HEAD AND NASAL RESONANCE
Of the four component factors in the production of speech and song,
the first, the _motor_, has been considered in Chapter III, and the
second, the _vibrator_, in Chapter I.
In one respect there is marked contrast between these two factors.
Until right habits are so thoroughly formed that the singer's
breathing is automatically controlled, conscious effort is necessary,
while the action of the vibrator, the vocal cords, is involuntary, not
subject to conscious control.
The subtle adjustments of the delicate mechanism of the larynx belong
to the realm of reflex action--to a spontaneous activity that, left
unhindered, does its part in perfect nicety.
The vocal cords must, in their action, be free from the disturbance of
uncontrolled breath action below them, or the hindrance due to
misdirected effort above them. To direct consciousness to the vocal
cords is to cramp them and prevent that free vibration and that
perfect relaxation of the throat without which pure tone and true
pitch are impossible.
As a surgeon I well know the value of thorough anatomical knowledge,
but from the singer's standpoint I cannot too strongly emphasize the
unwisdom of directing the attention of sensitively organized pupils to
their vocal mechanism by means of the laryngoscope. This instrument
belongs to the physician, not to the singer.
The importance of the third factor, the _resonator_, has been
considered in Chapter V, on Resonance, but the fourth element in voice
production, _articulation_, is so coördinated to resonance that the
significance and primacy of the latter are too often overlooked.
Placing or "focusing the voice" I have found to be chiefly a matter
of control and use of the resonator, consisting of chest, pharynx,
mouth, and the nasal and head cavities.
A tone lacking in resonance is ineffective,--devoid of carrying
power,--is diffuse and unfocused; while a resonant tone, no matter how
soft dynamically, has carrying power and is focused in its vibration.
Now "voice placing" depends primarily on correct _vowel placing_,
which in turn depends on proper adjustment of the resonators, which
again depends chiefly on the positions and motions of the organs of
articulation. The interdependence of tone quality and pronunciation is
therefore obvious.
Constant emphasis must be laid upon the fact that focusing a tone is a
matter of resonance, and that perhaps the most important element in
this is _nasal_ resonance. In this country, particularly, teachers
have, in their desire to overcome the too common nasal twang,
mistakenly sought to shut out the nasal chamber from all participation
in speech and song.
There are those who, partly recognizing the importance of _head_
resonance, would secure it while ignoring _nasal_ resonance. It is
impossible to secure head resonance in this fashion, for it is only
through free nasal resonance that the coördinate resonance in the air
sinuses above the nasal cavity and connected with it can be
established.
The fear of nasal twang and failure to distinguish between it and true
nasal resonance has been the stumbling block. They are very
different,--one is to be shunned, the other to be cultivated. The
first is an obvious blemish, the second is an important essential of
good singing.
Nasal tones are caused by a raised or stiffened tongue, a sagging soft
palate, a stiffened jaw, or by other rigidities that prevent free tone
emission and which at the same time--note this--prevent true nasal
resonance.
As tone, or vocalized breath, issues from the larynx, it is divided
into two streams or currents by the pendent veil of the soft palate.
One stream flows directly into the mouth, where it produces oral
resonance; the other stream passes through the nasopharynx into the
hollow chambers of the face and head, inducing nasal and head
resonance.
It is commonly supposed that tone passing in whole or in part through
the nasal cavities must be nasal in quality; whereas a tone of
objectionable nasal quality can be sung equally well with the nostrils
either closed or open.
Browne and Behnke state the matter thus: "However tight the closure of
the soft palate may be, it is never sufficient to prevent the air in
the nasal cavities being thrown into co-vibrations with that in the
mouth. These co-vibrations are, in fact, necessary for a certain
amount of the brilliancy of the voice, and if they are prevented by a
stoppage of the posterior openings of the nasal passages, the voice
will sound dull and muffled. This is of course due, to an _absence of
nasal resonance_, and must on no account be described as nasal
_twang_. It is, indeed, the very opposite of it."
Nasal tone quality and nasal resonance must not be confounded. A nasal
tone is constricted, while a tone with nasal resonance is free. Again,
a tone may be unmarred by the nasal quality, yet if it lacks nasal
resonance it lacks vibrancy, carrying power.
Nasal tones are produced, not because the vibrations pass through the
nasal passage, but because they are obstructed in their passage
through them. A nasal tone is always a cramped tone, due to
impediment, tension, or muscular contraction, particularly in the
nasopharynx.
The congestion and consequent thickening of the mucous membrane lining
the cavities of the nose and head, resulting from a cold, make the
tone muffled and weak, owing to the inability of the parts to respond
to the vibrations and add to the tone normal nasal resonance.
The elder Booth (Junius Brutus), about 1838, suffered from a broken
nose which defaced his handsome visage and spoiled his splendid voice.
His disability was so great that afterward he seldom played. That the
cause of this impairment of Booth's voice was due to the contraction
and more or less complete obstruction of the nasal passages is too
evident to call for comment.
Many singers have sweet but characterless voices that lack the
fulness, power, and ring they might have because they fail to avail
themselves of the augmenting power of the resonance cavities. The
singer must learn to habitually use all of the resonance cavities and
use them simultaneously.
Lilli Lehmann, in _How to Sing_, says that, "although the nasal sound
can be exaggerated,--which rarely happens,--it can be much
neglected,--something that very often happens." The context makes
clear that what in the English translation of the great singer's book
is called "nasal sound" is exactly what we term _nasal resonance_.
After charging the monotonous quality or lack of color in the voice of
a famous opera star to lack of nasal resonance, Madame Lehmann speaks
of the consummate art of Marcella Sembrich who "in recent years
appears to have devoted very special study to nasal resonance, whereby
her voice, especially in the middle register, has gained greatly in
warmth." She says further that nasal resonance "cannot be studied
enough. It ought always to be employed." "How often," she says, "have
I heard young singers say, 'I no longer have the power to respond to
the demands made upon me,' whereas the trouble lies only in the
insufficient use of the resonance of the head cavities."
From the foregoing, the conclusion follows that the head vibrations
are not only an essential element, but that nasal resonance is a most
important element in imparting to tone its brilliance and carrying
power. Without thought of the mechanism of _how_ nasal resonance is
produced, the singer has control over it by direct influence of the
will. The tones, low as well as high, should seem to start in the nose
and head, and the vibrations of the perfect tone can be plainly felt
upon any part of the nose and head. Without the head vibrations no
tone can be perfect, for nothing else will compensate for the lack of
these. Vocal organs used as here described will suffer no fatigue
from reasonable use; hoarseness will be to them a thing unknown, and
"minister's sore throat" an unheard of complaint. Not only is faulty
voice production a source of great discomfort, but it is the cause of
many diseases of the chest, throat, and head.
The gentle practice in easy range of the exercises given in the
chapter following, will do much to restore a normal condition.