Does the singer really hear himself is a question which has been put to
nearly every artist. Many answered in a comparative negative, though
with qualifications. Miss Farrar said:
"No, I do not actually hear my voice, except in a general way, but we
learn to know the sensations produced in throat, head, face, lips and
other parts of the anatomy, which vibrate in a certain manner to correct
tone production. We learn the _feeling_ of the tone." "I can tell just
how I am singing a tone or phrase," says De Luca, "by the feeling and
sensation; for of course I cannot hear the full effect; no singer can
really hear the effect of his work, except on the records." "The singer
must judge so much from sensation, for she cannot very well hear
herself, that is, she cannot tell the full effect of what she is doing,"
says Anna Case. Mr. Witherspoon says: "The singer of course hears
himself and with study learns to hear himself better. The singer should
depend more on hearing the sound he makes than on feeling the sound. In
other words, train the _ear_, the court of ultimate resort, and the only
judge, and forget sensation as much as possible, for the latter leads to
a million confusions."