ABSTRACT
With careers that depend to a large extent on the amplitude and sonorous beauty of their voices, opera singers must pay special attention to high notes, where the wide spacing of the harmonics of the voice source intensifies the critical importance of the tuning of the resonances of the vocal tract. This study uses spectrum analysis to examine a large number of recordings of a particularly challenging high note for tenors, the final sustained B4-flat of the aria 'Celeste Aida' from Verdi's opera Aida. The resonance strategy most frequently found uses a markedly displaced second formant to create a dominant resonance at the frequency of the third harmonic, about 1,400 Hz. Other strategies and combinations of strategies are examined as well. Arguments concerning the validity of drawing conclusions from the acoustic signals available in commercial recordings are considered, and it is concluded that such recordings can contain valuable information on resonance strategies for those who aspire to sing similar high notes.
