Complete Vocal Technique

Complete Vocal Technique (CVT) is a singing method developed by Danish singer, vocal coach and vocal researcher Cathrine Sadolin. Since the 1980s she has been researching all the sounds the human voice is able to produce. She came up with a new terminology and visual representation for her findings, which can be found in the book Complete Vocal Technique. In 2000 the first edition came out, and the latest revised edition came out in 2008. The book has been published in English, Dutch, German, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish and French.

In 2005 Cathrine Sadolin started the Complete Vocal Institute in the center of Copenhagen, where singers can enroll in several courses, like the 3-year Singer/Teacher Diploma Course, or the 14-week Complete Vocal Academy.

Some basic principles of CVT:

• CVT is based on anatomy and physiology instead of myths. Its goal is to use the voice in a healthy and unharmful manner.
• CVT can be used in all musical genres.
• The technique applied must work at once. If not, the singer is doing something wrong.
• Singing is not difficult: anyone can learn how to sing.
• Singing should always feel comfortable and never hurt: trust your own sensation.
• All sounds can be made in a healthy way.
• In teaching: separate taste and technique. The singer makes the artistic choices, not the teacher.

This means CVT is one of few singing techniques claiming that sounds which sound hazardous, like grunting or screaming, are perfectly healthy to the voice as long as they are performed correctly.

Complete Vocal Technique Overview

The three Overall Principles

The three overall principles are the three conditions the voice must always abide to in order to sing in a healthy way:

• Support (to hold back the breath whilst singing)
• Necessary twang (to bring the lower part of the epiglottis and the arytenoid cartilages closer to each other, resulting in a sharper sound)
• Avoid protruding the jaw and tension of the lips

The four Vocal Modes

The vocal modes are the four ways the human voice can produce sound. The modes have their own sound, character and rules. The modes are made in anatomically different ways and can be distinguished from each other by sound and vision (by endoscope in the larynx and by the wave form of the mode).

• Neutral: an often low volume mode with a soft character
• Curbing: a medium volume mode with a restrained character
• Overdrive: a loud mode with a shouting character
• Edge: a loud mode with a screaming character

Sound Colour

The modes can be altered in sound by either widening or narrowing the vocal tract. The result is a lighter or darker sound colour. There following aspects have influence on the sound colour:

• The shape of the mouth
• The shape of the tongue
• The position of the larynx
• The amount of twang
• The use of the nasal passage
• The position of the soft palate

Vocal Effects

On top of the modes and sound colours, a vocal effect can be added:

• Distortion
• Creak and Creaking
• Rattle
• Growl
• Grunt
• Screams
• Vocal Breaks
• Air added to the voice
• Vibrato
• Technique for ornamentation

External links

• Official website