SEVENTH PRINCIPLE
There are no _registers_ in the singing voice, when it is
correctly produced. According to natural laws the voice is made
up of only _one_ register, which constitutes its entire range.
According to almost general understanding the singing voice, at
certain points of the natural range, breaks into series of tones
and gives origin to the so-called registers of the voice.
Some writers contend that there are four or five registers; but
the great majority of them claim only three, and this
classification is universally adopted by singing teachers. A few
authorities, however—among them Sir Morell Mackenzie, the
well-known English laryngologist—admit two physical changes in
voice production, while only a very small number of voice
experts agree on the existence of but _one_ register. It must be
said that in none of these instances are these divisions founded
upon a concrete or definite scientific truth.
The teachers who uphold the division of the voice in three
registers call them the chest, the middle, and the head
registers.
The author contends that no such division is suggested by
nature, nor is it needed in voice culture. The breaks of the
voice are the result of abrupt and artificial changes in the
laryngeal adjustments when the vocal organs are adapting
themselves to produce higher tones; the normal function of these
organs is then disturbed and a defective vocal production is
thus brought about. In fact not only is this classification not
essential or necessary, but it places the mechanism of voice
production at a certain disadvantage.
If we make an incidental analysis of it we are at first striken
by the incongruous designation of the registers as chest, head,
and middle. It is obvious that in speaking of the chest and head
registers, reference is made to the resonance obtained by
emphasizing the voice in the chest and head cavities. What about
the middle register then? To what cavity does it allude?
The supposition that it would be a _pharyngeal_ register would
imply that the resonance is confined in the pharynx, which would
give a _throaty_ voice production, the most appalling defect in
singing.
Another current misunderstanding exists in reference to the head
register, which sometimes is confused with the so-called _mezza
voce_. There is a substantial difference between them, which it
is important to establish _a priori_, so that the criticism
leveled at the head register may not be extended to the _mezza
voce_.
When a singer is called upon to give his entire volume and
intensity of voice in any part of its range for dramatic effect,
he carries to the higher tones the same proportional volume and
intensity of voice with the same quality, and this constitutes a
dramatic style of singing in full voice; it can only be obtained
by avoiding the break of the voice into registers.
But when the meaning of the words and the style of the music
require lyric and delicate effects, only part of the voice—the
_mezza voce_—is employed, being better adapted to express
artistically and truthfully the meaning of words set to lyric
music.
Caruso—a dramatic as well as a lyric tenor—in singing dramatic
rôles used his full voice, in lyric parts the same voice but in
lighter form, which in certain soft passages was very similar to
a _mezza voce_. His correct mechanism of voice production made
it possible for him to resort to the most perfect lyric style of
singing without changing the intrinsic nature of his voice.
Singing in the _mezza voce_ is then physiologically correct
since it is performed without changing the mechanism of the
_full voice_, with only this difference, that less intensity is
used, while the volume and the quality of the voice remain the
same.
There exists, then, a substantial difference between the _head
register_ and the _mezza voce_, which should be better
understood.
The empiricism and the confusion that rule the singing field are
put in relief by these commonplace and elementary errors; yet
these are only a few of the many examples that go to explain the
stagnant and chaotic condition of the art of singing as it is
to-day.
Sir Morell Mackenzie, who wrote the most interesting book on the
hygiene of the voice, admits, as previously stated, only two
registers, and calls them the _long_ or _chest_, and the _short_
or _head_ registers. This classification is by far more rational
than all the others, and is based on the resonance of the chest
for the long, and of the head for the short, register.
With all due respect to so great an authority, we venture to
analyze this division as compared with the theory of _no_
registers, except for the natural range; and we advance the
following hypothesis:
Dr. Mackenzie defines the registers as a series of tones of like
quality produced by a particular adjustment of the vocal cords.
According to this definition, the voice being divided into two
registers, the chest register of a soprano singer, for instance
would extend from low C to medium E, and would be represented by
a series of tones of like quality produced by a _particular
adjustment_ of the vocal cords.
Following this there would be another series of tones produced
by another adjustment of the vocal cords, with tones different
in dimension than in the first series, and this would represent
the head register.
Now, what can justify this change of the vocal cords to a second
adjustment? Must it be attributed to a natural law dictating
this alteration in the mechanism of voice production, or to an
incorrect use of the vocal apparatus, particularly of the
producing and moving power, which make this change in the
mechanism of voice production unavoidable?
No concrete reason has been given by Dr. Mackenzie for his
classification. In fact further on he admits that, strictly
speaking, there should be a different register for every note,
which practically coincides with the theory generally accepted,
that slight changes must take place in the vocal organs during
their progressive adjustments for the ascending tones of the
scale. But these gradual adjustments are not the same as
contended by register advocates, according to whom the registers
are originated by marked changes in the shape of the vocal
organs in certain sections of the range where the voice breaks.
There is no objection to having as many progressive registers as
there are notes in the range, because practically it is
tantamount to having one big register made up of as many small
registers as there are notes in the compass of the voice, like
one long chain formed by a great number of small links.
Therefore, Dr. Mackenzie’s classification, having no definite
scientific basis, remains purely a personal view, which,
however, stands out prominently among the many others as the
most logical.
Dr. F. E. Miller, in his book _The Voice_, after illustrating
the theory on registers, states that the breaks of the voice can
be accounted for on scientific grounds:
Suppose [he says] there were a man able to produce the entire
male vocal compass, from deepest bass to highest tenor. While
for every note throughout the entire compass there would be
subtle changes in the adjustment of the vocal tract the
following also would be true: that beginning with the lowest
note and throughout the first octave of his voice, the changes
in the adjustments of the vocal tract would not alter the
general character of the adjustment for that octave; that on
entering the second octave, there would be a tendency toward
change in the general adjustment of the vocal tract; while for
the production of the remaining notes above, an almost
startling change in the adjustment of the vocal tract would
take place.
As much as we respect the opinion expressed in the above
statement, we fail to perceive the scientific ground which
justifies the necessity of the breaks of the voice into
registers.
That slight changes of the vocal tract must occur in passing
from one tone to the next, when the vocal organs undergo
different adjustments for producing progressive pitches, has
been demonstrated by scientific experiments and is admitted by
all scientists. But that there is a tendency toward a change in
the general adjustment of the vocal tract on entering the second
octave, and that, for the production of the remaining notes
above that, a startling change must take place in the adjustment
of the vocal organs, has not thus far been reinforced by any
scientific evidence.
And if it were true that the change in registers must occur at a
certain particular altitude of the scale, it has not been
demonstrated, up to this time, that this altitude is the correct
place. There are singers, in fact, whose voices break in any
difficult passage, and others—very few—whose voices never break
through the entire range. We cannot think otherwise, then, that
the division of the voice into registers, far from being a
scientific axiom, is nothing else than an arbitrary and
conventional hypothesis of voice experts, teachers and singers,
who do not even agree among themselves as to where the breaks of
the voice should occur.
Now and then [Dr. Miller adds] in a generation there may
appear upon the scene a singer, usually a tenor, who for his
high notes is not obliged to adopt the somewhat artificial
adjustment required by the highest register, but can sing all
his tones in the easier adjustments of the lowest or middle
register. But he is a phenomenon, the exception that proves
the rule....
This privilege which Dr. Miller claims for one singer _in a
generation_ is not so rare, we venture to say, and is far from
being exceptional. As a matter of fact it is _the rule_ with
singers who produce their voice correctly, and furthermore, it
should be the universal practice in voice training, as it is in
absolute conformity with the normal physiological mechanism of
the vocal organs.
Nature, as a rule, creates perfection through simplicity; the
simpler the mechanism, the smoother and the more perfect its
function; we can, therefore, hardly credit Nature with the
complications that occur in the break of the voice into
registers, and which we maintain are only the result of improper
singing; neither can we think that Nature would bestow upon a
few chosen singers physiological privileges which are denied to
the generality. We are rather inclined to think that as in the
case of blood circulation—the simplest and most wonderful
function of the human system—the natural mechanism of voice
production is one and the same for all of us.
Those singers whom Dr. Miller considers as “phenomena” are
nothing more than good singers, conspicuous only through their
scarcity and the deficiency of the others. Their great merit
lies in the knowledge—whether conscious or unconscious—of how to
make use of their vocal organs according to the laws of Nature.
Duprez, for instance [quotes Dr. Miller in his book] was a
phenomenal tenor; he could sing the whole tenor range in the
chest register. He could emit the _ut de poitrine_, which
means that he could sing tenor high C in the chest register.
But there are others: Caruso could sing basso, baritone,
dramatic and lyric tenor, without any breaks in his voice, and
we believe he was not an exception in this. Of course, there was
a slight change in Caruso’s voice when he used to sing as a
lyric tenor, which affected only the dimensions of his voice,
molded most essentially on the significance of the words and on
the style of the music, which, being lyric, required a lighter
form of voice than in the dramatic parts.
Lablache, the famous basso, used to sing tenor rôles as well as
basso. Emma Calvé, a rare singer as well as exceptional artist,
can sing as contralto and coloratura in one and the same voice.
Galli-Curci uses only one register for the entire range of her
voice, which covers almost three octaves, from G to F, and Titta
Ruffo, the brilliant baritone, can invade very gallantly the
domain of dramatic tenors with the same voice he uses for his
entire range of baritone.
All this is not exceptional; when the vocal organs are properly
adjusted for the different tones of the scale, every singer can
acquire a voice production without breaks in the vocal range. In
the case of many singers the changes of registers take place so
frequently that they are condemned as “bad” singers even by
people not well versed in the art of singing; the unevenness of
their voices is caused by the continuous breaks at different
points of the range, and the fact that the popular verdict is
against them clearly shows that the public favors those who
avoid breaks in their voices. This natural predilection of the
uninformed listener is the best proof how essential is the
homogeneity of the voice in quality and in volume.
To well-trained ears, the passing of the bow from one string of
the violin to another produces somewhat of a peculiar and
unpleasant effect which the good violinist tries to avoid, and
strives to bring out all the tones alike in quality which
procures a more uniform and artistic effect.
This dissonance, almost unavoidable in the violin, is only
slight when compared with the disagreeable sensation produced by
singers when passing from one register to another. The acoustic
effects are obviously against the use of various registers in
the human voice. To adapt the vocal organs to abrupt
adjustments, which are only the result of artificial efforts to
produce voices of different character in the same range, amounts
to nothing less than the introduction of a faulty mechanism,
which interferes with the natural production of the voice and
destroys its beauty.
The singing of the greatest tenor in the annals of
song—Caruso—gave the most striking evidence of the advantage of
avoiding register breaks, and undoubtedly any singer who
produces correctly the entire vocal range with a uniform quality
throughout, and without any division into registers, is the
nearest specimen to perfection in voice production.
The artificial division of the voice into registers, besides
bringing about a complicated mechanism is also impractical and
disadvantageous. If we produce, for instance, a tone of low
pitch, belonging to the chest register, the resonance of which
must be confined to the chest only, we eliminate the valuable
support of the resonance of all the other cavities of the body
and commit a grave error in voice production. No obstacles of
any kind should check the sound waves in expanding from the
larynx throughout the entire body, so as to get the benefit of
the resonance of all its cavities; no reason, therefore, can
justify a “chest” production or any other localization which
would prevent the voice from getting its full resonance.
The scientific explanation of the disorder of the vocal
organs, responsible for the breaking of the voice into
registers, is that the adjustments of these organs for
producing the tones are extremely exaggerated by two factors:
the first is _psychological_, and is constituted by the
spasmodic contraction of the larynx, usually at the mercy of
psychological influences, as nervousness, fright, and other
emotions, which, instead of a normal relaxation, instill into
the muscles and cartilages an exaggerated tension; the second
is _physiological_, and is represented by the increase of
breath which singers feel they must force into their throats
in order to counteract the tension of the vocal apparatus, and
in the false belief that the harder they blow the more voice
they produce.
From this fatal ignorance the notion of registers has originated
probably. Singers, instinctively inclined to magnify their
voices by giving more breath than necessary even in the lowest
notes of their range, produce tones which are forced and also
somewhat higher in pitch.
In progressing up the scale, by increasing the breath, the tones
become more forced and sharp, and by persisting in this
mechanism of forcing and growing sharper, they eventually reach
a point when the normal resistance of the strained vocal organs
refuses to lend its assistance any longer, so that the
distressed singer is compelled to resort to artificial means in
order to compensate for the lessened natural resources of the
vocal organs. Then a sudden constriction of the larynx, pharynx,
tongue, and soft palate combined reduce the vocal apparatus to a
considerably smaller size and render it more apt to produce
higher tones, which, however, have no longer the dimensions and
the character of the previous ones, as we have demonstrated in a
previous chapter.
The result is evident: the more strained and contracted the
vocal organs, the smaller the spaces of their cavities become,
and consequently the volume of the voice produced is less; the
greater the amount of breath employed under exaggerated
pressure, the less exact is the resulting pitch of the voice and
its original quality.
It is our firm conviction, however, that were the adjustments of
the larynx but gradually employed with no constriction of the
throat to interfere with the freedom of the tone and with the
minimum amount of necessary breath employed, a mechanism would
result which could regulate the entire range of the voice
without requiring a break into different registers.
A rough illustration of what could be considered a perfect
range, without division of registers, would be obtained by
comparing the voice with a ladder; the wider part is at its
base, and it diminishes in width proportionately as it nears the
top. This gradual diminishing, however, does not affect its
evenness. The identical evenness should remain in the gradual
diminishing of the range of the voice, its lower tones, larger
in volume, undergoing a gradual and slight decrease in ascending
the scale, without this slight change, however, affecting the
quality and evenness of the voice in any altitude of the range.
The illustrations in Figure 13 give material evidence of the
breaks of the voice, according to the division of registers,
with the last one showing the entire range without any breaks.
The first _illustration in the group of three_ represents the
average compass of any high voice, that is, a dramatic tenor or
a soprano, and shows where the usual breaks into registers
occur. These breaks, however, are not the same and not equal in
number for every voice. Some singers—the very bad ones—have
breaks at almost every other note and sometimes, even in the
same note, if long sustained, toward the end their voices slide
into a kind of a squeezed sound, indefinite in pitch and
disagreeable in effect. A certain great singer used to call
these breaks the _tails of the voice_.
This traditional, time-worn divisions of the voice into three
registers is explained as follows (referring to letters on the
diagram):
a. The chest register which gets its resonance from the chest.
At the altitude of E or F the voice breaks and gives
origin to the Middle Register.
b. The first break of the voice.
c. The Middle register which, according to some authors, gets
its resonance from the pharynx. At the altitude of E it
breaks and gives origin to the head register.
d. The second break of the voice.
e. The head register, which gets its resonance from the head.
The second illustration in Figure 13 shows the defects of the
voice, resulting from its breaks into register, emphasized by
colors, and referred to herewith by letters.
[Illustration:
FIG. 13.—VOICE RANGE WITH AND WITHOUT BREAKS INTO REGISTERS
]
a. Chest register, produced by an exaggerated power and
tension.
b. Starting point of the first break. Change in the quality and
volume of the voice.
c. Middle register, the voice becomes gradually stiff, thin and
sharp.
d. Second break. Second change of the voice, its production
becoming more difficult and forced.
e. Head register. The voice becomes very sharp and decidedly
changed in its characteristics—volume and quality. Its
loses the character of human voice, and sounds like an
instrument.
In a faulty voice mechanism, the lower tones being produced by
an exaggerated effort for the purpose of getting more volume and
resonance, the result is that the vocal apparatus, after a
series of a few tones, cannot sustain the tension of its organs,
and collapses. The voice breaks and gives origin to another
series of tones molded on a new adjustment of the vocal organs,
which suddenly reshape themselves into a smaller size, and
produce smaller tones. Thus, from the chest register suddenly
comes out the middle register, smaller in size (Fig. 13).
The middle register begins to show the deformities of the
characteristics of the voice, which grow with the ascendency of
its altitude. The volume begins to diminish, and the quality
becomes stiff and sharp. From the collapse of the vocal organs
at a certain point of the middle register, the head register
takes origin.
In the head register the deformity of the voice is more
appalling. It becomes empty and colorless with certain singers,
or very sharp, though thinner in volume, and more like a sound
than a human voice—a kind of a big, strong falsetto. In many
instances singers cannot pronounce their words in this register,
and therefore confine their efforts to singing tones only.
The third illustration in Figure 13 shows the full range of the
voice as performed by a natural, correct mechanism. The lower
tones, being produced by a normal amount of breath, can reach
the lowest extension of the range, thus enabling the voice to
run from E below the staff to high C. These low tones, however,
are not strong, but rich, because the complete relaxation of the
vocal organs allows their vibrations to expand and get the full
resonance from all the body cavities. In singing, however, they
are not used by tenors and sopranos.
By gradually ascending the scale there comes a point where the
voice becomes naturally strong, without forcing its production,
and this represents the natural, brilliant section of the
compass, which characterizes the different voices—basso,
baritone, tenor, soprano, etc.
The rest of the range of the voice follows the same mechanism,
keeping its volume and quality almost entirely. The slight
changes which may occur in its characteristics are related to
the gradual, slight adjustments of the vocal organs for higher
tones, but no breaks whatever into registers can take place.
The voice production with no registers, therefore, is able to
render the entire range in the same form and quality, and
relieves the vocal organs of any strain, giving also the
possibility of training and developing a beautiful voice, with
astonishing results.
Were a clear conception of the _natural_ range of the voice to
exist, nobody would bother about registers. Musical instruments
have but one register, and require but one technique for playing
at any altitude of their range. Why should it be essential for
the human vocal apparatus—the most complete and perfect musical
instrument—to undergo an elaborated process of breaks and sudden
adjustments for producing the voice?
An original view, of a psychological nature, why we should
supplant the theory of registers with one of _psychological
intonation_ of the voice, is suggested to the author by the fact
that the speaking voice through the meaning of the words rules
the singing voice and therefore must rule all its modulations in
all the altitudes of its range.
The speaking voice has no registers; yet we talk in high and low
pitch, and the modulation of our voice, in its different
pitches, is dependent upon the psychological influence of the
words.
We talk loudly, for instance, when we are excited, angry, etc.;
softly and sweetly under the soothing influence of love, joy and
tenderness; low on a solemn or sad occasion. All of these
psychological phases influence and rule the pitch and color of
our voice.
The changes in the character of the singing voice should be, by
analogy, related rather to these emotional influences than to
the physical mechanism of voice production, and thus render the
entire range of the voice equal in form, provided a correct
technique is used.
These psychological changes in the altitudes of the tones
require no artificial adjustment of the vocal organs. In
recitation, for instance, when the artist wishes to express an
exquisite sentiment of happiness, tenderness, a dream or a
vision, he raises his voice to a very high pitch (some do it
very artistically) in order to produce a light and sweet
intonation, and diminishing it at times to a mere shadow of a
voice. Human psychology could not suggest any other inflection
of voice than the high pitch for expressing such sentiments, as
for the interpretation of dramatic feelings the medium and low
tones are indicated; and the physiological mechanism of voice
production fully obeys the psychological suggestion, without,
though, changing the intrinsic characteristics of the voice,
irrespective of how high or low the pitch may be.
The same must occur in singing; the changes of pitch, correctly
produced, must not result in a change of register, but merely
represent the psychological color given to the singing by the
different sentiments to be expressed. In the unsurpassed love
duet of Tristan and Isolde, for instance, it is the beautiful
inspiration of the words more than technical execution of the
notes that communicates its mellowness to the voices of the
interpreters, and the voice production here is less the result
of a skillful mechanical function than the corollary of the
psychological influence of the words. The “head register” has
nothing whatever to do with the light _mezza voce_ which is
required in this duet and is merely the attenuation of the voice
under a psychological influence, just as would be the case if
the same words were spoken.
The close relationship of the meaning of words with the altitude
of the voice is shown by the fact that sometimes, in phrases of
very dramatic portent, high pitches of voice are used, in full
power and volume, neglecting entirely the change of the chest
register into the more adaptable head register. In the _finale_
of the third act of “Aïda,” for instance, the tenor holds the
words, _Sacerdote, io resto a te_, in full voice, sustaining
several high B’s, which, according to the division of registers,
should be produced by the head register; but in so doing the
quality of voice would not be suited to the meaning of the
words, and would mar this powerful dramatic situation.
To sum up, there are no physiological needs for the break of the
voice into registers; by leaving its intonation under
psychological control we can attain any altitude in the vocal
compass, without subjecting the vocal organs to artificial
efforts in order to break the voice into unnecessary registers.
Let psychology rule the voice within the bounds of one register
for its entire range! If singers have drama, tragedy and poetry
in their hearts, it will show in their singing, whether tragic,
dramatic or lyric. The voice being the product of inspiration
and natural resources will certainly be the truest and most
beautiful expression of art when free from any artificial
influence or deformity like the arbitrary break into registers.