The origins, history and development of Belting
PEVOC 10
Jeannate LoVetri
Belt is unique in all of music (noun, verb and adjective)
I am a belter, belting out a belt song
Belter:
Singer with a strong voice
Person sings popular songs in a loud voice
JEANNI :
Comes from modal speech (chest register or TA) dominant production, loud volume, vowels not modified
Early research not helpful
Sound found in many cultures – vocal quality
Not “twangy” but “brassy”
Not defined by teachers or researchers, but the performers
Misconceptions:
Can only belt, can’t sing softly, men don’t belt, belting is not healthy
Belting follows classical voice categorization
Dramatic voices sound different from lyric voices
Lower voice sound different than high voices doing the same vocal behavior,
Pitches effect how the sound is perceived acoustically
Style may or may not affect the final sound
Vowels can vary without affecting the overall sound quality
Dramatic Tenors versus Alto Belters
Functionally, they are related
Tenors need only “spread” vowels (no modification) and let the larynx slightly rise to sound like belters
Due to the above, dramatic tenors are not a good example
Head slightly tilted up, but not pushed forward
Mouth typically “wide” but not always
Face “alive or smiley, but not always
Mouth always open on high and loud pitches
Tongue and neck are relaxed
Breathing quiet but w/ “strong support”
Breath demands are different (low air flow)
Long closed quotient, requires high subglottic pressure, does not float, can be noisy rather than pure easy to hold notes for a long time
Audio/video Examples
Anthropologic (ethnic)
Historic
Mid-20th century
Current
Listen overall vocal quality only, not language or other factors.
Singers need to project or carry, deliver the lyrics clearly
Traditional belt: Sophie Tucker, Kate Smith, Florrie Ford, Angela Lansbury
Aretha Franklin, Freddie Mercury
Elaine Paige – wide mouth
Linda Eder – head up, square mouth
Robert Cuccioli – forward tongue, head up
Steve Tyler
Christina Aguilera – WIDE mouth
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