to turn singing on its ear

7/31/2019 To Turn Singing on Its Ear

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To Turn Singing on Its Ear: The Singer's Voice and the Tomatis

Listening Curve, Part 1

Author: Pauley, John-Bede

Article from: Journal of Singing 63, no. 4 [March/April 2007]: 405-413

Article date: March 1, 2008

Copyright National Association of Teachers of Singing Mar/Apr 2008Reproduced by kind permission of Richard Dale Sjoerdsma, PhD, Editor in Chief,

Journal of Singing, 7206 - 5th Avenue, Kenosha, WI 53143

Figures have been omitted in this reprint

About the author:Br. John-Bede Pauley, OSB, is a Benedictine monk of St. John's

Abbey. He is currently studying for a PhD in Musicology at Durham University, U.K.

His areas of research interest are twentieth century British music; the relation of

music to theology, spirituality, and liturgy; and the role of acoustics in performingand listening.

INTRODUCTION

IN TRAINING THE VOICE, should teachers and students be concerned with training

the ear--not in the sense musicians usually understand "ear training" (identifyingintervals, chord progressions, and so on), but training the ear to a stronger acuity to

high partials?

It could be argued that the role of the ear is given relatively short shrift in

contemporary Western culture. Many observe that ours tends to be a societypreponderantly oriented towards the visual. This is not to deny that the aural also is

important in contemporary culture; but is it an exaggeration to say that the general

populace is more finely attuned to the visual than to the aural? Electronic

amplification of sound, in spite of the benefits it brings, has rendered a finely tunedperception of overtones more a matter of personal preference than a necessity.

In the arts, the aural seems, at first glance, to be as vibrant as the visual. Here too,however, a closer look leads one to ask whether this, unlike earlier periods in history,

is not the era of the eye. Is it a coincidence that oration was a highly regarded art form

in ancient Greece and Rome; that the general populace in Elizabethan England loved

the very sound not only of Shakespeare's and Marlowe's prose, but also of the oratoryin courts of law; or that the latest symphony in nineteenth century Vienna was a

"media event"? Today, on the other hand, the art form that excites the greatest intereston all levels of society, in the largest cities as well as the smallest towns, is film.

Articles and dissertations are written on cinematography and the visual sophistication

of this or that camera angle; but how many film scores stand up as works in their own

right? The better film scores are considered to be those that do not detract from thevisual.

If one concedes this shift from an emphasis on the aural to the visual, how has it

happened? A full consideration of that question is beyond the scope of this article. But


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it is worth keeping in mind as we consider the central question in this study--How

does the ear affect singing?--since singers and their audiences are part of this veryvisual society.

While culture and language might indeed be factors that influence an entire society's

awareness of sound, there are those who look to psychological reasons for individualdifferences in listening. An extreme example of listening affected by a psychologicalstate is autism, which is the purest form of "nonlistening." (1) The relation of

psychology to listening is an aspect of the work of the late otorhinolaryngologist, Dr.

Alfred Tomatis. Here, too, we raise an issue beyond the scope of the present study;

but the psychological factors are likewise worth bearing in mind as we consider therelation of the ear to singing.

Whatever the causes of a less aurally centered awareness might be, whether inindividual cases or in society as a whole, the work of Tomatis has opened up the

possibility of rediscovering the importance of sound, particularly high frequency

audition. Tomatis underlined the fact that the ear is the first of the sensory organs todevelop and mature. The ear is fully functional by the fifth month of gestation. (2)

Listening--already in the womb--is the first sense we develop. (3) Not only is the ear

first in time; it is, according to Tomatis, the first in importance. Tomatis claimed thatthe brain receives more stimuli through the ears than any other sense organ. "He

considers skin to be differentiated ear rather than vice versa." (4)

One of the benefits of his work may well be to reveal an aural malnutrition that is

more pervasive than we have heretofore realized. Tomatis not only identified the

effects of this malnutrition, he devised a method to address the situation. His methodis used, for instance, to treat children with delayed or disordered language

development, children with autism, people of all ages who find it difficult to learn alanguage, people who experience decreased mental alertness, and so on. (5) BradfordWeeks offers a more exhaustive list of maladies successfully treated with high

frequency auditive therapy: stuttering, tinnitus, otitis media, scotamas, neurological

disorders (toe-walking from vestibular nuclei problems, drooling, strabismus),

psychiatric disorders (depression, attention deficit disorder, hyperactivity), learningdisorders (dyslexia, inability to concentrate), and a variety of balance/coordination

problems related to the ear's vestibular disorders. (6)

In addition to treating disorders (pathogenic conditions), the Tomatis method has been

used to improve and sharpen potential (fortigenic). This notably has been the case

with actors and musicians. The present study, the findings of which will be presentedin Part II of this article, concerns itself with the application of Tomatis's work to the

use of the voice in singing--a fortigenic use of the method, in other words.

The relation of "l'Effet Tomatis" to singing has received little research attention. This

is remarkable since Tomatis developed his theories precisely because of his work with

opera singers. Moreover, Tomatis's L'Oreille et La Voix (recently made available inan English translation, The Ear and the Voice, through Scarecrow Press) is devoted

entirely to the relation of the ear to the singing voice.

Anecdotal evidence about the value of Tomatis's method when applied to singing

abounds in his own books. He refers to the conclusions he has drawn from his many


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years of applying his method. One looks in vain, however, for a systematic

presentation of the data. Likewise, there is a paucity of such research from othersources. One can find a number of articles and books that explain, or at least allude to,

the Tomatis method and its relation to singing, but they also lack detailed accounts of

research.

This observation should not be taken as a criticism of either Tomatis or the manyTomatis practitioners. Tomatis's focus was clinically oriented, as is that of the

Tomatis practitioners. As one writer observes, "Tomatis practitioners are primarily

running private Listening Centres, devoid of research-related infra-structure." (7)

Moreover, enthusiastic support from a number of Tomatis practitioners who havehelped in the present study attests to their desire for further research in the Tomatis

method.

The work of Tomatis has its critics, two of whom have published their point of view

in an article, "Le Mythe Tomatis." (8) This is the only published critique of Tomatis I

was able to find. Disappointingly thin, the article questions Tomatis'spsychological/ideological outlook and challenges the way Tomatis allegedly used the

audiometer (a mere machine, in other words) as the last word in diagnosing patients.

The first point takes us well beyond the scope of the present study. The second,whether it was true of Tomatis (though the assertion is not documented) is definitely

not true of the Tomatis practitioners with whom I have worked. One Tomatis therapist

does not use the audiometer at all; others see it as one heuristic device among others.Moreover, Gomez and Tomkiewicz make no effort to prove or disprove scientifically

the unreliability of audiometric data. Whether they are correct, they do not prove that

they are.

What we are left with, then, is a field ripe for research. The present study is a modesteffort to address that need and to encourage further work in this area. In Part II, themethodology and findings of studies relating Tomatis's audiometric procedure to

singing will be presented. In this part of the article, however, I present an introduction

to the unique contribution Tomatis has made to our understanding of the ear and how

that understanding relates to singing.

All of this must be preceded, however, by at least a passing mention of the singer's

formant, since the present study is basically a consideration of the question: Is thepresence or lack of a singer's formant in a subject reflected in his or her listening

curve? In other words--and from a pedagogic point of view--if singers with the

singer's formant have a different listening curve than singers without the singer'sformant, training the ear might be an important aspect of training the voice.

Readers of this journal are already well versed in the research and literature on the

singer's formant and are aware that an exact explanation of how the singer's formant

occurs is still being studied. (9) Perhaps, then, it is sufficient to mention only that the

singer's formant is acquired by amplifying the overtones that are roughly within therange of 2,800 to 3,200 Hz. (10) The benefit of the singer's formant is that it gives the

singer's voice a colorful "edge" and allows it to carry over an orchestra or background

noise.


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TOMATIS, THE EAR, AND L'EFFET TOMATIS

Using Weeks's discussion of "orthodox" and "unorthodox" notions of the ear, let us

survey several contemporary questions concerning this organ.

Three or Two?

Common understanding in the scientific world has been that the ear is divided into

three parts: the external ear (pinna and meatus or canal), the middle ear (tympanic

membrane, ossicles, middle ear muscles), and the inner ear (vestibule and cochlea).By considering the way in which the ear develops embryologically, however, we

arrive at the view held by Tomatis, viz., the ear should be seen in terms of a polar

rather than a tri-partite distinction. (11)

The ear develops in the embryo from two of the five brachial arches. The first brachialarch develops into the first two ossicles (the malleus and incus--and attendant

muscles), and is innervated by the trigeminal nerve (5th cranial nerve). The secondbrachial arch produces the third ossicle (stapes), and is innervated by the facial nerve

(7th cranial nerve). When considered from this perspective, the ear is dividedfunctionally into two parts, the division being in the middle ear, between the malleus

and incus, on the one hand, and the stapes on the other.

This distinction is important where high frequency audition is concerned. (12)

Essentially, it is a question of balance between the muscle of the hammer (malleus)

and the muscle of the stirrup (stapes). When the hammer muscle contracts, it tightensthe tympanic membrane. Tightening the tympanic membrane weakens vibrations

transmitted via the tympanic membrane. The stapes muscle, when contracted, pulls

the stapes away from the oval window. This lessens the vibration to the inner ear.

Tomatis claims that when one of the two middle ear muscles dominates the other, it

can be seen immediately in the listening test he developed. (13) If, for instance, themuscle of the stapes dominates, high frequencies are lessened. (14) Excessive tension

in the muscle of the hammer eliminates too many low frequencies. (15)

Transmitting or Dampening?

The commonly accepted notion of the ossicles of the middle ear has been that they

transmit vibrations at the tympanic membrane to the oval window. (16) Tomatis

contends, however, that the role of the ossicles is not to transmit but to dampen. Theincus and the stapes are separated by the space of as much as one millimeter, and are

bridged by collagen. Both the distance and the medium argue against the transmission

of sound commensurate with human hearing. Tomatis argues that the function of the

ossicles is actually to dampen tympanic membrane vibratory energy via a kineticnegative feedback loop originating at the endolymph. This fluid force moves from

stapes to incus to malleus in order to reduce vibratory sensation headed to the ear.

(17)

The role of the cochlear fluid (endolymph) likewise has been regarded as that of a

transmitter. It commonly has been considered to be a conductor of kinetic energy tothe cells of Corti. (18) Endolymph, however, is a fluid. As such, it does what fluid


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does best; it buffers. As with the fluid in the joints and in the brain vault, so cochlear

fluid absorbs kinetic energy and protects contingent structures from damage. (19)Moreover, since endolymph is always moving, it is too turbulent to carry specific

waves. (20)

Tomatis's contention is that osseous conduction is the major route of soundconduction to the inner ear, not air conduction. Air vibration hits the tympanicmembrane. This vibration spreads outward along the tympanic membrane's radiating

fibers to the tympanic sulcus at which point it encounters compact bone (the petrous

pyramid). This kinetic energy is then conducted to the cochlea and finally to the

basilar membrane. (21)

The Vagus Nerve

In Tomatis's view, the commonly accepted notion of the ear's neurological role has

been underestimated. Tomatis turns this commonly accepted notion "on its ear" by

arguing that our sense corpuscles are differentiated organs of Corti. Skin isdifferentiated ear rather than vice versa. (22) The ear precedes the nervous system.

(23) Moreover, it is involved with cranial nerves 2 through 11. (24) Of these nerves,the 10th, the vagus nerve, is especially important; it serves all of the autonomic vital

organs of the body. (25)

The relation of the ear to the entire body as well as to singing might become more

evident by tracing the route of the vagus nerve. True to its name, the vagus nerve

"wanders." A sensory antenna from the vagus presents on the outer surface of the

tympanic membrane. The inner surface of the tympanic membrane is sensitized by thevagus via an anastomosis with the glosso-pharyngeal nerve (9th cranial nerve). The

vagus then contacts the postural back muscles via an anastomosis with thespinoaccessory nerve (the 11th cranial nerve). It then sensitizes the upper laryngealnerve, which is responsible for vocalization. Motor innervation is then delivered to the

recurrent laryngeal nerve. The vagus continues on its path, innervating the bronchi

and heart. It joins the opposing vagal nerve and makes its way through the diaphragmto the entire viscera, including the gastro-intestinal tract from esophagus to anus (via

anastomosis with sacral nerves 2, 3, and 4; see Figure 1). (26)

Hearing, Listening, and the Cortical Charge

Tomatis is given credit for identifying the important neuro-physiological distinction

between hearing and listening. (27) Hearing is nonselective; listening is a selective

focusing on one of the many sounds heard simultaneously. More will be said about

the difference between audiological assessments and the Tomatis listening test in PartII of this article; for now, it suffices to say that Tomatis's listening test differs from the

audiogram of the audiologist in that the latter tests organic capacities of the ear while

the former takes the assessment further by testing the degree to which the ear'spotential is being used. (28)


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Not only was Tomatis concerned with what the ear is capable of listening to, he was

particularly interested in the ear's ability to attend to high frequencies.

The ear is primarily an apparatus intended to provide

a cortical charge in terms of electric potential. In fact,

sound is transformed into nervous influx by the ciliform

cells of the cochlear-vestibular apparatus. The charge ofenergy obtained from the influx of nervous impulses

reaches the cortex, which then distributes it throughout

the body toning up the whole system and imparting greater

dynamism to the human being.

All sounds cannot effect this process of charging. I

pointed out that on the basilar membrane, the ciliform

cells of Corti are much more densely packed in the part

reserved for the perception of high frequencies than in

the one where the low frequencies are distributed; so

that the transmission of energy that is caught up towards

the cortex is much more intense when it comes from the

zone of the high frequencies than when it comes from

the part reserved for the low frequencies.

Thus the high sounds supply a more concentrated nervous

influx and thus increase the effect of charging. This is

the reason why I called the sounds rich in high harmonics

the "charging sounds," in opposition to the low sounds

or "discharging sounds." These low sounds supply insufficient

energy to the cortex, which may even exhaust the

individual, so much that they conduct corporal motor responses

which actually, in themselves, absorb more energy

than the labyrinth can furnish. The implication of

this fact at the psycho-dynamic level explains that a depressed

person tends to direct his hearing more intensively

towards low frequencies which are the sonic rangeof visceral life: she actually becomes more aware of the

noise of her heartbeat, and so on. It seems as if her ear

has lost its ability to be used as an "antenna" for communication;

instead, it is directed to the inside life.

The aim will be to provoke, with sonic training made

of high-frequencies heard in a listening posture, this cortical

charge to energize the individual. (29)

The Tomatis Method

Given this background, we are ready to consider how Tomatis applies his

understanding of the ear to a clinical method. An initial assessment is made of an

individual, and usually includes a case history (including a questionnaire), the

Tomatis listening test, laterality testing, figure drawings, and a clinical interview withthe director. This assessment determines whether an individual will benefit from the

Tomatis Method and, if so, how it should be conducted.

The Tomatis Method is applied in two phases, the passive phase and the active phase.

These phases are subdivided into stages that simulate the various stages of listening

and language development from the earliest stages of life to maturity. The rate atwhich an individual moves through the stages will vary according to the findings of

the initial assessment.


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All of the phases involve the "electronic ear." This is a sound-gating mechanism with

a set of earphones that conveys sound in the conventional manner (air conduction) aswell as through a bone conduction device. The "gating" of sound means that the

sound rapidly fluctuates between low and high frequencies. The rate of fluctuation

varies according to where one is in the program. This kind of auditory stimulation

conditions the muscles of the middle ear to attend to sound in an improved manner.(30)

The Passive Phase

The first stage of the passive phase consists of a gradual introduction to filtered

sound. The individual listens to music rich in high frequencies (usually Mozart's

violin concerti) that is progressively filtered so as to diminish the low frequencies.

(31)

The second stage of the passive phase continues with filtered music, further

accentuating the higher frequencies. For children who are going through the program,it is at this stage that the mother's voice, completely filtered of the low frequencies, is

introduced. (32)

The third stage of the passive phase involves the gradual defiltration of the auditory

stimulation, whether music or the mother's voice. This is what Tomatis refers to as"sonic birth," since it simulates the individual's transition from the liquid prenatal

acoustic environment to the air postnatal acoustic environment. (33)

The Active Phase

The active phase serves to reintroduce the individual to spoken language in twostages, "prelinguistic" and "linguistic." In the first stage, the individual hums or sings,

usually following short excerpts from Gregorian chant. Children use nursery rhymes

or other children's songs. (34) Again, the individual's voice is heard through the gatingsystem of the electronic ear.

Still in the first stage of the active phase, the individual repeats words and sentencesrich in "whistling" language sounds (/s/, /f/, and so on). The low frequencies are

progressively filtered out.

The second stage is the written language stage of the program. The client reads a

written passage, but does so slowly, clearly enunciating the sounds. Daily readingaloud is recommended as the primary follow-up exercise to maintain the effects of the

program.

TOMATIS AND SINGING

Having considered some of the salient features of Tomatis's understanding of the earand his method, let us turn to the way in which his ideas are applied specifically to

singing. To distill Tomatis's theories--at least as they affect singing--into one phrase,

"la voix ne contient que ce que l'oreille entend"; (35) or, as Moulonguet records theaxiom, "La voix ne contient que les harmoniques que l'oreille est susceptible

d'entendre." (36) In other words, if one's ears are not attuned to the frequencies that


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account for a resonant, ringing tone in one's singing (in the area of the singer's

formant, 2800-3200 Hz), one should not be able to produce such a tone. The oppositeshould likewise be true: if one's ears are attuned to frequencies in the range of the

singer's formant, one should be able to produce a resonant, ringing tone.

At this point, some clarifications are in order. First, it should be noted that Tomatisdid not use the term "singer's formant." It is not known whether he was aware of theresearch in this area of vocology. Nonetheless, as will be seen in the discussion of

Tomatis's theories concerning Enrico Caruso, amplification of the high frequencies in

singing is the focus of Tomatis's interest. This places us squarely in the defining

characteristic of the singer's formant.

By way of a second clarification, we hasten to add that Tomatis does not minimize the

value of good vocal technique. A good ear and a strong, resonant voice are notenough.

We must learn to detach from the seduction of a voice

that is powerful, modulated and colorful if we want to appreciate

technique ... A professional singer with a great

technique causes us to breathe fully, our pharynx opens,

our larynx moves without tightening ... With the inexperienced

singer with poor vocal quality we can easily detect

his technical weaknesses. (37)

For Tomatis, however, utilizing the ear well is part of good vocal technique. (38)

Not only should the singer's ear be attuned to high frequencies, he should have aright-ear dominance and should rely more on bone conduction than air conduction.

Right-ear dominance is important for singing because of cerebral contralaterality, in

other words, the relation of a given ear to the opposite side of the brain. "Thecontralateral [opposite side] projections from ear to brain are stronger than the

ipsilateral [same side] pathways." (39)

Combine with contralaterality the functions of the two spheres of the brain. It is the

left side of the brain that processes language. Therefore, the right ear signal travels

directly to the left hemisphere of the brain; the left ear signal must make a detour, as itwere, to the right hemisphere before crossing the commissure to the left brain for

processing.

Again, language is processed by the left side of the brain. Music, however, is its own

kind of language, and is thus a bit more complex. Experienced listeners process musicdifferently than "naive" listeners.

In a memory recognition task, non-musicians showed a

left-ear advantage, whereas listeners with musical training

showed a right-ear superiority. The investigators suggest

that naive listeners focus on overall melodic contour,

whereas experienced listeners perceive a melody as an articulated

set of component elements. (40)

Tomatis had reached the same conclusion. "The left ear is adequate for [amateur]

listening, but only the right ear empowers the [musician and music-lover]." (41)


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The limitations inherent in listening to our own voices solely through air conduction

are apparent to anyone who has heard his voice played back on a recording. His voicesounds alien to him. The reason for this is due to the physics of sound. High partials

travel in a straight line; hence, the upper partials in the sound we produce when

speaking or singing travel away from our ears. Low frequencies, on the other hand,

expand in a circle; the low frequencies in our own voice will therefore return to theear. So what we hear in our voices through air conduction is a preponderance of lows.

(42)

Bone conduction, on the other hand, filters for higher sounds at the expense of the

lows. (43) It is also more direct and efficient than air conduction. "It is a law thatwhen one vibrating object comes into contact with another, the second object will

start vibrating of its own accord." (44) So it is that, according to Tomatis, the larynx,

when it resonates correctly, sets the spinal column and the ear in motion as a tuningfork on a crystal goblet. This conduction to the ear and the entire body is fed back to

the larynx in an auditory loop that regulates itself efficiently and with a penchant for

particularly rich and dense sounds.

Perhaps the best way to illustrate Tomatis's view of the ear's relation to singing is to

discuss his theory concerning the great tenor, Enrico Caruso. Since Caruso andTomatis were not contemporaries, the audiologist never had the opportunity to work

directly with the tenor. Nonetheless, Tomatis made a careful study not only of

Caruso's voice but of the various circumstances in Caruso's life that might haveaffected the way Caruso listened to his own voice.

Drawing from recordings, Tomatis made spectrographs of Caruso's voice. (45) Thespectrographs recorded a clear distinction between high frequencies and low, "with an

almost complete absence of frequencies between 500 Hz and 2000 Hz." Continuingfrom Tomatis's own account,

Additionally, the slope of [Caruso's] hearing curve presents

a drop of more than 12 decibels per octave starting

at 200 Hertz toward the lows, which is a considerable drop.

Certain of the higher notes show a difference of 18 decibels

per octave. This is all the more remarkable because

I have not found it in other singers. It is truly unique to the

voice of Caruso. (46)

From Tomatis's assertion that only the right ear controls singing, he concluded that

the spectrographs of Caruso's voice reproduced the responses of Caruso's right ear.

"In view of the steep slope the graphs present, we can only conclude that Caruso'sright ear was deaf to the transmission of low sounds!" (47) In other words, Tomatis

theorized that Caruso had a beneficial deafness--beneficial, at least, for the purposes

of producing a stunning tenor voice. This theory was further bolstered by the fact thatseveral colleagues of Caruso told Tomatis that Caruso always asked them to stand on

his left when conversing, that is, when phonating at the lower, conversational

frequencies, so that his left ear would be able to perceive those frequencies his rightear apparently could not. (48)

Tomatis does not conclude from the Caruso phenomenon that we need to be partiallydeaf in order to sing well. Nor does Tomatis overlook the influence of Caruso's own


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anatomical characteristics on his sound. (49) Tomatis believed, however, that the

good singer must be able to listen in the way Caruso did. "[Y]ou do need to train yourear so that you hear yourself the same way that Caruso listened to himself when he

sang. When you have Caruso's kind of [aural] control in place, your singing will

follow." (50)

Tomatis insisted, moreover, that results are immediate. "[S]i l'on restitue a l'oreilletraumatisee la possibilite d'audition correcte des frequences mal entendues, celles-ci

se trouvent, retablies dans l'emission phonatoire, instantanement et a l'insu du sujet."

(51)

Part II of this article presents two studies that examine whether this correlation

between high frequency audition and singer's formant phonation can be scientifically

established.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank Dr. Scott McCoy of Westminster Choir College of Rider

University for his expert guidance in carrying out this study. An immense debt ofgratitude is likewise acknowledged for the generous help of the Tomatis therapists of

Pediatric Therapeutics, Inc., Sheila Allen, Sue Beasley, Joanne Swanson, and Ann

Toolajian as well as the help and interest of Roberta Prada of Vocal Images. PaulMadaule of the Listening Centre in Toronto, Canada was also very generous in

providing material and sharing information. I also thank my fellow students at

Westminster Choir College of Rider University who participated as subjects in this

study.

NOTES

(1.) Timothy Gilmor and Paul Madaule, "Opening Communication: A New

Perspective on Autism," in Timothy Gilmor and Paul Madaule, About the TomatisMethod (Toronto: The Listening Centre, 1988), 69.

(2.) Alfred Tomatis, The Ear and the Voice, trans. Roberta and Pierre Sollier (NewYork: Vocal Images, 2002), 48.

(3.) Joshua Leeds, The Power of Sound (Rochester, VT: Healing Arts Press, 2001),

46.

(4.) Bradford Weeks, "The Therapeutic Effect of High-Frequency Audition and Its

Role in Sacred Music," in Gilmor and Madaule, 125.

(5.) Gilmor and Madaule, "Introduction," to About the Tomatis Method (Toronto: The

Listening Centre, 1988), 5.

(6.) Weeks, 122-123.

(7.) Wynand du Plessis, Stefan Buger, Marth Munro, and others, "Multimodal

Enhancement of Culturally Diverse Young Adult Musicians: A Pilot Study Involving

the Tomatis Method," South African Journal of Psychology 31 (August 2001): 36.


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(8.) M. Gomes and S. Tomkiewicz, "Le Mythe Tomatis," Neuropsychiatrie de

l'Enfance 30 (1982): 681-689.

(9.) Jean Callaghan, Singing and Voice Science (San Diego: Singular PublishingGroup, 2000), 72. "Current research indicates that production of the singer's formant

is associated with a long closed phase in the vocal fold vibratory cycle, narrowing ofthe vocal tract immediately above the larynx, a wide pharynx, and adjustment of thearticulators to maximize close cavity coupling. It may also involve aryepiglottic

constriction and narrowing of the ventricular folds."

(10.) Sundberg records findings that locate the center frequency of the singer's

formant between 2.3 and 3 kHz in basses, and 3 and 3.8 kHz in tenors. Johan

Sundberg, The Science of the Singing Voice (Dekalb: Northern Illinois University

Press, 1987), 119. Callaghan, referencing Sundberg, identifies the center frequenciesfor the various voice types as follows: "The center frequency of the singer's formant is

around 2.2 kHz for basses, around 2.7 kHz for baritones, around 2.8 kHz for tenors,

and around 3.2 for altos. Sundberg ["Vocal Tract Resonance," in Robert Sataloff, ed.,Professional Voice: The Science and Art of Clinical Care (New York: Raven Press,

1991), 49-68] suggested that in sopranos, it [the singer's formant] is nothing but a

perfectly normal third and fourth formant. Nevertheless, the perceptual effect of clear,ringing quality independent of vowel or pitch is certainly present in accomplished

soprano singing." Callaghan, 68-69.

(11.) Tomatis, 64; Weeks, 119.

(12.) Weeks, 119.

(13.) Tomatis, 56.

(14.) Ibid., 57.

(15.) Ibid.

(16.) Weeks, 120.

(17.) Ibid.

(18.) Ibid.

(19.) Ibid.

(20.) Ibid.

(21.) Ibid.

(22.) Ibid., 125.

(23.) Ibid.

(24.) Ibid, 121.


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(25.) John Lander, "What Role Does the Ear Play in Singing?" Australian Voice 2

(1996): 61

(26.) Tomatis, 68-69; Weeks, 121-122.

(27.) Weeks, 123.

(28.) Ibid.

(29.) Alfred Tomatis, Lecture before the International Kodaly Symposium, Paris,

1978. Quoted in Weeks, 126-127.

(30.) Gilmor, "Overview of the Tomatis Method," in Gilmor and Madaule, 18.

(31.) Ibid.; Madaule, "When Listening Comes Alive," in Gilmor and Madaule, 22.

(32.) Ibid.; ibid.

(33.) Ibid., 19; ibid., 24.

(34.) Ibid.; ibid.

(35.) "The voice produces only those sounds the ear can hear," L'Effet Tomatis

Publications, http://www.tomatis-paris.com/effet_tomatis2.htm, March 18, 2003.

(36.) "The voice produces only those frequencies that the ear is capable of hearing."

R. Husson, "Modifications Phonatoires d'Origine Auditive et Applications

Physiologiques et Clinques" (Presentation to the Academie Nationale de Medecine,June 4, 1957. Partially reprinted at L'Effet Tomatis Publications, http://www.tomatis-

paris.com/effet_tomatis4.htm , March 18, 2003).

(37.) Tomatis, Ear and Voice, 14.

(38.) Ibid., 15.

(39.) S. Springer and G. Deutsch, Left Brain, Right Brain (New York: W. H. Freemanand Co., 1985), 73.

(40.) Ibid., 171.

(41.) Alfred Tomatis, The Conscious Ear (Barrytown, NY: Station Hill Press, 1991),52, quoted in Lander, 63.

(42.) Tomatis, Ear and Voice, 76.

(43). Ibid., 101.

(44.) Ibid.


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(45.) The fact that Tomatis used early recordings raises the question as to whether

recording technology during Caruso's career was able effectively to capture highfrequencies. Tomatis, unfortunately, does not supply details concerning the recordings

he used or how he might have adapted them for his own investigation.

(46.) Ibid., 32.

(47.) Ibid.

(48.) Ibid., 34.

(49.) Ibid., 32. Caruso's palate reportedly had a pronounced dome, and his larynx wasasymmetrical.

(50.) Ibid., 34.

(51.) "If one restores to the traumatized ear the possibility of correct audition offrequencies heretofore poorly perceived, these frequencies are instantaneously presentin phonation, without the subject's being aware of it." L'Effet Tomatis. Publications,

March 18, 2003 (http://www.tomatis-paris. com/effet_tomatis.htm). See also, R.

Husson, "Etude Experimentale des Modifications Eventuelles de la FournitureVocalique sous l'Influlence de Fournitures Auditives Stimulatrices Concomitantes"

(Presentation to the Academie des Sciences, March 25, 1957. Partially reprinted at

L'Effet Tomatis Publications, March 18, 2003, http://www.tomatis-paris.com/effet_tomatis2.htm ).

COPYRIGHT 2007 National Association of Teachers of Singing


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Title: To Turn Singing on Its Ear: The Singer's Voice and the

Tomatis Listening Curve, Part 11

Author: Pauley, John-Bede

Article from: Journal of SingingArticle date: March 1, 2008

Copyright National Association of Teachers of Singing Mar/Apr 2007Reproduced by kind permission of Richard Dale Sjoerdsma, PhD, Editor in Chief,

Journal of Singing, 7206 - 5th Avenue, Kenosha, WI 53143

Figures have been omitted from this reprint

INTRODUCTION

In part 1 of this article (Journal of Singing 63, no. 4 [March/April 2007]: 405-413),

the theories and clinical method of the French otorhinolaryngologist, Alfred Tomatis,were presented, with a discussion of how they relate to singing. Briefly put, Tomatis

believed that the more attuned a singer's ear is to high frequencies, the easier it will be

for the singer to amplify those frequencies--particularly in the area of the singer's

formant --in his or her own phonation. The opposite should hold as well: the lessattuned one is to high frequencies, the less one should be able to produce strong

overtones in the area of the singer's formant.

Part II of this article examines scientific research that explores certain aspects of

Tomatis's claim. First we look for studies in the literature; next, we turn to the studyconducted by the author at Westminster Choir College of Rider University.

A SURVEY OF THE LITERATURE

Much of the available literature about the Tomatis method has to do with presenting

and explaining the method in general, and thus has been covered in Part I of thisarticle. There are also a number of studies on the efficacy of the Tomatis method

related to issues of child development and learning disorders. (1) The sources that

take a closer, more analytical look at the Tomatis method in relation to singing,however, are far fewer in number. Indeed, the article detailing the pilot study of the

Potchefstroom University and Pretoria Opera School students (Potchefstroom study)is perhaps the only article of its nature. (2) For in-depth, but nonresearch-basedunderstanding of the Tomatis method, John Lander's "What Role Does the Ear Play in

Singing?," (3) Paul Madaule's "The Tomatis Method for Singers and Musicians," (4)

and Joshua Leeds's The Power of Sound (5) are excellent resources. The

Potchefstroom study cites several case studies and a testimonial of the Tomatismethod's effects on singers and musicians. (6) There is also an unpublished

dissertation (7) that "tests the efficacy of Tomatis's theory of the 'musical ear' by

determining if children with different levels of music aptitude hear differently." (8)Among published material, however, only the Potchefstroom article details a

scientific study of the Tomatis method in relation to vocal/instrumental enhancement.


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The Potchefstroom study was an interdisciplinary attempt at "demystifying

empirically" the Tomatis method's acclaimed efficacy with musicians across threedimensions, "namely listening (auditive), well-being (psychological) and ... singing

(phonological) ..." (9) It assessed these dimensions after the subjects took part in the

Tomatis program (contrasted with a control group that did not take part in the Tomatis

program). Unfortunately, the phonological dimension of the study foundered on theshoals of "methodological obscurities." "[P]roblematic loudness levels during voice

recordings and calibration ... nullified pre- and post-programme comparison of vocalemissions within and between groups by means of the [long-term-average-spectrum]

analysis." (10)

The study did, however, make use of the subjective perceptions of both a voice

teacher and the singer-participants themselves. According to these subjective

observations, and in contrast with the control group, the Tomatis method was found tohave resulted in vocal enhancement. This conclusion was bolstered by the fact that

five of the eighteen Tomatis program participants achieved professional recognition

within months of completing the program, while "a comparative degree of honour wasbestowed on only one control group member" out of the ten from that group. (11)

Thus "a postprogramme vocal/instrumental proficiency 'hit' rate of 28% versus 10%was ... obtained within 5 months of programme completion." (12)

Helpful though the Potchefstroom study is, the authors acknowledge its limitations.

Aside from the methodologic obscurities already mentioned, the authors of the studystated that the small sample size prevented generalization of findings. Other

limitations were listed as well. Nonetheless, the Potchefstroom study clearly points

the way to further research. It is a laudable attempt to bring the Tomatis method from

purely clinical, therapeutic application to a rigorous research effort.

For purposes of this article, our discussion of the literature must turn our attention toTomatis's representation of what he refers to as "the musical ear." This is drawn from

material that, whether scientifically tested or not, is not presented, in the available

literature, in the context of documented empirical evaluation. Nonetheless, it touches

on the very core of the present study, since it is precisely this musical ear withoutwhich the voice is not supposed to be able to produce resonant phonation in the

classical style.

In The Ear and the Voice, Tomatis offers an audiogramatic representation of the

musical ear (Figure 1). Tomatis states that the musical ear indicates "a person who

loves music, has good pitch control when he sings, and possesses a warm timber [sic]and rich color."13 Such a profile, far from being particular to musicians, is that of

good hearing in general. (14)

Madaule discusses the musical ear with greater specificity. Optimum perception of

musical sound involves:

1. Hearing within normal range.

2. Absence of distortion in the response curve of the ear.

Optimum music analysis involves:


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1. An ascending curve up to the frequencies 3000-4000 Hz with stabilization at this

level and a slight drop in the highest frequencies.

2. An open "auditory selectivity," which is the ability to analyze and compare soundsof different frequencies as well as the ability to determine the direction of the

variation, that is to say whether the one tone is higher or lower than the other ...

3. A precise articulatory spatialization, which is the ability to identify the source of

the sound in surrounding space.

4. A right-sided auditory dominance ... (15)

"The failure of one or more of these parameters provokes a disharmony which

translates into impaired and consequently into deficient musicality." (16)

If this representation of the musical listening curve is correct, we should expect to

find similar listening curves for individuals who demonstrate strong musicality. Thepresent study considers the relation of listening curves to one aspect of vocalmusicality, the singer's formant.

THE PRESENT STUDY

Participants

The experimental group comprised twenty-four student musicians from Westminster

Choir College as well as two Tomatis therapists. (17) Since this study has to do withthe singer's formant, singers with substantial voice training were vital to the study.

However, the aim was to include as wide a swath of vocal experience and training aspossible and as many subjects as possible.

We note, too, that all students at Westminster Choir College, regardless of whether

their primary instrument is voice, are required to participate in one of the choralensembles of the school and must therefore meet certain vocal requirements. While

these requirements do not demand performance quality of every student as a solo

singer, the choirs of Westminster Choir College are world class and regularly performchallenging choral repertoire both as a cappella ensembles and with the finest

professional orchestras in the world. The level of musicianship of the student

participants, therefore, is high.

Instrumentation

Listening aptitude

To test listening aptitude, the listening test of Tomatis was used. The following is

taken from the Potchefstroom study which likewise used the listening test of Tomatis.

The Tomatis listening test

is a direct outcome of Tomatis's distinction between hearing--a passive or

unconscious awareness of sound, measured by the hearing test (audiogram)--and

listening--an act of will or conscious desire to listen, presumed to arise as early as 4.5


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months before birth, when the unborn baby can perceive its mother's voice ... The

Listening Test tests for threshold evaluation for frequencies ranging from 125 to 8000Hz., rendering air and bone conduction curves. It also assesses the individual's ability

to recognize pitch differences in neighbouring sounds, and spatialization and laterality

... Thus it reflects how the desire to listen is utilized or resisted and reveals listening

strengths or listening weaknesses. (18)

The listening test records both bone conduction and air conduction. It also records

perception in right and left ears separately. Bone conduction on the listening curves is

recorded in a solid line; air conduction in a broken line.

A word is in order concerning the distinction between Tomatis's listening test and

audiograms used by audiologists. For both Tomatis therapists and audiologists, data

typically is recorded graphically and/or tabularly. Since the graphic form is the easiestfor describing hearing/ listening status, we will focus on that form of audiometric

illustration.

A comparison of the listening curves collected for this study with the American

Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) graphs in Figures 2 and 3 indicatesno significant differences between the formats for plotting data. The essential

differences are in the manner in which the data is collected.

Dr. Jane Brady, an audiologist of Princeton Otolaryngology Associates PA, said the

procedure in her office, and in audiology in general, is to collect the data in a

soundproof environment. For the sake of testing air conduction, they use earphones

inserted into the ear rather than headphones that fit around the ear.

It is preferable, on the other hand, that the Tomatis listening test be administered withsome degree of background noise, since the purpose of the test is to assess listening

acuity in a normal environment. The Tomatis listening tests I have observed or taken

part in assess air conduction with the use of headphones that fit around the ear.

Essentially, the audiologist tests for threshold hearing in a soundproof environment;

the Tomatis therapist tests for listening acuity in a normal aural environment. It is forthis reason that the ASHA graphs are more "abbreviated" on the horizontal frequency

axis, particularly in the higher frequencies. The Princeton audiologists do use an

audiogram (Figure 4) to collect data on a patient's ability to hear vowel and consonantformants. This, according to Dr. Brady, is closer to the Tomatis listening test. Dr.

Brady also pointed out that this "banana curve," as it is familiarly called, is "not an

exact science." The banana curve is not about threshold hearing; it tests for the more

subjective discrimination of sounds-the same focus, in other words, of the Tomatislistening test.

For reasons of doctor-patient confidentiality, the Princeton audiologists were not able

to supply an audiogram of a patient with normal hearing. We can get an idea of a

normal audiologic curve, however, by looking at the bone conduction data (not the air

conduction data) in Figure 5. This is an audiogram of a person with "disruption of theossicular chain and presumably no other ear pathology (bone conduction is essentially

normal)." (19)


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Figures 2 and 3 are two sample graphs drawn from a text book in audiology.

According to Dr. Brady, any data recorded in the shaded area from -10 decibels to 20decibels is considered normal hearing.

In general, the Tomatis listening test seems not to assure the same level of objectivity

as an audiologist's audiometric record. At the same time, the present study poses achallenge to those who would dismiss the Tomatis listening test as too subjective.While not the primary aim of the study, the purpose of assessing the participants on

three separate days was to determine whether the audiometric results would be too

inconsistent, and therefore show signs of being more subjectively determined than

not. Had this been so, the listening test would have to have been discountedaltogether. In fact, with only two exceptions out of the twenty-six participants, the

listening curves remained relatively constant from day to day. While this hardly

proves the degree of objectivity of the instrument, it does indicate enough consistencyto allow us to move to the next step in the study, which is to compare the listening

tests with the long-term average spectrum (LTAS) data.

Acoustic properties of voice

The instrument used to collect voice samples was the Computer Speech Laboratory

(CSL). It measures the long-term average spectrum (LTAS) of phonation, averaging a

number of power spectra, using the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) algorithm. (20)

This spectrum of phonation is the distribution of acoustic energy across frequencies,usually 0 Hz up to 4000 Hz for speech, and is taken from a voice sample that is

ideally about forty seconds long. (21)

Voice training enhances amplitude in the higher frequencies (ca. 2400 Hz to 3200

Hz). The style of singing known as "belt" singing can enhance frequencies evenhigher than the classically trained voice's singer's formant. For this reason, theacoustic energy in the present study was measured across the range of 0 Hz to 8000

Hz (though the spectrogram images indicate only 0 Hz to 5000 Hz). However, the

primary focus of this study is on the area of the singer's formant.

Examination of the acoustic properties of classically trained singers by means of the

nature and range of amplitude and frequency of the formants, particularly the singer'sformant, is a valuable and reasonably objective means of inspection and evaluation.

(22) Weiss applied such an examination to the Tomatis method in a study of three

francophone student actors following a course in the Tomatis method. (23)

Procedure

Informed consent was obtained from the participants. They were asked to appear for

listening and vocal assessments on three consecutive days. The listening tests wereadministered by therapists from Pediatric Therapeutics, Inc., who used audiometers

that had been calibrated directly before the data gathering.

As soon before or after the listening assessment as possible, the participants supplied

their voice samples in the voice lab at Westminster. They were asked to stand about

one foot from the microphone. (A ruler was used to maintain consistency in thedistance from mouth to microphone.) The participants were asked to sing up and


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down a perfect fifth, diatonically, articulating all of the five vowels /i/, /e/, /a/, /o/, /u/,

each vowel being sung on both an ascending and descending five-tone scale.Participants were asked to sing a connected, legato line. For the purpose of

encouraging the participants to sing in as full and resonant a manner as possible, they

were given the following instructions: "Endeavor to produce a tone that is resonant.

Sing at a solid mezzo forte. Please do not force or manipulate the tone into a soundthat is not what you usually produce when singing. Think of this passage as being one

sung in performance on a concert or opera stage."

Results

The first observation to be made concerns the shapes of the listening curves

themselves. It is immediately clear that the gentle "arabesque" idealized by Tomatis

as the listening curve of the musician/singer--the "musical ear"--is indeed anidealization. Whether one looks for this idealized arc in the right ear or the left ear, in

bone conduction or air conduction, one finds only approximations to this arc. Dips in

the listening curves are more consistently met with than gentle curves.

On which aspect of the listening curve data should one focus? If, according toTomatis, right-ear dominance and an emphasis on bone conduction over air

conduction are preferable for the singer/musician, we should look almost exclusively

at the bone conduction curve for the right ear. Paul Madaule, in a letter to the author,

offers the following observation concerning right-ear dominance as reflected inlistening curves.

In general, the right-sided monitoring of the voice doesn't show on the curves. (It islike handedness, the strength of the hand doesn't indicate if you are right handed or

left handed.) The best way to assess it is to observe the movements of the lips of theperson singing (not easy to determine in some cases--it requires practice). (24)

If right-ear dominance is not reflected in the listening curves, bone conduction inrelation to air conduction clearly is. However, Tomatis's emphasis on bone conduction

is not as straightforward as at first seems to be the case. Madaule observes that

"[s]ometimes musicians can get away with a good air conduction and so-so bone

conduction because the monitoring is more (but not only) air-conducted." (25) Indeed,while bone conduction is preferable, it is not enough. "[A] musical bone conduction

and non-musical air conduction are not sufficient." (26)

Given the complexities involved in reading the listening curves in relation to the

idealized representation of the musical ear, let us, as a first step, simply examine the

data of one of the participants.

The LTAS data (spectrograms) of Subject I (Figures 6a, 6b, and 6c--collected,respectively, on March 3, 4, and 5, 2003, as will be the case with spectrograms of

other subjects as well) indicate substantial intensity in the area of the singer's formant

(roughly 2800 Hz to 3200 Hz on the x axis) on all three days that she (a soprano)

sang. While Subject I's listening curves do not fall alarmingly significantly short ofthe idealized singer's curve, they do seem to just miss the mark in several respects

(Figures 7a, 7b, and 7c). More often than not, rather than ascending to 3000 Hz,

leveling off until 4000 Hz, and then dropping in the higher frequencies, Subject I's


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curves tend to have reached their plateau before the 3000 Hz range. Theoretically,

then, Subject I should not have the optimum ear for the kind of voice her spectrogramindicates she has.

Let us compare Subject I with Subject M (a tenor), whose spectrograms do not show

any activity in the area of the singer's formant at all (Figures 8a, 8b, and 8c). Wewould expect, therefore, to find a marked difference between Subject I's listeningcurves and Subject M's (Figures 9a, 9b, and 9c). Not only are there no appreciable

differences in the listening curves of the two participants, there is a curious similarity.

The left ear bone conduction of Subject I on March 4 drops from 1500 Hz to 3000 Hz

(well before the plateau one should expect to find in the listening curve of a goodsinger, of which subject I is an example). The left ear air conduction of Subject M on

March 4 shows a similar, though less pronounced, dip to the same decibel level (20

dB) at the same frequency. While too much can perhaps be made of this similarity,the striking differences in the spectrograms of the two participants would cause one to

expect striking differences in the listening curves. Such differences, however, are not

to be found.

Noteworthy is the fact that Subject I's primary instrument is voice and that she has

studied voice for eleven years, whereas Subject M has had no vocal training and isprimarily a composer. We recall, as well, that Tomatis does not ignore the value of

good voice technique; a good ear is not enough to make one a good singer. Still, the

literature in support of the Tomatis method argues that the ear plays a determinativerole in phonation. It seems, then, that similar listening curves should result in

similarly amplified overtones. While there are differences in the listening curves of

Subjects I and M, are they significant enough to account for the significant differences

in their respective spectrograms? If one is reading the data correctly, the listeningcurves do not reflect the kind of difference shown in the spectrograms.

Difficult questions are presented by looking at another participant. Subject O shows

much consistency in his spectrograms from day to day (Figures 10a, 10b, and 10c).

His listening curves, however, are remarkably varied (Figures 11a, 11b, and 11c).

This is one of the few cases in which inconsistency in listening curves was significant.Perhaps Subject O's data should be discounted as an anomaly given the fact that

nearly all of the other listening curves are relatively consistent from day to day.

Nonetheless, one of the laws of Tomatis comes to mind: "si l'on restitue a l'oreilletraumatisee la possibilite d'audition correcte des frequences mal entendues, celles-ci

se trouvent, retablies dans l'emission phonatoire, instantanement et a l'insu du

sujet."27 While some of the participants were not able to schedule voice samplesdirectly before or after the listening assessment, Subject O was able to do so all of the

three days of the data gathering. Given the instantaneous correlation of ear to

phonation referred to above, there should have been, theoretically, some indication inthe voice of what was being recorded from the ear. Such a correlation is not to be

found.

Let us compare Subjects D and I. Subject D (a pianist and sometime alto) has some

activity in the area of her singer's formant, but not as markedly as Subject I (Figures

12a, 12b, and 12c). The 3000 Hz point on the x axis of the spectrograms happens to

fall neatly within the increased activity in the singer's formant area of both singers.We would expect therefore to find somewhat similar listening curves, but Subject I's


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should show more aural acuity in the 3000 Hz range. Of the two singers, however,

Subject D's listening acuity seems consistently to be higher, if only slightly, in the3000 Hz range (Figures 13a, 13b, and 13c). Again, Subject I is a singer with eleven

years of voice training; Subject D's primary instrument is the piano, and she has had

only one year of voice training. These are facts a listening curve cannot show.

If these observations argue against a direct correlation between listening curves andphonation, some indications might point in the opposite direction. Consider, for

instance, Subject L. She, a soprano with ten years of voice training, has amplified

frequencies above the 3000 Hz range (Figures 14a, 14b, and 14c). Note that the left-

ear bone conduction curves on her charts consistently show a similar peak above the3000 Hz range (Figures 15a, 15b, and 15c).

Similarly, Subject F, a baritone with eleven years of voice training, has morepronounced activity in the higher frequencies on his spectrogram than one usually

finds in classical singing (Figures 16a, 16b, and 16c). (His might be closer to belt

singing.) There is, likewise, a peak in the higher frequencies on two days of the right-ear air conduction curves (Figures 17a, 17b, and 17c).

One must conclude, however, that all of these readings of the data seem somewhat

forced. If there is a correlation between the listening curves and the spectrograms, it is

not one that Tomatis's explanations of listening curves make apparent.

Nonetheless, it is worth mentioning again the Potchefstroom study. Post-Tomatis-

program curves "not only reflected ascending lines in some cases, but included

enhancement of other listening parameters, i.e., replacement of left ear control byright ear control, thus confirming attainment of self-listening, a prerequisite for

optimal vocal proficiency, according to Tomatis." (28)

Unfortunately, copies of the listening curves are not included with the published

article; and again, it is regrettable that the methodologic obscurities nullified preandpostprogram comparison of vocal emissions. So the Potchefstroom study brings us no

closer to determining whether there is in fact any correlation between listening curves

and voice production.

CONCLUSION

The data presented in the spectrograms are clear and objective. The data presented in

the listening curves, on the other hand, seem to require a significant degree of

subjective interpretation. This being the case, the listening curves are of limited help--if of any at all--as a means of comparing listening acuity with phonation for singing.

While this study brings Tomatis's claims concerning the correlation of listeningcurves to singing into serious question, it does not address the correlation between

listening curves and the various disorders to which Tomatis therapy is applied. In

other words, this study deals with the use of listening curves for fortigenic (enhancingphonation) rather than pathogenic (addressing disorders) purposes.

Finally, this study neither proves nor disproves Tomatis's basic thesis: the voice cancontain only those frequencies that the ear is attuned to. While anecdotal evidence


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seems to indicate that Tomatis's basic thesis is correct, the lack of empirical research

leaves many questions unanswered.

My hope is that this study will help to clear away some of the extraneous claims inTomatis's works, leaving the way clear for focused research on his basic thesis.

Tomatis may indeed prove to be a revolutionary and influential thinker, asrevolutionary, in his way, as Darwin or Freud. But just as aspects of the systems ofthose thinkers have been discredited and discarded, so might it be with some of

Tomatis's claims.

If Tomatis's basic theory is correct, what does it mean pedagogically? Apart from the

question of whether one has the resources to go through the Tomatis method, the

simplest application of Tomatis's theory to the teaching of singing would be to require

that students listen daily to singers whose voices are rich in the singer's formant. Thiswill attune their ears to the frequencies they themselves will want to emulate in their

own singing. As part of the requirements for private voice lessons in my studio, I have

students follow a series of selected recordings and submit weekly descriptions of whatthey hear (not only in terms of resonance, but also diction, phrasing, interpretation,

and so on). Some students who, at the beginning of the semester, seemed uninterested

in classical repertoire are now beginning to "get it" because their ears are becomingattuned to the richness of vocal timbre in this style of singing.

Another use of Tomatis's method has been suggested by Ben Allen, Lecturer in Voiceat Carleton College. (29) He has prepared his own digital sound samples, filtering out

the lower harmonics. In the course of a lesson, he will have students listen briefly to

one of these tracks, contrasting spectrograms taken before and after the listeningexercise. Drawing from Tomatis's theory on right-ear dominance, Ben also has his

students focus in the right visual field while singing to strengthen right-ear and thusleft-hemisphere activity to enhance pitch perception.

Several teachers who use these simple applications of Tomatis's theories attest to

noticeable results. Many in the voice pedagogy community, however, would prefer tosee the kinds of results that flow from rigorous scientific research. I offer one

additional piece of data that bolsters the basic thesis of Tomatis and might help point

the way to further research. Figures 18a and 18b show spectrograms of my own voice

before and after the passive phase of the Tomatis method. I took no voice lessonsduring this period of time. Furthermore, due to an unusually hectic schedule, I was

unable to maintain my usual routine of vocal warm-ups and practice. In other words,

the change in the area of the singer's formant from pre- and post-program is not due toany concerted attention to technique during this period of time (May 12, 2003 to May

27, 2003). The difference in pre- and post-Tomatis method is clearly observable. As

evidence, this data rises above the level of the anecdotal, while falling far short ofbeing scientifically irrefutable. I offer it as yet one more piece of evidence that, at a

minimum, urges further research in this area.

Again, Tomatis's theories on singing in no way obviate the need for the same voice

techniques and methods that have been in use for centuries. Is it possible, however,

that his theories could make the mastery of singing somewhat more accessible tomore people, and that such mastery could fall into place more rapidly? Moreover,

might his theories help to cultivate a wider, more appreciative, more aurally attuned


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public? For those of us who love singing and wish to share that enjoyment with

others, such possibilities are worth further inquiry.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

In addition to those mentioned in the acknowledgements of Part I of this article, I owean immense debt of gratitude to Keiko Ishikawa, voice pathologist, who generatedpublishable images of the spectrograms. Thanks also to the voice faculty of the

College of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, Minnesota, of St. John's University, Collegeville,

Minnesota, and to Ben Allen of Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota for sharingtheir ideas on applying Tomatis's theories in the voice studio.

NOTES

(1.) Wynand du Plessis, Stefan Burger, Marth Munro, et al., "MultimodalEnhancement of Culturally Diverse Young Adult Musicians: A Pilot Study Involving

the Tomatis Method," South African Journal of Psychology 31, no. 3 (August 2001):36, lists the following sources in reference to the pathogenic paradigm: Learning

difficulties--H. A. Stutt, The Tomatis Method: A Review of Current Research(Montreal: McGill University, 1983); Anxiety--W. F. du Plessis and P. E. van

Jaarsveld, "Audio-Psycho-Phonology: A Comparative Outcome Study in Anxious

Primary School Pupils," South African Journal of Psychology 18, no. 4 (December1988): 144-151; Mental retardation--C. de Bruto, Oudiopsigofonologiese opleiding en

die erg geestesvertraagde kind: 'n empirises ondersoek (Potchefstroom: Verhandeling

[MA]--PU vir CHO, 1983); Autism--T. Gilmore and P. Madaule, "Autism: Opening a

New Perspective on Autism," in T. Gilmore, P. Madaule, and B. Thomson, eds.,About the Tomatis Method (Toronto: The Listening Centre Press, 1988).

(2.) Du Plessis, et al., "Multimodal Enhancement," 35-42.

(3.) John Lander, "What Role Does the Ear Play in Singing?" Australian Voice 2(1996): 57-65.

(4.) Paul Madaule, "The Tomatis Method for Singers and Musicians," in Gilmore,Madaule, and Thomson.

(5.) Joshua Leeds, The Power of Sound (Rochester, VT: Healing Arts Press, 2001).

(6.) Jessica Manners, "Professional Voice Training," in Music to the Ears: TomatisMethod Case Studies (Lewes: A. A. Tomatis Foundation, 1996); cited in du Plessis, et

al., "Multimodal Enhancement," 36.

(7.) Roger Anthony Mason, "Audiation, Cochlear Function, and the Musical Ear of

Alfred Tomatis" (PhD dissertation, University of Miami, 2001); cited in du Plessis, et

al., "Multimodal Enhancement," 36.

(8.) PsychINFO, Dissertation Abstract: 2001-95017-043.

(9.) Du Plessis, et al., 36.


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(10.) Ibid., 38.

(11.) Ibid., 40.

(12.) Ibid.

(13.) Alfred Tomatis, The Ear and the Voice, trans. Roberta Prada and Pierre Sollier

[prepublication ms.] (New York: Vocal Images, 2002), 133.

(14.) Ibid.

(15.) Madaule, "The Tomatis Method for Singers and Musicians," 57-58.

(16.) Ibid.

(17.) Given the nature of the findings, only the data of participants specifically

discussed in this article are presented. If the reader is interested, a copy of the data ofall 24 participants can be made available by contacting the author at St. John's Abbey,

Collegeville, MN 56321. The relatively small number of subjects--similar to the

number in the Potchefstroom study--is a limitation of the present study. However,since this study was not compromised by technical difficulties, it constitutes a further

step toward a more thorough scientific study we hope will be undertaken in the future.


(19.) Willard Zemlin, Speech and Hearing Science: Anatomy and Physiology(Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1998), 459.

(20.) R. Kent and C. Read, The Acoustic Analysis of Speech (San Diego: Singular

Publishing Group, 1994); cited in du Plessis, et al., 37.


(22.) Cf. Johan Sundberg, The Science of the Singing Voice (Dekalb: Northern

Illinois University Press, 1987); cited in du Plessis, et al., 37.

(23.) W. Weiss, "Long Term Average Spectra Before and After Tomatis Audio-Vocal

Training," Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 78, Suppl. 1 (Fall 1985): 56.

(24.) Paul Madaule, letter to the author (April 13, 2003).

(25.) Ibid.

(26.) Ibid.

(27.) "If one restores to the traumatized ear the possibility of correct audition of

frequencies heretofore poorly perceived, these frequencies are instantaneously presentin phonation, without the subject's being aware of it." L'Effect Tomatis Publications

(March 18. 2003 http://www.tomatis-paris.com/effet_tomatis.htm). Cf. also, R.

Husson, "Etude Experimentale des Modifications Eventuelles de la Fourniture


25/25

Vocalique sous l'Influence de Fournitures Auditives Stimulatrices Concomitantes"

(Presentation to the Academie des Sciences, March 25, 1957, partially reprinted atL'Effet Tomatis Publications, March 18, 2003 http://www.tomatis-paris.com/

effet_tomatis2htm).


(29.) http://apps.carleton.edu/curricular/music/faculty/

Br. John-Bede Pauley, OSB, is a Benedictine monk of St. John's Abbey. He iscurrently studying for a PhD in Musicology at Durham University, U.K. His areas of

research interest are twentieth century British music; the relation of music to

theology, spirituality, and liturgy; and the role of acoustics in performing andlistening.

Br. John-Bede has studied voice with Carolyn Finley, Elizabeth Mannion, Elem Eley,

and John de Haan. He holds an MM in Vocal Pedagogy from Westminster ChoirCollege of Rider University in Princeton, New Jersey.

During his studies at Westminster, Br. John-Bede made the transition from baritone to

countertenor. During his "baritone years," he performed the roles of Don Alhambra in

The Gondoliersand The Learned Judge in Trial by Jury, both of which wereproductions of the St. John's University Opera Workshop. He also performed the role

of Col. Calverly in the St. Cloud, Minnesota Quite Light Opera's production of

Patience. As a countertenor, he sang the alto part in the role of the Evangelist in theIndiana University Contemporary Vocal Ensemble's 2005 production of Part's Passio,

has given recitals at St. John's University and Durham University, and currently sings

in the University College Chapel Choir at Durham University.

He taught applied voice and music theory at St. John's University at Collegeville,

Minnesota before resuming graduate studies at Indiana University and transferring toDurham University.

Br. John-Bede is also a member of the Advisory Board of Vocal Images, a nonprofitentity that promotes excellence in the performing arts with a particular emphasis on

classical singing.

COPYRIGHT 2008 National Association of Teachers of Singing

to turn singing on its ear

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