top of his compass at full pitch. Unfortunately, an English audience
does like a noise, and appreciates plenty more than beauty of tone. It
is tolerably easy for a barytone to be a showy singer, and therein lies
the greatest danger to his chance of ever being a really good one. He
must be content to go through his training quite as self-denyingly and
perseveringly as any one else who is gifted with fewer natural
advantages.
=Bass.=--Of the bass voice less need be said here, not because it is a
less important voice than any of the others, but because it is more
generally known and better understood. A perfectly pure bass voice is,
however, a rare thing. This voice has no upper register, properly
speaking; the whole voice consisting of "chest" notes, and not admitting
of even the process of developing upper notes of extraordinary quality,
which is part of the training of a barytone or a basso-cantante. Power
and richness are the chief qualities of charm in a bass, while
flexibility and true intonation are the qualities most rarely found in
that voice. The young singer who finds that he certainly is not meant by
nature for a tenor, and also that with all his efforts the upper notes
of a barytone are quite out of his reach, need not be discouraged by any
lightness or thinness of quality in his voice from the hope that he may
develop into a good bass. The full and rich quality of this voice is
later in showing itself than is the case with any other voice, and the
young singer must be content to study for some time with the compass of
a bass and the quality of a kind of barytone, till Nature puts him in
full possession of his powers. Only he must study bass music, and not
try, because his voice is of barytone quality, to sing barytone music.
Let him, on the contrary, avoid trying to extend the compass of his
voice in the upper notes, and give his best attention to the lower ones.
The upper ones will be well within his command in time, and if he will
be content to let them alone at first, he may become a truly "celebrated
bass;" but, if he persists in shouting at them now, he will never have
anything but coarse upper tones, only fit to be heard behind a
costermonger's barrow, or in "comic" songs at the Music Halls.
=Buffo.=--The last remark reminds me that I have said nothing about a
class of bass singers very useful in certain Italian and French
operas--the _buffo_, or comic bass. The development of voice with these
singers is of less consequence than the study of a peculiar style, a
good deal of the point of their songs consisting in the entire
elimination of anything like musical tone from many notes and passages.
A clever and good buffo singer may very likely be able to sing other
music well, but the style is so entirely dramatic and so utterly out of
place anywhere except on the stage, that no amateur should ever attempt
it, and no professional should appear _in a concert-room_ as the
exponent of such music. Therefore, for those who wish to sing, any
remarks on the peculiarities of a buffo bass would be superfluous; those
who wish to study that line as a profession, for stage work, must learn
all that they need from a regular dramatic teacher; while those who wish
to execute English "comic" songs, may spare themselves any anxiety as to
their voices: if they have any voice naturally, "comic" singing will
soon destroy its charm, and that will not matter to them, for the last
thing necessary to sing a "comic" song is the possession of a voice of
any kind. Therefore, if you have a bass (or any other voice, indeed),
avoid "comic" songs, and leave the "buffo" business to those who can do
nothing better.
=Qualities of Voice, Good and Bad.=--It may not be unwelcome to the
student to have pointed out to him those qualities of voice which are to
be aimed at or cultivated, and also those which are to be avoided or
overcome.
The charms of a voice are found among the following qualities:
clearness, sweetness, evenness, flexibility, power, extent of compass,
variety, brilliancy, firmness, persuasiveness.[1]
[1] It used to be said of Rubini that "he had tears in his voice."
On the opposite side must be ranked roughness, huskiness, feebleness (or
want of power), shrillness (or want of depth), hardness and want of
flexibility, dulness, or want of "ring," &c.
It is, of course, impossible for any one voice to unite in itself all
these merits or all these defects; and you cannot give yourself merits
which Nature has withheld; but you may marvellously improve what natural
merits you have, and do wonders in overcoming any difficulties which
Nature has placed in your way.
ON INSTRUCTION, MASTERS, AND "SINGING TUTORS."
The voice, and how to use it, is a subject which has troubled many
minds, and no doubt this will continue to be the case; but the difficult
problem will not be solved by running to pettifogging teachers, who
advertise to teach all that is known of singing, and a little more, in
twelve easy lessons, without previous knowledge or practice at home, for
the small fee of one guinea! Let it be stated once for all: singing
cannot be taught in twelve easy lessons, and can scarcely be acquired in
one hundred very severe lessons. Therefore distrust at once any one who
holds out so tempting a bait to you; remember that there is no "royal
road" to singing, any more than there is to the acquirement of any other
art; and the person who tells you that he can teach you to do without
trouble that which costs great artists the study of a lifetime,
proclaims himself, _ipso facto_, to be a humbug.
=Schools of Singing.=--There are several so-called Schools of Singing.
There is a French School, which for any language but French is bad, and
which very seldom turns out a pleasing singer. There is a German School,
which is worse, being simply the production of coarse noise. Some people
say that there is an English School. I hope there may be some day, but
at present its existence is rather doubtful, unless those who talk of an
English school of singing mean the Cathedral style--which for solo work
is detestable--or the old school of Oratorio singing, with its
Handelian traditions, which was not an English, but an Italian, and the
best Italian, school.
In fact, there is but one school of singing in the world, and that is
the Italian. Whatever language you wish to sing in, whatever style of
music you wish to study principally, you must train your voice, produce
it, and learn to use it in the Italian method, if you hope ever to
deserve the name of a singer.
=Masters.=--Of course, in a work of this sort, it is impossible, and
would be wrong if it were possible, to mention the names of living
teachers: therefore I can only give general hints. If possible, study
only under a master whom you know to have lived in Italy, and to have
studied there for some years under some good master or in some good
Conservatoire--Naples, Milan, and Florence generally supply the best.
Possibly, for an English singer, an English master _who fulfils these
conditions_ may be better than even an Italian, as he should understand
better the peculiarities of English voices and temperaments, and would
know at once where the chief difficulties would lie. Let me, however,
correct a popular error. A good singer is not necessarily a good
teacher, nor is it necessary for a first-class teacher to be able to
sing at all. Nor need you necessarily look for your master among
foreigners with fine sounding names. There are two or three good
teachers of singing in this country who are foreigners; but there is
also some native talent equally capable of teaching singing, as it is
accepted in this country at the present time. These know the English
style better than any foreigner can teach it, and after all, style is
the chief consideration.
=Institutions.=--As we have no real English School of singing, it is
perhaps fortunate that we have no Conservatoire. There are, however,
Institutions accessible to those who cannot afford to have masters at
home or to place themselves under a private teacher. Of these, the chief
is the Royal Academy of Music, in Tenterden Street, Hanover Square.
There is also the National Training School of Music, the London Academy
of Music, also the Guildhall School, and there is Trinity College,
London, where I believe singing lessons may also be obtained. To all
these establishments singing masters, more or less good, are attached,
and it is open to any one to obtain admission to the concerts given from
time to time at the institutions themselves, and to form some kind of
opinion as to the teachers from the performances of the pupils. It would
be well for an intending student to do this, for of course at any
institution where there are several professors, one might suit you and
another might not; it is even conceivable that one professor might do
all for you that you could possibly require, while another professor
might be an ignorant charlatan. Therefore, hear their pupils and judge
for yourself, making inquiries at the same time of musical people who
are qualified to express an opinion on singing. I must not, however,
withhold from my readers my conviction that private lessons are better
and more effectual than those taken in schools and academies. The terms
at these public institutions are such that they preclude the possibility
of more than twenty or thirty minutes being devoted to each pupil, and
that is _not_ a sufficient time to bestow upon a lesson. Forty-five or
sixty minutes are needed to give a good lesson; and the pupil who pays
fifteen shillings or a guinea for this, does a wiser thing than the one
who pays a fourth of that sum for, say, twenty minutes' attention.
=A First Opinion.=--The actual successful teachers of singing in London
may be counted on the fingers of one hand, and those who are qualified
to teach singing, but who are not specially successful, may be found on
the remaining five fingers. Each of these professors would probably not
take less than one guinea the lesson, and it would, honestly, be far
cheaper in the long run to pay this sum for one good lesson in singing
than it would be to have fifty lessons founded upon wrong principles,
even for nothing. And for this reason: teachers of this calibre will not
trouble themselves about you or your guineas unless you have a promising
voice, some general musical talent, and show signs of becoming, to some
degree, a credit to your _teacher_, for to these men guinea pupils are
very plentiful, and it is only reasonable that a guinea from a clever
pupil should be worth considerably more to a sensitive artist than the
same amount from a fool. Therefore, a first opinion from one such
teacher may save your spending money, time, and energy on a pursuit in
which you can never succeed.
=Bad Lessons.=--Never take a bad singing lesson till you know how to sing.
You may then do so (if you care to), and learn the "how not to do it" of
singing. It is commonly supposed that the earliest singing lessons may
be administered by any "dabbler," and the last touches given afterwards
by a "finishing master." Never was there a greater error. Pay your
guineas first, and your shillings afterwards. If you cannot afford to
have good instruction in beginning to sing, you will be still less able
to take it afterwards, for artistic reasons. Remember that every bad
singing lesson which you take hardens old faults and creates new ones,
and, moreover, takes you farther and farther away from your original
starting-point. So, when you begin under the right man and the right
method, you have to _undo_ all this that you have expended toil and
money to acquire.
=Bad Teachers.=--It is astonishing how much money is wasted by people who
want to sing, through not going at once to the fountain-head for the
necessary training. Because a man is a musician many people conclude
that he must necessarily be able to teach singing! Such an idea is
scarcely less monstrous than that of a man being a good physician and
consequently competent to amputate a limb, or to take out and reset an
eye. Do not follow this "multitude to do evil." Be as careful in
inquiring about your singing master as you would be about your doctor.
Both in London and in the country there are "professors" whose knowledge
of singing stops at professing--the class of people who (very likely)
keep a music-shop, tune your piano, play polkas and waltzes for your
evening parties, and have a brass plate on their doors to this effect:
MR. HANDEL MOSCHELES IGNAZIO JONES, PROFESSOR OF THE PIANOFORTE,
HARMONY, THE VIOLIN, ITALIAN, AND SINGING.
All honourable professions, no doubt; but to profess to combine them all
is dishonourable, and insulting to the common sense of those who know
anything of any one of the subjects professed. A singing master, if he
is worth anything, must be a man of one trade--singing. For the teaching
of singing is a "specialty," and the man who can teach it _properly_ is
not likely to be a man of all (musical) work.
=Books of Exercises, &c.=--There are numerous "Singing Tutors" published,
giving rules, exercises, _solfeggi_, &c. Many of these are excellent,
and some nearly perfect. But all alike are useless or worse than useless
to the tyro, without a master. You might as well suppose that a child
could learn to be a carpenter by having some fine wood and a box of good
tools.
I have before observed that voices vary as faces do; no two are exactly
alike, each voice having its peculiar merit and its peculiar defect.
Now, a good master will treat each voice on its own merit, and not place
it at first on the Procrustean bed of a book of rules and exercises. He
will probably write down his own exercises expressly for his pupil, and
if not that, he will select certain exercises from the book, and forbid
others to be attempted for a time. You must also let your master select
such a book for you, so that you may have one in which the rules do not
contradict those which he has already given you verbally, or else you
will be perplexed with a multitude of counsellors.
It is not till a certain stage in singing has been reached, under the
training of a master, that any book of exercises can be of service to
you. When that stage is reached, you will find such a work of great use
in a part of your labours. Among such books may be named as especially
good,--Concone's Exercises, Righini's, Guercia's, Nava's, Lablache's,
and Lamperti's; but, again I say, do not choose for yourself. There are
some excellent rules, as well as some good exercises, in an old work of
the kind by Crivelli, and also in "Singing Exemplified," a work by T.
Cooke. If you can meet with these, secure them--although I fear they may
be long since out of print--for in the literature of singing the _new_
is by no means certain to excel what was written in the days of our best
composers and singers of operas and oratorios.
ON THE PRACTICE OF SINGING.
Remember that the voice is of all instruments the most difficult one to
study, and to bring perfectly under control, especially for the first
year or two. Do not attempt to cultivate it with the view to
professional remuneration, unless you can set apart at least two hours
daily for most careful study, and can also afford to wait at least eight
or ten years for any _substantial_ pecuniary reward for your labours.
=Individuality.=--It is of great importance to bear in mind that no two
voices are exactly alike. To some singers is given quality of voice, to
others quantity. And for each alike, steady, well-aimed, and
well-ordered practice is indispensable. But, whatever you sing ought,
like your voice, to have some touch of individuality: the song should
seem to come naturally from you, and to be the spontaneous expression of
your thoughts. At the same time you must not lose sight of the
all-important guide which you have in the composer's intentions and
wishes. Remember that a small and delicate voice may be made to go as
far as, if not farther than, a voice of large volume and long compass.
By judicious management, by touching expression of the softer feelings,
by careful selection of music to be performed, the obstacles which are
placed in a singer's way by want of power may be effectually removed,
because the audience will irresistibly feel the influence of the
singer's individuality. The difficulties of the singer who has the gift
of quantity rather than quality of voice, are in some respects greater,
because the necessity for thus impressing on his audience a sense of his
own individuality is not so strongly forced on him by circumstances. Not
only has he to labour to attain a good quality of tone, but he must also
resist the temptation to fancy that "might is right," and that the
"sensation" caused by a powerful voice is all that he need aim at. And
here let me say, the way to get quality is to listen as often as
possible to some leading singer of your own kind of voice. Try and
imitate his tone; but above all practise with a medium tone--a
_mezzo-voce_--listen for the beauty in your tone, and think of what you
are doing when practising.
=Perseverance.=--The surest means of improving and strengthening the voice
is by constantly exercising and practising it. Just as the muscles and
fibres of the legs of a pedestrian are increased and made capable of
great exertion by careful training, so is it with the nerves and muscles
of the throat. With judicious training, the compass of the voice is
extended, its quality is improved, its tones grow rounder and firmer;
and, if the master is a good one, and the pupil is willing to study
patiently for some time, never resting content, but always aiming at
further progress as year succeeds year, he may not unreasonably hope to
attain a well-earned place in his profession, and its attendant reward.
=Facial Expression.=--A looking-glass should form a part of the furniture
of a singing student's study, for it is most important to watch the
face--its features and expressions--when singing; and it is none the
less useful for insuring the constant right position of the mouth. In
respect to the facial expression when singing, there is a very great
tendency to look too serious, too severe, and too hard when earnestly
studying. Now, a cheerful and good-humoured expression does not
necessarily imply carelessness, and it is far more agreeable to the
audience than an anxious and troubled look. Some people look quite
savage when singing; and when rendering passages of love and tenderness,
their features are far more indicative of rage, revenge, and murder!
And this very common fault is generally quite an unconscious habit. It
is only to be remedied by constant care, and to this end practice before
a looking-glass will be found very helpful.
=Position of the Body.=--How to stand when singing has been explained by a
great number of writers on the subject, and most of the explanations
given have been chiefly remarkable as being entirely erroneous and
false. The body should not be kept in a perfectly upright position, as
it is (too popularly) believed that it should. The best position is when
the body is well collected, with its chief weight upon the right leg and
foot, with the head gently leaning forward, and the arms and, indeed,
the whole carriage disposed in that manner which would indicate to the
audience a sort of desire on your part to _persuade_ them and bring them
over to your feelings and sentiments. When the right leg begins to tire
with the weight of the body, the left leg can take its duty, when the
right may be gracefully drawn back as in dancing. The best lesson on
this subject, however, can be gleaned by carefully watching the _pose_
of a good Italian singer during singing.
=Self-Accompaniment.=--A sitting position is a very bad one in which to
practise. All singing should be done in a standing position, and the
student is strongly urged to adhere to this rule. Instead of sitting at
the pianoforte, and accompanying an exercise or "solfeggio," it is far
better to sound the first note of each passage therein, and master the
same without any accompaniment. The advantages of this mode of
practising must be obvious; but one of the most important is, that the
attention is not divided between the pianoforte and the voice, while it
leaves the singer free to give all his attention and care to the
_production_ of the notes which he is endeavouring to sing artistically.
=Position of the Arms.=--I would urge upon the student to hold a piece of
music in his hands while he practises. There is a place for the hands
when singing in public; but this place is neither the trouser-pockets,
nor on the hips, nor behind the back, nor across the chest, but rather
that position which is secured by _leisurely_ holding the music-sheet,
not as if actually singing therefrom, but as though it were merely
intended for reference, if required. This easy attitude not only gives
the hands and arms their legitimate position, but also lends a grace and
freedom to other parts of the body, all which points must be attended to
in singing. Remember to keep the arms well away from the body. Some
singers stick the elbows into the waist, as though to give support;
instead of doing which, they hinder the free action of the lungs,
besides giving an awkward look to the whole figure.
=Position of the Hands.=--Do not let your hands hang down, but keep them
well before you, in some position which allows of your turning the palms
uppermost. In this way you (as it were) lock the joints of the
shoulders, and put a check on the tendency to raise the shoulders, which
is an invariable consequence of taking breath wrongly. Keep your
shoulders well back, your elbows depressed, and your hands with the
palms uppermost, and you will find it difficult, if not impossible, to
indulge in the vice of heaving the chest and shoulders up and down, like
the piston of a steam-engine!
=Position of the Throat.=--One of the first conditions of singing well is
to keep the throat open. To have the throat in its proper position the
tongue must be kept down, and hollowed like the bowl of a spoon, its
root being well depressed. Nor must the throat ever be allowed to screw
itself up small, a common failing of many singers whenever they approach
a high note. Most of my readers have yawned once or twice in their
lives: if they will do it once more, in front of their looking-glass,
and watch the inside of the mouth as they yawn, they will see and feel
the exact position in which the throat should be during good singing. It
will be useful to repeat this proceeding until the mind is thoroughly
impressed and the memory familiarized with the feeling of the mouth and
throat in this, the correct position for singing.
=Position of the Throat, &c., in Soft Singing.=--When singing softly, or
_piano_, as it is called, take great pains to keep your throat as open
as you would for singing loudly, leaving it entirely to the mouth and
lips to keep the tone soft, yet steady and firm. Do not forget, too,
that in soft singing it is a great advantage to keep the mouth in a
smiling position.
=Position of the Tongue.=--The tongue, while being so useful, is
nevertheless a very unruly member in singing. It has so great a tendency
to get out of its place. Its legitimate office is to rest quite flat, or
even hollow, in the bottom of the mouth, with its root well down, as
this keeps the throat-passage clear, and with the tip of it just
touching the lower teeth. Get a looking-glass, and continually watch the
position of the tongue. Never allow it to roll up or turn about when
singing, or the effect produced will be scarcely worth repeating. The
tongue should occupy the least possible space in the mouth, and this is
the case when the directions here given are carried out.