MODERN SCIENTIFIC METHODS OF VOICE CULTURE
The transition from the old to the modern system; historical
review of scientific investigation; Manuel García; progress of
the scientific idea; Helmholtz, Mandl, and Merkel--Diversity
of practices in modern methods; the scientific system;
breathing; laryngeal action; registers; resonance; emission
of tone; the singer’s sensations; correction of faults;
articulation--General view of modern voice culture.
I
Students of the history of voice culture usually consider that the
invention of the laryngoscope (1855) marks the beginning of the modern
scientific system of training the voice. It is of course convenient to
have a precise date to which any important change in human beliefs can
be referred. Yet in this matter it is hardly possible to fix upon any
one event as the only influence which brought about the change. As a
matter of fact, there was a gradual and for a time almost imperceptible
transition from the so-called empirical methods of the old school to
the modern methods.
Scientific investigation of the vocal mechanism began, so far as the
record shows, with Hippocrates, 460 B. C. His work on anatomy contains
references to the vocal organs, showing that he had some ideas,
rather vague it is true, about their structure. Aristotle (384 B. C.)
recognized the larynx as the point of production of the voice. Galen
(130 A. D.) wrote a valuable treatise on the anatomy of the throat. He
gave the name of glottis to the space between the vocal cords, and his
work was the standard authority on the subject for more than fifteen
hundred years. Fabricius of Aquapendente, 1537, published a work
embodying the results of his own dissections of the throat. He added
greatly to the materials of Galen, although his ideas of the operations
of tone production were hardly so sound as those of his classic
predecessor.
In 1741 a French physician, Ferrein, published a little treatise
entitled _De la Formation de la Voix de l’Homme_. This marks the
beginning of the modern interest in the subject of the vocal action, as
it was the first work on vocal physiology to receive any attention from
those interested in singing. Among other things Ferrein gave the name
of vocal cords to the edges of the muscles inclosing the glottis.
Dutrochet in 1806 compared the action of the glottis to that of the
lips in playing the horn. He asserted that the sonorous vibrations of
vocal sounds are generated by the muscles whose edges are formed by the
vocal cords, and not by the vocal cords alone. Liscovius, in 1814, and
Savart, in 1825, also published treatises, but their work served rather
to foster the growing interest in the subject than to add anything
of value to the general fund of knowledge. Johannes Müller, in 1837,
showed that a compass of two octaves can be obtained by forcing air
through an exsected larynx and varying the tension of the vocal cords.
In the early years of the nineteenth century the results of scientific
investigation of the voice began to attract the attention of the most
enlightened vocal teachers. There was indeed no dissatisfaction with
the methods of instruction then in vogue. Yet a general feeling can
be noted by a student of the literature of the subject as setting in
about that time, a feeling that systems of voice culture might be
improved by applying to them the results of the most recent scientific
discoveries. Two important works by vocal teachers may be cited in this
connection, _Die Kunst des Gesanges_, by Adolph Bernhard Mark (1826),
and _Die grosse italienische Gesangschule_, by Heinrich F. Mannstein
(1834). In both of these books the point of view generally held at
that time is clearly indicated. While the old Italian method was held
to be thoroughly satisfactory in every respect, there is a desire to
explain this method and to place it on an assured basis of demonstrated
scientific principles. No thought of direct vocal management as a
necessity, or even as a possibility, can be discovered in these two
works.
Manuel García (1805-1906), the vocal teacher who contributed most to
the promulgation of the scientific idea, had at the beginning of his
career exactly the same plan as Mannstein and Mark. His father, Manuel
del Popolo Viscenti, was one of the most eminent musicians of the time.
Famous as singer, teacher, impresario, and composer, the older García
was in possession of all the traditions of the Italian school. From his
father García received the traditional method in its entirety. Retiring
from the operatic stage in 1832, García took up actively the profession
of voice culture. Even as early as this he had definitely formulated
a plan for the improvement of vocal methods. Yet at that time he had
in mind nothing of the nature of a sweeping change. In the preface to
his first important work, _École de García_, 1847, he stated that his
intention was ‘to reproduce my father’s method, attempting only to give
it a more theoretical form, and to connect results with causes.’
With this seemingly modest program García could not rest content. His
ambition to penetrate all the mysteries of the voice led him to master
the anatomy of the throat, as well as what was then known of acoustics.
He was impatient to know what actually takes place in the larynx during
the production of tone. After several years of experimenting he finally
succeeded in viewing his own vocal cords by means of a little mirror
held in the back of the throat. His announcement of his invention was
published in the proceedings of the Royal Society of London in May,
1855.
By this time the idea of the improvement of voice culture was very
generally held. García’s invention was hailed as the beginning of a
new era in vocal instruction. It was coming also to be generally felt
that the only way in which the scientific knowledge of the voice could
be utilized in instruction would be by having the student of singing
cause his vocal organs to operate in the manner that science had shown
to be correct. While no one at that time stated this principle in
definite terms, it was generally assumed as a matter of course. Within
the twenty years following García’s invention the doctrine of the
scientific management of the voice had been almost universally adopted.
Against this tacit conviction in favor of the necessity of direct vocal
management the instinctive methods of the old masters could make no
stand. The old method gradually disappeared and the doctrine implied
in the empirical system--that the voice needs no guidance other than
that furnished by the ear--found no defenders. Since 1875 the belief in
the necessity of consciously governing the vocal organs has been the
dominating idea of vocal students and teachers throughout the world.
[Illustration: Manuel García]
_From a sketch from life by Pauline Viardot._
Of importance only second to García’s study of the vocal cord action
was Helmholtz’s analysis of the acoustic laws of resonance, especially
as they apply to tone and vowel formation. Merkel’s _Der Kehlkopf_
(1873) is the standard work on the operations of the larynx. Dr. Louis
Mandl, in _Die Gesundheitslehre der Stimme_ (1876), first announced the
principle of breath control. A vast number of other investigators have
contributed to the subject and it is safe to say that the vocal action
has been studied from every conceivable point of view. It is, however,
not necessary here to trace the development of vocal science and to
record the work of each student who has made original contributions
to the common fund of knowledge.
II
In our first chapter the generally accepted theories regarding the
operations of the vocal mechanism were outlined, and the same plan will
be followed in describing the scientific methods of instruction most
widely adopted. Modern methods of voice culture have indeed never been
standardized. While teachers generally have adopted very nearly the
same course, there is a wide diversity of opinion and practice to be
found concerning each one of the topics of vocal science. Almost every
one of these topics has indeed been the subject of controversy. Yet
within recent years the leading authorities have come into fair accord
in their application of the various principles. We shall therefore
describe the method which has in its favor a consensus of opinion
on the part of the best recognized teachers, without offering any
statement as to its soundness or adequacy.
First it will be necessary to point out the exact position which the
scientific element occupies in the modern system of voice culture.
Vocal science has never aimed at a complete revolution of the
practices of instruction in singing. Its purpose is rather to divide
this instruction into two stages and to take as its province only
the first stage. Starting with the well known fact that the voice
has only one correct mode of operating, it seeks to impart this
correct manner of tone production to the student as a preliminary to
the technical training of the voice, strictly speaking. This is the
only important point in which the modern system differs from the old
Italian method. The initial work of imparting the correct vocal action
is commonly called the ‘placing of the voice.’ To accomplish this
is the sole purpose of vocal science, and the scientific method of
instruction is designed only to apply to this initial stage. When the
correct management of the voice has been acquired through a course of
instruction according to scientific principles, the student is held
to be ready to undertake the technical and musical education of the
singer. This second stage of instruction is conducted almost exactly
according to the system of the old masters.
Four elements are included in the scientific system of vocal
training. These follow naturally the four distinct operations of
singing--breathing, laryngeal action, resonance, and articulation.
Exercises designed to impart the correct manner of breathing are
usually given first as toneless gymnastic drills. The student is
instructed to fill the lungs in a prescribed fashion (generally that
described in Chapter I), and to make sure that the expansion of abdomen
and chest takes place exactly according to rule. Practice in the
muscular control of the expiration is combined with these preliminary
breathing exercises, so soon as they can be performed with fair
facility. When the muscular movements of breathing have been mastered
as a toneless exercise, the practice is extended to exercises combined
with tones, on single notes and scale passages. In these attention
is paid to the proper attack and emission of the tone, as well as to
the correct management of the breath. A great variety of breathing
exercises have been formulated, but as their basic principle is always
the same they call for no extended description. Any one of an athletic
turn who has himself mastered the correct manner of breathing would
have no difficulty in devising exercises suitable for imparting this
system to others.
To secure the proper action of the vocal cords and laryngeal muscles
the entire throat must be held in a state of supple relaxation before
attacking a tone or phrase. In order to start a tone correctly a full
inspiration is to be taken, then the vocal cords are to be brought to
the degree of tension necessary for the desired pitch at the precise
instant the expiration starts. The tone must be attacked squarely on
the correct pitch and no breath allowed to escape before it starts. The
breath pressure is to be held evenly and correctly managed throughout
the entire expiration.
To secure this proper action of the vocal cords the so-called ‘stroke
of the glottis’ was advocated by García. The glottic stroke is an
explosive sound, formed when the vocal cords are forced apart suddenly
by a rather powerful breath pressure. Its most frequent natural
occurrence is in the action of coughing, of which it is the most
striking auditory characteristic. Although command of the glottic
stroke can be acquired without difficulty, it is utterly out of place
in finished singing. What García had in mind in advocating the glottic
stroke is declared by many of his graduate students to have been
something entirely different from a violent explosion of the tone. All
he sought was the starting of the tone without any previous escape of
the breath. The stroke of the glottis, strictly so called, has been
almost entirely abandoned by vocal teachers. Later authorities modified
this instruction somewhat by teaching the ‘slide of the glottis,’
which brings about the same action without the explosive sound of the
glottic stroke. Of recent years, owing to the better understanding of
the principles of breath control, it has been found that neither the
stroke nor the slide of the glottis is necessary. The same result can
be reached by bringing the vocal cords to the desired degree of tension
at the instant the expiration starts.
Much attention has been paid to the subject of registers, more probably
than to any other feature of the vocal action. For a long time it was
considered that each register of the voice must be trained separately
and controlled in a special way. Various statements have been made
by laryngoscopic observers as to the number of the registers and the
actions of the vocal cords in each one.
At present the leading authorities recognize three registers, chest,
medium, and head, corresponding to the lower, middle, and higher parts
of the range of the voice. Individual voices vary in their possession
of registers. Tenors usually have only the medium and head, the
falsetto (confined generally to this voice) being in most cases of too
effeminate a quality for use in artistic singing. Baritones usually
have all three registers, basses only chest and medium. Sopranos may
possess all three, although the chest register is seldom well developed
in this voice. Mezzos have the chest and medium, and in the majority of
cases the head register also. Contraltos possess the chest and medium,
but very rarely the head register.
Teachers have in most cases discarded the plan of giving precise limits
to the registers and training them separately. It is considered the
best practice to bring about the correct action of the medium part
of the voice, including command of the crescendo and diminuendo on
the single tone, before beginning to develop the higher and lower
portions of the range. The compass is then gradually extended upward
and downward, care being taken to avoid the breaks which almost always
resulted from the older system of training the registers separately.
Assistance is found in developing the low notes by the cultivation of
chest resonance. High notes are helped by the use of nasal resonance
and also by practice in attacking tones with the liquid or sonant
consonants. Both these topics will be considered later.
Three resonance cavities have to be brought under control, each of
which acts independently of the others. These are the chest, the
mouth-pharynx, and the nasal cavities. As a rule the influence of
chest resonance is most marked in the lower part of the voice. The
mouth-pharynx (in addition to its almost exclusive province of vowel
and consonant formation) reinforces the entire range, and the nasal
cavities contribute most to the high notes.
It must not be understood, however, that in artistic singing chest
resonance is to be used only on low notes and nasal resonance on high
notes. The special function of nasal resonance is believed to be the
imparting of brilliancy, point, and carrying power to the tones. While
its effect is more marked on the high notes, it must always be present
in some degree throughout the entire compass of the voice. Breadth and
sonority of tone are supposed to be contributed by chest resonance, and
these must also be present on all loud tones, whether high, medium, or
low.
Yet as brilliancy and point are more native to the high notes, nasal
resonance is always more marked in this part of the voice. In the same
way the qualities of tone due to chest resonance belong more properly
to the lower and middle tones. On the practical side this is of great
importance. It is vastly more easy to secure command of each form of
resonance first in that part of the voice to which it is native. When
this has been done it is a comparatively simple matter to extend this
command higher or lower as the case may be.
It is the usual practice to begin instruction in the management of
resonance with the mouth-pharynx cavity. For this purpose exercises
on the vowel _ah_ are generally first used. The position assumed by
the tongue for this vowel is peculiarly favorable for securing an
expansion of the lower part of the mouth-pharynx cavity. An increase in
the size of this cavity is sought for the purpose of bringing about a
corresponding increase in the volume and power of the tone.
While not directly a feature of mouth-pharynx resonance strictly
speaking, the emission of the tone is usually treated under this head.
After being generated by the vibration of the vocal cords, the tone
is to be directed to the front of the mouth, in such manner that it
impinges on the hard palate, just above the upper front teeth. This
has for its purpose the freeing of the tone from the vocal cords and
the bringing of it forward in the mouth, so as to secure the effect of
‘forward tone’ advocated by the old masters.
For acquiring the effect of forward tone, studies are also used on
tones begun with certain labial and lingual consonants. Exercises are
given on single tones on such syllables as _bah_, _bee_, _boo_--_ma_,
_mee_, _mo_--_la_, _lee_, _lo_, etc. These are practised on notes
covering a range of about one octave. Similar exercises are used for
obtaining command of nasal resonance. For this purpose the consonant
_n_ is especially favored and exercises are used on syllables such as
_na_, _nee_, _no_, etc.
Another means of acquiring command of the several forms of resonance is
found in certain characteristic sensations which the singer experiences
in singing tones of the various types. A tone strongly marked by
nasal resonance awakens a sensation of tingling in the forehead and
upper nose. A pronounced feeling of vibration in the upper chest,
particularly in the region of the breast bone, accompanies the right
use of chest resonance. The ‘forward’ tone is characterized by similar
sensations in the front of the mouth. When practising exercises for
acquiring command of resonance the student is instructed to feel the
appropriate sensations, thus bringing the tone into the proper position.
Each form of resonance is particularly favored by certain vowels. _Oo_
and _oh_ lend themselves most readily to the acquirement of chest
resonance. _Ee_ facilitates in bringing in nasal resonance, while _ah_
is the easiest vowel for obtaining command of the open throat and the
forward tone, the most important functions of mouth-pharynx resonance.
Two marked forms of faulty tone production often call for special means
of correction. These are the throaty and the unpleasantly nasal tone.
For the cure of throaty production relaxing exercises are generally
used. Sighing and yawning on the vowel _ah_ with a free expiration
furnish the basis of these exercises. Single tones and descending scale
passages are practised in this manner, the breath being allowed to rush
out freely and without control. Other directions are frequently given
for the correction of throatiness. These include instruction in the
support of the tone, the throat being relieved of pressure by a steady
and controlled expiration. Bringing the tone forward in the mouth in
the manner already described assists in this operation.
An excessive or a faulty use of nasal resonance is looked upon as the
cause of the unpleasantly nasal tone. Too great a degree of relaxation
of the muscles of the soft palate may bring about this condition.
The means most favored for the correction of this fault are, first,
muscular exercise in raising and lowering the soft palate, which gives
a better tonicity to these muscles; and, second, the imparting of the
correct idea of nasal resonance in the manner already described.
Another frequent fault of production, the tremolo, may result from
any one of several causes. A lack of breath control may cause
the expiratory pressure on the vocal cords to be unregulated and
intermittent. Faulty methods of breathing, particularly those in which
the upper chest is allowed to collapse at the start of the expiration,
may lead to a flabby or ‘wobbly’ condition of the muscles which hold
the larynx in place. A lack of support for the tone may result from
the column of vocalized breath being directed backward, instead of
toward its proper point of impact on the roof of the mouth.
For the cure of the tremolo the teacher must analyze in each
individual case and locate the seat of the trouble. When this has
been pointed out the fault is eradicated by applying the appropriate
instruction--controlling the breath properly, placing the tone in the
correct position in the mouth, etc.
A clear enunciation of the text is indispensable in artistic singing.
This is in one sense not a feature of tone production strictly
speaking. It is possible to enunciate with perfect distinctness and
yet to use the voice very badly, as is seen in the case of many
vaudeville singers. On the other hand, a correct production of tone
may be exhibited by a singer whose enunciation is too indistinct to be
understood. Yet it is the duty of the vocal teacher to train his pupils
in the clear delivery of words, as well as in the other elements of the
art of singing.
Special exercises and drills in the articulation of the various
consonants are not widely used. Experience has shown that the same
end can be attained, with vastly less of drudgery for the student, by
paying attention to clearness of pronunciation in the singing of songs
and exercises with words. Students sometimes have difficulty with some
one or two vowels or consonants. In cases of this kind the master
instructs the pupil in the correct position of the tongue, lips, etc.,
for the particular sound, and if necessary arranges special exercises
for the purpose.
III
How long a time should be allotted to a course in tone production along
the lines just described it is not easy to state definitely. Practices
in this regard vary greatly among vocal teachers. One reason for
this is that tone production is seldom made the exclusive topic of
study for any great length of time. Students of singing are generally
eager to sing, and teachers are therefore obliged to intersperse their
instruction in voice placing with songs and melodious vocalises.
Another reason is found in the fact that the musical education of the
student frequently devolves in great measure upon the vocal teacher.
A knowledge of music, sufficient at least to enable the student to
memorize songs and arias and to sing them in time and in tune, is
absolutely necessary before the advanced education in the singer’s art
can be undertaken. When teachers are called upon to impart instruction
of this kind, part of each lesson time must of course be used for the
purpose.
While a strict application of the principles of vocal science would
demand that the complete course in tone production be covered before
even the simplest songs are attempted, this system is almost never
carried out logically. The first few lessons are usually devoted to
breathing and attack; from then on about half of each lesson time is
spent on voice placing and half on songs. In the instruction given
on the songs attention is paid to the more strictly musical elements
of singing--style, delivery, interpretation, etc., as well as to the
formation of the tones. Technical exercises of progressive difficulty
are taken up about as soon as the student has acquired sufficient vocal
control to perform them. As a rule there is no precise stage at which
voice placing work strictly speaking ceases and the technical training
of the voice is begun.
It cannot be said that any one teacher or vocal expert has founded
an authoritative school of vocal science. There is not even anything
in the nature of a distinctively national school. Closely resembling
methods are followed in all European countries, as well as in America.
Every famous modern master has imparted his principles to many students
who in their turn have become teachers. Yet it is rather rare for any
one to take up the profession of voice culture without first receiving
some instruction from several recognized masters. This custom has
resulted in a general levelling of systems, each teacher selecting what
he considers best from all the methods which he investigates. Meanwhile
the old Italian method is still recognized as possessing elements of
great value, even in the department of tone production, in which its
principles are so imperfectly understood by the scientifically disposed
teacher. The great majority of teachers seek to apply some of the
principles of the old method, notably its oral traditions, which were
discussed a few pages back, in conjunction with the practices of vocal
science.
Modern voice culture cannot be believed to have reached its final
development. Even the most conscientious advocates of the scientific
doctrines feel that there is a certain lack of completeness in present
methods. Investigations are still being carried on in the various
topics of vocal science. It is possible that the near future will see
important discoveries in the means for control of laryngeal action and
resonance. Some authorities, on the other hand, look altogether in the
opposite direction. An abandonment of the doctrines of vocal science
and a return to the instinctive methods of the old masters is favored
by these teachers.
So far as the course of future events can be foretold, it seems
probable that a combination of the two methods, now seemingly opposed,
will eventually be brought about. The scientific investigation of the
voice has brought to light so much of valuable truth that it would
be ridiculous to throw its results lightly aside. At the same time
the success of the old method proves that it contained a satisfactory
solution of all vocal problems. How the two methods will be fused into
one it is not now possible to say. But the only marked tendency is in
that direction. We are justified in the hope that its accomplishment
will not be long postponed.
D. C. T.