BELTING FOR CONTEMPORARY PERFORMANCE by Celisa Urech

 “Belt” is a term that rouses strong feelings from voice professionals.  It is a technique that has carried popular and folk music through the ages and yet has been described by Vennard in his 1967 Singing … the Mechanism and the Technic as “vocal malpractice” and Cornelius Reid stated the belt was “not a legitimate use of the vocal mechanism and is extremely detrimental to vocal health” (as cited in Edwin, 1988).  Robert Edwin, on the other hand describes belting with a much more pedagogical approach (1998, p.53): “A term describing a chest voice dominant (shortener dominant) vocal quality used in many styles of non-classical singing”  

This article strives to de-mystify many areas of belting for contemporary performance including; a factual description of belt, belt repertoire and industry requirements, practical pedagogical ideas and their application in the private voice studio.

Belt is a term associated with and popularized by Ethel Merman, American Musical Theatre performer of the 1940’s and 50’s, (Thurman, 2000, p.520).  It is widely recognised that folk and popular music has been sung in a belted manner in Western Civilisation throughout time and is now synonymous with singers such as Bernadette Peters, Bette Midler and Barbra Streisand.  Belt is applied at some point by all contemporary vocalists (Bartlett, 2005) and therefore is required in Musical Theatre, R’n’B, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Country and the infinite number of sub-categories attached to each of these major groups.  Jo Estill states (as cited in Edwin, 1998): “It is loud, brassy and sometimes twangy, and yes, it sounds like yelling and certainly would be if the yelling had not been shaped by the organization of frequencies, and time into meaningful music”

Most commonly, Belt is described as extending the lower register upward past the first passaggio and employing the laryngeal function of that register to produce pitches usually associated with the higher register (Miles & Hollien, 1990, p.65). The vocal fold function of belting is predominantly thyroarytenoid (shortener) dominant.  However, it is not sole thyroarytenoid, or T.A, action that dictates a balanced belt sound.  Cricothyroid, or C.T, (lengthener) action is present when belting and its participation increases as the pitch ascends (Edwin, 1998, p.54).  The vocalis muscle retains considerable mass when belting and the closed phase of the cycle is extended with the vocal folds in contact during approximately 70 per cent of the cycle and therefore, sub-glottal breath pressure is increased (Miles & Hollien, 1990, p.66).  

The position of the larynx differs when belting to that of classical singing.  Where  a classical sound requires a relatively low laryngeal position, belt calls for the larynx to be higher than “at rest” (Schutte and Miller, 1993, p.148).  The pharynx is narrowed and tongue position is high and wide. It is important to recognise then that belt is not purely “chest voice” singing, which is seen to have a low laryngeal position, wide pharynx, elongated mouth position and sympathetic chest vibration (Bartlett, 2005).  For a belt to be enduring and efficient, there must be a balanced ‘mix’ of shortener and lengthener musculature.  Extending this “chest voice” past the first passagio with a low larynx/wide pharynx posture is ineffective and precariously unsafe (Bartlett, 2005).  Belted voicing takes the lower register to far higher pitches than is recommend in classical singing (Schutte & Miller, 1993, p.148).

When singers have difficulty experiencing a free belt, it might be suggested that they are mistakenly extending a shortener dominant sound without incorporating enough cricothyroid, or pushing up the “chest voice”.  Uninformed or misguided vocalists may confuse the forced sound of registration abuse with an acoustically considered, muscularly balanced alternative with ruinous results (Allen, 2004, p.268).  Singing with a low larynx and wide pharynx would result in very unpleasant, uncomfortable sensations due to the amount of strain being exerted on the voice. The balancing-act of coordinating the shorteners and lengtheners described as ‘mix’ or ‘shared muscle activity’ is not a tool unique to non-classical vocalists.  Classical vocalists also employ both the thyroarytenoid and cricothyroid muscles simultaneously - however, the classical singer favours the lengtheners while the shorteners are favoured by contemporary vocalists (Edwin, 1990, p.54), thus creating two types of voicing that sound, feel and look vastly different from each other (Edwin, 2004, p.285).

Belt singing is very “chiaro” or “bright”.  It is distinctly different from the open, full bodied classical sound.  This brightness is associated with “twang”; a term given to the sound created by an intended tightening of the aryepiglottic sphincter and shortening of the vocal tract.  It may be assumed that a tighter aryepiglottic sphincter is what results in the narrower pharynx allied with the characteristics of belting.

The debate over whether or not men “belt” rages on.  Registration in the male voice differs to that of the female voice mainly because they sing with a shortener dominant arrangement unless singing in falsetto, where the T.A. is completely inactive and disengaged (Thurman, 2000, p.425).  Shortener dominant sound being the primary vocal function for men results in male classical singing being comparatively closer to male belt singing than female classical singing is to female belt singing (Edwin, 1998, p.61). The same narrowing of the pharynx occurs in males, thus creating the “forward” tone and increase in twang.  A male voice narrows and brightens the classical sound when belting and emphasises the informal, speech-like phrases popularly used in contemporary singing.  It is a brighter, more conversational phonation, resonation and articulation (Edwin, 2003, p.431).  Some examples of male belters are:  Peabo Bryson, Michael Bolton and Adam Pascal.   

When the larynx is elevated and the pharynx is narrowed, the acoustic result is a rise in the frequencies of all formants - which in turn produces a brightness in the sound, see figure B (Schutte & Miller, 1993, p.146).  Thurman states (www.nvcs.com, 2005): “In order to avoid acoustic overloading of the vocal folds, the mouth part of the vocal tract must gradually widen as the pitches rise, becoming quite open even in the middle of the singers’ capable pitch range.  In addition, subtle, intricate variations in the vocal tract adjustments can produce a variety of subtle “fuller-brighter” qualities.”

In belted voicing, the first formant is raised all the way to the frequency of the second harmonic and would perceptually appear to be quite edgy.  Spectral analysis shows that the enhanced partials contribute to the fundamental having relatively low-amplitude, characteristic of belting (Collyer, 1997, p.39).  The classical approach to singing the same pitches is characterised by the relatively low first formant, consequential of the “lower than rest” laryngeal posture and would be perceived as sounding comparatively darker, see figure A (Schutte & Miller, 1993, p.147).  

       fig. A (Schutte & Miller, 1993, p.146)            fig. B (Schutte & Miller, 1993, p.147)

All good quality, healthy vocalising (including belt) demands an understanding and application of breath management and support, alignment and understanding of the physical workings of the body.  A healthy, well managed belt is shortener dominant, bright, loud and twangy and includes none of the following attributes that are, unfortunately, commonly associated with this style of singing: wobbling jaw, protruding extrinsic musculature (neck), locked knees or tense tongue (Edwin, 2004, p.287).  

Belted singing can be found in all contemporary styles of singing (Bartlett, 2005).  Adults, adolescence and children around the world have been singing in a belted manner throughout the ages.  Today, belt singing is heard in jazz, folk, pop, rock and is most commonly associated with musical theatre, thus leading to the development of its other well known title “broadway belt”.  This manner of singing once had the purpose of allowing the female vocalist’s low-middle range to be heard over a brassy orchestra (Schutte & Miller, 1993, p.143).  Today, all major musical productions work with amplified voices, highly qualified sound designers and the best quality sound equipment. It can therefore be assumed that belt singing, which was once only necessary for the singer to be heard, has survived in the theatre because there is a quality in the sound that the audience loves and now, expects.

The history of belt in musical theatre is extensive.  Starting off with musicals such as “Annie Get Your Gun”, belters were often the gutsy, tom-boy types or comic characters.  Some examples of repertoire would include “I Cain’t Say No!” from Oklahoma, and “Adelaide’s Lament” from Guys and Dolls.  Today, the belter is often the romantic female lead such as Lucy in Jekyll and Hyde, or Elphaba in Wicked.  In years gone by, these roles would have been reserved for ‘legit’ voices. ‘Legit’ singing referrers to a vocal technique more akin to classical singing than to belting.  Vocal tone in legit singing has chiaroscuro fullness, is lengthener dominant, has sung vowels and consonants and active vibrato (Edwin, 2003, p.431).  Julie Andrews is one of the worlds must famous examples of a ‘legit’ singer (Bartlett, 2005).  

This leads to discussion of the “belt/mix” sound.  This is a more “chiaro” than pure belt however is still speech level.  Belt/mix refers to the technique of introducing more C.T. into the balance of laryngeal muscle as the pitch ascends and assists the passagio transition so that there is no noticeable ‘break’ or unstable change in registration.  It is a critical task for student and teacher to find the correct balance so that the voice is not stressed and producing a pressed tone or there is a dramatic change in tone quality between the registers.  Development of the higher register is of utmost importance.  A vocalist should sing through there entire voice and engage all vocal muscles which demands their interaction and ultimately, their coordination (Edwin, 1998, p.54).   It is suggested that to avoid a troubled register transition that twang should be increased and volume reduced before passing through the passagio (Bartlett, 2005).        

The stages of Broadway are diverse in their content and styles.  They are slowly moving away from ‘legit’ shows such as Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables.  Pop, rock, rap and jazz are much more popular choices for audiences who are lining up to see theatre works like Rent, Hairspray, Saturday Night Fever, The Lion King and Mamma Mia. There are of course shows that over lap category and at times even characters who are required to sing both belt and high soprano in the same musical.  The following was taken from:  http://www.musicalschwartz.com/wicked-auditions.htm, a web page devoted to auditions for Wicked by Stephen Schwartz.  The character of ‘Glinda’ is required to have a high soprano range and belt capability.

For a singer to assertively compete for employment in the musical theatre industry they must be versatile and be proficient at more than one style of singing - particularly as ‘legit’ musicals are growing less popular.  This situation is leaving the classical singer with less performance opportunities if they are unable to cross-over to a shortener dominant sound (Edwin, 2005, p.292). It is the role of the singing teacher to familiarize themselves with the different vocal styles being sung on Broadway and then provide students with the relevant pedagogy to help them achieve these sounds.  When a classical singer first tries to experience a belt sound - they are usually shocked by the increase in tension throughout the body.  The dominant T.A, longer closed cycle and increase in lung-air pressure amplifies this bodily tension.  The throat will feel tighter but will not actually hurt and the singer will take a while to adjust to the new sensations.  It is wise for a teacher to increase a new belter’s twang and decrease the aesthetic until the student is comfortably accessing the T.A and is not tempted to implement their classical technique on a belt laryngeal posture. Vocalists who are experimenting with belt for the first time should not practice for extended periods of time as this is a new muscular activity and they will tire easily (Edwin, 2004, pp 286 -287). The muscles need to be conditioned and stamina needs to be built slowly, as in any new physical activity.  

Belt repertoire from the 1950’s is very rarely written above B5 (‘As Long As He Needs Me’ from Oliver), while contemporary musical solos for belters often rise up to E5 or even F5.  Contemporary belt repertoire also make use of vocal effects such as melismatic runs, slides, slurs, growls, screams and sobs; all effects that are used to define current rock and pop music (Edwin, 2003, p.432).  It is essential that contemporary singing teachers overlay basic technique with these specific vocal effects while simultaneously evaluating any associated risks (Bartlett, 2005), for example; if a singer needed to growl into a sound at one point in a song the risks associated with this would be relatively low, however should she growl many times throughout a number of songs the risks increase.  Then factor in that this particular vocalist may be singing in this manner 5-7 times per week and the risks multiply yet again.  Making these effects a conscious choice rather than a chronic habit is imperative for the singer to have longevity.  

The differences between classical and contemporary singing styles are countless.  Acoustically, kinaesthetically, aurally, these styles employ very different techniques.  Teachers who concur with the concept “if a student learns to sing classically they can sing anything” are quite mistaken.  The muscle activity is quite different.  There is a lot more emphasis on the consonants in belted singing than in classical voicing, even though the tone is still carried through the vowel, the vowels and consonants are quite speech-like and traditionally, there is no vibrato, except for what the singer adds to colour the sound (Bartlett, 2005).  Contemporary lyrics contain important emotional nuance and it is crucial that they are heard and understood - this means that vowel modification is less acceptable for contemporary singers, whereas the beauty of the vocal line takes precedence for the classical vocalist (Schutte & Miller, 1993, p.143). Legato singing is not as essential because phrases are shorter, more speech-like and the likeliness of amplification of the voice is very high. The contemporary audience expects to hear a natural sound where unevenness and certain idiosyncratic features are found to be appealing rather than repellent.  The singer (not the song) takes higher order in contemporary music. Schutte and Miller state (1993, p.143): “In the “classical” world it is understood that a singer should not attempt to sing a given piece in public unless they can meet the (high) demands it makes on their technical skill; in the “non-classical” world it is not unusual to adapt the song to the strengths and weaknesses of the individual voice and temperament.”

The greater amount of muscular body support and the longer closed phase of the vocal fold vibratory cycle lay at the heart of classical teacher’s concerns about belting (Collyer, 1997, p.39).  A pressed sound is common among misguided belters with an unbalanced T.A / C.T mix. Teachers are required, with these students, to guide them toward an ideal ‘flow’ phonation as in any pedagogical approach to the teaching of singing.  The perceptions and misconceptions surrounding belt must be eliminated for successful pedagogy to occur in studio teaching and performance.  It is necessary for teachers of contemporary music and technique to be expert, skilled and experienced in the application of the technique within the relevant repertoire.  Should a teacher be classically trained and not an experienced belter - they should not attempt to teach it (Nisbet, 2005).  Classical singers often have difficulty attempting to belt as they sing with a classical laryngeal posture accompanied with a shortener dominant muscular arrangement. Many classically oriented singing teachers do not enjoy modern pop or rock music and have no interest in studying or teaching their students how to do it efficiently and effectively (www.anthonywinter.com.au/singers/advanced topics3).  It is dangerous to impress classical technique (low larynx, open throat, full vowels, etc) on belters (Edwin, 2000, p.44).  Classical teachers unfamiliar with contemporary styles of singing will be mediocre pedagogues and potentially damaging to non-classical students (Edwin, 2004, p.285).  

It is important to reiterate that belt singing is always shortener dominant - not a loud lengthener dominant sound, or singing loudly in “head voice”.  ‘Faux belt’ adds twang to a classically based sound and is described by some teachers as being the healthy way to belt.  The research shows that this is not the case.  Teaching ‘faux belt’ to students who wish to seek employment as legitimate belters does them a disservice as they will not be creating the sound that directors want to hear when they audition for belt roles (Edwin, 2000, p.43).  Teachers need to guide belt students toward the most effective way to sing their music - whatever the style.  If it is a style the teacher does not share an interest in, it would be best to recommend a different voice professional.      

Unfortunately there are many employed singers who mistake physical exertion for musicality and expressiveness.  Vocalists who press their sound or bang their arytenoids together to create an inefficient belt, risk nodules, chronic vocal fold swelling or vocal haemorrhage.  Edwin (1988, p.39) states that people who sing with this high degree of tension need to redefine their performing character and technique so that the spirit of the song keeps vitality while still experiencing vocal freedom. Thurman (2000, p.784) lists a number of voice protection skills that singers need to adhere to should they wish to avoid such disorders.  They include the development of all fundamental vocal skills, development of a well conditioned higher register, laryngeal hydration, conditioning of the laryngeal muscles and balancing ‘voice use’ time with ‘voice restoration’ time.     

The teachers of contemporary singing need to surround themselves with popular repertoire.  Listen to modern musical theatre and familiarize themselves with composers such as Jason Robert Brown, Andrew Lippa and Jonathon Larson and Broadway’s leading artists such as Leo Norbet, Sutton Foster and Heather Hedley.  Listen to pop singers such as Christina Aquilera, Craig David and Kelly Clarkson and understand the vocal models their students have given themselves and then offer them suggestions of other, older styles that they may also enjoy, such as Aretha Franklin, Barbra Streisand and even Edith Piaf.

It is exciting for contemporary singers to know that belting can be a safe and effective technique applicable to an inexhaustible selection of musical styles.  There are growing resources for teacher education on this topic and a plethora of examples of good vocal models to offer students who wish to add belt to their vocal index.  Belt related research completed by voice scientists undeniably puts to rest any misconceptions that belt is unsafe or not a legitimate use of the vocal mechanism.  There will always be singers who mistakenly abuse their voice, however teachers are now armed with the pedagogy to assist in a more efficient production of the desired sound for their music.  

Pedagogical Ideas for the beginning belt student.

TWANG

♪    to assist in experiencing and increase twang, ask student to “quack” or laugh like the wicked witch!

♪    Use nasal consonants: [m] or [n] and add to sounds such as ‘nye’ or nay’ (children teasing “nye, nye, nye-nye, nye!”)

♪    explain that it will feel different

♪    hum and experience where the sympathetic resonance is occurring

BELT

♪    start low in the student’s range

♪    ask the student to yodel and feel the shift from lower to higher register

♪    Remind students that their definition of high notes need to be re-evaluated when belting.

♪    use forward vowels [a] and [i] to start with and then try [o] and [u] once the student feels confident.

♪    speak the words first and feel the natural speech patterns and phrasing.

♪    use a mirror to notice how belting “looks” different to classical singing.

♪    record the student (tape or video) so they can hear the new sounds they are creating

♪    suggest the student consciously take note of how belting feels.  

♪     Ask the student continuously “How does that feel?”

♪    Encourage the student to make an ‘ugly’ sound so that they experience a voicing that is entirely different from a classical sound

♪    encourage a higher larynx and a feeling of forwardness in the mask

♪    watch for signs of tension and encourage good breath management and physical alignment.

REFERENCE LIST

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http://www.vocalist.org

Celisa Urech BIO

Celisa graduated from the QLD Conservatorium of Music with a Bachelor of Music (Classical Voice) and in 2005 completed a Post-Graduate Certificate in Vocal Pedagogy (Contemporary Voice) for which she received an academic excellence award.  She teaches classical and contemporary singing at her busy private voice studio and is resident singing teacher at A. B. Paterson College. Celisa performs regularly with the female corporate trio “Blush” and appears in musicals and dinner theatre on the Gold Coast.  Celisa has worked as Vocal Coach and Vocal Director for the In-House Productions department of the Gold Coast Arts Centre and is passionate about promoting healthy, contemporary singing in Australia.

Contact Details:

20 Pacific Pines Blvd
Pacific Pines, Gold Coast
QLD, 4211

singersstudio@optusnet.com.au

07 5573 1513
0405755890