Journal of Voice

Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 64-70

© 1990 Raven Press, Ltd., New York

Whither Belting?

*Beth Miles and tHarry Hollien

*DePauw University, Greencastle, Indiana, and the ~Institute for Advanced Study of the Communication Processes,
University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, U.S.A.

Summary: An explanation of belting appears necessary for practical as well as

scholarly reasons. Tentative definitions are available in the literature; how-
ever, they are controversial, especially since most are based on personal opin-
ion. Further, many individuals involved in the use and care of the voice believe
that singers who employ this technique have a disproportionately high inci-
dence of vocal dysfunction. In any event, a review of what is known about
belting, its nature, and the difficulties associated with it would appear helpful
in its understanding and the prediction of fruitful avenues of research. Key
Words: Belting--Speaking--Singing voice--Registers and singing.

This essay will focus on the singing mode of must include both perceptual and acoustic con-
"belting"--a term which is used to describe a spe- structs. Moreover, the attending laryngeal and vo-
cific singing (voice) quality, presumably produced cal tract arrangements must be explained. Such
by specialized manipulation of the larynx and vocal structuring presently is not possible, as very little
tract. Although this statement constitutes no defi- appropriate research has been carried out. There-
nition, it unfortunately covers just about everything fore few, if any, of these potentially important re-
that can be articulated with certainty about this lationships appear to be known. In a sense, a kind
poorly understood, controversial singing technique. of "Catch-22" seems to exist: that is, it is difficult
Most singers and singing teachers, and a large to experiment on belting until it can be defined, yet
portion of the public, appear to be able to identify it will not be possible to formulate a reasonable def-
belting when they hear it. If it is perceptually iden- inition until at least some relevant data become avail-
tifiable, it also should be amenable to description able. Thus, we recognize at the onset that we will
and investigation. To begin to address the elusive not be able to establish a predictive model. Never-
subject of belting, we have reviewed various defi- theless, we hope that the working structure within
nitions and descriptions found in the literature and this article will provide investigators with a better
others that we obtained by means of a survey. The starting point for the study of belting than is cur-
little available research on belting also was consid- rently available.
ered. On the basis of this information, we will at-
tempt to define belting in a manner that may permit
A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
this singing entity to be investigated systematically.
Before proceeding, we should stress that if belt- The literature related to belting falls into three
ing is to be understood, its definition ultimately categories. The largest of these consists of position
papers produced by singers and teachers of singing.
For example, it includes literature authored by
Howell (1), Osborne (2,3), Estill (4), Ruhl (5), and
Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Harry
Hollien, IASCP, 50 Dauer Hall, University of Florida, Gaines- Edwin (6). These articles all appear to have been
viUe, FL 32611, U.S.A. published to communicate the opinions (on belting)

64
 BELTING 65

held by these authors; their contents were based Descriptions

primarily on personal observation and experience. Descriptions of belting differ from definitions pri-
The second category consists of the statements re- marily because they focus on how it is perceived.
leased by the American Academy of Teachers of The description most frequently applied to this type
Singing (7) and the Voice Foundation (8) with re- of phonation is "loud" (1,2,4,5), with RuM noting
spect to general positions on the use of belting. only a minimal difference between yelling and belt-
These statements reflect concern about the singing ing. Osborne clarifies his association of loudness
technique and its possible detrimental effects. The and belting with the reminder that, in almost all
final category includes literature wherein the au- cases, individuals using the technique are supported
thors discuss the results of more objective inquiry. by amplification; he implies that most belters could
This group includes first the Lawrence (9) report of not be heard in a "large house" without such sup-
his observations of 27 belters, then two articles pre- port. Osborne also suggests that the total dynamic
sented by Estill and her associates (10,11) in which range available to a belter is extremely limited, with
they contrast their results on belting with five other projected soft singing of this type being nearly im-
voice qualities, and finally a comparison by Estill possible to accomplish.
(12) of the physiological characteristics that exist in Also included among the perceptions these au-
belting and "classical" singing. Although specific thors cite is that the successful production of belting
definitions of belting were not provided by Estill et necessitates a high level of physical effort or en-
al. we will assume that the quality they studied was ergy. For example, Howell (1), Osborne (2), and
the same as that being discussed here. Ruhl (5) relate this perceived effort to the tension or
force required to hold the laryngeal position of the
Defmitions "chest register" while the vocalist produces higher
Definitions of belting have been provided by Os- frequencies. In the same vein, Estill (4) implies that
borne (2), RuM (5), and Edwin (6). All define this extra energy is necessary for the belter to sing
singing quality as a method of voice production in through the lower to the upper register transition (or
which the vocalist "extends" the frequency range "break") and adds that the source of this extra en-
of the "chest register" upward. Osborne states that ergy seems to be centered in muscles in the head
"belters" employ the laryngeal activity of that reg- and torso.
ister to produce pitches normally within the domain Vocal " b r e a k s " (i.e., transitions between the
of a higher register. Ruhl agrees with Osborne's def- lower and upper vocal registers) also appear asso-
inition, suggesting that in belting, the normal laryn- ciated with belting. According to Howell (1) and
geal adjustments between "chest register and mid- RuM (5), as the vocalist produces increasingly
dle register" are not made. As a result, the "chest higher pitches, he/she will eventually reach a point
voice" is carried up to the point in the singer's fre- at which the larynx can no longer continue to func-
quency range where the "head voice" begins, elim- tion in the specified manner. At this point, a distinct
inating the transitory region between the lower and "break" or "crack" in the tone will be heard. Ruhl
upper registers. While we find this definition useful, implies that this event will occur at or near the tran-
we are forced to point out that the presence of the sition point associated with the shift to the upper
middle register has not been clearly established register. Estill (4) appears to agree, as does Osborne
even in singers (13-16). (2), who even goes so far as to suggest that the
The definition provided by Lawrence (9) is more break will be found at approximately C5 (see also
comprehensive. He hypothesized that the belter ex- 19).
tends modal register (as defined by Hollien, 17) or Other descriptions of belting have been pro-
the speaking voice mode (Colton and Estill, 18) posed; a few should be included in this discussion.
Upward in frequency and at relatively high ampli- For example, Osborne (2) describes belting as a
tudes. Lawrence supports his hypothesis by com- "blatant sound with open vowel formation," char-
paring his observations of the laryngeal activity as- acterized by a lack of vibrato and very precise ar-
sociated with belting to those reported by Colton ticulation. He also notes that the tone produced
and Estill. The two descriptions are remarkably may be perceived at a higher pitch than the one
similar and seem to indicate that belting is an exag- which is actually being phonated. Estill (4) essen-
gerated use of the speaking voice or the modal reg- tially agrees and adds that belting is sometimes per-
ister. ceived as having a nasal (quality) component.

Journal of Voice, Vol. 4, No. 1, 1990

66 B. MILES A N D H. H O L L I E N

Physiological correlates vided by these descriptions, they do lend support to

The physiological research on belting can be di- several of those previously discussed.
vided into two areas, that in which the activity of In any case, it appears well established that the
the larynx itself is described--or, at least, theo- singer who belts frequently experiences vocal pa-
r i z e d - a n d that which pertains to the manipulation thology. Unfortunately, the reason for this relation-
of the vocal tract by the singer. At the laryngeal ship is both poorly understood and subject to con-
level, it has been suggested that belting is charac- troversy. For example, it is not known if this form
terized by a high level of activity in the vocalis mus- of singing is harmful in and of itself, some singers
cle (4,11)--an observation that tends to correlate simply are physiologically susceptible to injury
with Osborne's (2) insistence that belters retain sub- from the mechanisms associated with it, some as-
stantial vocal fold "mass" as frequency increases. pect of one's training creates a hazard, or injuries
His postulate is speculative, of course. Moreover, o c c u r only in those who do not p r o d u c e it
we recognize that, while the total mass of the vocal "properly." In any case, the initial problem ob-
folds varies little, it may be possible for the vocalis served in belters ordinarily tends to be hoarseness
muscle to remain "active" in high-frequency belt- (1,5,6,8); it is described as a condition which closely
ing--a relationship implied when Hollien's mea- p r e c e d e s the d e v e l o p m e n t of vocal nodules
surements of the per-unit mass of the vocal folds (1,2,6,7,9). More severe pathologies often can fol-
(19) are considered. Finally, Estill (12) reports pre- low if the singer persists in employing this form of
liminary data, obtained from electroglottography vocalization. Included among these disorders are
(EGG), which suggests that the glottic cycle for vocal fold polyps, cysts, or even hemorrhages
belting is characterized by a long closed phase, with (1,6,8,9). At the most severe level, the extended use
the vocal folds in contact during approximately 70% of this type of singing appears to be related to per-
of the cycle. manent and detrimental changes in the tissues of the
A number of belting-related events have been ob- larynx (5). The outcome in some cases is the devel-
served to occur within the vocal tract. For example, opment of a husky, deepened vocal quality which
Lawrence (9) suggests that belting is typified by "a may not be reversible. Indeed, Lawrence (9) noted
relatively high laryngeal position, essentially closed that the larynges of those belters he observed (all
ventricular spaces, constricted pharyngeal diame- had developed vocal problems) appeared remark-
ters . . . . (an) epiglottis often tilted over the larynx ably similar to those of individuals being treated for
and an often elevated tongue base." Essentially, he laryngeal hyperfunction relative to their speaking
describes the vocal tract as "constricted" during behavior. It also is interesting to note that his pa-
belting. Maintaining this arrangement would seem tients reported generalized vocal fatigue, especially
to require a great deal of physical effort. The EMG in the neck muscles, and a loss of vocal control. In
studies reported by Estill et al. (10,11) tend to con- short, it is obvious from these descriptions that
firm Lawrence's position in this regard, as these some sort of a relationship exists between belting
authors observed extremely high levels of activity and vocal pathologies.
in the palatal and laryngeal muscles, especially in
the vocalis, during belting. Belting in the male singer
There is one additional issue that requires con-
Vocal dysfunction related to belting sideration. A controversy exists as to whether or
It must be pointed out that the statements circu- not belting is gender specific to women only. Ruhl
lated by the American Academy of Teachers of defines this type of vocalization as a technique
Singing (7) and the Voice Foundation (8) apparently which, due to the nature of the male voice, is rele-
were produced with the intent to warn singers of the vant only to females (5). Indeed, she goes so far as
potentially detrimental effects of belting; they do to describe belting as an imitation of a "natural"
not provide definitions or descriptions of this sing- male singing quality. A middle position is postu-
ing phenomenon. However, the Voice Foundation lated by Lawrence (9) and Osborne (2), both of
is seen to associate belting with "chest voice," whom state that belting is more commonly ob-
"yelling," and/or "forcing." Moreover, the state- served in female singers but that it can be included
ment by the Academy is consistent with Osborne's in the singing repertoire of both sexes. Lawrence
(2) association of belting with the absence of vi- provides the only statistical data on the issue; there
brato. Although little additional information is pro- were nine men among the 27 belters he treated. At

Journal of Voice, Vol. 4, No. 1, 1990

 BELTING 67

the other extreme, EstiU (12) not only considers dis- extreme upper limit of a vocal register. On the other
cussion of belting relevant to the voices of both hand, 12 individuals provided a slightly different re-
sexes, but she asserts that the technique is com- sponse: they defined belting as the extension of the
monly employed by certain male vocalists. frequency range of a lower register to "pitches"
which are generally considered above its upper fre-
quency limit (Dobelle, Jackson, M c C h e s n e y ,
A SURVEY McKinney, Meyers, Miller, Morris, Nielsen, Paton,
Sataloff, Shipp, and Wilkey). Paton defined belting
As implied, it is rather difficult to develop a rea- very specifically, for women at least, as the use of
sonable definition of belting solely on the basis of "a heavy registration" for pitches above F4. Inter-
the available literature. Accordingly, we attempted estingly enough, F4 has been described by Fields
to gather additional information and opinions by (20) as that point at which a "break" between lower
means of a limited survey that solicited opinions and upper voice registers may occur. While we are
from 65 individuals whom we considered knowl- uncomfortable with "universals" such as this one,
edgeable in this area. Many of those contacted (33) Fields' position does, in a sense, support Paton's
were singing teachers we knew to have had some definition.
experience with belting (or teaching it); we also in- On a physiological level, Miller stated that the
cluded several laryngologists and other physicians belting quality is produced by "keeping the mass of
(eight) with expertise in the care of the singing the vocal folds as found in the lower range, while
voice, plus a few phoneticians and voice scientists making those pitches in the ascending scale that
(24). We emphasize that the group surveyed by no require vocal fold lengthening and diminution."
means included even a majority of those individuals McChesney essentially agreed, while Dobelle
with expertise and/or interest in belting. Neverthe- added another dimension, stating that "belting is
less, we believe that it is a reasonably representa- the adduction of the 'heavy' vocalis muscles (with a
tive one. longer closure of the glottis) beyond the point where
The response the arytenoids must rotate to stretch the vocal cords
Responses were received from 57% of the 60 in- for more tension for a higher frequency." She noted
dividuals actually contacted (five questionnaires that this rotation will occur at around C4 (261 Hz) in
were returned undelivered). Of those 34 respon- women and in the vicinity of A3 (220 Hz) for men.
dents, eight did not define belting, frequently citing
their lack of "hands-on" experience in the area, Descriptions
and two could not add to their already published Belting was described either by example or by
materials. The remaining 24 individuals (see ac- reference to situations in which it is used. It was
knowledgments) gave responses ranging from a most frequently characterized as a singing tech-
two-line description to a two-page essay including nique employed in "pop," "rock," "gospel," or
substantial detail. In turn, we organized the infor- "jazz" performances (Estill, Jackson, Miller, Mor-
mation received into three categories. Our first in- ris, Nielsen, Paton, Sataloff, and Wilkey). How-
terest was in definitions of belting. Secondly, we ever, Johnson suggested that the term may have
examined the descriptions of this type of singing, originally been used to describe a singing quality
and finally, we considered the respondents' posi- c o m m o n to A m e r i c a n musical t h e a t e r - - i . e . ,
tions relative to the controversial issues. "Broadway singing." A number of other respon-
dents (Doscher, Hicks, Paton, Rubin, Sataloff, and
Definitions Wilkey) agreed at least in the sense that they also
Definitions of belting were provided by most of associated belting with musical theater. Several ex-
the respondents; nearly all could be labeled "user's amples of successful belters were provided. They
definitions"--i.e., those which would facilitate included Ethel Merman (Estill, Johnson, McKin-
belting by a singer with no previous knowledge of ney, and Meyers) and Ella Fitzgerald (McKinney)
the technique. A few responses also included phys- as well as Patti LaPone, Barbra Streisand, and
iological definitions of this type of singing. Liza Minelli (Johnson).
Belting was consistently defined in terms of vocal As in the literature, the perceptual description of
registers or "voices." For example, Matteson and belting most frequently referenced was that of loud-
Keister stated that it is the act of singing at the ness. This characteristic was cited by nine individ-

Journal of Voice, Vol. 4, No. 1, 1990

68 B. MILES A N D H. H O L L I E N

uals, most of whom associated it with related de- an elevated larynx is consistent with that of
scriptors such as " y e l l i n g " or " s h o u t i n g " Lawrence (9); further, it was supported, by Mc-
(Doscher, Estill, Johnson, and M c K i n n e y ) , Chesney, McKinney, Meyers, Titze, and Wilkey,
"brassy" (Rubin), "penetrating" (McKinney), and as was her observation of a constricted pharynx
even "raucous" (Michel). (Gould and Meyers). Meyers also noted that the
Other descriptions included several related to vi- area of the vocal tract is further minimized by a low
brato, "mixing," and/or placement. Doscher asso- soft palate. It is postulated that the vocal tract is
ciated belting with either " a narrow, fast vibrato or fixed in this arrangement (McChesney and Rubin)
none at all" and Sataloff agreed to some extent, and that the singer resists any adjustment resulting
noting that "on longer notes, belting customarily from changes in " p i t c h . " The extra physical
employs straight tone followed by delayed introduc- "effort," or energy expenditures, associated with
tion of vibrato." Doscher also suggested (as did belting (Brown, Colton, Doscher, Hicks, Meyers,
Meyers) that belting cannot be "mixed" with other, Michel, and Paton) may be required to hold the vo-
lighter qualities. Finally, placement was discussed cal tract in the stated position and could result in the
by Jackson and Keister, who agreed that belting can excessive laryngeal tension noted by Keister, Mc-
be perceived as having an "open" or "forward" Chesney, Miller, and Rubin. It should be remem-
dimension. bered, however, that the suggested relationships
between laryngeal/vocal tract physiology and belt-
Acoustic correlates ing undoubtedly are based on logical deductions or
Two respondents discussed the relationships be- subjective observations. Thus, they should be
tween the acoustic spectrum and belting. Hicks sug- viewed with some caution. Many appear plausible
gested that its spectral characteristics are such that (and probably are accurate), but they probably
the sound produced seems to " p e n e t r a t e the should not be fully accepted until systematic exper-
house." Additionally, Colton hypothesized that a imentation (supporting them) has been carried out
spectral analysis of belting would reveal a great deal and reported.
of energy in the higher harmonic partials. The pres-
ence of high-frequency energy in belting correlates Is belting hazardous?
with its association with the modal (or "chest") reg- Perhaps the most controversial issue related to
ister, since it has been determined (14,22) that belting is the question of whether or not this type of
greater levels of high-frequency energy are found in singing can be associated with voice abuse. In this
that register than in those occurring above it. regard, the respondents to our survey were in al-
most unanimous agreement that some sort of a re-
Physiological correlates lationship exists. However, they were not clear as
A number of respondents provided opinions on to whether belting is intrinsically abusive, if it sim-
the possible physiological correlates of belting as ply is a technique which is misused by many sing-
related to the structural arrangement of the larynx ers, or if certain types of training are at fault.
and/or the vocal tract. For example, potential laryn- The first position was typified by statements by
geal gestures were described by Doscher, who sug- Morris and Miller; it is concisely summarized by
gested that "firm vocal fold adduction, thick cords, Miller's unequivocal statement that to belt "is to
(and) a very short open phase" would accompany use the vocal instrument in a pathological fashion."
the production of belting. Her assessment of firm While he acknowledged that "several American
vocal fold adduction may be related to positions teachers think they have found ways to 'belt' that
articulated by McChesney, Rubin, Shipp, and are less destructive . . . . " he added that "I have
Wilkey. Doscher's description of "thick cords" yet to see such results."
correlated with Miller's observation that, in belting, Those respondents who took an alternate posi-
vocal fold mass (or, perhaps, per-unit mass?) is re- tion suggested that the high level of vocal injury in
tained with increasing frequency. belters tended to result from factors not intrinsic to
Doscher also provided the most complete de- the technique. First, Wilkey related the ability to
scription of the vocal tract as related to belting. She belt safely to "extraordinary talent, vocal strength"
argued that singing of this type will be accompanied and "an unusually strong vocal apparatus," i.e.,
by " a high laryngeal position, a high tongue base inborn physical characteristics. Second, Doscher,
and minimal pharyngeal space." Her observation of Gould, and Matteson suggested that specific tech"

Journal of Voice, VoL 4, No. 1, 1990

 BELTING 69

niques must be used by belters in order to avoid requires all four characteristics to be present simul-
vocal difficulties. Indeed, Gould stated that when taneously. Quite obviously, any one of them might
belting is used by individuals untrained in these be associated with other recognizable singing tech-
techniques, vocal abuse very well may result. niques, but all are necessary if belting constitutes
Third, while he did not speculate on the nature of the phonatory mode. We also would argue that this
those techniques that might be of protective value, definition enjoys some base in the opinions and re-
Doscher did observe that "those singers who have search of others and that it is not cluttered by dis-
belted for a long period of time and 'survived' vo- tracting elements such as the male/female issue, the
cally tend to use a high degree of nasal resonance." possibility that this singing style inherently leads to
Finally, McKinney integrated the "talent" and vocal dysfunction, and so on. Moreover, the defi-
"training" views, observing that some voices seem nition does not include speculation about any phys-
to be "almost indestructible" but that even in such iological components. There are two reasons for
cases "there are right and wrong ways to belt." this "omission." First, while direct perceptual ob-
servations can be and have been made, the only
CONCLUSION way that the physiological correlates of belting can
be established is by empirical experiments; indeed,
As the reader might suspect, we made a number at this juncture, very few if any appropriate quan-
of personal observations of presumed belters (in- titative relationships have been established. Sec-
cluding the entire performance of Patti LaPone in ond, even those few (experimental) correlates that
"Anything Goes") to buttress our views. Hence the have been reported suffer from the fact that they
conclusions and descriptions to follow are based on actually may not have been carried out on singers
our review of the literature, the opinions provided who would have been identified as belters by all
by the respondents to our survey, and our own whom heard them. Consider the article by Sonninen
(subjective) observations. The description is of- (22) in which he studied "open" and "closed" pho-
fered as a model---albeit a tentative one--which nation as specified by 11 teachers of singing. He
first can be tested perceptually and, later (if proved indicated (23) that sometimes he had to base his
appropriate), physiologically. classification of a particular voice on a simple ma-
In our judgment, belting can be described as a jority vote by these 11 individuals. Hence, to date,
mode of singing that is typified by unusually loud, no definition or description of belting has been dem-
heavy phonation that exhibits little-to-no vibrato onstrated as valid, and this criticism applies to ours
but a high level of nasality. This description may as well. Nevertheless, we believe it to be a good
not be very satisfactory to some readers (especially base from which to initiate research.
at first glance); indeed, it may be incorrect. How-
ever, it can be defended. EPILOG
The referents for the very loud phonation associ-
ated with belting are not classical singers (who also We believe that our definition should be sub-
phonate at very high energy levels) but rather jected to evaluation. In this regard, we propose that
"pop" singers who ordinarily produce singing lev- perceptual studies be carried out to test its accu-
els that are only moderately loud. Amplified or not, racy. If they show the definition to be valid, the
belting leads to the perceptual impression that the experiments then should reduce the problem to a
singer is operating at high effort levels. manageable one, allowing acoustic and physiologi-
The term " h e a v y " refers to the fact that there cal (as well as perceptual) correlates to be investi-
appears to be a sharp energy drop in the higher gated. We believe that the most fruitful approach
frequencies when falsetto or loft is produced (Hol- would utilize a set of studies designed to permit
lien and Keister, unpublished data). Thus, we leading singing teachers to make blind judgments
Would predict that the overall spectrum for belting about belting. The first study would contrast their
Would not exhibit that type of drop but rather a ability to differentiate between samples provided by
gradual energy slope for partials at higher frequen- performers who sing in belt as well as in other
cies (as in the lower, or modal, register). modes. The second experiment would utilize these
The other two elements (low vibrato and nasality) same auditors to identify various samples of belting
which we predict are associated with belting appear and "near belting." These preliminary investiga-
self evident. Moreover, we stress that our definition tions would be followed by others in which attempts

Journal of Voice, Vol. 4, No. 1, 1990

70 B. M I L E S A N D H. H O L L I E N

would be made to determine whether all four of the sium Care of the Professional Voice. New York: The Voice
Foundation, 1988.
cited components are necessary to the percept of 9. Lawrence V. Laryngological observations on belting. J Res
belting and to assess the relative contribution made Singing 1979;2:26--8.
by each of them. Studies of this nature would lead 10. Estill J, Baer T, Honda K, Harris K. The control of pitch and
voice quality: an EGG study of supralaryngeal muscles.
to acoustical analysis of vocal productions which Lawrence V, ed. Transactions of the 12th Symposium Care
were universally identified (or nearly so) as good of the Professional Voice. Vol. 1. New York: The Voice
examples of belting and, finally, to the necessary Foundation, 1983:86-91.
11. Estill J, Baer T, Honda K, Harris K. Control of pitch and
research on its physiological correlates. voice quality, part II: an EGG study of infrahyoid muscles.
Lawrence V, ed. Transactions of the 13th Symposium Care
Acknowledgment: We wish to thank the Dana Founda- of the Professional Voice. Vol. 1. New York: The Voice
tion, which funded this project, and Robert Sataloff, who Foundation, 1984:65-9.
12. Estill J. Belting and classic voice quality: some physiological
made it possible. Thanks also go to the survey respon- differences. Medical Problems of Performing Artists 1988;
dents; those quoted include W. S. Brown Jr., R. H. Col- March: 37--43.
ton, B. Dobelle, B. Doscher, J. Estill, W. J. Gould, 13. Beard C. Recognition of chest, head and falsetto isopara-
D. M. Hicks, D. Jackson, B. Johnson, E. Keister, S. metric tones. The NATS Bulletin 1980;37:8-14.
Matteson, R. McChesney, J. McKinney, K. Meyers, 14. Large J. An acoustical study of isoparametric tones in the
J. F. Michel, R. Miller, J. Morris, K. L. Nielsen, J. G. female chest and middle registers in singing. The NATS
Paton, L. S. Rubin, R. T. Sataloff, T. Shipp, I. R. Titze, Journal 1968;25:12-5.
and J. Wilkey. 15. Schoenhard CA, Hollien H. A perceptual study of registra-
tion in female singers. The ]VATS Bulletin 1982;39:22-8.
16. Hollien H, Schoenhard C. The riddle of the "middle" reg-
ister. Titze I, Scherer R, eds. Vocal fold physiology. Den-
REFERENCES ver: Denver Center for the Performing Arts, 1983:256-69.
17. Hollien H. On vocal registers. J Phonetics 1974;2:125-43.
1. Howell E. Chest voice-belting. Equity News 1978;April: 14. 184 Colton R, Estill J. Elements of voice quality: perceptual,
2. Osborne C. The Broadway voice, part I: just singin' in the acoustic and physiologic aspects. Lass N, ed. Speech and
pain. Hi-Fidelity 1979a;29(1):57-65. language: advances in basic research and practice. Vol. 5.
3. Osborne C. The Broadway voice, part II: just singin' in the New York: Academic Press, 1981:311-430.
pain. Hi-Fidelity 1979b;29(1):53-6. 19. Hollien H. Vocal fold thickness and fundamental frequency
4. Estill J. Observations about the quality called "belting." of phonation. J Speech Hear Res 1962;5:237--43.
Lawrence V, ed. Transactions of the 9th Symposium Care of 20. Fields V. Review of the literature on vocal registers, the
the Professional Voice. Vol. 2. New York: The Voice Foun- N A T S Journal 1970;February/March:37-9.
dation, 1980:82-8. 21. Colton R. Spectral characteristics of modal and falsetto reg-
isters. Folia Phoniatr 1972;24:337-44.
5. Ruhl J. Is singing a dying art? The NATS Journal 1986;
42:30--5. 22. Sonninen A. Paratasis-gram of the vocal folds and the di-
mensions of the voice. Sovejari A, Aalto P, eds. Proceed-
6. Edwin R. To belt or not to b e l t . . , maybe is the answer. The ings of the Fourth International Congress of Phonetic Sci-
NATS Journal 1988;44:39-40. ences. The Hague: Mounton and Co, 1962:250-8.
7. American Academy of Teachers of Singing. The " P o p " 23. Sonninen A. Personal response to questions during comma-
singer and the Vocal teacher. The NATS Journal 1986; nication (discussion period). Fourth International Congress
43:21,31. of Phonetic Sciences (unpublished panel discussion.) Hel-
8. Voice Foundation. Circular distributed at the 17th Sympo- sinki, Finland, 1961.

Journal of Voice, Vol. 4, No. 1, 1990