CHAPTER XXIII

SINGING METHOD OF THE SCIENTIFIC CULTURE OF VOICE; FUNDAMENTAL RULES FOR CORRECT VOICE PRODUCTION

The first singers of past ages knew nothing about singing methods. Instinct suggested that they embellish their speaking voices with musical colors and rhythms, thus originating the primitive forms of singing, ruled by individual methods. These methods were merely the spontaneous outcome of natural inspiration, sentiment and emotion, musically expressed according to the singers’ intelligence.

A vocal method, therefore, which aims to build up a _natural_ form of singing, must have at its command pupils who possess, in addition to an adaptable speaking voice, the required inspiration, sentiment and intelligence; and it must be applied individually also, though molded on general fundamental principles alike for all singers.

The aim of this method is to guarantee that the natural equipment, the voice, is trained and developed according to the dictates of Nature, so that it will improve instead of deteriorating from its original form and beauty. As for the inspiration, sentiment, and intelligence, Nature alone can bestow these on pupils. Teachers, however, can direct and develop the psychological dispositions of pupils with advice based on their own experience.

The speaking voice—the primary element for singing—is the basis for voice culture in this method, which in its principles does not differ from any other method for musical instruments.

A close examination of the modern teaching of piano, violin, etc., makes it evident that freedom and ease are the indispensable requisites for a thorough and correct technique. No physical exercises are recommended for strengthening the fingers of a violinist or pianist; it is understood that they will gradually develop their power by long training. Therefore, students of singing, contrary to the general practice, will not be requested by this method to undergo any physical or breathing exercises for putting the vocal organs in readiness for voice culture.

This new point of view about the breath may surprise the majority of readers, but it is our conception that through the normal function of singing, which requires a specific amount of breath, the vocal organs gradually develop, by constant use, enough resistance for any emergency that may arise in the vocal training of pupils. In professional singing, of course, there is some slight difference in the use of breath, as it frequently occurs that a stronger amount of it is required for certain intense musical phrases of operas of dramatic character; but these emergencies concern only finished singers who, after long study and practice, have their voices in readiness for any emergency. Beginners have no right to attempt trials which, in reality, are a danger to even the vocal organs of advanced and well-trained singers. Sensational outbursts are very commonplace among inexperienced and enthusiastic students; but these temperamental pupils should recall the fate of Icarus who tried to fly with artificial wings of wax, which melted when he flew too near the sun, so that he fell into the sea and was drowned. Furthermore, they must remember that the vocal organs of professional singers who, on occasion, indulge in strenuous efforts, are physically hardened from long training, while the same effort on the part of beginners brings on fatigue, and paves the way for more disastrous consequences.

Therefore, beginners must start their course of study as real beginners, proceeding in voice culture as they would in learning a new language, art or science. From the most elementary and simple exercises they must gradually advance to more difficult ones, never losing sight, however, of the basic principle, that ease and freedom are the basis of voice production.

Ease and freedom must be psychological as well as physical, each depending so closely on the other as to make it difficult to ascertain which is the actual support in their coöperative mission.

A singer who is positive that he can rely on the full control of his voice and on the normal efficiency of his vocal organs gets from this assurance the strongest assistance in singing—confidence and courage. Hence his physical freedom, the result of his correct mechanism of voice production, becomes the support of his mental freedom which, relieved of the worry of safely getting through the difficult passages, helps to make his singing technically perfect. Thus his mind is concentrated on the meaning of the words, which lends to his singing impressiveness and style.

But in the absence of the support of correct voice production, the singer feels under a nervous strain which destroys his mental and physical freedom. It is true, however, that some singers, by natural disposition, are so affected by outside influences, especially by that inexplicable sensation of stage fright, that they lose complete control of their voices. In some cases this abnormal psychological state of mind influences even singers of renown and renders them entirely helpless, though they can otherwise fully rely on their voices. Good singers, however, may overcome such conditions by long training and will power; but in cases in which the absence of confidence is due to lack of correct voice production, no improvement can be hoped for, unless a new method of singing, the correct one, is adopted.

What is the correct method of singing?

The method of voice production which borrows from the speaking voice the physiological and psychological elements essential to the art of singing, that is, the voice in its physical form, the pathos, expression, clearness, and meaning of its words, and combines them with musical rhythms, colors, and artistic style, is the correct method of singing.

The Scientific Culture of Voice takes its starting point from this conception; thus it begins where the phonetic rules for talking end, without, however, causing any breach, as the culture of the singing voice is but a continuation of the speaking voice’s proper formation.

Three conditions are practically indispensable for achieving correct singing.

1. The amount of breath employed must be proportional to the exact number of vibrations required by the tones to be produced; balanced in distribution, and under steady control.

2. The vocal apparatus must act normally, as in talking, with no strain or abrupt adjustments of its organs.

3. The resonating apparatus, made up of all the cavities of the body, must be easily accessible to the vibrations, and must not be hampered in its free distribution of the sounding waves during their expansion.

The first and second conditions are essential in the production of sounds, but the resonating apparatus is the power which lends to the voice its volume, quality, beauty, and all its psychological characteristics; therefore, it is the most valuable coefficient in singing.

In a very sensible criticism, made by E. W. Myer, about the vocal-effort school, as he calls it, and the relaxed school, he very strongly condemns, on one hand, the muscular school which makes of man a mere machine instead of a living, emotional, thinking soul, and, on the other, he makes some interesting comments on complete relaxation in singing. He says that “flexible firmness without rigidity, vitalized position, and action is the only condition for singing, and that the tone of the relaxation school lacks vitality.”

We agree on the whole with this statement of E. W. Myer, but we discriminate between the conditions ruling the singing of finished singers, and the essentials needed for voice culture of beginners. In voice culture we discard entirely all emotional influence during the preliminary work of students, in which the full relaxation of the vocal organs is indispensable for properly placing the voice and establishing a correct mechanism for singing. The training of beginners, at least for the first year, must be confined to the simplest form of musical expression, exempt from any strong psychological influence. This period of time is no specific; it is related to the intelligence of the pupils, and their conscientiousness in studying.

The correct phonetic use of the voice and its most accurate mechanism in regard to its placement and production must be the only aim on which they must concentrate their minds and work. This represents the first period of voice culture, in which singing must have the form of musical talking, avoiding all sustained tones and musical effects. When the thorough technique—natural, not artificial technique—is attained, so that a free, natural voice production is assured, then pupils can gradually be led into exercises and practices of more marked musical and psychological character. The “flexible firmness and vitalized action” claimed by E. W. Myer can at this period be gradually employed.

Therefore, the principle we advocate for beginners is the complete relaxation of the vocal organs, leaving the flexible firmness and vitalized action to finished singers who are entitled, by reason of their competence, to make use of all the technical dexterity for embellishing their voices and their style of singing.

The first condition for correct singing, as we stated before, is related to the amount of breath used and its distribution.

The proper amount of breath cannot be mathematically established; if it were possible it would perhaps solve the most perplexing problem of correct voice production. The author, however, believes that as long as its quantity is fully sufficient for the support of the voice, the less breath used, the better the singing. There are two reasons for this:

1. The minimum of breath places the voice on its exact pitch, producing only as many vibrations as are required for a determined note, and not more. The vogue of screaming which prevails at present is principally dependent on the large amount of breath singers use, under strong pressure. The surplus of air is instinctively augmented in the ascending altitudes of the scale, producing very sharp tones, and establishing that mechanism, so universal nowadays, which makes of most singers strenuous, sharp-pitched blowers.

2. The minimum of breath establishes also a balanced function for all the other vocal organs, besides the lungs, which take part in voice production, that is, those forming the voice—the vocal cords, larynx, and mouth—and those providing its resonance—the body cavities. Therefore, the efficient coöperation of the breath, the throat, the mouth and the resonance cavities is primarily governed by the balanced power of the breath.

At the beginning of the training, in order to produce the singing voice the same amount of breath must be used as in speaking the syllables or words of the exercises. For instance, if the exercise is made up of the syllables Ma, Me, Mi, Mo, Mu, or La, Le, Li, Lo, Lu, the same amount of breath used for pronouncing them distinctly must be used also for singing them. To carry this out correctly the tones must be sung in staccato rhythm, which has the advantage of freeing the vocal organs by using them in rapid adjustments, not allowing them enough time to become rigid. Singing staccato helps likewise to place the voice, for when the syllables to be sung are first spoken correctly, in staccato rhythm, they can easily be kept in the same place for singing. The singer then has no chance to drag the voice backward into the throat, as he often does in singing sustained tones. At times when even the attack of the tone is correct, prolonging the sound of the vowel toward the end makes it throaty. A great soprano used to call this “swallowing the little tails of the vowels.”

When the vocal organs begin to operate in complete freedom, and pupils are thoroughly accustomed to the correct distribution of a normal quantity of breath, then sustained tones must enter into the vocal training, as there is no longer danger of a forced production.

Pupils, we repeat again, must not forget that it is not the quantity and power of breath that is of great importance in making voices big and beautiful. It is, rather, its intelligent and balanced distribution, combined with freedom in singing, and, above all, with the largest amount of resonance possible. They must begin their training with the conception that singing is nothing more than musical speech.

The posture of their bodies, therefore, must be natural, as in talking, without artificial maneuvers, just assuming the same attitude as in addressing some one. That helps in getting psychological freedom also.

The vowels and consonants being the fundamental elements of the singing voice, correct voice production is dependent principally on their proper formation.

Just as in a pearl necklace the rarity of its pearls, their size, shape, smoothness, luster, and arrangement make the necklace beautiful and valuable, so in the human voice the perfection of the elements of which it is composed—vowels and consonants—by their clear enunciation, their volume, resonance, quality, and smoothness, lay the ground for perfect and artistic singing. Therefore, pupils must practice very accurately the phonetic rules already given for the speaking voice, and take infinite pains with their production.

Associating the vowels with the labial consonants, at the beginning, helps to make the voice placement easier and more precise, the labials being articulated by the lips.

For pupils to whom the pronunciation of the phonetic elements proves an easy matter, it is a good scheme to try, in the first exercises, to associate all the vowels with the consonant L, which though more difficult to articulate, and having a tendency to stiffen the tongue in its production, creates on the contrary a marked flexibility of that muscle when correctly produced.

The flexibility of the tongue is of most essential importance in voice production, as this organ is decidedly the worst enemy of singers, often constituting the most obstinate impediment to the freedom of their voices. By an instinctive act they usually retract the tongue toward the throat, and keep it in tension, thus preventing the laryngeal sounds from freely coming out and reaching the mouth. This causes a serious interference, which must be overcome at any cost at the beginning of voice training, for the flexibility of the tongue assures the freedom of voice production. Demosthenes, the greatest orator of Ancient Greece, thought the tongue such an important organ for the voice that he used to practice his orations with a pebble in his mouth to make his tongue more relaxed and flexible.

It is certain that in the singing of Caruso one of the actual causes of the ease and brilliant enunciation of his voice was the flexibility of his tongue. It was his servant, and without constraint he could shape it in any way he pleased. His marvelous rendition of the “Tarantella” of Rossini was the most striking evidence. One of his peculiarities was his morning inspection of his vocal cords, which he could easily examine by keeping his tongue so flat on the floor of his mouth as to make it possible to see his larynx in the laryngoscope without protruding his tongue, a maneuver which is very difficult even when performed by a laryngologist.

Before a performance the author often saw him pull his tongue repeatedly, to make it more relaxed. By natural instinct he put great faith in the flexibility of this organ, and trained it so well that as a “stunt” he used to hold the center of his tongue concave, and curl the end and side up, forming a cup, triangular in shape.

The tongue, in singing, must be kept in relaxation on the floor of the mouth, except in the production of the vowel I, in which it must be raised slightly, though in relaxation, toward the palate, and in the lingual consonants N, L, R, in which its movement is indispensable for their formation (see illustration of tongue X-ray, Fig. 27).

This method of singing, built up on the speaking voice, calls also for a demonstration of the use of two other important phonetic organs—the palate and the lips.

The palate, which when naturally conformed and well arched, improves the resonance of the voice remarkably by creating a larger space in the mouth, must be in relaxation also. Exception is made during the enunciation of the vowels A, O, U, in which the soft palate raises the uvula but very slightly, while the tongue is left entirely flat or concave on the floor of the mouth, thus creating the largest space possible. Space in the mouth proves a great coefficient for the volume, softness and darkness of the voice, owing to the magnified resonance.

The lips must always be left in normal relaxation, as in talking. They are of great importance in the formation of the vowels O and U, for, by approaching them without squeezing, a tube is formed in front of the mouth which acts as a megaphone for their resonance, making these vowels soft, dark in quality, and larger in volume.

The attention to teachers and beginners is called to another important matter in regard to the section of the range which must be used at the beginning of vocal training.

The author believes it is a necessity to confine the preliminary exercises to the lowest tones of the range, beginning at the altitude of B or C below the staff, and descending to its lowest part, until the voice gradually disappears. In the case of a soprano or tenor, if the tones are not forced this takes place at approximately E below the staff.

That voice production should commence in the lowest section of the range is advisable for at least two reasons:

1. In the low tones it is easy for pupils to employ the normal amount of breath required to place their voices on the exact natural pitch, while in the higher tones it is more difficult to control this amount, owing to a psychological influence which suggests to singers, in general, to give more breath than is necessary in ascending to the high sections of the range.

2. It is important also to develop the voice (always without forcing), first in its very low part, which, although not used later in singing, for physiological reasons forms the support of the higher section of the range. It has been demonstrated in the first part of this book that the lower the level of the voice, the higher its range can develop; the more correctly the vocal organs produce the lower tones (that means without forcing), the further can the upper range be extended, without effort.

It is similar to the construction of a building. The deeper the foundation, the higher the building. In voice production this proves to be the case, because, having trained the vocal organs to the maximum of relaxation and freedom through the lower tones, by keeping the same mechanism of voice production all through the range, pupils can find no difficulty in producing the tones at the altitude intended by natural laws. As a rule, only artificial interferences make the range of the voice shorter; therefore, the common belief that Nature creates _short voices_ is erroneous. Short voices are the result of false mechanisms of voice production.

Pupils, at the beginning of their training, must not expect to produce big tones. Their attention and care must be concentrated only in having their vocal organs operate in complete relaxation, and placing the voice in its correct center, guided by the speaking voice, which, if correctly produced, can establish both the place and pitch of the singing voice.

This new conception of determining the pitch of the singing voice by that of the speaking voice is of the greatest assistance in producing the voice, especially in high tones. It is a fact that if pupils hear the tone they are to sing, produced by the piano, and succeed in saying the syllable in that pitch, or if by mental influence they direct the pitch of their singing to the altitude designated by the speaking voice, the resulting tone will be easy in production and correct in pitch. In the first part of this book, in the chapter related to the pitch of the voice (p. 123), this subject is amply illustrated. Beginners and singers should, therefore, learn to talk in any pitch, consequently enabling them to mold every tone of their singing on the pitch of the speaking voice. The advantages are manifold.

A habit common to beginners, and also to singers, is that of neglecting to open the mouth sufficiently when it is essential, as, for instance, in the vowel A, or of opening it forcibly. Some teachers object to the opening of the mouth. It is an error. The mouth is the door of the voice; it must be opened to allow it to escape. Even instinct suggests that the mouth be opened in producing the voice. When a child starts to cry, which is a primitive psychological expression, he opens his mouth wide. In singing this must be done naturally; not forcibly. In eating we open our mouth spontaneously and instinctively by dropping the lower jaw; the same must be done in opening the mouth for singing, thus avoiding a rigid, muscular mechanism.

In the case of professional singers who wish to learn and practice this method, we caution them that the task is _much more difficult_ than for real beginners. Singers, undertaking this, must forget and renounce entirely their previous method of singing; they must put themselves in the place of beginners, which is usually very difficult to do. The more primitive an element they will become, the more will the progressive influence of this method, by gradually substituting new rules for voice production, destroy their originally faulty mechanism. Their practicing at the beginning must be colorless, and more like musical speech. This is very important, because the mere suggestion that they are singing will unconsciously bring them back to their original faults.

It will also be difficult for them to discard the influence of the diaphragm and breath pressure; therefore, it is a good policy for them to remain seated while performing their exercises, as if they were merely talking to the teacher. In this manner they will be kept away from the unconscious psychological influence of their professional singing.

Fundamental voice production at the beginning must be correct, not artistic. Gradually, after the pressure of the breath is controlled, the voice correctly placed, and freedom in singing is acquired, exercises of more musical style can be attempted, beginning with sustained tones in the lower part of the range. This constitutes the second phase of their new training. In the third phase, when this method of practicing the exercises is applied to songs or operas, they have nothing to fear, as their solid preliminary training will have prepared their voices for any vocal emergency.

With these general hints for correct voice production, we have prepared the ground for our vocal exercises.

Care must be taken that they are strictly and constantly observed, if progress is desired. Until pupils get the proper mechanism of voice production they must think of nothing else, nor be influenced by any other ambition. Later they will realize the value of these suggestions.