Abstract
Various authors have argued that belting is to be produced by “speech-like” sounds,
with the first and second supraglottic vocal tract resonances ( and ) at frequencies of the vowels determined by the lyrics to be sung. Acoustically,
the hallmark of belting has been identified as a dominant second harmonic, possibly
enhanced by first resonance tuning (). It is not clear how both these concepts – (a) phonating with “speech-like,” unmodified
vowels; and (b) producing a belting sound with a dominant second harmonic, typically
enhanced by – can be upheld when singing across a singer’s entire musical pitch range. For instance,
anecdotal reports from pedagogues suggest that vowels with a low , such as [i] or [u], might have to be modified considerably (by raising ) in order to phonate at higher pitches. These issues were systematically addressed
in silico with respect to treble singing, using a linear source-filter voice production model.
The dominant harmonic of the radiated spectrum was assessed in 12987 simulations,
covering a parameter space of 37 fundamental frequencies () across the musical pitch range from C3 to C6; 27 voice source spectral slope settings
from 4 to 30 dB/octave; computed for 13 different IPA vowels. The results suggest that, for
most unmodified vowels, the stereotypical belting sound characteristics with a dominant
second harmonic can only be produced over a pitch range of about a musical fifth,
centered at . In the [ɔ] and [ɑ] vowels, that range is extended to an octave, supported by a low
second resonance. Data aggregation – considering the relative prevalence of vowels
in American English – suggests that, historically, belting with was derived from speech, and that songs with an extended musical pitch range likely
demand considerable vowel modification. We thus argue that – on acoustical grounds
– the pedagogical commandment for belting with unmodified, “speech-like” vowels can
not always be fulfilled.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: April 18, 2023
Accepted:
January 4,
2023
Publication stage
In Press Corrected ProofIdentification
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© 2023 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
