Voice Production in Singing and Speaking Part 8

It is likely that teachers have insisted on diaphragmatic breathing, especially in the case of females, because, unfortunately, prevalent modes of dress so restrict the lower chest, etc., that individuals instinctively seek relief in upper chest or clavicular breathing, in which case it may be observed that the actual breath power of the singer is very small. It cannot be denied that few people ever adequately fill the chest--least of all, few women--and if admonitions as to diaphragmatic breathing accomplish this purpose, the practice must be commended. But another remedy should obviously precede this one: the respiratory prisoner should first be released.

No doubt, in the most vigorous singing and speaking the lower part of the chest, with the diaphragm, is of the greatest importance, but often both the speaker and the singer, as in a short, rapid pa.s.sage, require to take breath, and the only way in which they can really meet the case is by a short, more or less superficial action of the respiratory apparatus, in which the upper chest must play the chief part. There is no opportunity to fill the whole chest, so that any admonition in regard to abdominal breathing is then quite out of place.

The fact is, the voice-user should have control of his whole breathing mechanism, and use one part more or less than another, or all parts equally and to the fullest extent, as the circ.u.mstances require; and if the student has not already learned such control, the author recommends his practising breathing with special attention first to filling the upper chest completely, and then the lower. It must be remembered that for a long time breathing, for the voice-user, must be a voluntary process, which, as has been pointed out, is not the usual and natural one for the individual when not phonating, which latter is essentially reflex or involuntary. The voice-user, in other words, must, with a definite purpose in view, take charge of himself. In time, breathing for him too will become reflex--_i.e._, correct breathing for the purposes of his art will become a habit. It must be pointed out that the breathing for any particular composition, literary or musical, should be carefully studied out, for this is nothing else than determining how this part of the voice-user's mechanism can be employed with the best artistic result. This, fortunately, is now recognized by a large number of teachers, for the fact is, the artistic is at present much better understood and appreciated than the technical; were it not so, such erratic literature on the subject of breathing could never have appeared.

On another aspect of the subject there is room for much greater difference of opinion. Among even eminent singers and teachers there is lack of agreement in regard to the part the diaphragm and abdomen should play in the most vigorous (_fortissimo_) singing.

Singers of renown practise what may be termed a sort of "forced"

abdominal or diaphragmatic breathing. The breath is so taken that the whole chest is filled, the diaphragm brought well down, and the abdominal walls drawn in (retracted), which gives the singer, in all parts above and below, a bellows with tense walls in all parts, with the great advantage that such breathing permits of a firmness otherwise unattainable, and he is enabled to exert his breath force with great certainty and power, and, as some maintain, with all the control necessary for even delicate effects.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 44. Intended to express to the eye the two views of respiration discussed in the body of the work (p. 113-117). The dotted lines indicate the form of the chest and abdomen advocated by some as the best for the singing or speaking of long and vigorous pa.s.sages.]

Against this it has been urged that it is unnatural, not according to what is found in man and other animals in nature. It is perhaps forgotten that when we make a great effort, as in lifting, we put the breathing apparatus into just this state; we gird up our loins--or the equivalent of that process--so that this method cannot be said to be contrary to nature. The only question seems to be as to whether it is necessary and advantageous, or wasteful of energy. For ordinary efforts it does not seem to be necessary, though the chest must in singing and speaking always be _held_ more or less full, not by any deliberate and painful effort, but in a quiet, un.o.btrusive way.

The diagram (Fig. 44) will make the difference in the theories referred to clear.

Up to the present the student has been urged to fill his chest, after days of less vigorous practice, to the fullest, retain the mechanism in this condition for a short time, and then in the slowest and most regular fas.h.i.+on relax it, the purpose being development and control.

In actual speaking and singing such breathing is not usually either possible or desirable.

Nature herself always works with the least possible expenditure of energy and with power in reserve. These must be the voice-user's principles, to be deliberately and persistently applied. To fill the chest to the fullest on all occasions is to use up energy to no purpose and to induce fatigue. Art is ever economical. Effort, obvious effort, detracts from the listener's enjoyment. Ease in the executant corresponds with enjoyment in the listener, or, at all events, if nothing more, it puts him in such a frame of mind, that the more positive qualities of the performance find him in an undisturbed, receptive state.

The singer or speaker must breathe easily and adequately, but not so as to waste his energies. Prior to the execution of his task, he should consider what respiratory efficiency calls for in the case of any particular phrase, and meet this without waste--_i.e._, fully, but with something to spare. For the best art, as well as the soundest technique, there should always be in the executant enough and to spare. Let the last word be so uttered or sung that the listener may feel, however vigorous the pa.s.sage, that more could have been done had it been required; in other words, _speak or sing the last word feeling that several others might follow did one so choose_.

When this principle of reserve force is not observed, the voice-user may distress himself or his audience in a variety of ways, among others by a bad habit known as "pumping"--_i.e._, endeavoring to produce sound when the breath power is really spent. It is only necessary to refer to it for a moment that its unwisdom and physiological unrighteousness may be apparent.

Another term, _coup de glotte_ (blow or shock of the glottis), has led to so much confusion and misunderstanding, which unfortunately, has been followed by erroneous practice, that it would be well if its further employment were abandoned.

Breathing, so far as voice-production is concerned, is for the sole purpose of causing the vocal bands to vibrate; and at this stage we may say that the perfection of any vocal result depends wholly on the efficiency with which these vibrations are produced, so that breathing and tone are brought together, so to speak, by the mediation of these little bands, the vocal cords; and this is the justification for speaking of the larynx as _the_ vocal organ. This usage, however, is objectionable, as it tends to narrowness and to divert the mind from other highly important parts of the vocal mechanism. In one sense, the respiratory organs and the resonance-chambers are each as important as the larynx.

The term _coup de glotte_ has been sometimes employed as the equivalent of "attack," and again as the synonym of nearly all that is bad in voice-production. As to this latter, all depends on the sense in which the term is employed.

Before the vocal bands can be set into suitable vibrations the expiratory breath-stream must be directed against them in a special manner, and they themselves must be adapted to the blast. It is a case of complex and beautiful adaptation. The clarinet or flute player must learn to "blow," and equally must the singer learn to use his breath.

The processes each employs, though not identical, are closely related; both use the breath to cause vibrations, and there can be none that are effective, in either case, except a certain relation of adaptation of breath-stream to instrument be effected--with the clarinet-player, adjustment of breath to reed, and with the voice-user, of breath to vocal bands.

Exactly what changes are made in the larynx, and by what means, have already been described, and will be again considered in more than one part of this volume. The main fact is that owing to a mult.i.tude of neuro-muscular mechanisms the different parts of the respiratory and laryngeal apparatus are brought to work in harmony for the production of tones.

The nature of the vibrations of the vocal bands, and, therefore, the character of the sounds produced, depend in no small measure on one thing, to which attention cannot be too carefully given. To a large extent the pitch, the volume, the quality, the carrying power, etc., of a tone depend on the adjustment now referred to--one of the facts which were, if not physiologically, at least practically recognized by the old Italian masters. Teachers everywhere felt the need of some technical term to express the adjustment we are considering, hence the expression _coup de glotte_, which is not in itself necessarily either incorrect or for other reason to be condemned. All depends on the sense in which it is used, as we have already said. It must, however, be admitted that it does; to most persons, convey the idea of something that is more or less violent as well as sudden, so that there seems to lurk in this term a tendency to mislead, to say the least.

There really should never be a blow or shock of the glottis; the vocal bands should never strike together violently, or, indeed, strike together at all, in the ordinary sense of the term. They should, however, be approximated with considerable rapidity and with a perfect adjustment to the breath-stream, and this must be a.s.sociated with a like perfect adaptation of the breath-stream to them through the harmonious working of the many muscles (neuro-muscular mechanisms) which const.i.tute the most important part of the respiratory mechanism.

In brief, the adjustment of the breathing and laryngeal mechanisms resulting in the adequate and suitable approximation of the vocal bands for tone-production const.i.tutes the _coup de glotte_, or, as the author prefers to term it, the "attack."

To get this perfect should be one of the aims of teachers and one of the ambitions of students. Without a good attack the singer or speaker fails to do himself justice, and the listener is left unsatisfied. The good attack suggests physiological and technical perfection, so far as it goes; artistically, it implies power and sureness, and for the listener satisfaction, a feeling that what has been attempted has been accomplished; and the best of it is that the auditor at the end of a large hall experiences this sense of satisfaction quite as fully as the persons sitting in the first row of seats. Without good attacks there can be no intellectual singing or speaking, no broad phrasing, and much more that all should aim at who come before the public, and which listeners have, indeed, a right to expect. But just because many persons feel this to be true, they make serious errors in attempting to attain the result; they subst.i.tute main force for the correct method. Impatience and eagerness may defeat the voice-user's purpose.

In this and all other cases the action should be performed with but moderate force, or even, at first, softly, and with gradual increase in vigor, and always in relation to the quality of the sound produced; quality must always be the first if not also the last consideration.

If the method be correct, power can be attained with patience; if wrong, the throat and voice may be absolutely ruined. This point will be considered later, but we must at once express the opinion that a bungling attack in which main force is subst.i.tuted for the proper method is one of the most dangerous, as it is one of the most serious errors in the technique of modern singing, and the same may often be charged against our public speaking.

Another of the worst faults of singing, the _tremolo_, is due to unsteadiness in attack and in maintaining the proper relations between the breathing and the laryngeal mechanism. If the voice-user fails to get a tone of good quality easily and without escape of breath to any appreciable extent, he must consider that his method is incorrect.

There must be no wasted breath in the best vocal technique. This leads to ineffectiveness in the voice-producer and lack of satisfaction in the listener. Breath must, for a perfect technique, mean tone--all tone--and this must be produced so that the singer is not aware, by any unpleasant feelings, that he has vocal bands or a larynx at all; in a perfect technique one must only be distinctly aware of certain sensations in the parts above the larynx, in his mouth cavity, etc.

His consciousness is concerned with tone--the result. But, to attain this, the method must be physiological--_i.e._, natural, and not only that, but carried out with an approach to perfection in the details of the process which takes time and calls for infinite patience and care, all permeated by sound and clear ideas of what is being aimed at by the voice-user. Nothing should be attempted till the method and the end are understood thoroughly; to do otherwise is to waste time, defeat the purpose, and court failure and disappointment; and the more the student can think for himself, and the less dependent he is on his teacher, the better will it be for both and for art itself.

From all that has been hitherto said it will be inferred that one of the best tests of a good attack, or any other feature in voice-production, is the absence of escape of breath, as such, from the mouth. Many persons begin wrongly; they attempt to produce tones by forcing the breath out in such a way that all their resources in breathing are at once spent, instead of being husbanded with the care of a miser. As time is the most precious possession of man, as man, so is breath for the singer or speaker. It is his h.o.a.rd. Nothing must be paid out of this always limited capital for which the best value is not obtained.

The test for perfect economy of breath known to older generations of actors still remains the best. They were accustomed to hold a candle a few inches from the mouth when speaking. If the flame did not flicker, it was clear that breath was not being uselessly expelled.

Instead of feeling that the breath pa.s.ses out, the voice-producer should rather feel, when phonating, as if it pa.s.sed in--an illusion, it is true, but still a safe one. It will be found that holding a mirror or the hand with the back turned toward the mouth, and a few inches (four to six) from it, will serve fairly well to indicate whether the breath is escaping or not, though in sensitiveness and convincing power this is not equal to the flame test.

We would again urge that in every instance of phonation in either speaker or singer, the breath be taken through the open mouth. Only in this way can enough breath be inhaled in the mere moment available for this purpose. Often the singer or actor must take breath with absolutely the greatest rapidity possible, and the narrow pa.s.sages of the nose do not suffice to admit enough air within the time for action.

But even more important, perhaps, is the fact that when breath is taken through the nostrils the singer may find that on opening his mouth to sing the tongue and soft palate are in an unfavorable position for good tone-production; his sounds may be m.u.f.fled, throaty; but if breath be inhaled through the open mouth, and not through the nose at all, the tongue tends to lie flat, and this organ and other parts a.s.sume the correct position for good intonation.

Mouth breathing, for the purposes of tone-production, is the only method which has physiological justification. Many singers especially complain of having trouble with the tongue; some believe it too large, others that it is beyond their control. These so-called large tongues have one advantage--they may exercise a great influence on the quality of the tone; and correct breathing brings them to good behavior. The author has time and again, by explaining the influence of mouth respiration, brought sudden joy to the heart of the singer who had been all his life troubled with the tongue, and worried by the consciousness that his tones lacked in clearness, carrying power, etc.

Nose breathing is of course to be used exclusively when the subject is not phonating. During the latter many opportunities occur to close the mouth; and the idea that drying of the mucous membrane of the mouth, etc., will occur by reason of mouth breathing in speaking and singing is purely imaginary.

EXERCISES.

The student, whatever his degree of advancement, will find the exercises about to be recommended, or others closely resembling them, of great value.

It cannot be too well borne in mind, obvious though it is, that all speaking and singing, whatever else they be, are tone-production; hence the first thing for every one to ascertain regarding himself is the extent to which he can form and hold tones of good quality--in other words, the success with which he can establish the essential co-ordinations or harmonious actions of the breathing and laryngeal mechanisms, and maintain them for a considerable length of time.

Many singers can produce a fairly good and powerful tone, but it is a sort of vocal explosion rather than a tone, which will continue to do the singer's bidding for as long as he will. The correctly produced and sustained tone is the foundation of all that is best in voice-production; all the rest is but a series of variations on this.

Hence the author recommends the following practice to all, whatever else they may do or have done. It is to be a test of inspiration, attack, economy of breath, adjustment of the vocal bands, the resonance-chambers, etc.

1. Inhale slowly through the somewhat open mouth, filling the chest moderately full, and at once attack so as to produce a tone of but moderate force, but of the best quality possible.

2. Continue to hold this tone as long as the breath is easily sufficient, taking care that the tone be on no account sustained after there is the slightest difficulty in maintaining it of the same quality and power as before. Steadiness and perfection in quality are to be the chief considerations.

3. The student is advised, after a few days' practice in this manner, to note with a watch the time during which he can hold a tone under the restrictions above referred to, and to endeavor to increase the holding power daily by a little. It will, of course, be necessary to fill the chest more completely day by day.

4. It will also be well for the voice-producer to practise taking very deep and rapid inspirations, followed by the most prolonged expirations.

5. This method of breathing may then be put to the actual test in intonation.

Another exercise very valuable in giving breath-control is the following:

Produce a tone exactly as before, but every now and then, at regular intervals at first, then at irregular ones, cut the tone off short by suddenly arresting the breath, and, after a very short pause, continue again in exactly the same way _without_ taking a fresh breath; and, as in the above and all other exercises, frequently apply the hand and, when more practised, the more exacting flame test.

The first of the above exercises may be represented to the eye by a continuous straight line; the second by straight lines with short s.p.a.ces between them.

In all these exercises there must never be any sort of _push_ anywhere, neither in the chest nor throat. Such methods are absolutely wrong, because so wasteful of energy. The tone should come as spontaneously and inevitably as the gas from a soda-water bottle when the cork is slightly loosened, or, if this ill.u.s.tration be too strong (it is employed because gas, air, is concerned in each case), let us say, as water from the pipe of a waterworks' system when the tap is turned. _The tone should come, the breath must tarry._

If the student does not feel ease, certainty, and inevitableness in result, he has not made a good attack. If he cannot sustain the tone for a few seconds, he should conclude that his method of using his breath is wasteful. In time a tone should be easily held for at least ten seconds.

The purpose of the second exercise is to give still more fully breath-control, and to lead the voice-user to realize how important is breathing for intonation.

The student may ask: "Why not begin, as is often done, by the singing of scales?" Really useful scales are too complex; they imply the use of a series of tones formed according to the principles insisted upon above. The first thing is to get one perfect tone--to use the vocal mechanism under simple conditions; and _that tone should be chosen which the voice-user can produce of best quality and with greatest ease, with least expenditure of energy_. It should never be selected from the extremes of the subject's range. From the favorite or best tone he should work down and up the scale. After this the scale comes easy, and all actual singing is scale singing--the use of intervals--and all speaking the same thing; so that, from every point of view, this exercise should be the first in intonation, and the student will do well not to leave it till the conditions above prescribed can be fully met. Some singers have continued such exercises throughout a long artistic career.

It is to be understood always that the exercises, etc., recommended in this work are intended for all voice-users, whether they are singers or speakers. It is easy for a speaker to pa.s.s from such prolonged tones to the shorter ones required in speaking, but after such exercises he can do so with a feeling of ease, mastery of himself, improved ear, and purity of speech not otherwise attainable.