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A tone lacking in resonance is ineffective,—devoid of carrying power,—is diffuse and unfocused; while a resonant tone, no matter how soft dynamically, has carrying power and is focused in its vibration.
Now "voice placing" depends primarily on correct vowel placing, which in turn depends on proper adjustment of the resonators, which again depends chiefly on the positions and motions of the organs of articulation. The interdependence of tone quality and pronunciation is therefore obvious.
Constant emphasis must be laid upon the fact that focusing a tone is a matter of resonance, and that perhaps the most important element in this is nasal resonance. In this country, particularly, teachers have, in their desire to overcome the too common nasal twang, mistakenly sought to shut out the nasal chamber from all participation in speech and song.
There are those who, partly recognizing the importance of head resonance, would secure it while ignoring nasal resonance. It is impossible to secure head resonance in this fashion, for it is only through free nasal resonance that the cooerdinate resonance in the air sinuses above the nasal cavity and connected with it can be established.
The fear of nasal twang and failure to distinguish between it and true nasal resonance has been the stumbling block. They are very different,—one is to be shunned, the other to be cultivated. The first is an obvious blemish, the second is an important essential of good singing.
Nasal tones are caused by a raised or stiffened tongue, a sagging soft palate, a stiffened jaw, or by other rigidities that prevent free tone emission and which at the same time—note this—prevent true nasal resonance.
As tone, or vocalized breath, issues from the larynx, it is divided into two streams or currents by the pendent veil of the soft palate. One stream flows directly into the mouth, where it produces oral resonance; the other stream passes through the nasopharynx into the hollow chambers of the face and head, inducing nasal and head resonance.
It is commonly supposed that tone passing in whole or in part through the nasal cavities must be nasal in quality; whereas a tone of objectionable nasal quality can be sung equally well with the nostrils either closed or open.
Browne and Behnke state the matter thus: "However tight the closure of the soft palate may be, it is never sufficient to prevent the air in the nasal cavities being thrown into co-vibrations with that in the mouth. These co-vibrations are, in fact, necessary for a certain amount of the brilliancy of the voice, and if they are prevented by a stoppage of the posterior openings of the nasal passages, the voice will sound dull and muffled. This is of course due, to an absence of nasal resonance, and must on no account be described as nasal twang. It is, indeed, the very opposite of it."
Nasal tone quality and nasal resonance must not be confounded. A nasal tone is constricted, while a tone with nasal resonance is free. Again, a tone may be unmarred by the nasal quality, yet if it lacks nasal resonance it lacks vibrancy, carrying power.
Nasal tones are produced, not because the vibrations pass through the nasal passage, but because they are obstructed in their passage through them. A nasal tone is always a cramped tone, due to impediment, tension, or muscular contraction, particularly in the nasopharynx.
The congestion and consequent thickening of the mucous membrane lining the cavities of the nose and head, resulting from a cold, make the tone muffled and weak, owing to the inability of the parts to respond to the vibrations and add to the tone normal nasal resonance.
The elder Booth (Junius Brutus), about 1838, suffered from a broken nose which defaced his handsome visage and spoiled his splendid voice. His disability was so great that afterward he seldom played. That the cause of this impairment of Booth's voice was due to the contraction and more or less complete obstruction of the nasal passages is too evident to call for comment.
Many singers have sweet but characterless voices that lack the fulness, power, and ring they might have because they fail to avail themselves of the augmenting power of the resonance cavities. The singer must learn to habitually use all of the resonance cavities and use them simultaneously.
Lilli Lehmann, in How to Sing, says that, "although the nasal sound can be exaggerated,—which rarely happens,—it can be much neglected,—something that very often happens." The context makes clear that what in the English translation of the great singer's book is called "nasal sound" is exactly what we term nasal resonance.
After charging the monotonous quality or lack of color in the voice of a famous opera star to lack of nasal resonance, Madame Lehmann speaks of the consummate art of Marcella Sembrich who "in recent years appears to have devoted very special study to nasal resonance, whereby her voice, especially in the middle register, has gained greatly in warmth." She says further that nasal resonance "cannot be studied enough. It ought always to be employed." "How often," she says, "have I heard young singers say, 'I no longer have the power to respond to the demands made upon me,' whereas the trouble lies only in the insufficient use of the resonance of the head cavities."
From the foregoing, the conclusion follows that the head vibrations are not only an essential element, but that nasal resonance is a most important element in imparting to tone its brilliance and carrying power. Without thought of the mechanism of how nasal resonance is produced, the singer has control over it by direct influence of the will. The tones, low as well as high, should seem to start in the nose and head, and the vibrations of the perfect tone can be plainly felt upon any part of the nose and head. Without the head vibrations no tone can be perfect, for nothing else will compensate for the lack of these. Vocal organs used as here described will suffer no fatigue from reasonable use; hoarseness will be to them a thing unknown, and "minister's sore throat" an unheard of complaint. Not only is faulty voice production a source of great discomfort, but it is the cause of many diseases of the chest, throat, and head.
The gentle practice in easy range of the exercises given in the chapter following, will do much to restore a normal condition.
CHAPTER VIII
PLACING THE VOICE
What is called "placing the voice" or "tone production" or "focusing the voice" is, as already stated in the previous chapter, chiefly a matter of resonance—of control of the resonator. Now vocalization is largely vowelization, and vocal tones are a complex of sound and resonance. The character of a vowel is given it by the shape of the vowel chamber; and the shaping of the vowel chamber depends upon delicate adjustment of the movable parts,—jaw, lips, cheeks, tongue, veil of the palate, and pharynx. While this adjustment is made through more or less conscious muscular action, the parts must never be forced into position; local effort to this end will invariably defeat itself. The important consideration in all voice movements is a flexible, natural action of all the parts, and all the voice movements are so closely allied, so sympathetically related, that if one movement is constrained the others cannot be free. It is a happy fact that the right way is the easiest way, and a fundamental truth that right effort is the result of right thought. From these axiomatic principles we deduce the very first rule for the singer and speaker,—THINK the right tone, mentally picture it; then concentrate upon the picture, not upon the mechanism.
WHEN IS THE VOCAL ACTION CORRECT?
There are two sound criterions for judging the correctness of vocal action,—first, the ease of the action, its naturalness, its flexibility. As Mills concisely states it: "He sings or speaks best who attains the end with the least expenditure of energy." Second, the beauty of the result. Harsh, unlovely tones are a sure indication of misplaced effort, of tension somewhere, of wrong action. On the other hand the nearer the tones approach to perfection the closer does the organism come to correct action. Beauty of tone, then, is the truest indication of proper vocal action.
Judgment as to the relative beauty of a tone depends on the training of the ear. Pupils should habitually listen to their own voices, for between the hearing and feeling of the voice a knowledge of progress can be obtained. The function of the ear in governing voice production is thus stated by Prof. Mills: "The nervous impulses that pass from the ear to the brain are the most important guides in determining the necessary movements." Mr. Ffrangcon-Davies maintains that, "The training of the ear is one-half of the training of the voice." The student should improve every opportunity to hear the best singers and speakers, for both consciously and unconsciously we learn much by imitation. Good examples are often our best teachers.
Keeping well in mind the principles stated above, we are now ready to begin their application in placing the voice—that is, in setting it free—not by learning some strange and difficult action, but by cultivating normal action.
EXERCISES FOR PRACTICE
The following exercises are designed for the primary development of a correct tone and for the test of the perfection of every tone at every stage of development. They are based upon the assumption that all tones of the voice should be focused and delivered precisely alike. Their use should constitute a part of the daily practice of the singer or speaker.
I give but few exercises for each point to be gained. Intelligent teachers and pupils will add an infinite variety to suit each case, but the exercises given appear to me to be the best for initial practice. It is important that each exercise in its order shall be thoroughly mastered before taking up the next. Only in this way can rapid progress be made, for it is not the multiplicity of exercises, but the thoughtful application of principles in the few, that leads to results.
The sound of hng will always place the voice in proper focus by developing the resonance of the nose and head. The thin bones of the nose will first respond to the sound and after practice the vibrations can be felt on any part of the head and even more distinctly on the low than on the high tones. To attain this, repeat the sound hung times without number, prolonging the ng sound at least four counts. To insure the proper course of the vowel sounds through the nasal passages, follow hung with the vowel ee, as this vowel is more easily focused than any other; then with oo, oh, aw and ah.
Ah is by far the most difficult sound to focus and should never be used for initial practice. Much valuable time has been lost by the custom of using this sound at first. It should come last.
The h is chosen to introduce the vowel sound because in the preparation to produce the sound of the letter h the epiglottis is wide open and the vocal cords entirely relaxed, and because less change of the tongue is required when the vowel sound follows.
Preliminary Exercise
Practise this softly on any pitch easy for the voice.
[Music illustration: Hung-ee. Hung-oo. Hung-oh. Hung-aw. Hung-ah. Hung-ee etc.]
Begin the tone quietly on an easy pitch and continue it softly to the end. Later, after these exercises are mastered on one pitch, use every note within the easy compass of the voice. Leave stridency of tone to the locust. It is no part of a perfect tone. It never appeared in the voices of the most famous singers. Those who allowed themselves to use it passed off the stage early in life. Much better results will be obtained by practising without any accompaniment. The sound of the piano or other instrument distracts the pupil, prevents both pupil and teacher from hearing the voice, and hinders progress.
IMPORTANT DIRECTIONS
The manner in which Exercise I and those that follow is practised is of the utmost importance. Therefore carefully note and apply the following:
1. Fully pronounce the word hung (u as in stung) at once, and prolong the tone, not on the vowel sound but on the ng sound. This establishes the proper head and nasal resonance at the very beginning of the exercise.
2. In passing from ng to ee be very careful not to change the initial focus or lose the sensation of nasal and head resonance. Do not therefore move the lips or the chin. The only change at this point is the slight movement of the tongue required to pronounce ee, which must be a pure vowel without a trace of the preceding g.
3. In passing from ee to oo, from oo to oh, and so on, do so with the least possible movement of lips and chin. The initial sensation of nasal and head resonance must not be lost.
4. Each vowel sound must be distinct in enunciation and pure in quality. Avoid blurring one with the other. Give each its true individuality.
5. As jewels of different hue hung on a string, so must this exercise be the stringing of vowels on a continuous stream of sound.
Exercise I
TO ESTABLISH NASAL AND HEAD RESONANCE
This is an exercise for focusing or placing the voice and developing the vibrations of the nasal and head cavities, the most essential parts of the resonant apparatus. If the nostrils are kept fully open, no nasal twang will be heard. The strength of the tone will correspond to the force of the vibrations of the nose and head, which can be plainly felt by resting the finger lightly upon the side of the nose. The vibrations may eventually be plainly felt on the top and back of the head.
Attack, that is, begin the tone, softly and on no account force it in the least. Pronounce the full word at once, prolong the ng four counts as indicated, and sing the five vowel sounds on a continuous, unbroken tone. Articulate entirely with the lips and without moving the under jaw. In this, as in the following exercises, keep the under jaw relaxed and open the mouth so as to separate the teeth as wide apart as is consistent with the action of the lips. See also the illustrations of proper lip position given at the close of Chapter II.
Practice this exercise on any pitch easy for the voice.
[Music illustration: Hung-ee-oo-oh-aw-ah etc.]
Repeat this many times until the nose and head vibrations are fully recognized and established. After mastery of this exercise is acquired, any words ending in ng may be repeated. The word noon sung quietly on each note of the voice with the final consonant prolonged will be found helpful.
EXERCISES FOR SPEAKERS
When the placing of the voice is accomplished on the one tone (Exercise I), the speaker can go on with practice in reading and reciting, allowing the voice to change its pitch at its will, only being careful that all the tones are alike in quality.
A profitable exercise for speakers is to pronounce any word or syllable ending with ng, as ming, bing, sing, ring, ting, and follow it with some familiar lines in a monotone, being sure that the tone is the same and produces the same vibrations in the nose and head.
In the case of a person already a public speaker, this new regime may not immediately manifest itself in performance, but gradually the right principles will assume control, and speaking be done with ease and effectiveness. Continual daily practice of exercises should be kept up.
If a speaker has a musical ear and some musical knowledge, he will derive great benefit by following out the practice of the exercises for singers. In no way can the voice for speaking be improved so rapidly or decisively as by musical training.
Exercise II
TO ESTABLISH HEAD AND NASAL RESONANCE
As in Exercise I, sing softly, seeking purity of vowel sounds and quality of tone. Fully pronounce hung at once, prolonging the ng four counts as indicated. Pass from one vowel to the next with the least possible change in the position of the lips and chin. The stream of sound is to be unbroken, the tone focus unchanged, and the sensation of resonance in the upper chambers continuous.
[Music illustration: Hung-ee-oo-oh-aw-ah etc.]
[Music illustration: Hung-ee-oo-oh-aw-ah etc.]
Exercise III
UPPER RESONANCE CONTINUED
Follow the directions for Exercise I. Sing quietly in a pitch that is easy for the voice, and modulate up or down by half steps.
[Music illustration: Hung-ee-oo-oh-aw-ah etc.]
Exercise IV
UPPER RESONANCE CONTINUED
The last exercise carried the voice an interval of a third; this carries the voice an interval of a fifth. Follow carefully the directions of Exercise I. Be sure to pronounce hung at once, prolonging the tone not on the vowel but on the ng. Sing softly. Vary the pitch to suit the voice.
[Music illustration: Hung-ee-oo-oh-aw-ah etc.]
Exercise V
UPPER RESONANCE CONTINUED
The last exercise carried the voice an interval of a fifth, this one has a range of a sixth, while Exercise VI has a range of an octave. Carefully follow the Important Directions on page 60.
Sing softly in a pitch that is easy for the voice.
[Music illustration: Hung-ee-oo-oh-aw-ah etc.]
[Music illustration: Hung-ee-oo-oh-aw-ah etc.]
Exercise VI
TO ENLARGE THE THROAT AND THUS MAGNIFY THE TONE
Pronounce the word hung at once, opening the mouth well. Prolonging the ng sound as indicated will insure the proper focus.
Sing the five vowel sounds throughout the scale as indicated. At first practise only on scales that are in easy range.
[Music illustration:
1. Hung-ee 2. Hung-oo 3. Hung-oh 4. Hung-aw 5. Hung-ah
etc.]
VIa
[Music illustration:
1. Hung-ee 2. Hung-oo 3. Hung-oh 4. Hung-aw 5. Hung-ah
etc.]
Exercise VII
FOR PRODUCTION OF THE VOWEL SOUNDS IN PROPER FOCUS
Produce the hung at once, and add the vowel. Be sure that the vowel sound follows the same course as the "ng" sound which precedes it, and produces the same sensation in the nose.
The vowels are arranged in the order chosen because ee is the most easily focused while ah is by far the most difficult to focus, and hence the worst possible sound for initial practice. Think of the tone as being made in the nose and head.
Let there be no break or stopping of the tone when passing from the ng sound to the vowel. Simply change the tone into the vowel desired by the proper change in the articulating organs.
Sing the five vowel sounds connectedly, being sure that each vowel is correctly placed before passing to the next. The proper use of the lips will aid greatly in focusing the vowels. Start with the scale that is in comfortable range.
[Music illustration: Hung-ee-oo-oh-aw-ah etc.]
[Music illustration: Hung-ee-oo-oh-aw-ah etc.]
Exercise VIII
TO ENLARGE THE THROAT AND FOCUS THE VOWELS
Open the mouth well and be sure that the vowel sounds are delivered as in the previous exercises; this will insure largeness with proper resonance.
When practising this exercise, be careful, as with the others, that each vowel sound in its order is correctly given before passing to the next. Only in this way can rapid progress be made.
The words bing, sing, ting, fling, swing are excellent to use for further practice.
[Music illustration:
1. Hung-ee 2. Hung-oo 3. Hung-oh 4. Hung-aw 5. Hung-ah
etc.]
[Music illustration:
1. Hung-ee 2. Hung-oo 3. Hung-oh 4. Hung-aw 5. Hung-ah
etc.]
Exercise IX
QUICK CHANGING NOTES WITHOUT CHANGING RESONANCE
The important point in this flexible exercise is to keep the vowel-color, the focus or resonance, unchanged throughout the phrase. Begin quietly, give the ng freedom and the upper resonance will adjust itself. This phrase is longer than in previous exercises; be sure then that you still have breath at the end—breath enough to sing further. Sing quietly. Pitch the exercise to suit the voice.
[Music illustration:
1. Hung-ee 2. Hung-oo 3. Hung-oh 4. Hung-aw 5. Hung-ah
etc.]
Exercise X
FOR AGILITY
Sing each vowel sound separately before passing to the next. Be sure to start each vowel sound in purity and maintain it without change. Pitch the exercise to suit the voice.
[Music illustration:
1. Ee 2. Oo 3. Oh 4. Aw 5. Ah
etc.]
For variants on the above use as initial consonants b, p, m, f, v, d, k, n, t, and l.
Exercise XI
TO DEVELOP THE USE OF THE LIPS AND UNDER JAW
When practising this exercise protrude the lips and raise them toward the nose as far as possible; also make an effort to enlarge and widen the nostrils. This exercise may be practised more quickly than the preceding, but never at the expense of clearness of vowel distinction. Carry the exercise higher or lower, and in different keys, to suit individual voices. With a slight initial accent sing each two-measure section smoothly as one phrase. Avoid accenting each separate vowel sound. To do so would produce a series of jerks.
[Music illustration: Ee-oo-oh-aw-ah etc.]
After practising the above as written modify it as follows:
1. Bee-boo-boh-baw-bah. 2. Pee-poo-poh-paw-pah. 3. Mee-moo-moh-maw-mah. 4. Fee-foo-foh-faw-fah. 5. Vee-voo-voh-vaw-vah. 6. Dee-doo-doh-daw-dah. 7. Kee-koo-koh-kaw-kah. 8. Nee-noo-noh-naw-nah. 9. Tee-too-toh-taw-tah. 10. Lee-loo-loh-law-lah.
Exercise XII
FOR FACILITY AND QUICK VOWEL CHANGE
Be careful not to blur the vowel sounds; each must be distinct and pure, and the change from one to the next must be made with a minimum of effort and without disturbing the focus of the tone.
[Music illustration: Ee-oo-oh-aw-ah etc.]
The divisions (a and b) of each of the above four variants may be regarded as distinct exercises or not. For further practice use as initial consonants any or all of the following: b, p, m, f, v, d, k, n, t, and l.
Exercise XIII
ASCENDING AND DESCENDING SCALE
As in the previous exercises practise quietly with unvarying focus and aim to finish the phrase with breath unexhausted. Pitch the exercise to suit the voice.
[Music illustration:
Hung-ee Hung-oo Hung-oh Hung-aw Hung-ah
etc.]
Exercise XIV
THE LONG SCALE
Sing this scale exercise in medium range, without blurring either the vowel sounds or the notes.
[Music illustration:
1. Hung-ee 2. Hung-oo 3. Hung-oh 4. Hung-aw 5. Hung-ah
etc.]
[Music illustration:
1. Hung-ee 2. Hung-oo 3. Hung-oh 4. Hung-aw 5. Hung-ah
etc.]
The exercises thus far given have employed the five vowel sounds found most helpful in gaining a free resonance. These should now be supplemented by the use of all the vowel sounds. It is obvious that unless the singer is at home with every vowel and on any pitch in his vocal range perfect pronunciation is impossible. In Chapter II a Scale of Vowel Sounds is given. For convenience it is repeated here:
Having so far mastered the previous exercises as to establish a free head and nasal resonance, take the Scale of Vowel Sounds and apply it to the now familiar exercises.
Next, as suggested in Exercise X, use as initial consonants in connection with the Vowel Scale the consonants b, p, m, f, v, d, k, n, t and l.
Keep before you the formula that articulation should seem to be done entirely with and through the upper lip; i.e., the thought should be that the words are projected through the upper lip.
When by practise of the exercises given the voice has been focused and resonance established without any instrument, scale exercises and simple vocalises may be taken up with or without the piano.
In practising scales start each a semitone higher until the easy limit of the voice is reached, and no farther. Gain will be more rapid by working to deliver the tones within the voice's normal compass. Then when occasional effort is made the organs will be found ready to deliver the highest pitch of which the voice is capable.
When sufficient progress has been made in mastering the execution of scales and easy vocalises, the pupil will be ready to begin the study of songs. If one foregoes the singing of songs during the few weeks occupied with primary lessons, results are obtained much more quickly.
While practising exercises or songs the less the pianoforte is used, except to compare the pitch, the better. Such practice increases the confidence of the performer. The instrument prevents the singer's listening to the tone he is producing and judging of its effectiveness.
Pupils with high or very low voices may continue their practice higher or lower as the voice is soprano, or bass, or contralto, but much practice on the extremes of the voice is unadvisable. If pure tones are produced in the medium range of the voice the highest or lowest tones will be found ready when called for. Therefore practise the extremes of the voice only enough to know the limits of the voice and to be assured the tones are there.
When the singer can perform the preceding simple exercises and know that the tones are all focused, or placed and delivered, precisely alike, he is ready to practise any scale, down or up, and to execute any musical exercise or song for which he is intellectually fitted.
CHAPTER IX
THROAT STIFFNESS
What is the most frequent obstacle to good singing, the difficulty with which pupil and teacher most contend? Throat stiffness. What more than anything else mars the singing of those we hear in drawing-rooms, churches, and the concert room? Throat stiffness.
This is the vice that prevents true intonation, robs the voice of its expressiveness, limits its range, lessens its flexibility, diminishes its volume, and makes true resonance impossible.
This great interferer not only lessens the beauty of any voice, but directly affects the organ itself. The muscles of the larynx are small and delicate, and the adjustments they make in singing are exceedingly fine. When, however, the voice user stiffens his throat, these delicate muscles in their spontaneous effort to make the proper adjustments are compelled to contract with more than their normal strength. Every increase in throat stiffness demands a corresponding increase in muscle effort, an overexertion that persisted in must result in injury to the organ itself. Such misuse of the voice is bound to show injurious results. Every throat specialist knows this, and an untold multitude of those who, beginning with promise, have had to give up singing as a career, learn it too late.
Singers are so accustomed to the sound of their own voices as to be usually quite unconscious of their own throat stiffness, though they may recognize it in their neighbor.
Unfortunately throat stiffness by its very nature tends to aggravate itself, to constantly increase while the voice becomes less and less responsive to the singer's demands.
There are a number of contributing causes to throat stiffness, but the principal cause is throat consciousness and misplaced effort, due largely to current misconceptions regarding the voice. A common notion is that we sing with the throat, whereas we sing through it. Akin to this error is the notion, as common as it is fallacious, that force of tone, carrying power, originates in the larynx, whereas the initial tone due to the vibration of the vocal cords is in itself comparatively feeble. As shown at length in Chapters VI and VII, volume of tone, its color and carrying power, is acoustically and vocally a matter of resonance.
Many there are who sing by dint of sheer force and ignorance, but their careers are necessarily short. The too common vulgar striving for power rather than for beauty or purity of tone induces unnatural effort and strain that both directly and sympathetically affect the throat with stiffness.
Unnatural effort in breathing, over-effort in breath control, as well as singing without adequate breath, all induce tension that is reflected at once in the sensitive throat.
Impatience of results, American hurry, beget unnatural effort and tension. "Unclasp the fingers of a rigid civilization from off your throat." The student of the violin or the piano soon learns that only by a long and patient preparation can he fit himself to entertain even his admiring friends. The embryo singer, on the contrary, expects with far less expenditure of time and effort to appear in public.
The human voice is a direct expression of the man himself; it registers spontaneously his mental and emotional states, even when he would wish them hidden. Mental conditions tinged with impatience, with fear, or with anything that begets tension of any sort are reflected instantly in the voice, robbing it of its better qualities and inducing stiffness in the throat.
Reduced to its lowest terms voice culture to-day is a struggle with throat stiffness.
The causes indicate the remedy. Foremost, then, is dropping all throat consciousness, all thought of the throat, all drawing of attention to it. The larynx must be left uncramped, unhindered to do its work in free unconsciousness, which it will do if not disturbed by tension in its neighborhood, or by misdirected thought.
The stream of consciousness must in singing be directed to the breathing which is below the throat, and to resonance and pronunciation which are above it. These functions are more or less consciously controlled until at last mastery makes their action automatic.
I would once more emphasize the fact that the free use of all the resonance chambers, and the recognition of the great function of resonance, will do more than anything else to set the voice free and emancipate the singer from all interfering rigidity.
CHAPTER X
SOME GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
THE NATURAL VOICE
Pupils are constantly urged to sing and speak naturally, because the "natural" tone is correct. This is exceedingly indefinite. It is natural for a child to imitate the first sound it hears, whether it be correct or incorrect. In either case the child imitates it, and for that child it becomes the natural tone. The child reared in the wilderness, beyond the hearing of a human voice, will imitate the notes of the whip-poor-will, the chatter of the monkey, and the hoot of the owl, and for him they are natural tones.
To be natural is the hardest lesson to learn and it is only the result of imitation or prolonged discipline. Untrained naturalness is the perfection of awkwardness. The involuntary functions of organic life are the only ones naturally performed correctly. Nature's method of breathing, circulation, and digestion can be depended upon until disarranged by subsequent conditions, but unless proper vocalization is established by imitation and discipline this function is sure to be corrupted by false examples.
AGE TO BEGIN
After the child begins to talk, the sooner his vocal education begins the better. Even at that early age he can be made to understand the merits of head vibrations and by simple exercises produce them, and once taught will never forget them. Vocalizing, like every other art, is most easily learned by imitation, and the advantage of the early years, when that faculty is most active, should not be lost. In olden times the importance of this was fully realized. More than three centuries ago, old Roger Ascham wrote: "All languages, both learned and mother tongues, are begotten and gotten solely by imitation. For as ye used to hear so ye learn to speak. If ye hear no other, ye speak not yourself; and of whom ye only hear, of them ye only learn." Nineteen centuries ago Quintillian wrote: "Before all let the nurses speak properly. The boy will hear them first and will try to shape his words by imitating them."
If the right way of using the voice is early taught it will be a guard against the contraction of bad habits which can only be corrected later with infinite trouble. It certainly would be unwise to put a young child under continued training; but even in the kindergarten the right method of voice production can and should be taught. Teachers of kindergarten and primary schools should be familiar with the principles of voice training and be able to start the pupils at once on the right road.
IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS
The sooner this branch of education is made a part of the curriculum of our common schools, the sooner shall we produce a race of good speakers and singers.
If, during the pupil's school life, proper attention is paid to these primary principles and to correct articulation, a large majority of students will graduate from our common schools prepared to advance in the art of elocution or of singing without being obliged first to unlearn a vast amount of error and to correct a long list of bad habits.
If each day in the public schools a few minutes only are devoted to the subject by a teacher who understands it and who will call the attention of the pupils to the proper applications of the principles in their daily recitations, it will be found amply sufficient to develop and establish a good speaking and singing voice.
ARTISTRY
If artistry is to be attained, every organ must be individually well trained. Yet, during performance, no one part should be given undue prominence. The voice should be the product of all the organs equally well developed. Continued practice will enable the performer to correlate the whole—blend the strength of all in one.
It goes without saying that no one in singing or speaking should appear to be governed by a "method." During the early stages of education, pupils should be amenable to rules and methods, but they must not expect to be acceptable performers until able to forget their lessons and simply and unconsciously make use of all the advantages of their training. Even when the education is finished, and the prima donna has made her successful debut, continued daily repetition of primary exercises is necessary to maintain excellence and insure the progress that every performer desires. Our best singers to-day are as diligent students of the technique of the voice as are the tyros struggling with the first elements.
LIFE'S PERIODS
Human life is divided into three periods: first, that of effort to get an education; second, of effort to maintain it; and third, of effort to resist the natural decline which comes with advancing years. The singer and speaker must drill to develop the voice, must drill to keep it in condition, and must drill to resist the encroachments of senility. Eternal vigilance is the price of vocal success.
APPLICATION OF ESSENTIALS
The application of the principles here discussed will show that a musical voice is not the product of mysterious systems, but a matter of scientific certainty. The essentials are good breathing, good focusing, good resonance, and good articulation. These four elements are so interdependent that one cannot be perfected without the other. With these attained, the intellect, the sentiment, and the emotion of the performer will culminate in artistic excellence.
REPOSE AS A PREPARATION FOR VOCAL EXERCISE
The nervousness or fear which manifests itself in constraint and rigidity of the muscles and sometimes in stage fright is a serious hindrance to progress. The effectual offset to this painful condition is repose.
The art of inducing a condition of repose can be readily acquired by any one who will carefully and faithfully do as follows: Place yourself in an easy lying or lounging position in a quiet place, with fresh air. Physical repose prepares for and invites mental repose. Now allow the mind to work care free at its own sweet will without any attempt to control it. Close the eyes and breathe slowly, gently, and deeply, with steady rhythm. In two or three minutes a sensation of quiet restful repose will be experienced, which may be continued for several minutes or may even lead to a natural sound sleep.
This result may not be attained at the first or the second trial, but a few repetitions of the exercise will insure success in almost every case. After the art is attained in this formal way, ability to induce the same repose when sitting upright, or while standing, will be quickly developed.
This repose is the fitting preparation for a lesson or a performance and may be induced during the progress of either, to allay any trepidation incident to the situation. A mastery of this simple art will make progress in the work of voice development much more rapid, and make attainable a degree of discipline that is impossible without it. It will prove for the beginner a sure prevention of stage fright and a great relief to the most chronic sufferer from this malady.
THE VIBRATO
The vibrato is a rhythmic pulsation of the voice. It often appears in untrained voices; in others it appears during the process of cultivation. Some have thought it the perfection of sympathetic quality; others esteem it a fault.
The vibrato is caused by an undulating variation of pitch or power, often both. The voice does not hold steadily and strictly to the pitch, and according to the amount of the variation a corresponding vibrato, or tremolo, is produced.
The action of stringed instruments illustrates this statement. The finger of the violinist vibrates on the string by rocking rapidly back and forth and the vibrato is the result.
The same is true of the human instrument. By variation of the tension, the vocal apparatus sends forth several tones in alternation, of a slightly different pitch, which together produce the effect.
Three sources are ascribed for the vibrato; one is a rapid, spasmodic vibration of the diaphragm, causing variation of breath pressure; another is the alternate tension and relaxation of the larynx and vocal cords; a third is that commonest of faults—throat stiffness. Either cause is possible, and variation in the pitch or intensity of the tone is the result. Sufficient investigations have not been made to make the matter certain, but tremolo, trembling of the vocal organs, and muscular stiffness, or unnatural tension, seem to go together.
It is quite possible in the early stages of culture so to train the voice as to use the vibrato or not at will, but if not early controlled this, like other bad habits, gains the mastery. Excessive vibrato has spoiled many good voices. It is not a fundamental quality of the voice. A little vibrato may occasionally be desirable when properly and skilfully used; more than this is to be shunned as a dangerous vice.
CHAPTER XI
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF VOCAL CULTURE
Mental conception precedes execution. The picture must exist in the artist's mind before it can be drawn on the canvas. The architect must mentally see the majestic cathedral in all its details before he can draw the plans from which it can be built. In the field of physical activity no movement is made until the mind has gone before and prepared the way. A person's ability to do is in a great degree measured by his determination to do, but sitting in a rocking-chair and thinking will never make an athlete. Mental action is necessary, but only through trained muscular action can the mental action materialize in a finished performance.
So too the mind must anticipate the action of the vocal organs, but the organs themselves must be led to interpret the mental concept until such action becomes spontaneous. Action in turn quickens the mental process, and the mental picture becomes more vivid.
Note with emphasis that the mental concept precedes the action and governs it. Therefore, instead of producing tone by local effort, by conscious muscular action of any sort, correctly think the tone, correctly shape and color it mentally. Every vocal tone is a mental concept made audible. The beginner and the confirmed bungler alike fail in this prime essential—they do not make this mental picture of tone before singing it. Kindred to this is deficiency in hearing, in discriminating between good tone color and poor. The student must constantly compare his tone as it is sung with the picture in his mind. Training the voice is therefore largely a training of mind and ear, a developing of nicety in discrimination. Singing is mental rather than physical, psychologic rather than physiologic. Think therefore of the effect desired rather than of the process.
In considering the details of voice production analytically we are apt to forget that man, notwithstanding his complexity, is a unit and acts as a unit. Back of all and underlying man's varied activity is the psychical. In the advanced stages of the art of speech and song this psychical element is of pre-eminent importance.
The speaker who essays to give expression to his own thoughts must have his ideas sharply defined and aflame in order to so utter them that they will arouse his hearers to enthusiasm. The speaker or singer who would successfully interpret the thoughts of others must first make those thoughts his very own. When this is attained, then the voice, action, and the whole spirit of the performer, responding to the theme, will beget a like responsiveness in his audience.
THE SINGER BEHIND THE VOICE
Books upon books have been written on voice training, and will continue to be written. The preceding pages have been devoted to the fundamental subject of tone production, but it is time to suggest that back of the voice and the song is the singer himself with his complex personality. Back of the personality is the soul itself, forever seeking utterance through its mask of personality. All genuine impulse to sing is from the soul in its need for expression. Through expression comes growth in soul consciousness and desire for greater and greater self-expression.
Singing is far more than "wind and muscle," for, as Ffrangcon-Davies puts it, "The whole spiritual system, spirit, mind, sense, soul, together with the whole muscular system from feet to head, will be in the wise man's singing, and the whole man will be in the tone."
Of all the expressions of the human spirit in art form, the sublimated speech we call song is the most direct. Every other art requires some material medium for its transmission, and in music, subtlest of all the arts, instruments are needed, except in singing only.
FREEDOM
In song the singer himself is the instrument of free and direct expression. Freedom of expression, complete utterance, is prevented only by the singer himself. No one hinders him, no one stands in the way but himself. The business of the teacher is to set free that which is latent. His high calling is by wise guidance to help the singer to get out of his own way, to cease standing in front of himself. Technical training is not all in all. Simple recognition of the existence of our powers is needed even more. Freedom comes through the recognition and appropriation of inherent power; recognition comes first, the appropriation then follows simply. The novice does not know his natural power, his birthright, and must be helped to find it, chiefly, however, by helping himself, by cognizing and re-cognizing it.
No student of the most human of all arts—singing—need give up if he has burning within him the song impulse, the hunger to sing. This inner impulse is by its strength an evidence of the power to sing; the very hunger is a promise and a prophecy.
DETERRENTS
The deterrents to beautiful singing are physical in appearance, but these are outer signs of mental or emotional disturbance. Normal poise, which is strength, smilingly expresses itself in curves, in tones of beauty.
Mental discord results in angularity, rigidity, harshness.
Impatience produces feverishness that makes vocal poise impossible; and impatience induces the modern vice of forcing the tone. Growth is a factor for which hurried forcing methods make no allowance.
Excess of emotion with its loss of balance affects the breathing and play of the voice.
Exertion, trying effort, instead of easy, happy activity induces hampering rigidities.
Intensity, over-concentration, or rather false concentration, emotional tension, involves strain, and strain is always wrong.
Over-conscientiousness, with its fussiness about petty detail, and insistence on non-essentials, is a deterrent from which the robust are free. Over-attention to the mechanics of voice production is a kindred deterrent. Both deterrents prevent that prime characteristic of expression—spontaneity.
Anxiety is a great contractor of muscle, a great stiffener. Anxiety always forgets the power within, and falsely says to the song-hunger, "You shall never be satisfied."
Self-repression is a great deterrent that afflicts the more sensitive, particularly those of puritanic inheritance. It is a devitalizer and a direct negative to expression, which is vital, is life.
All of these deterrents are negative and may be overcome by fuller recognition of the inner power that by its very nature must perpetually seek positive expression.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, the student can perpetually find encouragement in a number of happy facts.
Man is endowed by nature, except in rare instances, with a perfect vocal apparatus. When abnormal conditions are found they are usually in the adult voice, and are due solely to misuse. In other words defects are not inherent but acquired and can be removed.
By nature the human voice is beautiful, for the tendency of nature is always in the direction of beauty. Whatever is unlovely in singing, as in all else, is unnatural. True method is therefore never artificial in its action, but simple, because the natural is always simple.
Finally, no, not finally, but firstly and secondly and thirdly and perpetually, every student of singing and every teacher of it must constantly bear in mind the happy law:
THE RIGHT WAY IS ALWAYS AN EASY WAY
BOOKS CONSULTED
TITLE AUTHOR PUBLISHED
An Essay on the History and Theory of Music, and of the Qualities and Capacity of the Human Voice Isaac Nathan London, 1823.
Elements of Vocal Science Richard Mackenzie Bacon London, 1824.
Orthophony; or the Cultivation of the Voice in Elocution William Russell Boston, 1859.
Vocal Physiology Charles Alex. Guilmette New York, 1860.
Die Lehre von den Tonempfindungen als physiologische Grundlage fuer die theorie der Musik H.L.F. Helmholtz Brunswick, 1863.
The Sensations of Tone as a Physiological Basis for the Theory of Music H.L.F. Helmholtz
(Translation of above) (Translated by A.J. Ellis) London, 1875.
Sound John Tyndall London, 1867.
Principles of Elocution and Voice Culture Benj. W. Atwell Providence, 1868.
The Voice, Its Artistic Production, Development and Preservation George J. Lee London, 1870.
The Cultivation of the Speaking Voice John Pyke Hullah Oxford, 1870.
Voice Building Horace R. Streeter Boston, 1871.
Principles of Elocution and Voice Culture Benjamin Atwell Boston, 1872.
Hints for Pronunciation in Singing Georgiana Weldon London, 1872.
The Voice in Singing Emma Seiler Philadelphia, 1872
The Voice as an Instrument Ange A. Pattou New York, 1878.
The Vocal Process John Howard New York, 1878.
Speech in Song Alexander J. Ellis London, 1878.
Voice and Vocalization Wm. P. Robert London, 1879.
The Human Voice and Connected Parts Joseph Montgomery Farrar London, 1881.
The Mechanism of the Human Voice Emil Behnke London, 1882.
Gymnastics of the Voice Oskar Guttmann Albany, 1882.
The Art of Voice Production with Special Reference to the Methods of Correct Breathing Ange A. Pattou New York, 1882.
The Old Italian School of Singing Leo Kofler Albany, 1882.
The Secrets of the Voice in Singing Emilio Belari New York, 1883.
Deep Breathing Sophia A. Ciccolina New York, 1883.
Artistic Voice in Speech and Song Charles Lunn London, 1884.
Voice, Song and Speech Lennox Browne and Emil Behnke London, 1884.
Modern Singing Methods, Their Use and Abuse John Franklin Botume Boston, 1885.
The Diaphragm and Its Functions J.M.W. Kitchen Albany, 1885.
The Voice from a Practical Standpoint Edmund J. Meyer New York, 1886.
The Hygiene of the Vocal Organs Morrell Mackenzie, M.D. London, 1886.
How to Sing Wm. Henry Daniell New York, 1887.
The Art of Breathing as the Basis for Tone Production Leo Kofler New York, 1887.
The Voice. How to Train It Edward Barrett Warman Boston, 1890.
Scientific Voice. Artistic Singing and Effective Singing Thomas Chater London, 1890.
Voice Figures Mrs. Margaret Watts Hughes London, 1891.
The Human Voice; Its Cultivation W.H. Griffiths London, 1892.
The Philosophy of Singing Clara Kathleen Rogers New York, 1893.
The What and How of Vocal Culture F. Rowena Medini New York, 1893.
Exercises in Vocal Technique John Franklin Botume Boston, 1894.
Text-Book on the Natural Use of the Voice George E. Thorp and William Nicholl London, 1895.
Respiration for Advanced Singers John Franklin Botume Boston, 1897.
Voice Building and Tone Placing Henry Holbrook Curtis, M.D. New York, 1896.
Twenty Lessons on the Development of the Voice George E. Thorp London, 1896.
Voxometric Revelation (The Problem Surrounding the Production of the Human Voice Finally Discovered) Alfred Augustus North London, 1896.
The Art of Singing Wm. Shakespeare London and Boston, 1898.
The Rightly-Produced Voice Edward Davidson Palmer London, 1898.
How to Train Children's Voices T. Maskell Hardy London, 1899.
How to Sing (Meine Gesangskunst) Lilli Lehmann New York, 1902.
Scientific Tone Production Mary Ingles James Boston, 1903.
English Diction for Singers and Speakers Louis Arthur Russell Boston, 1905.
The Training of Boys' Voices Clarke Ellsworth Johnson Boston, 1906.
Voice Production in Singing and Speaking Wesley Mills, M.D. Philadelphia, 1906.
The Art of the Singer W.J. Henderson New York, 1906.
The Commonplaces of Vocal Art Louis Arthur Russell Boston, 1907.
The Singing of the Future David Ffrangcon-Davies London, 1908.
The Art of Singing and Vocal Declamation Sir Charles Santley London, 1908.
INDEX
ABDOMINAL BREATHING, employed by Martel, 4, 26; lateral, 3. (See also Chest-abdominal breathing and Lateral abdominal breathing.)
ACOUSTICS, 43; experiments in, 46-48; Pascal on, 49.
ACTOR, enunciation of the, 19; importance of deep breathing for, 19.
ADAM'S APPLE, the male larynx, 9.
AGE to begin study of voice, 77.
AH-sound, narrow limits of, 18; how produced, 22; Lilli Lehmann on, 19; place of, in practice, 57.
AIR CAVITIES (see Sinuses).
ANXIETY, a deterrent to beautiful singing, 85.
APPLICATION OF ESSENTIALS, 79.
APPUNN, on pitch of vowel sounds, 20.
ARTICULATION, differing opinions concerning, 3; relation of, to resonance, 51; through upper lip, 72. (See also Pronunciation.)
ARTICULATOR, 6.
ARTISTRY, 79.
ASCHAM, ROGER, on voice culture through imitation, 77.
AW-sound, lip position for, 22; in exercises, 59, etc.
BEAUTY OF TONE, a criterion of correct vocal action, 56.
BELL, on pitch of vowel sounds, 20.
BOOTH, EDWIN, as a good speaker, 16.
BOOTH, JUNIUS BRUTUS, impairment of his voice, 53.
BREATH CONTROL, 23-32; importance of, in both speaking and singing, 23; muscles of respiration in, 23; the diaphragm in, 23; muscles in, 24; the lungs in, 25; inspiration, 25; expiration, 25; correct method of, 25; a cure for nervousness, 27; necessity of exercises, 27; economy a factor in, 30; exaggerated, 30; initial use of, 31; exercises for, 33-37; of Farinelli, 37.
BREATH FORCE, initial use of, 31; reserve, 31; wasted, 31.
BREATH MASTERY, meaning of, 32.
BREATHING, art of, 3; an amplification of the daily habit, 5; defined as singing, 23; correct, 25, 28; not differing in sex, 26; vicious habits of, 26; controlling deeply, 26; tests of, 26; nose versus mouth, 26; regularity of, 26; in obtaining power and largeness of tone, 27; for high tones, 27; relation of, to nervousness, 27; rhythmic, 27; necessity of exercises, 27; illustrations of, 28, 29; exercises in, 33-37; economy in, 30; tests in, by Professor Mills, 30; exaggerated control of, 30; exhaustion, 31; initial force in, 31; reserve power in, 31; mastery of, 32. (See also Abdominal breathing.)
BROSCHI, DON CARLO, breath control of, 36.
BROWNE, DR. LENNOX, on the laryngoscope, 3.
BROWNE and BEHNKE, on nasal resonance, 53.
CHEST, expansion of and resonance, 49.
CHEST-ABDOMINAL BREATHING, 25; illustrated in sleeping child, 25; tests in, 26; illustrated, 28, 29.
CHEST TONES, former emphasis given to, 2; wrongly termed, 5.
CLAY, HENRY, as a good speaker, 16.
CLOSED TONES, former emphasis given to, 2; wrongly termed, 5.
CRYER, DR. W.H., on the frontal sinus, 12.
CULTURE OF THE VOICE (see Voice culture).
DEEP BREATHING, importance of, for the actor, 19. (See also Breathing.)
DETERRENTS TO BEAUTIFUL SINGING, 84, 85.
DIAPHRAGM, in breathing, 19; not a muscle of expiration, 23; described, 23, 24; in inspiration, 24; in expiration, 24; illustrated, 24, 29.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SINGING AND SPEAKING, 17.
EAR, function of, in tone production, 57; training of, 57.
EE-sound, lip position for, 20; in exercises, 57, 59, etc.
EFFORT, TENSE, a deterrent to beautiful singing, 84.
EMOTION, effect on tone quality, 7; excess of, a deterrent to beautiful singing, 84.
EMPIRICISTS, where they have failed, 4.
EPIGLOTTIS, 10.
ESSENTIALS, application of, 79.
ETHMOID BONE, 8.
ETHMOIDAL SINUSES, illustrated, 7; function of, 12.
EVERETT, EDWARD, as a good speaker, 16.
EXERCISES, BREATHING: necessity of, 27, 33; preliminary suggestions, 33, 34; attitude in taking, 34; I, to show what a deep breath is, 34; II, slow inhalation with sudden expulsion, 35; III, sipping the breath, with quick exhalation, 35; IV, for rib expansion, 35; V, slow inhalation with slow expiration, 36; VI, rapid inspiration with slow expiration, 36; VII, Farinelli's great exercise, 36; VIII, the cleansing breath, 37; half breath, 37.
EXERCISES, VOCAL: I, to establish nasal and head resonance, 58-61; for speakers, 60, 61; II, to establish head and nasal resonance, 61; III, IV, V, upper resonance, 62-64; VI, to enlarge the throat and thus magnify the tone, 64; VII, for production of the vowel sounds in proper focus, 65; VIII, to enlarge the throat and focus the vowels, 66; IX, quick changing notes without changing resonance, 67; X, for agility, 67, 68; XI, to develop the use of the lips and under jaw, 68, 69; XII, for facility and quick vowel change, 69, 70; XIII, ascending and descending scale, 71; XIV, the long scale, 71; additional, 72, 73; repose as a preparation for, 80.
EXPIRATION, muscles of, 23, 24; under controlled pressure, 24; described, 25; the lungs in, 25; illustrated, 28, 29.
FACE, training muscles of, 15.
FARINELLI, breath control of, 36.
FFRANGCON-DAVIES, on pronunciation, 18; on registers, 39; on function of ear in voice training, 57; definition of singing of, 83.
FOCUSING THE VOICE (see Voice placing).
FORBES-ROBERTSON, on diction, 19.
FORMES, CARL, voice of, in declining years, 4.
FREEDOM IN SINGING, 84.
FRONTAL SINUSES, function of, 12; illustration of, 7.
GARCIA, MANUEL, inventor of laryngoscope, 2; use of laryngoscope, 2; Sir Charles Stanley on, 3.
GOUNOD, on pronunciation, 19.
HALF-BREATH, Sembrich and, 37.
HARD PALATE, function of, 12.
HARSHNESS, an indication of tension, 56.
HEAD CAVITIES, a resonator for the voice, 6; effect of, on resonance, 12.
HEAD TONES, in previous years, 2; wrongly termed, 5.
HELMHOLTZ, on pitch of vowel sounds, 20; on acoustics, 43, 49.
HENDERSON, W.J., on pronunciation, 18.
HIGH TONES, breath control necessary for, 27.
HOLMES, OLIVER WENDELL, on Edward Everett's voice, 16.
HYOID BONE, 8, 10.
I-sound, described, 21.
IMPATIENCE, a deterrent to beautiful singing, 84.
INSPIRATION, muscles of, 23, 24; process of, described, 25; illustrated, 28, 29. (See also Breath control and Breathing.)
INSTRUMENT, MUSICAL, elements of, 43, 44.
INTENSITY, INVOLVING STRAIN, a deterrent to beautiful singing, 84.
KINDERGARTEN TEACHERS, instruction by, 78.
KOENIG, on pitch of vowel sounds, 20.
LARYNGOSCOPE, and registers, 2; Garcia the inventor of, 2; usefulness of, 2; limitations of, 3; disappointing results of, 38; not an instrument for the singer, 51.
LARYNX, moving, 3; viewed through the laryngoscope, 3; illustrated, 7; description of, 8, 9; relation of size of, to pitch, 9; automatic action of, 38; not alone the vocal organ, 50; reflex action of, 51; force of tone does not originate in, 75; must be left uncramped, 75.
LATERAL ABDOMINAL BREATHING, 3, 25, 28.
LEHMANN, MADAME LILLI, on use of Ah, 19; on registers, 39; on nasal resonance, 54.
LIFE'S PERIODS, 79.
LIND, JENNY, effects of wrong methods on, 4.
LIPS, in articulation, 14; position of, 20-22; illustrated, 21, 22.
LUNGS, a motor for the voice, 6; illustrated, 24; described, 25; overcrowding, 31.
MACKENZIE, DR. MORELL, on the laryngoscope, 3; on singing and speaking, 17.
MACREADY, WM. CHARLES, as a good speaker, 16.
MARTEL, voice of, at seventy, 4.
MAXILLARY SINUSES, 7, 8, 12.
MAY, DR., breathing tests made by, 26.
MCKINLEY, M.S., on Garcia and the laryngoscope, 2.
MENTAL DISCORD, a deterrent to beautiful singing, 84.
MEYER, EDMUND J., on resonance, 43.
MILLS, DR. WESLEY, on breath measure, 30; on ease of vocal action, 56; on the function of the ear in tone production, 57.
MOTOR OF THE VOCAL INSTRUMENT, 6.
MOUTH, theory of its function, 1; a resonator for the voice, 6.
MUSCLES OF RESPIRATION, 23.
MUSIC TEACHERS, scientific, 4; empirical, 4.
NASAL CAVITIES, as reinforcing agents in tone production, 2; a resonator for the voice, 6; illustrated, 7; formation of, 8; vibrations in, 8; effect on resonance, 12; Edward Everett's use of, 16; as a resonator, 52, 53; obstruction of, in Booth, 53.
NASAL RESONANCE, erroneous theories concerning, 1, 2; Madame Rudersdorff recognized effect of, 2; involved in head resonance, 52; versus nasal tone quality, 53; Lilli Lehmann on, 54; Sembrich's study of, 54; importance of, 54.
NATURAL VOICE, what is meant by, 77.
NERVOUSNESS, a cure for, 27, 80.
NOSTRILS, relation of, to tone quality, 14.
O-sound, lip position for, 20; illustrated, 21; in exercises, 59, etc.
OO-sound, lip position for, 20, 21; in exercises, 59, etc.
OPEN TONES, 2, 5.
ORAL SURGERY, 2.
ORATORIO, faulty diction in, 18.
OVER-CONSCIENTIOUSNESS, a deterrent to beautiful singing, 84.
OVERTONES, 45, 46.
PERSONALITY, effect on the voice, 83.
PHARYNX, function of, 10.
PHILLIPS, ADELAIDE, voice of, in declining years, 4.
PITCH OF TONE, influence of resonance cavities on, 12, 13.
PLACING THE VOICE (see Tone production).
POWER OF TONE, dependent on resonant cavities and breath control, 27.
PRINCIPLES ADVOCATED, 5.
PRONUNCIATION, indifference of American singers to, 17; W.J. Henderson on, 18; change of attitude toward, 18; importance of, to singer, 18; relation of, to tone, 18; Ffrangcon-Davies on, 18; sing words rather than tones, 18; Lilli Lehmann on, 19; emotional power impossible without, 19; Gounod on, 19; Forbes-Robertson on, 19; upper lip in, 19; effect of smile on, 19.
PSYCHOLOGY OF VOCAL CULTURE, 82-85.
PTERYGOID MUSCLES, and the under jaw, 10.
PUBLIC SCHOOLS, voice training in, 78.
REEVES, SIMS, voice of, 4.
REGISTERS, 38-42; blending the, 2, 41; not a natural feature of the voice, 2; fallacy of theory of, 2; a myth, 5; the bete noire of vocalists, 38; defined, 38; Clara Kathleen Rogers on, 38; Lilli Lehmann on, 39; Ffrangcon-Davies on, 39; of the organ, 40; of voice and instruments compared, 40, 41; an artificial creation, 41, 42.
REPOSE, AS A PREPARATION FOR VOCAL EXERCISES, 80; how to induce, 80.
RESONANCE, differing opinions concerning, 3; principle of, 5; nasal and head cavities in, 12; influence of resonance cavities on pitch, 12; pitch of vowels in, 20; and power, 27; and breath force, 31; in general, 43-50; development of science of, 43; quality and power of, 44; significance of, 45; experiments to demonstrate, 46-50; induced, 47; sympathetic, 47, 48; density of air and, 47; volume and character of tones dependent on, 49; head and nasal, 51-55; relation of articulation to, 51; focusing tone a matter of, 52; effect of its absence, 54; exercises to establish, 58-72.
RESONATOR OF THE VOICE, 6.
RESPIRATION (see Breath control and Breathing).
RESPIRATORY MUSCLES, a motor for the voice, 6; described, 23, 28; action of, 25; illustrated, 24, 29.
ROGERS, CLARA KATHLEEN, on registers, 38.
RUDERSDORFF, MADAME, and nasal resonance, 2.
SANTLEY, SIR CHARLES, on Garcia and the laryngoscope, 3.
SCALE OF VOWEL SOUNDS, 20, 72.
SELF-REPRESSION, a deterrent to beautiful singing, 84.
SEMBRICH, MARCELLA, and the half-breath, 37; use of nasal resonance, 54.
SINGING, subtlety of, 4; obstacles to, 5, 74, 84; versus speaking, 5, 17; mission of singer, 18; defined as breathing, 23; age to begin, 77; in public schools, 78; by method, 79; vibrato in, 80; psychology of, 82-85; sublimated speech, 83; defined by Ffrangcon-Davies, 83; freedom in, 84; deterrents to, 84.
SINUSES, illustrated, 7; pairs of, 8; function of, 12.
SMILE, EFFECT OF, on pronunciation, 19.
SOFT PALATE, office of, 11, 52.
SPEAKING, obstacles to, 5; tones of, identical with singing tones, 5; difference from singing, 17; expression in, 83.
SPEAKING VOICE, misunderstood, 16; connection with singing voice, 16; how cultivated, 16; identity with singing voice, 17; and pronunciation, 18, 19.
SPHENOID BONE, 8.
SPHENOIDAL SINUSES, illustrated, 7; pairs of, 8; function of, 12.
STAGE ELOCUTION, criticism of Forbes-Robertson on, 19.
TEETH, function of, in use of voice, 12.
THROAT, theory of sound in, 1; a resonator, 6; illustrated, 7; relation to voice, 8. (See Larynx and Pharynx.)
THROAT STIFFNESS, most frequent obstacle to good singing, 74; effect on larynx, 74; difficulty in recognizing one's own, 74; throat consciousness a common cause of, 74; induced by lack of breath mastery, 75; American hurry begets, 75; voice culture a struggle with, 75; remedies for, 75, 76.
TIMBRE OF VOICE, defined and explained, 7, 8.
TONE, defined, 45; analyzed 45; experiments to determine composition and resonance of, 46-50; focusing of, 52; vocal, a mental concept, 82; whole man in, 83.
TONE PRODUCTION, largely a matter of resonance, 56; effect of right thought on, 56; judged by naturalness and beauty of result, 56; function of the ear in governing, 57; cultivating normal, 57; exercises to aid in, 58-73; effect of throat stiffness on, 74; natural, 77; age to begin study of, 77.
TONE QUALITY, variety in, 6; effect of emotion upon, 7, 75, 84; relation of pronunciation to, 18; how to secure purity of, 18, 19; experiments to determine, 46-50; and resonance, 5, 44, 45, 49, 50; cause of nasal, 52-54; beauty or harshness of, a criterion of judgment, 56, 57; effect of throat stiffness on, 74-76; dependent on mind and ear, 82; related to personality of singer, 83; natural and unnatural, 85.
TONGUE, as an articulator, 6; illustrated, 7; connection with larynx, 9; position of, in speaking and singing, 13; tongue consciousness, 14.
UNDER JAW, 10; in ascending the scale, 10.
UPPER LIP, in pronunciation, 19; in practising, 68; in articulation, 72.
UVULA, office of, 11.
VENTRICLE IN THE LARYNX, 8.
VIBRATO, 80, 81.
VIBRATOR, of the voice, 6; of instruments, 43.
VITALIZING TEXT WITH TONE, the singer's mission, 18.
VOCAL CORDS, vibrator for the voice, 6; in the larynx, 8; described, 9; not the principal cause of tone, 44, 45, 49; necessity of free action of, 51.
VOCAL INSTRUMENT, discussion of, 6-15; beauty and complexity of, 6; three elements of, 6, 7; illustrated, 7; relation of parts of, 8; larynx, 8, 9; vocal cords, 9; epiglottis, 10; pharynx, 10; under jaw, 10; soft palate, 11; hard palate and teeth, 12; nasal and head cavities, 12; tongue, 13; lips, 14; nostrils, 14; face, 15; defects in, 85.
VOCAL TONE, an audible mental concept, 82.
VOICE CULTURE, opinions concerning, 2; wrong methods of a generation ago, 3, 4; cannot be developed mechanically, 4; principles advocated, 5; the right way the easy way, 5; resonance an important factor of, 5, 43, 45, 50, 52, 54; should begin in childhood, 77; learned by imitation, 77; Roger Ascham on, 77, 78; in public schools, 78; artistry in, 78, 79; three periods of, 79; application of essentials of, 79; repose as a preparation for, 80; the vibrato in, 80; psychology of, 82-85; personality in, 83; freedom in, 84; deterrents in, 84, 85.
VOICE PLACING, 51, 52, 56-73.
VOICE TIMBRE, defined, 7, 8.
VOWEL SOUNDS, 11, 18, 19; singer's scale of, 20, 72; each has its own pitch, 20; lip position for, 20-22; placing of, 52; exercises for practice, 58-73.
WEBSTER, DANIEL, as a good speaker, 16.
WHEATSTONE, on pitch of vowel sounds, 20.
WILLIS, on pitch of vowel sounds, 20.
THE MUSIC STUDENTS LIBRARY
A series of Educational Text-books suited to the requirements of the average student and covering every essential branch of musical instruction.
Note:—Unless otherwise specified, books are bound in cloth.
PIANO
Burrowes' Piano Primer. Frederic Field Bullard, Editor. An enlarged edition with pronouncing dictionary. Paper 75 A
Ears, Brain and Fingers. Howard Wells. 1 25 A
Half Hour Lessons in Music. Mrs. Hermann Kotzschmar. Class work for beginners. Practical for teachers and mothers. Illus. 1 25 A
Interpretation of Piano music. Mary Venable. Studies in the meaning of printed signs used in music, and their bearing on the interpretation of standard works. 2 00 A
Natural Laws in Piano Technic. Mary Wood Chase. Presents the essential laws of a sound piano technic. 1 50 A
Piano Teaching: Its Principles and Problems. Clarence G. Hamilton, A.M. A practical book, written by a practical man to meet practical needs. 1 50 A
ORGAN
Primer of Organ Registration. Gordon Balch Nevin. Numerous illustrations and a Dictionary of Organ Stops. 1 50 A
VIOLIN
How to Master the Violin. Pavel L. Bytovetzski. A practical guide for students and teachers. 1 25 A
How to Study Kreutzer. Benjamin Cutter. What every violin teacher discusses and illustrates in the lesson room. 1 25 A
VOICE
ABC of Music. Auguste Mathieu Panseron. (Ed. by N.C. Page.) A standard primer of vocalization. 1 50 A
do. Paper 90 A
Commonplaces of Vocal Art. Louis Arthur Russell. The plain truths of vocal art presented in simple untechnical language. 1 25 A
English Diction for Singers and Speakers. Louis Arthur Russell. For all who pretend to refined or artistic use of the English language. 1 25 A
French Diction for Singers and Speakers. William Harkness Arnold. The elements of French pronunciation are reduced to a few fundamental principles, readily mastered. 1 25 A
Head Voice and Other Problems. D.A. Clippinger. 1 25 A
PRACTICAL TALKS ON SINGING
Resonance in Singing and Speaking. Thomas Fillebrown, M.D. An exposition of fundamentals, with breathing and vocal exercises and illustrations. 1 50 A
Training of Boys' Voices. Claude Ellsworth Johnson. A practical guide to the correct "placing" of boys' voices. 1 25 A
Twelve Lessons in the Fundamentals of Voice Production. Arthur L. Manchester. Presents clearly the fundamentals illustrated by exercises. 1 25 A
EAR TRAINING, HARMONY AND COUNTERPOINT
Ear Training for Teacher and Pupil. C.A. Alchin. Designed to teach the pupil to think in tones, and so to sing, name, write, and play what he hears. 1 50 A
Intervals, Chords, and Ear Training. Jean Parkman Brown. Exercises and examples in rudimentary harmony and ear training for use in conjunction with piano study. 1 25 A
Harmony. Sir John Stainer, Mus. Doc. New edition of a standard text-book which presents the principles of harmony with conciseness and lucidity. 1 50 A
do. Paper 90 A
Harmony Simplified. Francis L. York. A practical text-book presenting in a concise manner the fundamental principles of harmony, with non-essentials omitted. 1 50 A
Manual of Harmony. Ernst Friedrich Richter. Trans. by J.C.D. Parker. A practical guide to the study of harmony. 2 00 A
Harmonic Analysis. Benjamin Cutter. Teaches one to analyze the harmonic structure of both classic and modern music. 1 50 A
Counterpoint. Sir J. Frederick Bridge. This book has freshness and plainness combined with thoroughness, and must commend itself to young students and teachers. 1 25 A
do. Paper 90 A
Counterpoint Simplified. Francis L. York. A concise text-book of formal counterpoint. (Sequel to author's "Harmony Simplified"). 1 50 A
Guide to Musical Composition. H. Wohlfahrt. Tr. by J.S. Dwight. On the invention of melodies, their transformation, development and suitable accompaniment. 1 25 A
FORM, INSTRUMENTATION AND ACOUSTICS
Instrumentation. Ebenezer Prout, Mus. Doc. A valuable guide and assistant to students who wish to gain a knowledge of the proper blending of orchestral instruments, their compass, capabilities, etc. 1 50 A
do. Paper 90 A
Lessons in Music Form. Percy Goetschius, Mus. Doc. A manual of analysis of all the structural factors and designs employed in musical composition. 1 50 A
Musical Forms. Ernest Pauer. The students of musical form, and especially those who study composition, will find this a very valuable and thorough work. 1 75 A
do. Paper 90 A
Sound and Its Relation to Music. Clarence G. Hamilton, A.M. A handbook of acoustics as relating to music. Based on the latest discoveries and experiments. 1 50 A
CONDUCTING, HISTORY, MUSIC APPRECIATION AND DEFINITIONS
Essentials in Conducting. Karl W. Gehrkens, A.M. On personal requirements, technic of the baton, interpretation, rehearsing, program making, etc. 1 75 A
Outlines of Music History. Clarence G. Hamilton, A.M. A compact, clearcut work for class use and the general reader. Fully illustrated. 2 25 A
Music Appreciation. Clarence G. Hamilton, A.M. Based on methods of literary criticism, this unique text-book is for those who wish to listen to music with quickened hearing and real understanding. With 24 portraits, 28 diagrams and over 200 music cuts. 2 50 A
Music Club Programs From all Nations. Arthur Elson. Outlines the various schools from all nations with a rich series of programs and over one hundred portraits. 2 00 A
Some Essentials in Musical Definitions. M.F. MacConnell. Covers the needed information on all points connected with musical theory, and therefore of special value to piano, singing, violin, and organ students. 1 25 A
THE MUSICIANS LIBRARY
This notable series has been planned to embrace all the masterpieces of song and piano literature; to gather into superbly made volumes of uniform size and binding the best work of the best composers, edited by men of authority. Each volume is independent, complete in itself, and sold by itself.
Paper, Cloth Back, per Volume $2 50 A Cloth, Gilt, per Volume. 3 50 A
PIANO VOLUMES
Bach Piano Album
Vol. I. Shorter Compositions. Edited by Dr. Ebenezer Prout.
Bach Piano Album
Vol. II. Larger Compositions. Edited by Dr. Ebenezer Prout.
Beethoven Piano Compositions
Vols. I and II. Edited by Eugen D'Albert.
Brahms, Johannes
Selected Piano Compositions. Edited by Rafael Joseffy.
Chopin, Frederic
Forty Piano Compositions. Edited by James Huneker.
Chopin, Frederic
The Greater Chopin. Edited by James Huneker.
Grieg, Edvard
Larger Piano Compositions. Edited by Bertha Feiring Tapper.
Grieg, Edvard
Piano Lyrics and Shorter Compositions. Edited by Bertha Feiring Tapper.
Haydn, Franz Josef
Twenty Piano Compositions. Edited by Xaver Scharwenka.
Liszt, Franz
Twenty Original Piano Compositions. Edited by August Spanuth.
Liszt, Franz
Twenty Piano Transcriptions. Edited by August Spanuth.
Liszt, Franz
Ten Hungarian Rhapsodies. Edited by August Spanuth and John Orth.
Mendelssohn, Felix
Thirty Piano Compositions. Edited by Percy Goetschius, Mus. Doc. With a Preface by Daniel Gregory Mason.
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus
Twenty Piano Compositions. Edited by Carl Reinecke.
Schubert, Franz
Selected Piano Compositions. Edited by A. Spanuth.
Schumann, Robert
Fifty Piano Compositions. Edited by Naver Scharwenka.
Wagner, Richard
Selections from the Music Dramas. Edited by Otto Singer.
* * * * *
Anthology of French Piano Music
Vol. I. Early Composers. Vol. II. Modern Composers. Edited by Isidor Philipp.
Anthology of German Piano Music
Vol. I. Early Composers. Vol. II. Modern Composers. Edited by Moritz Moszkowski.
Early Italian Piano Music
Edited by M. Esposito.
Modern Russian Piano Music
Vols. I and II. Edited by Constantin von Sternberg.
Twenty-four Negro Melodies.
Transcribed for Piano by S. Coleridge-Taylor.
SONG VOLUMES
Brahms, Johannes
Forty Songs. High Voice. Low Voice. Edited by James Huneker.
Franz, Robert
Fifty Songs. High Voice. Low Voice. Edited by William Foster Apthorp.
Grieg, Edvard
Fifty Songs. High Voice. Low Voice. Edited by Henry T. Finck.
Handel, George Frideric
Vol. I. Songs and Airs. High Voice. Vol. II. Songs and Airs. Low Voice. Edited by Dr. Ebenezer Prout.
Jensen, Adolf
Forty Songs. High Voice. Low Voice. Edited by William Foster Apthorp.
Liszt, Franz
Thirty Songs. High Voice. Low Voice. Edited by Carl Armbruster.
Schubert, Franz
Fifty Songs. High Voice. Low Voice. Edited by Henry T. Finck.
Schumann, Robert
Fifty Songs. High Voice. Low Voice. Edited by W.J. Henderson.
Strauss, Richard
Forty Songs. High Voice. Low Voice. Edited by James Huneker.
Tchaikovsky, P.I.
Forty Songs. High Voice. Low Voice. Edited by James Huneker.
Wagner, Richard
Lyrics for Soprano. Edited by Carl Armbruster.
Wagner, Richard
Lyrics for Tenor. Edited by Carl Armbruster.
Wagner, Richard
Lyrics for Baritone and Bass. Edited by Carl Armbruster.
Wolf, Hugo
Fifty Songs. High Voice. Low Voice. Edited by Ernest Newman.
Fifty Mastersongs
High Voice. Low Voice. Edited by Henry T. Finck.
Fifty Shakspere Songs
High Voice. Low Voice. Edited by Charles Vincent, Mus. Doc.
Modern French Songs
High Voice. Low Voice. Vol. I. Bemberg to Franck. Vol. II. Georges to Widor. Edited by Philip Hale.
One Hundred English Folk-songs
Medium Voice. Edited by Cecil J. Sharp.
One Hundred Folk-Songs of all Nations.
Medium Voice. Edited by Granville Bantock.
One Hundred Songs by Ten Masters
High Voice. Low Voice. Edited by Henry T. Finck. Vol. I. Schubert, Schumann, Franz, Rubinstein and Jensen. Vol. II. Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Grieg, Wolf and Strauss.
One Hundred Songs of England
High Voice. Low Voice. Edited by Granville Bantock.
Seventy Scottish Songs
High Voice. Low Voice. Edited by Helen Hopekirk.
Sixty Folk-songs of France
Medium Voice. Edited by Julien Tiersot.
Sixty Irish Songs
High Voice. Low Voice. Edited by William Arms Fisher.
Sixty Patriotic Songs of All Nations
Medium Voice. Edited by Granville Bantock.
Songs by Thirty Americans
High Voice. Low Voice. Edited by Rupert Hughes.
Songs From the Operas for Soprano
Edited by H.E. Krehbiel.
Songs From the Operas for Mezzo Soprano
Edited by H.E. Krehbiel.
Songs From the Operas for Alto
Edited by H.E. Krehbiel.
Songs From the Operas for Tenor
Edited by H.E. Krehbiel.
Songs From the Operas for Baritone and Bass
Edited by H.E. Krehbiel.
Other volumes are in preparation. Booklets, giving full particulars, with portraits of Editors, and contents of volumes published, FREE on request.
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