The tongue is a veritable stumbling block in the path of the singer. The
tongue is an enormous muscle compared with the other parts of the throat
and mouth, and its roots particularly can by a slight movement block the
passage of the throat pressing against the larynx. This accounts for
much of the pinched singing we hear.
When the tongue forms a mountain in the back part of the mouth the
singer produces what you call in English slang "a hot potato tone"--that
is to say, a tone that sounds as if it were having much difficulty to
get through the mouth. In very fact, it is having this difficulty, for
it has to pass over the back of the tongue.
The would-be singer has to learn to control the tongue muscles and,
above all things, to learn to relax the tongue and to govern it at will,
so that it never stiffens and forms that hard lump which can be plainly
felt immediately beneath the chin under the jaw.
It requires a great deal of practice to gain control of the tongue, and
there are many different exercises which purport to be beneficial in
gaining complete mastery over it. One, for instance, is to throw the
tongue out as far forward as possible without stiffening it and then
draw it back slowly. This can be done in front of a mirror by trying to
throw the tongue not only from the tip, but from the root, keeping the
sides of the tongue broad. Another way is to catch hold of the two sides
of the tongue with the fingers and pull it out gently.
For my part, I scarcely approve of these mechanical ways of gaining
control of the tongue except in cases where the singer is phlegmatic of
temperament and cannot be made to feel the various sensations of stiff
tongue or tongue drawn far back in other ways. Ordinarily I think they
make the singer conscious, nervous and more likely to stiffen the tongue
in a wild desire to relax it and keep it flat.
These exercises, however, combined with exercises in diction, help to
make the tongue elastic, and the more elastic and quick this muscle
becomes the clearer will be the singer's diction and the more flexible
will be her voice.
The correct position of the tongue is raised from the back, lying flat
in the mouth, the flattened tip beneath the front teeth, with the sides
slightly raised so as to form a slight furrow in it. When the tongue is
lying too low a lump under the chin beneath the jaw will form in singing
and the tight muscles can be easily felt.
When the jaw is perfectly relaxed and the tongue lies flat in the mouth
there will be a slight hollow under the chin and no stiffness in the
muscles.
The tip of the tongue of course is employed in the pronunciation of the
consonants and must be so agile that the minute it has finished its work
it at once resumes the correct position.
In ascending the scale the furrow in the tongue increases as we come to
the higher notes. It is here that the back of the palate begins to draw
up in order to add to the resonance of the head notes, giving the
cavities of the head free play.
You can easily see your back palate working by opening your mouth wide
and giving yourself the sensation of one about to sneeze. You will see
far back in the throat, way behind the nose, a soft spot that will draw
up of itself as the sneeze becomes more imminent. That little point is
the soft palate. It must be drawn up for the high notes in order to get
the head resonance. As a singer advances in her art she can do this at
will.
The adjustment of throat, tongue and palate, all working together, will
daily respond more easily to her demands. However, she should be able
consciously to control each part by itself.
The conscious direction of the voice and command of the throat are
necessary. Frequently in opera the singer, sitting or lying in some
uncomfortable position which is not naturally convenient for producing
the voice, will consciously direct her notes into the head cavities by
opening up the throat and lifting the soft palate. For instance, in the
rôle of Violetta the music of the last act is sung lying down. In order
to get proper resonance to some of the high notes I have to start them
in the head cavity by means, of course, of the apoggio, or breath prop,
without which the note would be thin and would have no body to it.
The sensation that I have is of a slight pressure of breath striking
almost into a direct line into the cavity behind the forehead over the
eyes without any obstruction or feeling in the throat at all.
This is the correct attack for the head tone, or a tone taken in the
upper register. Before I explain the registers to you I must tell you
one of the funniest compliments I ever received. A very flattering
person was comparing my voice to that of another high soprano whom I
very much admire.
"Her voice is beautiful, particularly in the upper register," I insisted
when the other lady was being criticized.
"Ah, madame," responded the flattering critic, "but your registers give
out so much more warmth."
I think this joke is too good to lose, also the criticism, while unjust
to the other singer, is interesting to the student, because in the high
register, which includes in some voices all the notes above middle C,
the notes are thin and cold unless supported by the apoggio, the breath
prop, of which I have told you so much. People ask whether there are
such things as vocal registers. Certainly there are. There are three
always and sometimes four in very high voices. The ordinary registers
are the low, the middle, the high voice, or head voice, and sometimes
the second high voice, which has been called the flagellant voice.
A vocal register is a series of tones which are produced by a certain
position of the larynx, tongue and palate. In the woman's voice the
middle register takes in the notes from E on the first line of the staff
about to middle C. The head voice begins at middle C and runs up
sometimes to the end of the voice, sometimes to B flat or C, where it
joins the second head register, which I have heard ascend into a whistle
in phenomenal voices cultivated only in this register and useless for
vocal work.
Though the registers exist and the tones in middle, below and above are
not produced in the same manner, the voice should be so equalized that
the change in registers cannot be heard. And a tone sung with a head
voice and in the low voice should have the same degree of quality,
resonance and power.
As the voice ascends in the scale each note is different, and as one
goes on up the positions of the organ of the throat cannot remain the
same for several different tones. But there should never be an abrupt
change, either audible to the audience or felt in the singer's throat.
Every tone must be imperceptibly prepared, and upon the elasticity of
the vocal organs depends the smoothness of the tone production.
Adjusting the vocal apparatus to the high register should be both
imperceptible and mechanical whenever a high note has to be sung.
In the high register the head voice, or voice which vibrates in the head
cavities, should be used chiefly. The middle register requires palatal
resonance, and the first notes of the head register and the last ones of
the middle require a judicious blending of both. The middle register can
be dragged up to the high notes, but always at the cost first of the
beauty of the voice and then of the voice itself, for no organ can stand
being used wrongly for a long time.
This is only one of the reasons that so many fine big voices go to
pieces long before they should.
In an excess of enthusiasm the young singer attempts to develop the high
notes and make them sound--in her own ears, at all events--as big as the
middle voice. The pure head tone sounds small and feeble to the singer
herself, and she would rather use the chest quality, but the head tone
has the piercing, penetrating quality which makes it tell in a big
hall, while the middle register, unless used in its right place, makes
the voice muffled, heavy and lacking in vibrancy. Though to the singer
the tone may seem immense, in reality it lacks resonance.
A singer must never cease listening to herself intelligently and never
neglect cultivating the head tone or over-tone of the voice, which is
its salvation, for it means vibrancy, carrying power and youth to a
voice. Without it the finest voice soon becomes worn and off pitch. Used
judiciously it will preserve a voice into old age.