Expressive Voice Culture, Including the Emerson System Part 1

Expressive Voice Culture.

by Jessie Eldridge Southwick.

PREFACE

The Emerson System treats the voice as a natural reporter of the individual, constantly emphasizing the tendency of the voice to express appropriately any mental concept or state of feeling.

This treatise is a setting forth of methods and principles based upon this idea with a fuller elaboration of the relation of technique to expression.

No attempt is here made, however, to present more than an individual contribution to this broad subject.

J. E. S.

EXPRESSIVE VOICE CULTURE

CHAPTER I

Principles of Voice Culture.

The first essential to one beginning the study of voice culture is an appreciation of the real significance of voice development. We must recognize at once the fact that the voice is a natural reporter of the conditions, emotions, thoughts, and purposes (character and states or conditions) of the individual. The ring of true culture in the voice is that perfect modulation of tone and movement which, without self-consciousness, communicates exactly the meaning and purpose which impel the utterances of the speaker.

It is almost impossible for any person to cultivate vocal expression to the best advantage without an intelligent and sympathetic teacher; he lacks the perspective upon himself which is necessary in order to correct his individual faults and draw out his most effective powers. Then, again, he needs that personal supervision and direction of his efforts which will allow his mind to be constantly occupied with thoughts and principles, and relieve him of all temptation to watch his own performances as such. But it is necessary that the student should have a simple and logical basis for practice, however great may become the variety of its application.

That the voice is naturally expressive is shown in the fact that even where there is no possible suggestion of cultivation we instinctively read the broad outlines of meaning and feeling in the tones and inflections of the voice. May it not therefore be possible that a finer culture will reveal all the subtle shades of thought and feeling, and a more discriminating judgment be able to detect these, just as the ethnologist will reconstruct from some crude relic the history of an earlier civilization?

We must remember, too, that first of all the voice is a vital instrument.

The physical condition affects most noticeably the quality, strength, and movement of the voice. Hence we see that physical health is essential to a good voice, and the proper use of the voice is itself one of the most invigorating exercises that can be practised. All the vital organs are called into healthful action through this extraordinary manipulation of the breath, and the nervous system, both vitally and emotionally, receives invigoration.

In the beginning, therefore, such vital conditions as are essential to the production of tone should be considered.

First, a standing position, in which the vital organs are well sustained, is essential. One cannot even breathe properly unless one stands well. The weight should be mainly upon the b.a.l.l.s of the feet, and the crown of the head so positively elevated as to secure the erectness of the spinal column. This will involve the proper elevation of the chest, the essential freedom of respiration, and the right sustaining tension of the abdominal muscles.

(_a_) Take standing position as follows: weight on b.a.l.l.s of feet, heels together, toes slightly apart; line of gravity from crown of head, well lifted, to b.a.l.l.s of feet; the ear, point of shoulder, and point of hip should be in line; muscles of the thigh strong in front; ribs well lifted so that front line from waist to throat is lengthened to full extent; back kept erect, and curve at waist not emphasized. Breathe strongly and deeply several times.

To secure the elevation of the ribs the hands may be placed under the arms, as high as possible, fingers pointing down; then try to turn or press the ribs up and forward with strong action of hands, breathing freely and emphasizing strength in waist muscles. _Sustain_ the ribs in this elevated position, and thus uplift the chest. Keep shoulders free.

Drop hands to sides again.

(_b_) Take half a step forward; sustain weight on advanced foot; do not change position of retired foot, but keep the sense of purchase in it.

The chest should be carried forward of the abdomen and the abdominal muscles given their best leverage by a slight bending forward from the hips. (Bending forward must not be done by any dropping of the chest, or shortening of the line at waist through relaxation.) This position must be light, active, buoyant, and reposeful.

A constant sense of easy balance should be developed through poising exercises.

The habit of healthful and powerful respiration should be established by physical exercise for that purpose, and the right manipulation of breath in tone production should be secured by the nature of the voice exercises.

Any vocal exercise which involves in the very nature of its production a good control of breath becomes, by virtue of that fact, a good breathing exercise as well.

[Footnote: See exercises described in a later chapter.]

If the voice be perfectly free, it is then capable of expressing truly all that the person thinks and feels. The first desirable end sought, then, is freedom. What is freedom, and how secured? When all cavities of resonance are accessible to the vibrating column of air the voice may be said to be free. By cavities of resonance is meant the chest (trachea and bronchial tubes), the larynx, pharynx, the mouth, and the nares anterior and posterior, or head chambers of resonance. The free tone is modified through all its varieties of expression by those subtle changes in form, intensity, movement, inflection, and also direction, which are too fine for the judgment to determine, or even observe successfully. These varieties are made possible by the very organism of the voice, which is vital, not mechanical, and are determined by the influences working from the mind through the nerves which control this wonderful living instrument. This is governed by the law of reflex action, by which stimulation of any nerve center produces responsive action in other parts of the body. The voice will obey the mind. Right objects of thought will influence it much more perfectly and rapidly than the mere arbitrary dictates of calculation.

Right psychology would be the only thing necessary to the thorough cultivation of the voice if the conditions were so perfect that there were no habits of stricture and our instrument were thus in perfect tune. And in spite of the fact that it is not usually found in perfect tune, the influence of practice under right mental conditions is the most potent and indispensable part of voice culture. Let this fact not be lost sight of while we are discussing those more technical methods of training which are designed to tune and regulate our instrument.

First, freedom of voice is attained (technically speaking) by right direction of tone and vital support. A few words of explanation will make this patent.

If the vibrating column of air when it leaves the vocal cords is so directed that it pa.s.ses freely through all the cavities of resonance, it cannot fail to find the right one. The following exercise, if properly taken, will induce right direction of tone: produce a light humming sound such as would be the sound of _m, n,_ or _ng_, if so idealized as to eliminate that element of sound commonly spoken of as nasality. That which is called nasality is caused by the failure of the tone to reach freely the anterior cavities of the nares. The cavity which lies just back of the nose and frontal bone imparts a musical resonance resembling the vibrating after-tone when a note has been struck upon a piano and allowed to die away gradually. The "nasal" effect comes when the tone is confined in the posterior or back part of the nares, or head cavity, or is split by the dropping of the uvula so that part of the tone is directed through the nares and part through the mouth. Many so-called "humming tones" are given for practice, but in accepting them observe whether the foregoing principle is obeyed.

The controlling center of consciousness is the extreme limit of the _nares anteri_. The tone should be thought of as outside. Keep the mind upon results, just as one would hold the thought of a certain figure which one might desire to draw. If one wishes to inscribe a curve, he thinks of the curve as an object of thought, not of the muscles which act in executing it. So with the voice. A tone is not a reality until its form of vibration reaches the outer air. One should always think of the tone one wishes to make--never listen to one's own execution. If the ideal is not reached by the effort it will be known by the sense of incompleteness.

Why is the _nares anteri_ the ruling center of tone direction? The dominant or ruling center of any organism is that point which, if controlled, will involve the regulation of all that is subordinate to it.

For example, the heart is the dominant center of the circulatory system; the brain is the dominant center of the nervous system; the sun is the dominant center of the planetary system. In all these systems, if the center be affected, the system is proportionately influenced. If any other part than the dominant center be affected, it is true that all other parts may also be affected, but the desired unity in result will not be secured.

The voice will follow the thought as surely as the hand will reach the object aimed at. The extreme anterior part of the nares, or head cavity, is the chamber of resonance farthest from the vocal cords. Therefore, if the voice be directed through that chamber of resonance all the others must be pa.s.sed in reaching it, and hence all must be accessible to the vibrating column of air. It is a law of acoustics that any given cavity of resonance will resound to that pitch to which its size corresponds, and to no other. This law of sound secures the appropriate resonance for every pitch much more accurately than it could be secured by an effort to develop chest, middle, and head registers through calculating the differences. Again, we need the higher chambers of resonance to reinforce even the low pitch, because every note has its overtones that enrich it, and if these cannot find their proper resonance the tone is impoverished.

It may be well to explain our use of the term "overtone."

This word "overtone" is used unscientifically by many. The significance of its use is somewhat varied among teachers, but it generally means head resonance, or a tone "sent over" through the head cavities. The term is used here technically, not arbitrarily. Overtones are not confined to the voice, but are those const.i.tuent parts of any tone which are produced by the vibrating segments into which any vibrating cord will divide itself.

Any cord, or string, stretched between two given points, when struck will vibrate throughout its entire length in waves of a certain length and with a certain degree of rapidity, according to the tension of the string. This vibration of the entire length of cord gives forth the tone heard as the fundamental pitch or tone. Besides this fundamental or primary vibration, the movement divides itself into segments, or sections, of the entire length. These sections also have vibrations of their own which are of shorter length and more rapid motion. The note given off by these subdivisions is, of course, on a higher pitch than that produced by the fundamental vibration of the cord; hence, they are higher tones, or overtones. It will be remembered that pitch depends upon the rapidity of the sound waves or vibrations. This subdivision of the vibrations is incalculably multiplied, so that it may be said to be impossible to determine the number of overtones accompanying the fundamental tone. What the ear hears is the fundamental pitch only; the overtones harmonize with the primary or fundamental tone, and enrich it. Since this is a law of vibration, it is unscientific to speak of giving an overtone, for all tones contain overtones. Where these overtones are interfered with by any imperfection in the instrument the result is a harsh or imperfect sound.

In relation to the voice it should now be clearly understood that since it is the overtones which enrich or give a harmonious sound to any tone, and since all tones (low as well as high) have overtones as const.i.tuent parts of their being, therefore the whole range of the resonant cavities of the voice should, for the production of pure tone, be open to all degrees of pitch, in order that the overtones may find their appropriate reinforcement in the resonance chambers. Thus the quality of the voice depends, not simply upon the condition of the vocal cords themselves, but upon the form and quality of the resounding cavities.

CHAPTER II

Elementary Lessons.

After this brief discussion of the principles involved in this method of practice, we will proceed to give some essential exercises for practice.

EXERCISE FOR SECURING FREEDOM OF TONE

This is the foundation of all voice culture.

1. Take position in accordance with directions given in Chapter I.

2. Take humming tone as indicated in the preceding chapter,--_m, n, ng,_--idealized and pure. The mouth should be opened and closed without changing the tone.

3. Endeavor to concentrate all consciousness upon the conception of a tone emanating from the _nares anteri_ and floating in ideal forms of vibration in the surrounding air. Those forms may vary in their definite nature, but must always obey the principle of curves and radiation. One should never reach up to a tone, but should seem to alight upon it from above, as a bird alights on the branch of a tree. The mind must never lose sight of the result--the ideal aimed at. The knowledge of processes leads us to a right conception of aims, and enables us to judge of their correctness. We should know what processes are normal (natural and healthful) and what objects of thought will induce them.

While taking the above exercise no effort should be made in the throat.

The voice should seem to find its way without effort. The tone should not be loud or sharp.

If the student finds it difficult to produce the tone alone, some word ending in _ing_ should be practised, as _ring-ring-ring-ng_.