White voice

The technique is based on the open throat and free volume of a bright color. It uses all types of registers depending on many factors. Sometimes it is close to a controlled scream or just calling. Air escapes through the fully open throat. They are used for the upper and medium resonators, laryngeal cartilage, bones and air cavities in the head and throat. A characteristic feature of this kind of voice is its brightness, clearness (not in voice color meaning) or intensity. Although breathing can be taken in random moment of a song is very important underline expression. Nowadays "revival" of folk singing made this style universal, equal and de facto flat. Field work[1] shows us that situation is more complicated than singing "on nose" and loud. It depends mainly from country/region, speech, voice color, sound, solo or polyphonic singing and individual expression of a singer.

It had been practiced since ancient times among the rural population in Central and Eastern Europe. Loud and clear singing originates from practicing in the open air while working in the fields. Loud singing also depends on singing with instrumental accompaniment. Voice has to "strike" the music to be heard. Eastern researchers thought also that long unison and loud, strong voice has a magical powers [2]

It is used during rite of passage like weddings and annual rituals bound to rural year, khorovodes,[3] in large gatherings and in small spaces.

Best known contemporary bands that continue that style of singing (but are not bound to villages - they are typical modern city singers) are: Go_A, Drevo from Ukraine [4],The Bulgarian Voices Angelite [5], Svetlana Spajić from Serbia, Trys Keturiose from Lithuania that sings sutartinės, Południce from Poland [6] Narodnyj Prazdnik (Народний Праздник) from Russia and GUDA from Belarus.

Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, Russia, Poland and Bulgaria white voice takes part polyphonic singing. In Czechia, Slovakia and also Poland the approach uses one voice (monody).

• W. Grozdew-Kołacińska- biały śpiew