THe Onset of a pitch

 This blog is going to concern itself with a very specific part of singing: the initial sound produced when you start singing.  Now, that may sound a bit odd - isn't the pitch you produce the first SOUND you hear?  Well, that is the ideal, but most often students produce an initial sound that is unrelated to the pitch.  There are two of these 'onsets:' a glottal attack and an aspirate onset.

A glottal attack (or hard onset) is produced when the vocal folds come together before a pitch is produced and air pressure builds behind the vocal folds.  The air pressure becomes so great that it essentially bursts out and produces a grunt-like noise. 

An aspirate onset (or soft/breathy onset) is the opposite of the glottal attack.  Breath flow starts BEFORE the vocal folds are brought together, producing an 'h' before the pitch is sung.

The technical goal for every voice teacher is to produce a BALANCED onset where neither onset (glottal or aspirate) is heard by the listener.  A balanced onset will give a singer much more longevity as a vocalist and also produces a very pleasant sound.

To work on each of these onsets, a voice teacher gives you exercises that essentially encourages the opposite onset to balance your voice.  If you are producing a hard onset, for example, you might sing with an imaginary 'h' before each note.  Visa versa, to reduce a breathy onset, you can use certain consonances to encourage the vocal folds to close and build air pressure to reduce the breathiness of one's tone. 

That being said, there is nothing artistically WRONG with a breathy or glottal onset so long as it is a choice and used only occasionally.  Lots of pop singers use glottal or breathy onsets for artistic reasons.  A breathy onset can create a very soft, warm sound.  A glottal attack can produce a very aggressive, attacking pitch.  The goal is to have the CHOICE on which tone you want to produce.  That is the sign of a great vocalist.

DWS