FURTHER THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL CONSIDERATION OF VOWELS AND
CONSONANTS.
The reader will now be prepared to consider the answer to be given to
the question as to the _vowels_ most suitable for practice in
intonation. Plainly, _a_ (_ah_) puts the resonance-chambers into the
easiest and best position to form a good pure tone. The pitch of the
vowel is intermediate--not very low and not high in the scale. For the
higher tones, evidently, _[=a]_, _e_, and _i_ are better than _a_
(_ah_), much less _o_ and _u_, which are quite out of the question,
comparatively speaking.
However, as music must be sung with vowels in every position, it is
plainly necessary to learn to sound all the vowels well throughout the
scale. In fact, one might wisely, after preliminary practice on _a_,
begin a scale below with _u_, then go on to _o_, _a_, _[=a]_, _e_, and
_i_.
Some have recommended that the vocalist begin his scale practices with
_a_, and when the higher middle tones are reached, that he use _[=a]_,
and for head tones _[=a]_ and _e_, an advice which is obviously sound,
as it is based on scientific principles.
Sounds that are very expressive in public utterance, whether in speech
or song, are _l_ and especially _r_. In ordinary speech most persons
use only the guttural _r_, in the formation of which the soft palate
takes a prominent part; but for the speaker and the singer the lingual
_r_ is often much more effective. It is produced by the vibration of
the tip of the tongue, and can only be formed well, in most cases,
after long-continued and persevering practice.
Certain consonants tend to nasality. These are _m_, _n_, _ng_, and of
these all persons who are disposed to this production to the point of
excess must especially beware. These letters, with such people, should
be given a rapid and forward production, while singers with hard and
metallic voices will do well to sing syllables beginning with these
consonants, such as _maw_, _naw_, _ang_, _eng_, etc.
According to the teachings of physics, the quality of a tone is
determined largely by the number and variety of the _overtones_
accompanying the fundamental tone. Practically all musical tones,
whether vocal or instrumental, are made up of the ground tone and
certain others less loud and prominent, and the latter are the
overtones. These may be very numerous, and some are favorable and
others unfavorable to excellence in quality. It has been thought, as
the result of scientific investigation, that when the first octave of
the fundamental tone and its fifth interval are prominent, the voice
is soft, and with the fifth and seventh well in evidence, the voice is
bright and clear.
It might be said that the voice-user should endeavor to keep out of
his voice certain overtones, especially those which are not within
the range of our modern harmonies. A harsh voice is one in which such
unharmonic intervals preponderate.
The most beautiful quality of tone is produced by keeping intensity
within limits, and by a sudden, elastic attack, a point on which we
dwelt at some length before; but this only emphasizes the importance
of all who use the voice employing, not only when beginners, but
throughout their career, exercises with vowels alone. Only in this way
will the association between the hearing of pure tones and their
production be established.
Such exercises are also necessary to give good carrying power to the
voice. If more attention were given to this point, and less to the
production of mere volume of sound, it would be well for the best
musical art. Naturally, the higher the pitch of tones, within certain
limits, the greater their carrying power, and the reverse, of course,
with the lower tones; so that it is very important that the speaker
and singer use all reasonable means to produce these lower tones well,
else they are muffled, and the words associated with them are not
heard. This principle should be borne in mind especially by tenors and
light sopranos, in whom the lower tones are not usually the best, or
the easiest to produce; so that a good attack and careful and neat
syllable-formation, with all attention to both vowels and consonants,
should be especially studied, and, above all, in tones below about G
on the treble clef. The tendency to close the mouth, especially in a
descending scale, below this point, and to confound blurring with soft
(_piano_) singing, is common. A _piano_ tone should be formed with
especial care as to attack, open mouth, etc., and all words associated
with the duller, lower-pitched vowels be spoken with the greatest
distinctness, both in singing and speaking. At the same time, the
barytone and contralto should not boast themselves over the tenor or
soprano, if they are more successful with lower tones and the words
associated with them, for the latter class of singers can often revel
like birds in regions not approachable by the deeper-voiced singers.
Each in its own order!
It follows that if the organs of speech are used so as to produce
vowels, consonants, and their combinations, with unusual and, for
practical purposes, unnecessary distinctness, the actual performance,
as demanded by a critical ear, will be easier. One that can run two
hundred yards as readily as another can one hundred is in a better
position for the shorter sprint than the other man; hence the wisdom
of the singer and speaker practising first with unusual and indeed
unnecessary distinctness, so far as the listener is concerned, in
order that he may satisfy even the critical with _ease_--that
all-important principle in art.
All persons must, of necessity, speak in some register, and even an
ear but little cultivated can recognize that the pitch and quality of
the tones of adult males, adult females, and children differ greatly
from each other.
Madame Seiler has thus expressed herself on this subject:
"Women use mostly tones of the second chest and first falsetto
registers, sometimes also those of the first chest register. Men speak
an octave lower than women, and use mostly the upper half of the chest
register. In public speaking, as well as on the stage, the second
chest register is used by men, and sometimes also the lowest tones of
the voice. The second falsetto and head registers are used only by
little children."
It will be remembered that Madame Seiler's "second chest" corresponds
to the upper chest tones of some writers, and that "falsetto" is
equivalent to "middle," as generally employed.
Ordinary speech is economical, and a range of very few tones, usually
not more than two to four intervals of the scale, suffices, but on the
stage, and by some of our best public speakers, twice this range may
be exceeded. In nature, the cat, under the excitement of a heated
interview with a fellow-vocalist, may pass through an entire octave.
SUMMARY.
The shape of the resonance-chambers varies in the formation of vowels
and consonants, which may be classified accordingly, or according to
their pitch.
Practical implications for singing and speaking, the learning of
foreign languages, the study of dialects, etc.
The importance of special attention to those words containing the
low-pitched and dark vowels, especially when low in the scale, and
when sung _piano_.
Overtones, and their bearing on the quality of the voice.
The carrying power of the voice, determined by the method of its
production, is more important than its volume.
The value of practice with the use of a mirror, and of the formation
of the sounds in practice with a distinctness in excess of the actual
needs of the listener. Ease is essential to art.