austin,
more significantly, when used at the sor of choral studies at the "First Things First."
University 16 Austin, "First Things F
17 Stemple,
beginning of rehearsals as part of of Delaware in Newark, Voice Therapy.
Delaware 17 Stemple, Voice Therapy
18
18 Stark, Bel Canto, 245.
a well-rounded warm-up routine— and the past president of Delaware Stark, Bel Canto, 245.
before scales, arpeggios, and other ACDA. dco@udel.edu.

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