Assessing the validity of a method for classification of the singing voice into four vocal modes as taught by ‘The Complete Vocal Technique’

Nazia Munir¹, Cathrine Sadolin², Henrik Kjelin², Paul Silcocks³, Julian McGlashan¹

At present there is no universal internationally approved and agreed terminology that can be used for all types of singing voice quality. The 'Complete Vocal Technique' has been developed to help singers build the sound quality they wish to produce in a healthy manner. Fundamental to this technique four basic modes of vocal quality, Neutral, Curbing, Overdrive, and Belting have been described. The aim of this study was to assess the ability of Speech Therapists to recognise these four vocal modes.
Twelve Speech and Language Therapists with no specific training in singing were given a one day training course in the theory and identification of the vocal modes. They were then asked to identify the vocal mode of 96 randomly presented voice samples covering different singing styles and produced by 24 singers (12 female, 12 male). A training CD was provided for home practice and the test was repeated two weeks later after a brief refresher course. Preliminary results indicate that the average percentage score of correctly identified vocal modes was 91.6 (SD 3.0%, range 87.5-97.9%) on the first test and 96.7 (SD 3.7%, range 89.6-100%). The average percentage wrong allocations for the first and second tests respectively were 4.9, 3.5% for Neutral; 9.7%, 4.9% for Curbing; 13.5%, 3.5% for Overdrive and 5.6%, 1.4% for Belting.
With relatively little training Speech Therapists can be trained to identify these four vocal modes with a high degree of accuracy. Potentially these terms could provide the foundations a common language between voice professionals.

¹Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Queen's Medical Centre Campus, Nottingham University Hospitals Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK
²Complete Vocal Institute, Hausergade 3-5. 1128 Copenhagen Denmark
³ School of Community Health Sciences, Trent Institute for Health Services Research ,University of Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK

Contact:
Julian McGlashan
Tel. +44 115 924 9924 Ext 63933
julian.mcglashan@nottingham.ac.uk