CHIEFLY AN APPLICATION TO VOICE PRODUCTION OF FACTS AND PRINCIPLES
PREVIOUSLY CONSIDERED.
Certain sounds may be made without the use of words or syllables, even
without the employment of vowels or consonants, but intonation proper
cannot be carried out without vowels, at least.
The exact nature of vowels and consonants will be considered in the
next chapter, but in the meantime it may be pointed out that a vowel
is a free and open sound requiring for its production a certain form
of the resonance-chambers. Neither vowels nor consonants are
absolutely pure--that is, entirely free from foreign elements, from
noise; but for all practical purposes a vowel is a pure sound, a
consonant a sound accompanied inevitably by much noise. This noise is
largely due to the difficulties of sounding consonants, the breath
breaking against the vocal organs, especially the teeth, lips, etc.,
much as the waves of the sea against a rocky beach. So far then as
musical quality is concerned, a consonant is an unmitigated nuisance.
On the other hand, none but the most elemental communication by sounds
could be carried out by the use of vowels alone. The consonants stop
the breath-current, separate the vowels, and thus lay the foundation
for the expression of ideas. Ideas imply differences; a new idea is
conveyed by a new word, which in its simplest form is a syllable.
When a consonant is introduced after a vowel sound, a momentary arrest
is produced in the breath-flow, and this has its corresponding effect
on the mind. It is, in fact, equivalent to a pause--say a comma or a
period. If introduced before a vowel, it is marked off in a more
definite way. The effect of this is to enable the ear the better to
grasp the sounds. There is the principle of differentiation and the
principle of rest, both highly important in all sensory and other
psychic or mental processes.
Consider the sentence "He is a man"--composed purely of monosyllables.
Remove the consonants, and we have the following: "e i a a." Their
ineffectiveness in conveying ideas is at once plain, for though "a
man" conveys two ideas, such are not expressed by the vowels, which
are identical, while "e" and "i" are common to too many words of one
syllable to serve any useful purpose, alone, in the conveyance of
_definite_ ideas. The consonants at once mark off the limitations;
they fence around the ideas, so to speak. For the communication of
ideas they are indispensable; nevertheless, being largely noises, they
are musically abominable.
It follows that voice-production should begin with vowel sounds, and
not words--not even syllables. For successful intonation, the first
steps should be made as simple as possible, as we have already
endeavored to show, hence no such complication as a consonantal noise
should be introduced. Upon this point there is room for no difference
of opinion, though as to which vowel sound is best suited for the
beginner, and for more advanced voice-production, there has been great
diversity in teaching--a diversity which we propose to show, in the
next chapter, need not exist to any appreciable extent.
Certain vowel sounds may be said to be common to most of the languages
used by civilized peoples. These are _u_ (_oo_), _[=o]_, _a_ (_ah_),
_[=a]_, _i_ (_ei_), and _[=e]_. There is, fortunately, among teachers
considerable agreement as to the question of the best vowel sound with
which to begin intonation, or the process of forming musical tones.
There can be no question that _a_ (ah) is for general purposes the
best, the reason for which will appear later. Unfortunately, there is
not in the minds of students or teachers generally a sufficiently deep
conviction of the importance of forming the voice by long-continued
practice with vowels only, for which lack the spirit of the times is
largely responsible. Until a student of either speaking or singing can
form every vowel perfectly, which implies the recognition of these
sounds as pure and perfect, and the ability to sing them as the tones
of a musical scale, he should not take a single step in any other
direction. To do so is to waste tune and to lower artistic ideals.
When words are to be used, the question as to which language should be
employed is for the singer, at least, a very important one. The ideal
vocalist who will bring before the ideal public the best in vocal
music must sing in Italian, French, German, and English, at least.
Each of these languages produces its own effects through the voice,
and each presents its own advantages and difficulties; but all
competent to judge are agreed that Italian, because of the abundance
of vowels in its words, is the best language in which to sing, or, at
all events, to begin with as a training. Because of the prevalence of
consonants, the German and the English languages are relatively
unmusical. The English abounds in hissing sounds, which are a trial to
the singer with an exacting ear and perfect taste, and produce most
unwelcome effects on the refined listener who really puts music first
and the conveyance of ideas second in a vocal composition. It should,
of course, be the aim of the student to overcome these difficulties,
as German and English, the languages of Goethe, Schiller, and
Shakespeare, are for dramatic and some other purposes not equalled by
any other languages.
But the artist, and above all the musical artist, must be a citizen of
the world. He deals with those forms of emotion common to all mankind,
and not with the peculiar little combinations of ideas that grow up in
a province, city, or village; though of course he will not neglect
local coloring, so well illustrated in the folk-songs or popular
melodies that have survived for ages in different countries.
Though a vowel can be produced pure only when the resonance-chambers
assume a certain form, this is, of course, only one link in the chain
of production. The breathing apparatus and the larynx are also
concerned, and we are again brought back, as ever, to the triple
combination of the three sets of mechanisms so often alluded to, yet,
we venture to think, very inadequately linked in the minds of
learners, if not also of teachers.
In producing a vowel sound the end aimed at is, on the one hand,
purity, on the other, as a result, the easy and effective use of
mechanisms--_i.e._, the technique. In every case the breath must be
used without waste--just enough, and no more; the laryngeal apparatus,
the vocal bands, must be so adapted as to set the air of the
resonance-chambers into perfect vibration, which only occurs when the
expiratory blast is applied in the correct way and at the right moment
to the properly adjusted vocal bands. This latter we have defined as
the attack. It implies giving a good start to the tone. It is not all,
but it is a large half, in the artist and for the auditor.
RECONSIDERATION OF THE RESONANCE-CHAMBERS
We shall now give further attention to some of the more important
parts of the resonance-chambers, in so far as they bear directly on
voice-production.
In singing and speaking, the larynx should be _steadied_, but not held
rigidly fixed in any one position. It will be remembered that to this
part of the vocal mechanism are attached, below, the trachea, and
above, the tongue, indirectly through the hyoid bone and the
thyro-hyoid membrane, as well as certain muscles which influence the
relative position of these various parts, so that to maintain the
larynx in the same position, absolutely, must be against Nature's
methods. The tongue alone must in its movements tend to alter the
position of the larynx, as we have before pointed out. At the same
time, the laxness and lack of control which some singers permit in
their vocal organs, under the mistaken idea that all the parts of the
"throat" cannot be too free, prevents them from getting the effects
they desire, with that vigor and certainty the public so much admires,
and rightly so. The golden mean should be observed; between undue
tension, which implies inability to control, whether it be in the
larynx or the breathing apparatus, and a looseness inconsistent with
neat and certain results, the voice-producer must choose, with that
common sense so indispensable to success in all undertakings, but
which will never be adequately encouraged till students look more
frequently for the reasons of the procedures recommended to them, and
teachers strive to gain influence with their pupils by showing them
that what they recommend lies beyond their own minds--that it, in
fact, has its foundation in the laws of Nature.
Of the tongue, soft palate, and lips, which are the principal
modifiers of the shape of the mouth cavity, the tongue has by far the
most influence. When the tongue lies flat in the mouth, it may be
considered to be in its primary position, and it is important that in
singing and speaking the student learn to begin his voice-production
with this organ in that position, or a slight modification of it, for
it is only when it is thus placed that a tone at once round, full, and
pure can be produced.
In order to secure this result, the vocalist or speaker must begin by
taking breath through the mouth, as we have already insisted, and at
once, before there is time for any stiffening of parts, commence to
intonate--_i.e._, as soon as enough air has been inhaled for the
purpose intended. The correct position is facilitated when one taking
breath through the mouth acts as if about to _yawn_. If this act be
well imitated, the student will find, on looking into a hand-glass,
that the tongue is more or less furrowed behind in the middle--in
other words, it forms a sort of trough; and the deeper the trough the
student learns to form at will, the better, for there are times in
actual singing and speaking when this must be as deep as possible. It
is clear that in this way the central convexity above, formed by the
hard palate, forms with the corresponding concavity in the tongue a
sort of trumpet-shaped organ admirably adapted for the production of
the desired tone.
The tongue is important in the highest degree not only in the
formation of vowels, as will be shown more fully in the next chapter,
but also in shaping consonants.
It is sometimes important to move the tongue from one position to
another with great rapidity. Such a composition as Figaro's song
(cavatina) in Rossini's "Barber of Seville" could not be properly sung
by any one not possessing great control over the tongue. Indeed, this
composition may be considered a perfect test of the extent to which
the singer is a master of mouth gymnastics; and this is only one of
many such works. In like manner, many passages in Shakespeare and
others of the best writers in all languages can only be spoken with
effect by those with a mastery over the tongue, lips, soft palate,
etc., but above all, the tongue.
Important as are the lips, many persons tend to use them too much, and
the tongue too little, in speaking and singing. They attempt to make
up for a mouth almost closed in front by the teeth, by excessive
movements of the lips.
Special tongue and lip practice should be carried out before a mirror.
The lips should be kept rather close to the gums, and moved away as
little as possible (_i.e._, the lips), as to do so serves no good
purpose, and is unpleasant to the eye of the observer. Teeth and lips
must be regarded, so far as musical sounds are concerned, as danger
regions--rocks on the shore, against which the singer or speaker may
shipwreck his tones. His object should be to use them adequately to
form vowels and consonants--in other words, in the formation, not the
spoiling, of words, as is so often the case.
We cannot too much insist on both speaker and singer attending to
forming a connection between his ear and his mouth cavity. He is to
hear, that he may produce good tones, and the tones cannot be
correctly formed if they be not well observed. To listen to one's self
carefully and constantly is a most valuable but little practised art.
The student should listen as an inexorable critic, accepting only the
best from himself.
This leads to the consideration of the question of the open mouth. The
expression "open mouth" means, no doubt, to most people, the open lips
rather than the open mouth cavity--_i.e._, open in front, the teeth
well separated. In voice-production, by "open mouth" both open cavity
and open lips must be understood.
There is a special tendency in many, perhaps in most persons, to close
the mouth cavity unduly in singing a descending scale. This is often
accompanied by a bad use of the breath, and a general relaxation of
the vocal apparatus, which is possibly more frequent in sopranos and
tenors, whose chief effects are often produced by their high tones.
But to-day, more than ever, when refined intellectual and emotional
effects are demanded, is it important that the lower tones, so
effective in producing emotional states, should not be neglected by
any singer of whatever voice; while for speakers high tones are really
comparatively little used.
Much more attention is paid by teachers and students to the open mouth
at the present time than formerly; in fact, like some other good
things, it is often overdone. The individuality of the singer and
speaker must always be borne in mind. If some are obliged to open the
mouth as much as others, the result will not be happy. Any one may
demonstrate to himself that the quality of a tone may be at once
changed by unduly opening or closing the mouth. One may say that _the
mouth should be sufficiently opened to produce the best possible
effect_. We have never seen the mouth opened to such an extent that it
was positively unsightly--reminding one of the rhinoceros at a
zoo--without feeling that the tone had suffered thereby.
If all would remember that the mouth is best opened by simply
_dropping the lower jaw_, passively, in the easiest manner possible,
the difficulties some students experience would disappear. Many act as
if the process were chiefly an active one, while the reverse is the
case, as one may observe in the sleeper when the muscles become unduly
relaxed--a condition that is often accompanied by snoring, which is
produced by a mouth-breathing that gives rise to vibrations of the
soft palate. We mean to say that the lower jaw drops when muscles
relax, and that opening the mouth is largely a passive thing, while
closing the mouth is an active process.
The position of the head in its influence on tone-production is an
insufficiently considered subject. It is impossible that the head be
much raised or lowered without changes being produced in the vocal
apparatus, especially the larynx, and if the tone is not to suffer in
consequence, special care must be taken to make compensatory changes
in the parts affected. It is only necessary to sing any vowel, and
then raise the chin greatly, to observe a distinct change in the
quality of the tone, with corresponding sensations in the vocal
organs.
To speak or sing with the head turned to one side is plainly
unfavorable to the well-being of the parts used, because it leads to
compression, which gives rise to that congestion before referred to as
the source of so many evils in voice-users. To sit at a piano and sing
is an unphysiological proceeding, because it implies that the head is
bent in reading the music on a page much lower than the eyes, and
when, with this, the head is turned to one side to allow of reading
the music on the distant side of the page, furthest from the middle
line of the head, the case is still worse. If all who thus use the
vocal organs do not give evidence of the truth of the above by
hoarseness, etc., it is simply because in young and vigorous organs
there may be considerable power of resisting unfavorable influences.
The student is recommended to use his voice in the standing position
only, when possible, as all others are more or less unnatural.
One often has the opportunity to observe how the effect is lost when a
reader bends his head downward to look at his book or manuscript; and
he himself, if the process is long-continued, will almost certainly
feel the injurious influence of this acting on his vocal organs.