Jerry, how does it feel?

To Jerry Eskelin,

I've read with interest your discussions of triads 'locking' for vocalists,
and agree that 'instruments' of infinite pitch resolution (fretless
strings, vocal chords, etc) would seem optimal rather than stepped
resolutions (no matter how small).

Even though you plan on making musical examples, is there any way you can
put into words the feeling of 'locking'? I remember some of the few times
I've been employed as a vocalist (I'm sure I would fall into Paul's "poor"
category), and the moments when I would hit a pitch (along with the others)
that it was like the sound world suddenly came into focus. This occurred
both in terms of harmony and melody. One example of the latter was a
descending scale of very small microtonal intervals: at first, it seemed
nearly impossible to get the gradations just right, but with practice (and
a reference instrument), the intervals seemed to get as wide apart, in
feeling, as any 12tet half-step (which, accordingly, felt as great a gap as
the Grand Canyon!).

I know these things are hard to put in words, but maybe in your rehearsals
with your singers you have all found common analogies...

Best,
Jon
`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`
Jonathan M. Szanto : Corporeal Meadows - Harry Partch, online.
jszanto@adnc.com : http://www.corporeal.com/
`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`

>From: "Jonathan M. Szanto" <jszanto@adnc.com>
>
>To Jerry Eskelin,
>
>I've read with interest your discussions of triads 'locking' for vocalists,
>and agree that 'instruments' of infinite pitch resolution (fretless
>strings, vocal chords, etc) would seem optimal rather than stepped
>resolutions (no matter how small).
>
>Even though you plan on making musical examples, is there any way you can
>put into words the feeling of 'locking'? I remember some of the few times
>I've been employed as a vocalist (I'm sure I would fall into Paul's "poor"
>category), and the moments when I would hit a pitch (along with the others)
>that it was like the sound world suddenly came into focus. This occurred
>both in terms of harmony and melody. One example of the latter was a
>descending scale of very small microtonal intervals: at first, it seemed
>nearly impossible to get the gradations just right, but with practice (and
>a reference instrument), the intervals seemed to get as wide apart, in
>feeling, as any 12tet half-step (which, accordingly, felt as great a gap as
>the Grand Canyon!).
>
>I know these things are hard to put in words, but maybe in your rehearsals
>with your singers you have all found common analogies...

Jon,

I know you directed your request to Jerry, but I find your question so
interesting I'm going to jump right in. The feeling you describe is one of
the pleasures I find in singing music in an ensemble (or listening to such
music). I would describe it as in tune, in focus, in sync, locked,
ensemble, in step, fused, or together. I find that when a chord is locked,
which I believe involves accuracy of pitch, vowel, and dynamics, everyone
agrees about it being locked. For me it feels as if there is a new thing in
the room. I think that the pleasure of singing harmony (in my group,
generally five-part) comes from the fact that the individuals are able to
come together and create something that no one could on his own, while each
maintains his individuality. It is pleasurable to be in such a relationship
with others.

Your example of learning a descending scale of small intervals feeling
larger and larger is important in that it shows that our perceptual
abilities are not fixed but may be developed through appropriate learning
situations. Because of this I've always been suspicious when I've read some
report of the just-perceivable difference in pitch, as if that were a fixed
quantity. I know that it can be decreased as we learn to increase our
sensitivity. A contrasting experience I've had as a singer is that of
feeling like the leap of an octave is a _small_ distance. That feeling can
be produced by experimenting with arpeggios and leaps of two octaves or
more, or playing funny games like singing a simple melody and tranposing
every other note up an octave.

John Link

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> From Jon Szanto to Jerry Eskelin:
>
> Even though you plan on making musical examples, is there any way you can
> put into words the feeling of 'locking'? I remember some of the few times
> I've been employed as a vocalist (I'm sure I would fall into Paul's "poor"
> category), and the moments when I would hit a pitch (along with the others)
> that it was like the sound world suddenly came into focus. This occurred
> both in terms of harmony and melody. One example of the latter was a
> descending scale of very small microtonal intervals: at first, it seemed
> nearly impossible to get the gradations just right, but with practice (and
> a reference instrument), the intervals seemed to get as wide apart, in
> feeling, as any 12tet half-step (which, accordingly, felt as great a gap as
> the Grand Canyon!).

Thanks for asking, Jon. The basic feeling of "locking" can be experienced by
singing a sliding pitch upward over a sustained drone. And, happily, you CAN
try this at home. :-)

Sustain a synth (or organ) pitch in your moderately low vocal range using a
fairly simple timbre (flute or string works fine). Match that pitch vocally
(including its timbre) and then slide your voice upward extremely slowly,
savoring every little change in consonance as you move the pitch. (Don't
forget to breathe once in a while.)

As you move off the unison, the dissonance will be violent at first and then
will move into regions of relative consonance. When you find a node of
consonance, move back and forth (up and down) to find its point of optimum
"agreement." That's what I call "locking." Some call it "the point of
minimum beating." The easiest node to tune is, of course, the perfect fifth
(2:3), then the major third (4:5), etc. However, you will notice other
subtle points of agreement along the way. I find that this experience really
clarifies the nature of pitch relations for my beginning students and they
become less dependent on the old 88. (For all you young synth dudes, that's
a standard piano. :-)

Your "Grand Canyon" feeling is a good analogy of well-tuned intervals. I
understand what you mean. It often comes as a surprise to singers--even
experienced ones--that a minor second can lock in as clearly and accurately
as a perfect fifth. "In tune" is "in tune" relative to the dissonance in the
"space" around the node.

In regard to "locking" chords, the principle of "optimum agreement" applies
as above, however when singing with other singers in changing harmonic
contexts there is no fixed drone as a point of reference. The chords "float"
into tune as the singers mutually adjust their pitches into optimum
agreement. The goal is to create a sound in which the individual pitches
virtually disappear into the "homogenized" sonority--or chord color. When
each singer can no longer hear his/her own individual voice, the chord has
"locked." (Of course, this also involves timbre [vowel color], loudness and
brightness as well as pitch.)

Hope this helps. For more on this, you might like to visit my site.
<http://home.earthlink.net/~stg3music/>

Jerry

Gerald Eskelin wrote,

>As you move off the unison, the dissonance will be violent at first and
then
>will move into regions of relative consonance. When you find a node of
>consonance, move back and forth (up and down) to find its point of optimum
>"agreement." That's what I call "locking." Some call it "the point of
>minimum beating." The easiest node to tune is, of course, the perfect fifth
>(2:3), then the major third (4:5), etc. However, you will notice other
>subtle points of agreement along the way.

I find this a very important exercise and totally agree with your
description of it. If you use a timbre as harmonically rich as the human
voice, you will find it easy to "lock" at 5:6, 4:5, 3:4, 5:7, 2:3, 5:8, 3:5,
and 4:7. Requiring more attention but still doable are 6:7, 7:9, 7:10, 5:9,
and 6:11. Other ratios in the first octave require more training.