Part 1

Produced by Al Haines.

*HOW TO BECOME A SUCCESSFUL SINGER*

BY

*MADAME CLARA BUTT MADAME MELBA SIGNOR CARUSO MR. BEN DAVIES*

LONDON: GEORGE NEWNES, LIMITED, SOUTHAMPTON STREET, STRAND, W.C.

*CONTENTS.*

How to Become a Successful Singer. By Madame Clara Butt

The Gift of Song. With Practical Advice on Voice Culture. By Madame Melba

Hints on the Cultivation of the Voice. By Enrico Caruso

How to Attain Success in Singing. By Ben Davies

*HOW TO BECOME A SUCCESSFUL SINGER.*

*By MADAME CLARA BUTT.*

The question of how to sing a song involves touching upon a variety of points that might not at first sight be associated with the subject. Four distinct factors play prominent parts in the singing of any song, however simple. These are the Voice, the Singer, the Master, and the Song.

Of these, of course, the voice is of primary importance; for unless an individual possesses in some degree the gift of song it is impossible for him or her to become a singer. In very many cases, needless to say, correct training, by showing how the vocal organs can be used to the best advantage, may achieve some sort of result. But the voice so produced is often of an artificial character, which can never approach the purely "natural" voice.

It is, I believe, held by a great many people that only those can sing who possess a throat and vocal organs suitable for the production of the voice, but my own views on the subject do not coincide with this idea at all. My point of view is that if you are meant to be a singer you will sing. "God sent His singers upon earth," etc.

One often hears of operations upon the throat being performed with the object of improving the voice, but here again I find myself in entire disagreement. I think that if one is born with a deformity of the throat, and has always sung easily with it, any attempt to interfere with, or alter, that deformity, may end in destroying the power of song altogether.

When I was at the Royal College of Music I was constantly being urged to have my tonsils cut. For a long time I held out against it, but at last consented. However, while I was actually seated in the operating chair, the doctor asked me to sing the vowel sound "E" on a high note, and remarked upon the way my tonsils contracted while I sang it. All at once I recalled the case of a girl I knew, with a true soprano voice, who had lost the ability to sing in tune after her tonsils had been cut. Might it not be the same in my own case? This decided me in an instant. I refused to let the operation be performed, and from that day to this have never allowed my throat to be interfered with surgically in any way. Yet I have had every sort of throat that a singer would wish to avoid without my voice being affected in the least! I started life, almost, with diphtheria, have suffered from adenoids, and have experienced several attacks of quinsy. Among myself and my three sisters, all of us being singers, my throat is the worst of the lot, and not in the least like a singer's throat. The sister whose voice most nearly resembles mine is the one whose throat is most like mine; and the sister who has a throat and vocal organs which are ideal from an anatomical point of view possesses a soprano voice which, though particularly sweet, is not strong!

One thing that I think exercises an enormous amount of influence upon the quality of voices is climate. Review the climatic conditions of the various countries, and you cannot help remarking upon the number of natural voices that are met with in Italy and in Australia, in both of which countries the climate is unusually fine. I believe that the brilliance of the Australian climate must be reckoned with very seriously in accounting for the peculiar brilliance which is a characteristic of Australian singing voices, while that Italy is a country of singers is well known to everybody. At the same time, climatic conditions do not seem to affect the speaking voice, which I imagine is more a question of language. I have always thought that the English speaking voice is the best of any. There is none of that nasal, sonorous accent about it which, for instance, makes the speaking voice of the ordinary Italian so unpleasant. I was never so struck with this quality in Italian speaking voices as upon one occasion when staying at an hotel in Venice, where there was a cafe almost beneath our windows. Even the beauties of Venice hardly compensated for the nerve-racking nasal chatter that continually floated up to us from below.

It goes without saying that the voice needs a great deal of training and care if it is to be brought to the best development, and one of the first faults that must be cured is in the taking, and use of, the breath. This must be done in an entirely different way from that usually employed when speaking. It would be impossible for me to deal fully in such an article as this with the question of how to take breath, and as it is one of the first lessons that a singing master should teach, I will confine myself here to saying that the main difference lies in the fact that, when speaking, the breath is usually taken from the chest, but that when singing it must be controlled by the abdominal muscles.

When singing, the muscles of the throat must be relaxed, and not contracted. Self-consciousness often does more to mar a good voice than anything else, since it leads to the contraction of the muscles. Have you never noticed how pleasantly some people sing or hum to themselves when they imagine they are not overheard, compared with the indifferent or even unpleasant manner in which they perform publicly? Here we have a direct example of the result of self-consciousness. Never mind your audience. Allow the song to carry you away, so that you sing easily and naturally.

To acquire perfect control over the throat muscles, so that they may be relaxed at will, is one of the most difficult points in voice training. And one of the most common mistakes made in this respect is in over-practice. The muscles of the throat are among the most delicate of the whole body, and I am convinced that it is a fatal error to overtax them, especially during the early training of the voice, by too much practice. Personally, my training was very gradual, and the greatest care was taken not to impose too much strain upon my throat at first. I am confident that a number of short practices of ten or fifteen minutes' duration, with intervals of rest between, are better than a few long periods, since the throat is thus less liable to become tired. Every expert in physical development will tell you that for the proper development of any set of muscles a gradual exercise that does not involve over-exertion is the best, and I would particularly emphasise the importance of this where the throat is concerned.

Another point in connection with the voice which is too often overlooked is the question of general health. My gardener sometimes complains that the flowers do not come to perfection owing to the poorness of the soil. The simile is a very good one. The vocal organs are like delicate flowers, capable of the best development when the soil in which they are planted--the body--is in perfect condition. It must be the object of all singers, therefore, to take the greatest care of their health.

Over-exercise of the body generally should also be avoided, just as much as over-exercising the throat. It is easier to sing when the rest of the body has not been over-tired. General exercise, though essential to health, can be overdone just as much as vocal exercise. These remarks apply particularly to the student. It is while the voice is being formed, more than after it has been formed, that it is likely to be affected by such considerations as those just mentioned.

The mind plays a prominent part where the voice is concerned. Worry, unhappiness, and mental strain of every description may lower the whole tone of the body, and, by lessening the inclination to sing, make singing more difficult. Unfortunately, one cannot take mental worries in small doses, but must put up with them as they come; and I only mention this to impress upon my readers the more forcibly how important the general health of mind and body is where the voice is concerned.

After all, the effect of mental or bodily strain upon the voice depends entirely upon the individual. Personally, whatever may be the state of my mind or my body, I am able to sing in a sort of subconscious state.

It would hardly be possible to hit upon a more striking illustration of what can be done when one is in a subconscious condition than what I am about to relate.

At one time and another I have had to have operations performed--for appendicitis, for instance--which have necessitated my being put under ether. On every single occasion I have sung in full voice while under the influence of the anaesthetic! This was most remarkable perhaps on the occasion when I was being operated upon for appendicitis, for then the abdominal muscles, which control one's breathing, must naturally have been interfered with.

The fact is that trouble, worry, and ill-health have no effect upon the voice itself. The voice is always there. It is only the power of using it that may be impaired.

As I have already pointed out, it is in the early stages of vocal training that the effects of ill-health, mental worry, or overwork are most likely to be felt. When the voice has been properly trained, and the vocal organs fully developed, they are less likely to suffer by the rest of the body being out of tune, and it is therefore of particular importance for beginners to bear my remarks in mind.

Here is another point which beginners should take to heart, and follow as far as they are able. Try to avoid over-anxiety. Students often make the mistake, through over-anxiety, of over-working their voices just before a concert, with the result that they are not at their best when on the platform. It is a good plan to rest both the body and the voice before singing in public.

I should like to emphasise the importance of this very fully. Young singers seem to lose sight, half the time, of the fact that they should be at their very best when on the platform. Personally I always keep, and have always kept, this clearly before my mind. It is the greatest possible mistake to waste your efforts at the last moment in private. Rest before you sing in public, in order that when you go on to the platform you may give your audience--who, after all, have paid to be entertained--of your best. Remember that while polishing is highly desirable, there is such a thing as over-polishing, and this, instead of improving, only wears out. I am a great believer in the quiet study of a song without the aid of a piano. Not only does this avoid tiring the voice, but it enables the singer to fully grasp all the beauty and the meaning of the words and the music, and so to enter into the spirit of the subject when upon the platform. When on tour I frequently adopt this method of studying. It enables one to be doing something useful when in the train, or elsewhere, when actual practice is undesirable or impracticable.

This resting of the voice before singing in public applies not only to vocal exercises, but to all kinds of over-exertion of the throat. Even those who are aware of the danger, and who are careful to refrain from singing-practice just before an appearance in public, very frequently forget that speaking may tire the voice every whit as much as singing. It is most important not to do too much talking for some hours before a public appearance is made. In this way the throat will be thoroughly rested.

In singing, as in everything else, experience teaches, better than any amount of instruction, what an individual is capable of, and how the full power and merit of the voice may best be acquired and preserved. When students have "found their feet" sufficiently to understand the best way to manage their voices, they will be able to regulate their practice according to what leads to the best result in each individual case. Some may be best suited by morning practice, others by afternoon practice. Personally, I put in most of my practice between the hours of eleven and one each morning.

The next factor to be considered is the Singer. Temperament, individuality, force, dramatic ability, perseverance, industry, keenness, and ambition all play a part in the making of a successful singer and in the singing of a song successfully. It is in the earlier stages of the singer's career that some of these qualities are most necessary, for many years of hard and constant study have sometimes to be faced. It is during this time that perseverance, industry, keenness, and ambition, if they are possessed, will help the student on so enormously; indeed, while ambition and keenness will do most perhaps in the early stages, industry and perseverance are required all the time, for it is impossible to reach a stage where there is nothing left to learn.

Singing is but one branch of art, and a singer can learn something from every other branch. From the Actor may be gleaned hints for dramatic effect; from the Painter may be acquired an appreciation of breadth and colour; from the Orator may be picked up many useful hints as regards enunciation, modulation, and emphasis; while the Writer may inspire those beautiful thoughts which, taking root in the singer's mind, help towards that mental health which is as important to the perfect voice as physical fitness. It will be seen, therefore, that one may never have done studying; for there are constantly new actors, new speakers, new painters, or new writers from whom something may be learnt, while in painting and literature alone there are great masterpieces to such number that no one singer could ever hope to study them all. It must be remembered, also, that what satisfied the public ten years ago does not satisfy them now, and as a singer must keep pace with every advancement that is made, there is constant study to be done.

The first thing the possessor of a voice looks out for is naturally some one to train it, and this brings us to the question of the master. It is not my intention to give advice as to the selection of master or masters; indeed, it would be impossible to do so, partly because there are so many masters between whom it would be invidious to make comparisons, and partly because such an article as this is intended more to assist the general run of students, who are spread over so large an area that they could not all reach the best-known masters, but are obliged to study locally. In England and in the Colonies there are many very good schools and colleges for vocal training, and there are competent teachers, most of them emanating from our great Colleges and Academies, within reach of almost every district. While I do not wish to appear unpatriotic, however, it must frankly be admitted that students must study on the Continent if the best results are to be achieved, since only on the Continent can they study in that "Musical Atmosphere" which is so essential a surrounding for one who essays an artistic career. Even if prolonged study on the Continent is out of the question, it is advisable, at all costs, for Continental musical centres to be visited. No musical education can otherwise be complete.

You must not think that I wish to run down English masters. Quite the contrary: I think you can get just as good masters here as abroad. It is simply the question of "Atmosphere"--surroundings. There is no city in England where the pupil can study amid such surroundings that music and artistic ideas and ideals hem him in on every side, so that they meet him whichever way he turns, and so that the feeling that music is the only thing in the world remains with him, waking and sleeping, during the whole period of his study.

Only when surrounded by such an Atmosphere can the student be properly developed where his musical ideas are concerned, for only these surroundings can develop that artistic temperament which is so essential.

And apart from the question of Musical Atmosphere, seeing that a singer is frequently called upon to render songs in French, German, and Italian, it is necessary that those languages should be studied in France, Germany, and Italy, if perfection is to be acquired.

It is a very grave fault of our musical colleges and academies that they employ, as a rule, English teachers to give instruction in foreign languages. If in one's student days one had a good master for these languages--a Frenchman to teach French, a German to teach German, and so on--it would be of the greatest possible assistance, and would save a considerable amount of time and labour, since so much less would have to be unlearned. It is not too much to say, I think, that our musical institutions will never reach the highest point of their utility till they do this.

But before learning to sing in foreign languages at all, it is essential that pupils should learn to sing in their own language. Masters in this country teach their pupils to sing passably in French, Italian, and German, but directly they attempt to sing in English one is horrified to find that their enunciation is so bad that it is impossible to understand the words they sing, and almost out of the question to tell what language they are singing in! Surely it should be the first object of the teacher to instruct his pupils in the singing of their own language.

I verily believe that the reason why our language is looked down upon for singing in is because so many of our native singers do not know how to sing it properly. There are much harder sounds in the German language, for instance. Yet German songs are constantly sung by singers of every nationality. How often does one hear of English songs being sung in France, Germany or Italy by French, German, and Italian singers? Even when they give recitals over here their programmes seldom include an English song, and one is even more struck by so many of our own vocalists giving recitals at which often not a single song in English is included!

When English is properly sung, it is as easy to sing in, and as beautiful to listen to, as any other language, and if students were taught how to sing it, its popularity among singers would, I feel convinced, quickly spread.

I remember very well indeed singing on one occasion to Madame Marchesi in Paris. I boldly chose an English song, and upon coming to the end of it, was much pleased by the tribute Madame Marchesi paid to our language when she said to me, "English is beautiful when sung like that!"

It should emphatically be the first duty of a master to teach his pupils how to use their native language, and no other should be attempted till they can do this perfectly. The slipshod methods so frequently met with now would then soon disappear, and I am sure it would not be long before other countries began to appreciate the many beauties of the English language for singing in, and we should get more songs written by good composers to some of our beautiful English poetry.

Before I leave this question of the master there is one other point for me to touch upon. Although, when once they have mastered the singing of their own language, pupils should seek the Musical Atmosphere of the Continent, it must be remembered that there is one branch of music which is peculiarly our own, and which must accordingly be studied here. I refer to Oratorio. England is the home of Oratorio, and consequently this style of singing cannot be studied abroad. And for any singer who looks forward to entering the musical profession, careful study of this branch is absolutely indispensable. Oratorio is very popular here, and English audiences will not for a moment tolerate singers who fail to acquit themselves well when they undertake it; and as most professionals have to do Oratorio work at one time or another, care must be taken that the public are not given renderings which fail through lack of proper study and application.

Oratorio entails much study and research that is unnecessary where other branches of singing are concerned. Not only must the whole work be studied so that the singer may become acquainted with the full intention of the composer, but a special study must be made of the character which the singer is to perform, in order that all the feelings and emotions he or she would have felt in real life may be properly understood before an attempt is made to reproduce them. If the best results are to be achieved, the life, habits, failings, aims, and ambitions of the character to be interpreted must, as far as possible, be carefully studied and thought about, in order that the singer may better appreciate the situations which occur, and know how the character portrayed would have felt and acted in them. The Bible throws considerable light upon the life and character of most of the personages who have a place in Oratorio, and it is therefore useful, when studying some particular work, to examine carefully that portion of the Bible which may throw light upon the subject.

Lastly, we come to the song, and this is a question upon which I hold very decided views. The object of singers should be to give the greatest amount of pleasure to their audiences, as well as to use all that is best and highest in their art to inspire good thoughts, and raise the mental standard of their hearers. The larger proportion of every audience can only follow the words of the song in English. They can fully appreciate the beauty of the music, I admit, and for this reason every artist should have some of the most beautiful songs of other countries in his or her repertoire, but it is a lamentable fact that good translations are very rare. I like to choose as many songs as possible in English, so that their meaning and their message can be readily understood and appreciated by my audience.

I believe that it is within the power of an artist to actually lessen, or, at any rate, to temporarily relieve, the cares and worries of which each member of an audience has a share; and I am sure that the easiest way to do so is to sing songs whose meaning, and whose message, is immediately understandable.

In conclusion, I cannot insist too strongly upon the necessity for hard work and perseverance for those who are to succeed in the world of music. Too many people imagine that the "gift" is everything. But, indeed, this is not the case, for though the "gift" is, of course, indispensable, much application and hard work are necessary before it can be made use of to the best advantage. Given a voice and some dramatic instinct, there still remains careful and laborious training to be gone through before a singer can know how to sing a song and be able to put that knowledge into practice. The great thing is to be sincere, to be individual, and to grasp at the beginning of one's career the impossibility of pleasing everybody, _and the necessity of being true to oneself_, and if others see the truth differently, be deferential, and not servile, to their alien point of view.

*THE GIFT OF SONG.*

*WITH PRACTICAL ADVICE ON VOICE CULTURE.*

*By MADAME MELBA.*