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.

Rssponse to Comment re: Joyce DiDonato

What puzzles me is...how does she [DiDonato] has control on her voice if she, in your opinion, sings with looseness of air? I mean, her voice would collapse because of the lack of air, or sound strained, and it doesn't sound strained, nor she has any external sign to support the sound with the throat.
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Actually, many singers sing with loose air and don't sound strained. It might be more correct to say they sing with a lack of compression. Compression of the breath is not only a matter of using the breathing musculature. It is also a matter of the proper resistance of the larynx. When the larynx "leans" into the breath it creates stability and puts the breath into a compressed state. That is what's lacking. She sings very well, but in a completely different manner than I am trying to describe.
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Also, I do not understand when you say her voice is too fat. It sounds very well-aligned and I refer to her live perfomances not to her recordings. She's got a slender medium voice, solid high notes and good low notes for a lyric mezzo.
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When I say it is too fat I mean it is enlarged by breath rather than being completely tone. It doesn't have to be breathy in order for there to be breath in the tone. It is hard to notice if you haven't experienced it and learned to hear the difference.
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Maybe, I fail to notice things well, I don't know, because I can't say in what point her voice is not clear. I don't hear any breathiness or muffle area in her voice.

Don't you think is possible to sing with control of the pressure and, at the same time, use the flow to release tension without sounding breathy? Because it seems to me she does exactly that. One actually sings on the air (sul fiato), but also with the air. I believe it's one of those paradoxes of singing.
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No, I have to say I don't think that is possible. If there is balance there will be no tension. So there is no need to release a flow of breath to release the tension. Tension exists because of the release of breath. If the larynx is properly opposing the breath pressure in a coordinated way the body will have no need to create tension in the throat. Throat tension appears when the body is trying to compensate for a lack coordinated action. The biggest cause of this is uncoordinated breath that is escaping through the phonation. The body senses this and creates tension in the throat to compensate for the lack of stability.
The meaning of the concept to sing on the air means the larynx on the breath. Not the breath flowing out and the tone is on top of it somehow. That is fantasy of imagination not physical reality. If you sing with the air that means you are letting air out as air and not as only vibration. You can't do both, they are mutually exclusive. The air that does escape is what is naturally part of the vibration as rapid puffs. But not a constant flow of breath. 
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I pointed her because to me she seems to have a perfect emission, or at least, the less compromised one amongst contemporary singers. But I've never seen her live, so I can't say any further.
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I agree that she is less compromised than many other examples we could use. (i.e. Fleming) She has developed skill in the ability to hold the pharynx open to hide the breath in her tone. A singer functioning naturally doesn't have to hold the throat open, at least in the same way. The stable larynx and proper pronunciation pretty much take care of it and the throat stays open almost by itself. This is what I mean when I say the open throat is a result of complete function, not a cause of it.
This endeavor of illustrating the natural function is kind of difficult because we don't have examples of this type of singing that we can hear live on a regular basis. If we did it would be much easier to recognize it. But the big difference is in the immediacy of the tone because of its purity. I have talked to people who heard Jussi Bjorling live describe how they would hear his voice a little sooner than the other singers in an ensemble. It wasn't because he was ahead of the other singers musically, he was right on the beat. It was because of how his voice was functioning. It had no wasted breath in the tone. This kind of pure tone travels better acoustically. So it not only starts more spontaneously, but it reaches the listener faster as well.
These same people also pointed out that his voice was not really "big". But they could always hear him the best, even at the back of the theater. This is really what should be considered quality over quantity. Loud or big singing doesn't carry. Pure singing may seem loud and big in a sense because it is intense. But the singer can't try to sing loud or big or the results will be a disaster.
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Don't worry about some comments, for reasonable people know your analysis are not to belittle the artistry of these people.
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Thank you. And thanks for contributing.

Question about the Resistance of the Larynx

"The larynx as a platform of resistance": I think I get that, rationally. But I can't really comment until I learn how it works and feel it working. You said so yourself, it's not a widespread concept - none of the other teachers I have contacted or studied with ever mentioned it.
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Regarding "The larynx as resistance." We have talked about the concept of closing the cords in our sessions together. The cords, and the larynx in general, is essentially a valve. We close the glottis and the valve behavior controls the emission of the air pressure. The unique quality of the vocal valve is that as the air pressure is released the edges of the valve opening (the vocal folds) are pliable and can be caused to vibrate from the air pressure. Most valves "hiss" when they release air pressure. (or water pressure for that matter) That is the basis of the hissing exercise that many people use. The body creates a steady pressure of air against the valve-like closure of the "s" consonant. Then you use that to feel the continuous, coordinated release of the pressure through the hissing without completely releasing the pressure by opening the "s". This is a similar experience to the coordinated release of pressure through the glottal valve.

So the closure of the glottis, which creates this valve condition, acts as a resistance to the air pressure that the breathing system creates through the coordinated use of the breathing muscles. The challenge that complicates things is, when functioning correctly, we don't really feel this resistance or the closure of the valve. It feels more like a compression of the breath at the larynx, but the larynx itself disappears. If we use too much muscular involvement from the larger muscles around the larynx, over-compensating, we can feel the resistance. But this tends to create discomfort and interference with the free and balanced vibration.

So how do we get this to work for us if we can't feel it? Well, this is where our imagination comes to the rescue. We can use certain tools to discover where this resistance should exist in our sensory awareness. We can touch our larynx with our fingers on the outside of our neck. We can do a very light cough to locate the vocal cords in our sensations. But it must be stressed that we DO NOT DO THIS WHEN WE SING. I have to always emphasize that very clearly because we all invariably make that mistake when we are trying to figure this out. The light cough is only for locating the glottis in our sensations, it is not what we do to start the vibration. I also use the glottal fry to identify the location of the point of resistance. But again, we don't want to actually do that when we sing.

Once we have identified the location of our glottis in our sensations we now need to figure out how to establish the closure of the glottis in the appropriate manner. The trick, as I pointed out before, is that when we do it correctly we no longer feel it. So we have to establish a clear mental sensation of the closure of the glottis by first feeling the closure of the larger muscles, which are adding extra pressure to the closure making it too much for healthy singing. Because of this we don't want to do this too much and definitely not regularly. But it gives us something to go by. Then, through repeated experimentation, we try to recreate the closure without the larger muscles that we can feel. I always think of it feeling like a "force-field" stopping the breath from flowing out instead of the muscles stopping the breath. If we do use the muscles to stop the breath it will crush the vibration to some degree and cause discomfort. But for many people not using the muscles causes the breath to rush out. So that is the reason it is such a challenging coordination to establish. I like to relate the throat muscles to our hands (as I have said in previous posts), and so the act of singing correctly is like doing something without using your hands to do it. If we don't do this something the breath will just rush out, and the throat muscles will have a strong temptation to get involved to stop the breath from getting away. So we need to stop the breath with the vocal folds, which we can't really feel. But we can feel if the breath is flowing out or if it feels like it is being resisted. This is why so many people feel like it is just the breath that does everything. Because the resistance of the voice is not something we really feel, like we can feel the muscular interference. 

So this all comes down to sensing rather than feeling. When done correctly, you can't feel the closure of the cords but you can sense it by the nature of the air pressure. You also sense it by the purity of the vibration. There is no sense of leaking breath but also no feeling of holding the breath with the throat. We close the cords with our thought rather than with our muscles. This is also because the voice does a lot of its work unconsciously. So we need to allow it to do that and not get in the way.

Questions and comments are always welcome. Thanks.

Question about Various Types of Attack

I was reading Richard Miller's Structure of Singing, and he's down on the phonation style Swedish-Italian uses.  Are you familiar with what he says on it?  I'm not trashing it, but curious. I was reading about types of onset, and there were three types, with the balanced onset being the one in the middle.  One was breathy/ aspirate, one used air build up to close the cords, and his description of balanced seemed to be in between the other two.  Maybe I am not understanding the usage of our suspension of air before phonation, or our thinking of what the larynx feels like just before a grunt.  I look forward to having you explain this to me. Basically pages 1 through 5 deal with what balanced onset is, indicating the hard attack to be only used in rare occasions, so I am wondering if the Swedish-Italian school takes a different route?

 

I also need clarification of page 5's discussion (at the bottom) of fully opened glottis with inhalation and then efficiently closed glottis.

 

Maybe this will help you see where my confusion lies.

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By your questions I'm starting to realize where your confusion lies. It sounds like you think we want a hard attack. Maybe you have missed all the times I've pointed out that we don't want the hard start to the tone that resembles the vocal cords clapping. I'm always repeating that we are looking for balance. It is a balance between the air pressure provided by the breathing and the resistance provided by the larynx. But that is a fine coordination. The spectrum of possible onsets that you are referring to is a description of the possible conditions that result from either of these two forces overpowering the other. This is the basis of the coordination that I am always talking about. The aspirate and the hard attack are both examples of a lack of coordination. There is also a difference between hard and firm. That might also be a point of confusion. Hard is lacking coordination. Firm is stable, not loose, and refers to the condition of the breath as much as the larynx.

A way of thinking of what we're after is to consider the difference between the intrinsic muscles of the larynx and the extrinsic muscles of the throat. I always get the image of the throat muscles being like hands. They want to hold onto the sound to feel in control. The intrinsic muscles of the larynx pull the vocal folds together and stretch them appropriately for the pitch. We need these muscle to be active, but they are very small and we don't really have sensation of them. They also depend on coordinating the breathing so we don't exhale through them and cause them to open, defeating their ability to tune a pure vibration. This is especially important because there is an instinctive reaction in the glottal muscles to open when we breath. This is what Miller is referring to in your last question. The glottis opens automatically when we breath. If we try to phonate while we are still breathing we will get an incomplete action which will impair the quality of the vibration. The glottis closes naturally at the point of the breath cycle that lies between inhalation and exhalation. That is the point we want to sing at by sustaining that portion of the cycle which usually only lasts a moment. 

Getting back to the throat muscles (hands), they are larger and we can feel them. Because we can feel them they tend to be used by many people to feel secure. We can use them to close the throat, in an attempt to close the glottis, as a way of compensating for the opening that happens when we breath. So the closed throat often gets mis-interpreted as a closed glottis because it is more obvious to feel. What we want is an open throat and a closed glottis, which only happens through subtle coordination and not muscular effort. For these people that have developed a dependence on the throat muscles, if they let go of them they have no control and the breath escapes wildly. The challenge is learning how to coordinate things so the vocal muscles can close naturally to tune and vibrate freely. To the singer this is like learning how to do something without using their hands. It feels completely out of control. The voice is at the mercy of our breathing. That is why the breath is so important, (for coordination) not because we need to use a lot of breath to sing. This coordination is critical, because a lack of coordination in the breathing will cause the breath to go through the larynx and dilute the purity of the vibration.

Now the way we establish this coordination is by suspending the breath. The breath suspension is talked about by Miller. It is the whole purpose of the "Noble" position of posture that he talks about. The breath suspension is how we avoid the hard attack. The hard attack is caused by uncoordinated loose breath being pushed out, trying to escape the glottis, and the throat muscles blocking it. This pressure is then released violently making a harsh attack.

As I said before, the key is recognizing what is the goal and what are the means of getting there. If someone has no experience of resisting the breath then trying to accomplish it "with no hands" usually doesn't work. We have to first use the help of the hands and then progress to doing it with no hands. (The hands being the throat muscles) 

I think a key element that may not have been emphasized by me enough is always keeping an open pharynx. If we do this correctly it removes the muscles of the throat from getting in the way. This is the part that can make or break the whole coordination. Allan Lindquest was quoted as saying that the open pharynx acts as a shock absorber for the vocal cords. And I find that to be absolutely true. A universal characteristic of voices that develop problems is an ineffective resonating space in the pharynx. So I need to emphasize more consistently the role that aspect plays as well.

The Perfect Attack or The Coup de Glotte

Perhaps the most important component of the whole singing act is the start of the vibration of the vocal folds. The vibration of the vocal folds (or cords or bands or lips) is the source or the sound we produce. It causes disruptions in the air pressure inside the pharynx which sets the air inside sympathetically vibrating to the vibration of the tissue. This sympathetic air vibration is resonance which radiates out from the larynx eventually striking the ear drum of a listener.
Because the vocal cord vibration is where the vocal tone is started we can see that if it is not coordinated well we will not be able to get the result of a good tone. Now the question comes, how do we do it? Most singers and teachers believe that the vocal folds are not able to be directly controlled. This is completely false. The result of this mistaken belief is wide-spread poor coordination. The way to learn this is a process of developing sensitivity which allows us to coordinate the vocal cord action so it doesn't happen with tightness or weight. It must be flexible.
I describe it with the help of my hands. 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. We need the cords to close, just not tightly and not with a build up of breath behind them. They should close, or better lay together, because we suspend the breath. Lamperti described this well by saying hold the breath not the voice. Many say not to hold the breath, which is true if you mean with the throat. But the breath must be held with the body in order to get a coordinated start. This is done by keeping the rib cage suspended open and resisting the temptation to collapse all the time. If this is done the body automatically compresses the breath in an upward direction with the abdomen.
The technique of sensitizing the vocal cords is helped by a simple exercise of a very light, or whispered, cough. This gives us a feel of where the vocal cords are and where we need to start. It is important not to be aggressive with this and use any breath pressure. It sounds like just a click and is almost inaudible. So it can be done anywhere to remind your sensations. Going back to using the hands to illustrate this it is like tapping the thumb and index fingertip together. Compared to the clapping of the violent version of a full cough this is much more gentle. The final step is to continue the action like a bow stroking a violin string. We suspend the breath with an open rib cage so the glottis closes with the vocal cords laying together. Then instead of tapping like the previous exercise we think of rubbing or rolling the edges of the folds together. Like rubbing your thumb and finger tip together without pressing them. We want to keep the contact, or connection, but not with too much pressure so we crush the vibration. We also don't want to go the other direction and relax the connection and let unvocalized breath escape. We then keep that feeling going for the duration of the sung phrase.