In the classical world there is this idea of the “covered” sound, and in a video I’ve linked below, Pavarotti demonstrates covered sound.
What this broadly translates to is a sound where the brashness of chest voice is rounded off as the voice ascends, to create a deep and powerful sound, but with appropriate darkness and brightness therein. The easiest way to demonstrates this is with a clip, and who better to demonstrate than Pavarotti himself!
The clip is only about a minute long, and you can hear his personality really show through in his analogies. Just over half way through is the demonstration, and you can really hear what he means by going from an open/too open sound to a “covered” sound here. Have a listen.
This is broadly what we mean when we talk about narrowing the vowels. We are not seeking an overly narrow sound per se, instead we are seeking to blend the top with the bottom. We seek to do this without getting yelly/shouty (or suspecting a strangle as Pavarotti would put it), but similarly without giving up on the sheer authority and depth of function of chest voice. The sound in this clip is proof in itself of why this approach is so critical.
There is arguably a greater amount going on in “covering” the sound than ONLY narrowing of the vowels. I’m certain that if you asked a dozen great classical singers about how they cover the sound and what is involved they would say they are doing other things as well, but fundamentally the narrowing of vowels is a critical component of this.
All this is to say…
…by seeking this “covered” approach, we can establish the full range of our voice, with the full depth of our natural speaking voice, but with the ease and brightness of our upper registers.
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