How to Sing Subharmonics, part 2

SR2: Learning curve – be patient and keep a healthy stance always when singing. Always work on: audiation (listen, internalize, and understand the sound), breath (create space for air with the pitch moving into your voice), and phonation (release of breath and activation of folds from audiation using ADSR). Allow the folds of modal register and vocal fry to interact with each other to create the subharmonic. Sing long tones, use a variety of vowels, and work on jumping back and forth between subharmonic and modal. Use falsetto to reset the voice.

 

If you do not fully understand the mechanics of subharmonics yet, don’t worry – refer to my first post on subharmonics to get a recap of it.

I am assuming that you, the singer, are seeking out this technique because you have developed or are learning how to develop good, healthy technique. As much as I would love to fully dive into this, I will leave it up to the professional whom I greatly respect – Maestro David Jones. His website is full of useful information and his case studies are a great read. Here is his article about the bass voice.

If this is familiar to you or you have your own method already, skip to step 2. Lucky for you, this first series only require two steps (also a dance… okay… the only dance… that I know how to do…)

Let us begin!

 

Subharmonics – (Note: I will also be making a video of these two steps and will post it under V2Log soon)

 

Step 1: Audiation, Breath, and Phonation

• Audiation
  
  • GIML (The Gordon Institute for Music Learning) states: “Audiation is the musical equivalent of thinking in language. When we listen to someone speak we must retain in memory their vocal sounds long enough to recognize and give meaning to the words the sounds represent.”
  • It is important to be able to hear and understand what you are singing first before even beginning the breath. As you play the notes below, visualize yourself singing these notes. Can you see it and can you “hear” it? Not sure? Watch a video of your favorite music and artist playing (preferably a performance where the singer is shown singing). Put the video on mute and watch the video. Since you know the song well, can you sense the music moving with the video and can you hear it in your mind? When the singer sings, can you think of the words and how it sounds? Toggle the mute button on and off to see if your mind is aligned with the audio (correct pitch, voice, rhythm, instrumentation, etc). This is a great exercise for the brain and can also keep your tuning when you sing.
  • On a piano/keyboard, play a C3 and then a C2 – now, alternate between the two notes. After that, play them together to get a sense of the perfect octave.
  • From there, play a C3 and then a G3 – alternate between the two and then play them together to get a sense of the perfect fifth.
  • Personally, I use the upper octaves so that the sound doesn’t mask my voice when I am singing the octave below. It also helps me tune the subharmonics better.

 

• Breath
  
  • Assuming you are already in a proper singing position, once you hear and understand the pitch, take a breath and feel that same pitch move through the breath as it moves through your voice. The breath should feel as if you are creating space in the core of your being to allow the air to naturally flow through.
  • Fill up with four counts worth of air quietly to about 75% capacity. Try to suspend the air (with your folds in an optimal position and open, but without the air moving through in any direction, as if a cloud is floating there) for one count and then take a smaller breath (about 5-10% more only) in one more count before exhale (you can exhale using the same number of counts and vary it as you see fit). Be careful not to be excessive or forceful here.

 

• Phonation
  
  • This is actually the easy part – shape the vowel you want, structure your voice accordingly (inner smile, molar/back teeth smiling, etc.)
  • Depending on the initial consonant or vowel, you can: release the air as you activate the folds (voiced consonants, vowels), release the air before you activate the folds (unvoiced consonants OR “un-glottalized” vowels), or release the air after your activate the folds (can be used for consonants or glottal sounds by building up pressure and to assure that the air is moving after the pitch has been internalized).
  • From here, you have 4 types of sounds that make up singing: Attack, Decay, Sustain, and Release. Audio Engineers will understand this, but from a vocal perspective, it is essentially: the onset of the sound (attack with vowel or consonant), the intensity and dynamics of the sound (decaying for proper diminuendo or increasing it for crescendo), the duration of the sound (sustaining a pitch or series of pitches with possible dim./cresc.), and release of the sound (deactivating the folds to breathe in for a release, stopping the airflow, or using a consonant – with or without a shadow vowel – to secure a release).

 

 

Still with me? Excellent. Now, let’s dive into singing it.

 

Step 2: Interaction of the Folds – Chest and Fry DOES NOT MIX, but “interacts” with each other

• Interaction
  
  • Remember that you are not mixing vocal fry and chest register together, you are merely allowing both to interact. (Mixing the registers would be taking the desired sound from both registers and then applying them equally whereas subharmonics require you to sing in full voice with one fold and then vocal fry with the other fold, allowing them to interact periodically)
  • Sing a C3 either with very bright, frontal vowels such as [i] or [æ]. As you are sustaining this note, feel as if your voice is slowly shifting into vocal fry, but STAY on the same octave with the vocal fry. In due time, your folds will naturally allow the C3 and G3 to function together, giving you the subharmonic of C2.
  • Keep it bright and light; only focus on alternating between octaves at the moment. (C3 to-and-from Sub-C2)
  • You are singing a C3, but with subharmonics, you are “coasting” on a C2. The upper octave should feel stronger.
  • This interaction will create a different color in your voice and the C2 becomes the focal point, even though you are feeling both the C2 and C3 together.
  • Once you have the note some what secure, feel free to practice with it using long tones, different vowel shapes, and dynamics.
  • If C3 just isn’t sitting right, try a different note. The lower you go, the more your voice lean on vocal fry (thickening of the folds, slack, short). The higher you go, you risk a raised-larynx and more noticeable distortion in the voice. I have started high as Ab3 and other times as low as Eb2. Find a consistent note for you (A2 is my most consistent note at the moment).

 

Having issues getting the folds to interact? Not a problem. Step 2 will take a while to get, but when you do, it will be rewarding. Patience and not giving up easily is the key here. Expect for your voice to break up the octave. Use falsetto (or any lighter mechanism above the middle part of your register) to reset the folds and try it again.

It is also worth to note that you should not feel any vocal fatigue or even have a scratchy throat when working on subharmonics (unless you are forcing the folds together, you should be just fine). Again, there is no added pressure or force to your voice. You are opening up a different resonance in the voice, shifting the harmonics, and modifying the function of your folds to create this sound.

Try singing with the word “nyah” instead with a lot of sound energy focused in front and slightly higher from your teeth OR use a hum instead (“hmmm” or “hnnn” will work). Try step 2 again to see if there is any progress.

Some singers have reported that a higher larynx helps – I will say that the larynx should be stable and you should feel a tilt forward (clockwise) rather than it moving up or down. Of course, each singer’s will differ based on their own voice, experience, etc.

 

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That is all it takes to sing the first subharmonic. From here on out, it is trial and error in terms of gaining experience. The knowledge you seek should stem from healthy principles in voice. Regardless of what school or style of voice you come from, it should always be healthy, accessible, and maintain longevity – we only have one voice.

I will be posting some valuable resources available online as well as some of my experiences from choir. Thank you for reading – next up, Subharmonic Warm-ups! I will keep you posted on a video of these two steps.

 

Remember, only you can prevent tuning issues. 😀

 

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