Question about the "Coup de Glotte"

I was studying your website, and I came upon the idea of the Coup de Glotte. The paragraphs at the end of this e-mail are the extracts from your articles which I am referring to. Concerning the vocal cords, it seems clear that one should not allow the glottic air pressure to build up against the vocal cords; this causes an unacceptable amount of air pressure to accumulate and bow them.

However, you used a clapping analogy and I was interested in the implications of it. Can the vocal cords be injured if they are adducted too quickly, too sharply, and too firmly in the absence of subglottic pressure? In other words, do the vocal cords behave like the hands in the manner that if they are pressed together slowly they are not damaged, but if they are 'slammed together' (like slapping your hands together very hardly) they become injured?

"What makes it not acceptable is not the closure of the vocal folds, it is the build-up of air pressure against the closed cords."

"We do not want to attack the voice like clapping the hands. This is like whacking the voice and is abusive. We hear this with young singers who are very uncoordinated. The cause of this is not the contact with the vocal cords but is more a lack of breath control. They are tightening the cords and pushing breath pressure against them starting the sound with a violent explosion." 
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Thanks for your question. You have actually described things quite well. Originally the term "coup de glotte" referred to the simple act of starting the vibration of the cords spontaneously with no interference. The meaning has now changed to represent a violent, cough-like attack. This change in definition has caused a lot of confusion. It is an excellent example of why we need to be very clear defining the terms we use.

The main elements that can cause interference to the free start of the vibration are muscular tension and air pressure, or a combination of the two. If we look at the situation realistically, we have to recognize that both of these elements are necessary to some degree. It is when either or both of them exist to an excess that there becomes a problem.

The excerpts of mine that you refer to are descriptions of a common example of excess tension heard in less coordinated singers. The cough-like sound relates to the "clapping" of the cords that I describe. Lamperti described the difference with the terms "whacking" and "smacking". His statement was something like "Don't whack the voice, let the vocal lips smack".

We can use the lips to demonstrate in much the same way I referred to the hands. The harsh attack is like the lips saying a "p" consonant. It is explosive. This explosive condition is abusive to the surface of the vocal folds because of the force of air rushing over them. This air can cause irritation which then can cause inflammation. This irritation can happen just from breathy phonation as well.

Irritation of the folds also can happen from the irregular vibration caused by excess tension in the vocal folds. The tension causes excess pressure in the contact of the folds with each other. When this condition exists the degree of air pressure to get the folds to vibrate increases. This will increase the irritation from the air as well as from the contact.

What we need to learn to coordinate is how to establish a condition of the vocal folds that is taut but flexible. Not loose and not tense. So the breath doesn't just rush through or get blocked by the glottal closure. The glottis must close, just as the trumpet player closes the lips. But we must not treat it like a dam, stopping the air pressure so much that it becomes difficult to phonate. Phonation should be easy, this is why so many fall into the trap of breathiness. But it is a false remedy.

Ultimately, the only way to accomplish the perfect start to the voice is to coordinate all of the aspects involved. This includes coordination in the breathing, postural alignment, resonance form, and the mental command to pronounce. This last one is probably the most important in relation to the adjustment of the vocal cords.

The adjustment of the laryngeal muscles happens in response to our desire to say something. Many of us have developed habits of imbalance in this unconscious response. These can be either a condition of constricting the air-way or releasing the air though the glottis when pronouncing. What we are after is a proper response of the larynx adjustment so that the air pressure from the respiratory system feeds the vibration of the folds.

If the air-way is constricted it will interfere with the flexibility of the folds and the free vibration. This causes an unconscious response of the body to create more air pressure to make the cords vibrate. This becomes a dangerous downward spiral causing the function to become more and more difficult.

Pretty much the same result happens when we have a weak adjustment allowing excess breath to flow through the glottis. The body senses the lack of efficient phonation and responds by increasing the air pressure to get a more complete vibration. This leads to a condition of needing more air to get the folds to vibrate, or eventually needing to constrict the air-way to make up for the lack of natural glottal closure.

The reality of the situation is the larynx is essentially a valve. Our challenge is to become sensitive enough to coordinate the adjustment of this valve while also coordinating the respiratory system to provide an appropriate degree of air pressure. Then we need to coordinate these two systems together so the air pressure from the respiratory system and the proper adjustment of the valve balance each other resulting in the edges of the tissue that make up the valve are set into vibration. If these adjustments don't match we get a poor result.

So if we go back to the analogy of the lips, the perfect attack is like what a trumpet player does. There is a balanced relationship between the vibrating tissue and air pressure to create a buzzing vibration. This is the source that is then amplified by the resonators into the tone we hear. The difference between the lips and the vocal folds is the vocal folds are much more flexible and suitable for the purpose of being a vibrating source.

Another analogy with the lips that relates to the Lamperti quote from above of "smack don't whack" is to start like the folds pucker and kiss. The folds massage each other rather than slap or explode. We can demonstrate this with our lips by making a kissing sound. Then we can imagine doing the same thing with the vocal lips.

When people learn the perfect attack they often observe that it feels like rolling the edges of the cords together. This is the feeling we get when we "kiss" with the glottis. This is what the "coup de glotte" was meant to represent. But through misrepresentation and misunderstanding the meaning changed over time. So now something that was healthy and rehabilitative for the voice is thought to be damaging.

Facial Posture - Video Example

I have often talked about the importance of posture, especially the posture of the face. The feeling of lift under the eyes is critical to opening the upper resonating space behind the nose and above the mouth. Once again I use Jussi Björling as an example of this coordination. But now I have video to show exactly what I'm talking about. This is a television appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1957. It is a performance of an excerpt from Verdi's opera Rigoletto.



And as a bonus, this video features two women that also exemplify this coordination. The soprano is Hilde Güden and the Mezzo is Thelma Votipka. Just watch how they all have a lift alongside the nose when they open the mouth. This opens the resonating space behind the nose that really makes the vocal function easy. Many assume this will cause the tone to be nasal. But nasal singing happens not because the resonance is in the nasal passages but because the throat and nasal passages are constricted. The key is to keep them open. It almost feels like yawning with the nose.

Another element that could cause the tone to be nasal in quality is if the vibration is incomplete and the tone is restricted in the nasal passages. For this resonance condition to be correctly achieved the tone must place itself in the open resonating space. We must not try to deliberately place the tone. This is accomplished by understanding the difference between breath and tone. If we try to blow the tone into the nasal resonator we will have too much breath passing through the glottis, creating an incomplete vibration. There needs to be a pure vibration from the vocal folds to create the acoustical property of resonance.

Also, if we try to place the tone we will very likely constrict the vocal tract in some way. We need to keep the vocal tract, which is basically the air-way, open. Then with a complete vibration of the vocal folds the tone seems to place itself with no help from us. If we provide a path for the tone it will take that path through its own properties of radiance. This is one of the challenges of singing, trying not to control the things we can't control. Trusting the laws of nature to do their thing.

A common concept that was traditionally taught was the idea of "smelling a rose". I have described it in other articles, but this is an example of that in action. What is intended by this imaginary act is to lift the nose and face to open the nasal passages. It gives a feeling of stretch inside that resembles yawning inside and behind the nose that I mentioned. We can continue to feel like we are "smelling" while we sing to keep the open feeling. I sometimes imagine I am smelling my tone. This allows us to feel like we are pronouncing above the mouth.

This condition has a very interesting relationship to the soft palate. Most people that have been around the study of singing have heard people emphasize the importance of the soft palate being stretched and lifted. I have long been suspicious that there has been a misinterpretation of the proper behavior of the soft palate, as well as an over-emphasis of its importance. There are references in some older writings that recommend the palate be in a flexible condition and not pulled up so the naso-resonator is freely accessible.

The tone quality that people associate with a lifted palate is actually the result of this lifted and open nasal passage resonator. If we look in a mirror to observe the inside of the mouth and lift the palate the resulting sound is trapped in the throat and uncomfortable. I think what people sense as a stretch of the soft palate is actually a stretch of the soft tissue that lines the naso-pharynx, of which the soft-palate is the bottom. I'm not interested in trying to scientifically prove this assertion, but I think some mindful experimentation can help to clear up the confusion for each person.

Now I admit that Hilde Güden's facial expressions are a little exaggerated. I don't think it is necessary to exaggerate in order to have the resonators open. On the other hand, her face is nicely alive compared to many modern singers. And I am a believer in the saying it is better to do too much than too little, although we would like to find balance above either of these. I am willing to forgive her knowing that she had a functional reason behind it. But I would recommend a more subtle application, like we see with the other two singers.

I want to make a special point of highlighting the brief but enlightening example of Thelma Votipka (1906-1972). She was an American Mezzo from Ohio. The majority of her career was as a Comprimario, as she is here. She holds the record for most performances at the Met by a female of 1,422. I had no idea who she was before seeing this clip. I am blown away by her optimal function. You won't hear that quality in a comprimario these days. I hope it is noticeable.

As always comments below are welcome.

Question about sore voice from speaking

I was wondering if you might be able to help me. I think I hurt my voice from teaching this past spring semester. My voice feels sore and dry, and I've been trying to consistently drink a lot of water. I'm not doing any shows and not singing a lot. I feel really disappointed that I might have damaged my voice - it's been very important to me that I preserve my instrument so that I might have a chance to sing in an opera or do a full recital sometime in my life. I'd like to have the opportunity to sing really well sometime in my future and perform.
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I'm sorry you have had difficulty with your voice. The classroom environment is a big challenge to vocal health. Staying hydrated is a good place to start. I like the formula that recommends we drink half our weight in ounces daily as a minimum. More if we exercise or are in more extreme weather. (hot or cold extremes)

My guess would be that you have irritated the voice to some degree, but most likely have not done any damage. You would definitely benefit from some consistent reinforcement of positive coordination. Overuse issues with the voice are really more a matter of underusing the physical components in a balanced way. Which is to say coordinating and balancing the three main components of the vocal instrument.

For instance, when we use the breath without a balanced relationship from the larynx and/or the resonator the voice will suffer. This is essentially what happens when we talk loudly, as in a classroom. The breath tends to over-power the vibration of the larynx and we don't get the amplifying benefit of our resonators. This will put extra stress on the larynx and cause irritation.

Another byproduct of this condition is what is often referred to as a "closed throat". The throat muscles instinctively constrict relative to how loud we talk. This constriction acts as an extra level of resistance to the breath pressure causing the vibration to be louder. It is an almost automatic response in the throat. This is why it is recommended to not think of singing loud but full. A subtle but important difference.

Thinking of singing full helps us accomplish our result with the use of our resonance. Just thinking loud will cause a strong tendency to over-sing and throw off the balance of the instrument. This is one of the biggest challenges of singing. And is important to the long-term health of the voice.

This coordination is just as big of a challenge, if not more, when we are speaking. Especially in a loud environment. One particular aspect of our situation is a major contributor to this problem - The relationship of our tone to our ears. In other words, how we hear ourselves.

This is something we may not even be aware of. Yet it has a huge influence on how we pronounce. How well we hear ourselves has a conscious and unconscious influence on how the larynx, throat and mouth adjust when we sing or speak. The acoustic relationship between the mouth and ears is such that we are influenced to spread the resonance form to hear ourselves better. It is like we "reveal" the sound more to hear it better.

What we don't realize is we don't hear ourselves accurately. So what sounds better to our ear often sounds worse to an outside listener. Not only that, but in order to hear ourselves better we have thrown the entire system out of balance. Anytime we do that we are more at risk of irritating the voice, and eventually causing damage.

An example that illustrates how strongly our voices are tied to our hearing is observing someone talking with earphones on or has temporarily lost their hearing from a loud concert. They automatically talk louder even though the environment is not loud. It is just because they can't hear themselves.

This shows a low degree of sensitivity to the voice. It is actually the basis of a good exercise. Try speaking and/or singing with your ears covered so you can't hear from the outside. It is an odd experience at first. It forces you to tune into your sensations and your internal hearing. This is beneficial because when we function well we don't hear ourselves from the outside very well. And that is difficult to get used to. But it is important or we will continue to fall into the trap of listening to our own voice.

I often recommend developing a sense of visualizing the tone. This is a way of using the imagination to "see" the tone and where it is located. It is a way of noticing where the resonance is. The main purpose is to be aware of inefficient resonating adjustments. For example, a very common condition is for the resonating adjustment to be such that if we "see" the tone we will notice it is in front of our mouth. Actually escaping out of the resonators. When this condition exists it a result of the front of the mouth being too open in relation to the back. This reduces the benefit of the pharynx as a resonator and loses the natural amplification that can happen with good resonance.

When we notice this position of the tone it tells us that the pharynx is not open enough or we are not utilizing it enough. The condition I recommend is to "see" the tone stay inside the mouth/throat. This will allow the resonance to ascend along with the pitch to take advantage of "head" resonance, which is critical for easy access to the upper range. An easy way of conceptualizing this is to pronounce with a rounded feel to the mouth. It gives a "shading" effect. Then as we ascend, instead of opening more, we still stretch the jaw but shade with the lips a little more. This makes the effect of "mixing" the form of "o" into all of our vowels.

This resonance is important because it takes the burden off the voice itself. And that is the critical component that makes the difference between vocalizing loud vs. full. It is our own natural amplifier. Acoustic amplification. The key to keeping the voice healthy.