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Daily vocal exercises are the daily bread of the singer. They should be
practiced just as regularly as one sits down to the table to eat, or as
one washes one's teeth or as one bathes. As a rule the average
professional singer does not resort to complicated exercises and great
care is taken to avoid strain. It is perfectly easy for me, a contralto,
to sing C in alt but do you suppose I sing it in my daily exercises? It
is one of the extreme notes in my range and it might be a strain.
Consequently I avoid it. I also sing most of my exercises _mezza voce_.
There should always be periods of intermission between practice. I often
go about my routine work while on tour, walking up and down the room,
packing my trunk, etc., and practicing gently at the same time. I enjoy
it and it makes my work lighter.
Of course I take great pains to practice carefully. My exercises are for
the most part simple scales, arpeggios or trills. For instance, I will
start with the following:
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This I sing in middle voice and very softly. Thereby I do not become
tired and I don't bother the neighborhood. If I sang this in the big,
full lower tones and sang loud, my voice would be fatigued rather than
benefited and the neighbors would hate me. This I continue up to _D_ or
_E_ flat.
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Above this I invariably use what is termed the head tone. Female singers
should always begin the head tone on this degree of the staff and not on
_F_ and _F#_, as is sometimes recommended.
I always use the Italian vowel _ah_ in my exercises. It seems best to
me. I know that _oo_ and _ue_ are recommended for contraltos, but I
have long had the firm conviction that one should first perfect the
natural vocal color through securing good tones by means of the most
open vowel. After this is done the voice may be further colored by the
judicious employment of other vowels. Sopranos, for instance, can help
their head tones by singing _ee_ (Italian _i_).
I know nothing better for acquiring a flexible tone than to sing trills
like the following:
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and at the same time preserve a gentle, smiling expression. Smile
naturally, as though you were genuinely amused at something,--smile
until your upper teeth are uncovered. Then, try these exercises with the
vowel _ah_. Don't be afraid of getting a trivial, colorless tone. It is
easy enough to make the tone sombre by willing it so, when the occasion
demands. You will be amazed what this smiling, genial, _liebenswuerdig_
expression will do to relieve stiffness and help you in placing your
voice right. The old Italians knew about it and advocated it strongly.
There is nothing like it to keep the voice youthful, fresh and in the
prime of condition.