Expert: Wanda Reinholdt - 4/20/2009

Question
While in college, I was told of a phenomenon that I experienced again recently, and was wondering if it was fact or myth (and if it's fact, what the occurrence's correct name is.) I was told that when people are singing in harmony, it's possible to hit such a perfect harmony of note and vibrato that the tones seem to resonate together and create a "ringing" sensation in the theater. The singer describing this called the result "bell tones" and described it in the context of what barbershop quartets aspire to achieve. I was curious if there is such a thing, and what it's really called (I couldn't find "bell tones" on the Internet.) I recently heard a duet of two women with beautiful voices in a show in which I heard this ringing happen, and was wondering if it occurs in fact or if it was my imagination (and what's it's really called.)

Thanks for any information you can provide!

Answer
Hi there, Alison...And thanks for writing.

This is a question that I have never had before.  Very interesting.

I have never heard this described as "bell tones".  That does not mean that it isn't either.  If you think about the "bell tones" description, it does make sense because there is a ringing and a vibration that occurs with bells that is highly constant and resonates and can buzz your own body and cavities.

This is definite phenomenon that is achieved when there is perfect harmony and blend.  But I am not sure if there is a name for it other than resonating.  The word resonate or resonance has a definition that describes what you are talking about:

FROM MIRIAM WEBSTER: the intensification and enriching of a musical tone by supplementary vibration b: a quality imparted to voiced sounds by vibration in anatomical resonating chambers or cavities (as the mouth or the nasal cavity) c: a quality of richness or variety d: a quality of evoking response

What you are asking about is a physical manifestation in your body caused by the quality and vibration of a sound.  

There may be a more technical term for it that someone with their PHD in music may know.  But I like to think of this as high quality resonance.

Does that help you?

Wanda