Lowered larynx: advantages and dangers by Franco Tenelli

How to avoid dangers in lowering larinx.

[@TenelliVoiceGuru]

That's placements school of voice technique. Smiling technique is a cliche that comes out of vocal technuque misunderstanding. Smile inside you suggests opening throat(Yawn is a better suggestion). Smiling high notes disconnects with chiaro-scuro, breaks voice in registers.

[@Little_Duck_]

Mind-blowing, thank you. You might be the only one on KZbin that actually demonstrates it.

[@YgorCortes]

This was a GREAT lesson, the demonstration was VERY clear, the difference is huge! Thank you!

[@IvelinaDobreva]

Wow!! Thank you so much about your videos! I am a begginer soprano opera singer and support is still a difficult stuff for me, but it is definitely very important.

[@javmex2003]

P.D I never know any person that heard him live that said he lacks of sound or that he cant be heard, they all said his voice was like a blade that travels all over the teather

[@MsMarioMatteo]

Very well explained.

[@michelegambini]

Pure gold knowledge!

[@TenelliVoiceGuru]

Thank you. Whatever one calls it, the teacher has to know the chiaro-scuro sound in it's progress. Some teachers who studied methods, even good ones, from others, may not nessasarily teach them correctly

[@retiredsk8tr1953]

Thank you for this demonstration. I like your advice and I can clearly hear that your voice is resonant and focused with healthy vibrato. What about vowels? I was taught that the vowels should be 'lined up' and not change signifigantly from the low to the high voice. As a young man, I sang tenor, but whn I studied voice in NYC, my instrment became more relaxed, resonant and I gained a low register that I did not have earlier. I switched to baritone and still maintain a good upper voice.

[@TenelliVoiceGuru]

Lowered larynx is a must for those who sing opera. Those who have a naturally lowered larynx, don't feel it. Kraus is a great but limited singer. He was great in French(Faust) and very light Italian. As for Verdi he did not have a proper technique and there his voice was too nasal. Voices destroying those teachers who don't understand the Natural laws of acoustics, don't understand their own voices and teach baloney. You mention Kraus was a bad teacher, ask yourself why?

[@mickey1849]

Professor, Kraus was a "bad teacher" because he advocated "singing in the mask." Singing in the mask is nothing but a baloney term for singing with a raised larynx or allowing the larynx to "float" upwards while one is singing. On a good night, with the right music, maybe Herr Kraus might sound stupendous this way. But on other nights when things are not going so well, the larynx may be unwilling to cooperate properly in these acrobatics. These are the nights when you will see Herr Kraus straining, face and cheeks turning red, little head appearing as if it wants to pop right off (for a more comical example of this, watch Giuseppe Giacomini), because getting that sound out seems anything but easy. The most unpleasant thing of all is the unpredictability of the entire affair. One can never be sure which nights will be "on" and which nights will be "off." A low larynx--but not artificially pressed down using the back of the tongue--in its natural lowered position, such as when yawning, will offer the most consistent and easy and predictable sound production to the opera singer. /// Finally, I would like to add that I rarely listen to Herr Kraus sing. I find his timbre tiring at best, and at times even somewhat offensive to my highly trained and delicate ear. By raising his larynx he often comes close to completely ruining his squillo in my estimation, and the death of beautiful timbre cannot be far behind. :(

[@vlogsbyalejandro]

@@mickey1849 I found this very interesting. Thank you for the info! 👍🏽

[@mickey1849]

@@vlogsbyalejandro Giuseppe Giacomini is a woofer, the opposite of Kraus. But I threw him in there just to make the point that someone should not appear to be going through pains of labor when they are singing. Singing, if done RIGHT, should appear nearly effortless. It should sound like that whistling introduction on the Andy Griffith Show: perfect and effortless. If not, then the singer is battling against something he/she shouldn't be battling against.

[@joanabanyeres]

Low larynx is very important for female great voices, Just important to have a very good breathing, with a low diagram.

[@singermanz]

Joana Banyeres the diaphragms nature is to be in constant motion. You can't maintain a "low diaphragm" if there is any action of inhalation or exhalation (singing), because it MUST move in order for those things to occur. The larynx is IMMENSELY important for female singers. It must remain stable, and in a tilted (lowered) position not as a result of action in the throat, but as a reaction to the breath, which is what I think you're getting at.

[@stone8193]

singerManandWife appoggio keeps the diaphragm contracted and down as one exhales... it creates antagonism to dynamically alter breath pressure and air flow...

[@Thewisemonkey9]

Great advice... I wonder, where would we be without you old chum! Wonderful video as always!

[@retiredsk8tr1953]

Your examples are good. I am a teacher in NYC. I use different terminology, but believe mean the same thing. 'Hooded' the word I have always used to describe your 'woofy' sound. When I hear a higher laryngial position, to me, the voice sounds 'white' and the vowels sound too wide. I studied for many years with Conrad Osborne and Mollie Regan in NY. I am from Catania originally...German/Sicilian background. Was lyrico spinto tenor early on, then switched to baritone after a year of study in NY.

[@TenelliVoiceGuru]

thank you very much, type Feneste che lucive Neapolitan song by Franco Tenelli

[@gotoastrophotography2920]

Franco I have been studying your videos all of them for months, all of them. With out a doubt i have now started to understand and put them in to practice and totally agree with you about the register and that doing and using your videos as a teaching myself tool has started to work. I am how ever having a different issue were now i can hit the higher notes in my range with a little effort my vocal cords seem to miss a few notes up the scale and i feel them missing in my voice box.

[@shirleyrombough8173]

Wanting Trying >

[@TheWorldOfHarmony]

Wow! Thank you Maestro! Greetings from Canada.

[@TenelliVoiceGuru]

it does, but it's a complex connection between larinx position and air-compression caused by support. If you don't know how to support low larinx position you will end up singing with woofy tones.

[@prog112]

Another awesome video, Mr. Tenelli! Really helped me with some confusion.

[@AfroPoli]

Example no.2, that's Kaufmann.

[@singermanz]

AfroPoli heard him 6 times live unamplified and there was NO problem hearing him through rich orchestration. He sounds like a big lyric or helden-jugenlich live. He does not sound dramatic. He maintains immense control and lyricism with respect to live acoustics regardless of what he might sound like up close. His technique has produced an ability to sing a HUGE range of operas whereas the way he sang in the early 90s hindered his ability to sing AT ALL. When asked he simply responds with "this is how my throat opens. It allows me to sing without having to think about singing."

[@ricardpianist]

Thanks Mr Tenelli. Very interesting. I would be clearer if you make the examples of low larynx with/without (last examples) with the same vowel. "u" is naturally dark, and "a" is naturally more brilliant, so I couldn't really get the difference in the example. But thanks for sharing the knowledge!

[@TenelliVoiceGuru]

@yongsua1989 True Dramatic will project more then true liric voices but in some cases when a voice sounds dramatic because it's dark but lacks squillo will nor project without a mike.

[@TenelliVoiceGuru]

@yongsua1989 It's impossible to be a dramatic voice without "scuro":its not a Rossini style:) ther are 4 types of Dramatic tenor:Helden(powerful baritenor), Italian Dramatic,Spinto, Italian lirico-dramatico. they all have powerful voices with different ballance of chiaro and scuro. One may have very projective mask resonance and could sound powerful on the top or passagio but tessitura of a dramatic voice is lower(3 steps down) that of a liric one and needs "Scuro" ballance. You meant thick?

[@secretofsinging]

Good demonstration.

[@bh5606]

Great information but would like more specific information on the proper support.

[@MadChemistVEVO]

Great video and explanation. One question i have is when i lower my larynx should there be tension in neck and throat, or am i doing it wrong

[@MyristicMystic]

You can lower it by saying "oops" but without the s and you should not feel anything uncomfortable doing that, so try to determine what the differences are between doing that and whatever you are doing while singing that is causing the tense feeling.

[@AlexandreQueirozdeAlmeida]

You probably feel this tension because you lack strength on your throat muscles, and then you have to compensate that weakness with non essential muscles and tendons. Search for Gary Catona and try his exercises.

[@ariassongs]

MATJEC YOU SHOULD NEVER FEEL ANYTHING WHILE YOU SING, ONLY THE RESISTANCE OF THE APPOGGIO. THE SOUND SHOULD JUST COME OUT FREELY.. IT IS VERY LIBERATING FOR A SINGER. IT TOOK ME A FEW YEARS TO ACCOMPLISH IT.

[@georgeda90]

@@ariassongs Hi,i think i know what you mean,have you accomplished the sound you ever wanted?

[@TenelliVoiceGuru]

why should I have said that way when I don't approve registers. Singing with registers is not appoggio way and chest voice and head voices are registers. Chiaro-scuro is not just a combination of chest and falsetto:wrong concept that goes against great singers understanding of how to sing. This concept makes placement singers with dissected or trisected voices. Of course terms are not that important unless they contradict the reality

[@marioalbertoibarra6378]

Oh Thanks a lot mister Tenelli! =)

[@TenelliVoiceGuru]

That nobody knows. Lower larinx gives you more accoustic space in a throat, right support of a lower sound will give you darker sound for sure. The rest will depend on vocal folds lenth and thikness, bone structure etc...

[@mickey1849]

Good job professor!

[@ColonelFredPuntridge]

This is a great lesson. BUT one caveat: I HATE the word "support". The reason I hate that word is it sounds like a solid, static, un-moving thing, like a concrete foundation which "supports" the house you have built on it, or like a strut which "supports" a wall, or a walker which "supports" an elderly person. These are very bad images for vocal support, which must MOVE, the air must FLOW from the lungs through the instrument and out into the world, in a flexible way.

[@TenelliVoiceGuru]

@ricardpianist you need to hear it live:)

[@edinshealtiel3754]

GENIUS.........

[@AbadonBelial]

i love these videos ! grazie !

[@PapagenoHannover]

Maestro, tante grazie!

[@markjenkins1072]

The larynx moves through states not positions, the same way the ocean moves.

[@heitorjose5765]

Thanks and you sounds great!

[@shirleyrombough8173]

How do you get the lower larynx position physically? What do you mean by support? How do you get that support?

[@bassodivo1]

Mr. Tenelli. You simply reinfirced your chest voice in your chiaro/obscuro demonstration. What you could have said was thst the bslance of the chiaro/obscuro is just reallky a balance of headvoice voice snd chedt voice along with a relatively low but stabilized larync.

[@user-bu6nq1ve6m]

I find tjis lower suport realy hard to pull of for higher stuff but i find out starting on a lover note than puling up makes it easier and stronger when i try to do it straight i miss suport and volume completely (i sound goofy and strained )

[@prog112]

@Piarose7 Maestro Tenelli focuses on appoggio school where he emphasises importance of ONE registral singing. And to achieve that one must have stable larynx position in order to maintain same tembre. As far as i'm concerned nowhere in this vid he says to lower it the higher you sing.

[@singermanz]

prog112 no, but it can often feel like that to a singer who is learning this coordination for the first time, because in speech (at least for most) the larynx ascends with pitch. So often a student can find success with the thought that "as I ascend in singing I must think deeper (in order to preserve stability in the throat)."

[@guillermopalblolopezgarcia9262]

They forgot to talk about resonators...these are really important I think

[@singermanz]

Guillermo Palblo López García you mean the Pharynx? He discusses that more space is created with a lowered larynx, therefore more volume. ("Bigger drum, bigger sound"). "Resonators" is a result of "placement" ideas that result in a fragmented voice with more than one register. Sure, the voice might vibrate in the "sinuses" or "the mask," but it should not be placed there. It reaches there through a proper coordination of an appoggio that is appropriate for the laryngeal position of that particular singer, and air compression that comes as a result of that appoggio. The origin of sound must be maintained in the same position throughout the range. On a side note, a famous study was conducted in the 1980s sampling 100 singers to discover the relevance of "facial resonance." The 100 singers sang and were measured for volume and clarity, harmonics/overtones balance was noted. Then they each sang a second time after having their sinuses filled with water, and their noses stuffed with cotton. There was NO change in sound. These were all professional singers in North America, the U.K., Germany and Holland. What the study concluded is that from a scientific standpoint, the Pharynx is responsible for resonance. While some singers do find success in discussing ideas of facial resonance, or activating the resonators, etc; this should simply be viewed as a metaphorical tool rather than an objective anatomical observation because we now know that the face and sinuses have very little to do with actual resonance, even though we might "feel" the voice in the head at times (that's simply because our face is among the highest concentration of nerve endings in the body, so any disruption of feeling there will be acutely sensed by our brains, and tell us that something is happening there, when in fact not much is happening at all). Imagine someone yelling through a megaphone. If you placed your fingers on the outside of the megaphone while they did this, you would no doubt feel it vibrate. But is it the begaphone itself responsible for the increase of sound? NO! It is the conical shape of the space itself that encourages growth in the amplitude of the sound waves as they travel through that passage of air. Exactly like the pharynx. Just because we feel the vibrations in the walls of the megaphone does not mean that the flimsy plastic walls are actually resonating the sound themselves, it is the shape of the space that creates the sound.

[@pabloandresporraszuniga6910]

Maestro per mantenere la laringe bassa se deve applicare certa forza sulla mele d’Adamo?

[@shirleyrombough8173]

Ok, so support is breath support with the diaphragm. Also what is chiaroscura?

[@MyristicMystic]

Is this meant only for opera singers? I find that when I emphasize a vowel, the larynx will sometimes lower considerably, depending upon the vowel. I have no issues with my singing at this time, which is characterized by smoothness and no strain (various pop styles but not opera).

[@TEWMUCH]

HELPFUL!

[@janelulum9226]

Is there any possibility that the low larynx can coz any damage to health?

[@Piarose7]

The higher you sing the lower the larynx should go?? It's not right, i've been told that it's completely normal when the larynx goes up a little when singing high notes, as long as you re relaxed in the throat and your soft palate is raised as in yawn.

[@yongsua1989]

@TenelliVoiceGuru Thanks for your reply.Yes,I meant thick sounds.Is it the higher the notes,the thicker the sounds?

[@pepeelsordo]

I agree with you that Karus in Verdi wasn't big. Except Traviatta that he sang even with Callas. And yes, his voice was nasally and he tought nasal placement. However he sang for more than 35 years in the best theaters and the same repertoire all over his carrier. He never missed a single high note in his life. I don't think many singers have done that. So there must be SOME truth in his technique. By the way, he studied in Milan. My point is that for SOME voices his technique could help. .

[@geminikid1617]

As far as his high notes, I’ve noticed plenty of times where even when he got the high notes, they always were a bit pinched & pressed into the nose past tenor Bb. By that point he lost release & clarity in the sound. That was due to his mask placed singing, which got more prevalent as he got older.

[@yongsua1989]

@TenelliVoiceGuru I have question shere.Can I use the word "go" to test myself whether I am really using support or not?Because when I sing "Go" without support,I can feel the throaty but if I sing with support,it should not feel throaty,right?Second question,did you mean that lyric voice(small voice) can project better than dramatic voice(big voice) as you mentioned before at your old videos?Lyric voice can project louder and can heard over orchestra than dramatic voice?Is this true?

[@yongsua1989]

@TenelliVoiceGuru Then how should one develop his squillo?What bout if dramatic voices project with chiaro?Besides,if i sing higher notes with support properly,it will sounds like sick sound?Is this correct?

[@marcelyuda]

Does chiaro-related directly with how low our laryng position is? or Laryng position only related with how dramatic or lyric we sound?

[@gotoastrophotography2920]

As i have not been doing any type of sing and got hooked on one register singing with your videos and changing the register for me in a no no only to lower the larynx and to lower my larynx i take in the biggest breath i can into my mouth as fast as i can few times and feel the larynx move down and remember that feeling when they are down, and then do it at will with out having to take the big breaths in. Is possible that you can drop the larynx to far.

[@jcee6886]

How do you do lower support for lower larynx?

[@javmex2003]

oh come on kraus singed the best rigoletto and traviatta, those roles are for a lirico leggero like him and he only sings those operas (plus falstaff) because they were written for a voice like him. he never sung otello (like pavarotti) just because that kind of roles wasnt for him, he doesnt need to be BIG in operas that doesnt need a big voice.

[@singermanz]

Javier Ramírez Kraus's ducca was nothing compared to Pavarotti's (considering both of them at their prime, pavarottis harmonic carrying power was much greater, far more impressive, never nasal). Kraus had an ability to easily sing high notes, but so did Gedda and he didn't resort to nasality unless he was singing a French nasal vowel, and even then he strongly cautioned the practice).

[@gotoastrophotography2920]

When i say drop the larynx to far i mean they are being supported but i can drop them to the point were i can be ill and gag. Maybe i will get used to dropping them with out gagging but i can hit the lowest notes with a little power and support G2 and can feel the vocal folds as the notes are sung is this normal or do i need to not drop them so far. I also lift and lower the soft pallet at will. I have another issue that is not as bad i think. I have what i would say a dum sound voice.

[@ettoredipugnar6990]

How do you explain Mario Lanza ? He imitated Caruso's voice from listining to 78 rpms Yes his top is incredible ?

[@DrRhyhm]

He did not "imitate" Caruso. I mean he was a technically trained singer. Yes, listening great baritones and tenors when you are a male can help you form the sound, but it's not everything. If you are a beginner and only rely on listening great singer you might fool yourself. Going for a technique only by listening greats singing songs can be dangerous. Because you don't always sound like you think you do from out.

[@mohammadasgharkhah509]

❤

[@marcelyuda]

Maestro, does it mean any body can have a big projective or dramatic voice if one can keep the chiaro scuro balanced with lower or very low larinx? I feel if I sing with lower larinx, I need to push down stronger, and lower to keep the chiaro-scuro balanced.

[@mickey1849]

NEVER push the larynx down artificially. You will become Mr. Woofy. Let it remain in its natural lower position, as in yawning.

[@Bigasstbone]

Yes but how do you get the larynx down like that?

[@mickey1849]

YAWN!

[@aysegshanal2670]

Hi Franco, I would like to get in touch with you. Is there anyway I can call you to talk technique? I am a lyric soprano who is coming back to singing after a break. I want to get the appoggio going.

[@tphillips4870]

Would you say low larynx is for classical singing only?

[@mickey1849]

A lowered larynx will offer the most consistency for any genre

[@pepeelsordo]

Mr. Tenelli.- If you agree that Alfredo Kraus had a good technique, watch his videos about voice production. He doesn't even mention low larinx. In general, I agree with you but voice technique is not one for everybody but an adaptation to the individual instrument and its peculiarities. Mr. Kraus wasn't a very successful teacher for the same reason: fixed ideas about how you have to sing. If you are a teacher, please don't destroy voices like so many teachers (with all my respect for you).

[@tarcisiasiniscalchi6641]

Why does my larynx go up when I go higher with the notes????

[@mickey1849]

Because you are trying to make your larynx substitute for raising your soft palate in the rear of your mouth. This is a problem with working the wrong muscles.

[@tarcisiasiniscalchi6641]

Mickey you have solutions? Tricks?

[@mickey1849]

@@tarcisiasiniscalchi6641 I am sorry. I have no immediate solutions for this problem. This is because I never had this problem. For myself, I will say I can actually feel the soft palate in the very rear of my throat going up to accommodate the high notes. It's a muscle. If you have never used it, or only sparingly, when you go for high notes like Bb, or B, or C, you can feel the muscle lift up like a flap of skin, and it will collapse back down at any moment. This is because if the muscle has never been worked it will be flabby and out of shape. It just can't hold the position for very long. /// I often feel surprised that I don't hear the good teachers talking much about how important the soft palate is to the overall singing process. It's not just the very rear of the soft palate. The front half of the soft palate needs to be raised all the time when singing operatically. If not, you will not have the full pharyngeal expansion you need in order to get the proper mix of chiaro and scuro, to make the full, beautiful and clear sound. It will be a covered, weak and woofy sound. It will also be an uneven sound, because at the times you're lifting in the rear of the soft palate for the high notes you will probably also unconsciously lift the front half up as well, providing a somewhat proper sound for a moment, then back to covered/woofy. Frankly, I think learning to work the front half of the soft palate properly is even trickier than working the rear half. When it's working properly for me, I not only feel it lifting up, I also visualize it in my mind as concave and accommodating. In addition, I get that full operatic sound that I can hear, in order to confirm what I'm feeling. /// Ask Professor Tenelli. He may have an idea on how to deal with this. :)

[@gotoastrophotography2920]

This is not just me and understand that you may not hear what other people hear, most people that know me say wow Barry White has entered the building and i just have to laugh. Some other say wow your voice is so low how and why is it that low. This does as you can imagine make me a little self-conscious about singing. I know i have talked to u about these things and there is i am sure others with the same issues. Is it true that the lower the voice that the higher you may go singing.

[@gotoastrophotography2920]

Let me explain the dum sound voice as i call it. This is were example when speaking on the phone my voice sounds as low 1 tone Flat.

[@sebthi7890]

the lower the larynx the more difficult is a proper articulation, take care about the vowels, don't sing into a parrots beak.

[@jaimereyespena690]

Falso

[@evgenijbazarov8616]

"... as in a yawn". Not 'yown'.

[@johnmusalo1545]

great video please hear me sing mattinatta on you tube professor

[@antoniokwon3667]

nasal... ingola...

[@ddevicente]

You cant sing with chest voice without lowering the larynx. You're talking about the same thing.