The Renaissance of the Vocal Art Part 5

The true musical form of the voice is elongation, thus: [drawn vertical oval] This means high placing and low resonance; it means that the tone has the ring of forward high placing and the reinforcement, color, and beauty of added low resonance. Elongation is a distinguis.h.i.+ng feature of all truly great voices.

For artistic tone, the soft palate must be high, the larynx must be low, and the throat and mouth allowed to form, not made or compelled. The form must be flexible and elastic. The larynx must be low in adjustment for the production of beautiful tone, but it must never be locally adjusted. It must always be influenced indirectly through the movements we advocate, through the true position and action of singing. In this way are secured open throat, freedom of voice, all true conditions. In this way the tone may be placed by impulse, by flexible action, may be started high and instantly reflected into the inflated cavities. This means perfect poise of voice; it means the focus of the tone high and forward with the sympathetic added vibration of the low cavities and especially of the chest. This is the only true placing of voice,--the combination of head and chest resonance through automatic form and adjustment. A tight throat through local, muscular effort makes these conditions impossible.

The true resonance-chamber then, as we have found, is from head to chest; sympathetically the resonance of the entire body must be added. The true artist sings with the body, through the throat, and never with the throat.

In this way the entire singer is the instrument. Fill the body with sound.

The higher the tone the more elongated the form. Nature demands this. If this does not occur contraction and depression are sure to follow. Also the higher the tone the lower the added resonance, when the conditions are right. In this way the form elongates and the compa.s.s expands without effort or strain. These ideas studied through flexible movements are truly wonderful, but natural means for expanding the compa.s.s of the voice.

Much has been written lately on the subject of open tones. Should the tones be opened or closed, is the question. Tone should never be closed. It should always be open, but never out. If it is out of the mouth it is not a singing sound. Even the real covered tones of the voice should never be closed. The truth is, the form of the covered tones of the voice, through elongation, is larger than the form of those which we call the open tones, in contradistinction to the covered.

In the clear timbre of the voice, the bright tone, the ring of high placing, predominates. In somber timbre, the dark tone, low resonance, or low color, predominates. In medium tone both are heard or felt more equally. None of this coloring or reinforcing must be done by locally influencing form or placing. The voice must be perfectly free; and the result must be due to sentiment, feeling, emotion, to the effect it may be desired to produce. If all restraint is removed, if true conditions prevail, this can always be done through the singer's sensation, through the use of the third power. It is marvelous how, under right conditions, the voice will respond to thought, to sentiment, to feeling.

"The tone thus produced and thus delivered, with perfect breath-control, will set the _whole body sympathizing_, from the sole of the foot to the crown of the head. And it is _only_ tones like these--that it is possible to so adorn, and decorate, and beautify, with the due amount of emphasis, and accurate intensity of emotional feelings, and exquisitely shaded and ever-varying tinges of color in expression--that can prove capable of captivating the heart of the hearer, that can graphically impress the listener with such sentiments as the vocalist desires to convey."

We will take for our first study a single tone about the middle of the voice. In studying placing and resonance, we must of course observe all the rules laid down in regard to the action, position, etc. Do not take a voluntary breath before acting--do not start the tone before the action, two things which require constant watching on the part of the beginner.

Either of them will virtually cause defeat.

Remove all obstruction by seeking the level of the tone through flexible action. Think the tone forward and high. Place by impulse, and never by local effort. Have the sensation as though the tone started forward and high, as though it impinged against the roof of the mouth, and instantly reflected into the low cavities, and especially into the chest. In doing this, relax the jaw, let go all face and throat contraction, expand the body, and think and feel the chest vibrant and filled with tone. In this way the tone may be started high and reinforced or built down by the added resonance of all the inflated cavities.

Another way to do this, is to start the tone spontaneously by impulse through correct action; in doing so, think and feel as though the tone placed and reflected at the same instant, forward against the roof of the mouth and on the chest,--as though the contact or impingement of the tone were felt at both places simultaneously. Of course the high forward placing in mouth and face is the true placing, and the sensation on the chest is the action or reflection of the true placing. This can be done through flexible vitalized action alone. With a tight throat or local muscular effort it is impossible. This is perfect attack, and in this way all force and push are avoided. In this way freedom and inflation are secured, that condition which unites head and chest resonance.

Think of a rubber pouch filled with air. Imagine you grasp it in the middle with the hand, and close the hand tight. The upper part of this pouch represents the face and high forward placing. That below the hand, or the lower part, the chest resonance. The hand holding the middle of the pouch represents the throat. So long as the hand contracts tightly the middle of the pouch, there is no connection between the air in the upper and lower parts of the pouch. If the desire is to connect these two parts, relax the hand a little, and allow an opening or a free pa.s.sage between them. In singing, the same relaxation or opening must occur at the throat, if the desire is to connect the ring of high placing with the resonance of the low cavities. If the desire is to reinforce, to build down, the extrinsic muscles of the throat must relax, and the throat must expand.

In thus placing and reinforcing tone, the pupil is guided or a.s.sisted not only by the sense of hearing but by the sense of feeling. There will be the sensation of freedom, of ease, of power; a feeling as though the entire body from the head down to the waist were open and filled with tone.

Remember, however, this important fact, that it is possible to lift and expand, and even to let go, and yet not to influence the tone. We can act well and yet sing with a common tone. The pupil must think and feel the tone, must think and feel the effect desired. The thought must precede the action.

This point is worthy of all consideration,--right thought or right feeling a.s.sists the tone in every way, has, in fact, a wonderful influence in developing right action. The idealized tone brings into action more of the true powers of the singer than it is possible to do in any other way.

[Ill.u.s.tration: SIXTH STUDY. Ya, ah.]

This study lends itself easily and naturally, not only to the development of high placing, but to correct bodily action.

Sing the first tone staccato, placing the body upon a level with the tone as described. Then from the level of this first tone, through flexible vitalized action, carry the body spontaneously or by impulse to the level of the upper tone; the air current or the tone should strike the roof of the mouth well forward and instantly reflect into the low cavities. In this way all true conditions are secured, and the voice is allowed to sing instead of being made or compelled. There must be a very free lift, expansion, and let go between the first and the upper tone. Do not let the second tone start until its level is reached, or the effect will be spoiled, or at least modified. All this must be done rhythmically, which means without the least hesitation, or without the sensation of haste. To hesitate compels local effort. To hurry disturbs all true conditions. This is a very valuable exercise, if understood.

[Ill.u.s.tration: SEVENTH STUDY. Ah....]

This study is virtually the same as the sixth, except that the voice is not suspended or arrested between the first and second tones. This exercise must be studied with the same action and the same impulse as the sixth study. Some singers can get placing and reaction better on this study than on the sixth.

[Ill.u.s.tration: EIGHTH STUDY. Ah....]

Find the level of the first tone as suggested, using hands and body; move down, hands and body going with the tone, while singing the first three notes of this exercise; then, without stopping or hesitating, reverse the action or the movement, by lifting hands and body, and opening wide by dropping the lower jaw, while singing the last three notes. Of course the voice must sing from the highest to the lowest note with a continuous legato flow. The movement of the body down with the first three notes and the reverse action, moving up and out on the last three, must be smooth and continuous. If this is done properly the reverse action will give a wonderful sensation of freedom, openness, and the power of low added resonance. It demonstrates forcibly what is meant by placing up and building down.

This is the great idea or the great movement for developing the low tones in all voices. When the low tones are thus developed by expansion, but without effort, the same idea of freedom and low resonance can be carried into the high tones. This can be done especially well and easily on exercises six and seven. The higher the tone the lower the resonance should be if the object be a full beautiful, free tone.

[Ill.u.s.tration: NINTH STUDY. Ah....]

Place yourself upon a level with the first tone as suggested, and allow the tone to start spontaneously, striking, as it were, the roof of the mouth and the chest simultaneously. Move body and hands down with the voice to the low tone, and then instantly but rhythmically, lift back to the level of the upper tone. Feel as though you were under the tone with body and hands in moving up, and let the tone strike by impulse, the roof of the mouth, and instantly reflect into the chest. Practice this exercise until it can be done with perfect freedom of form and action.

In starting the first tone in all these exercises, feel the vibration in the face, on the forehead, and on the cheek-bones. If this is done without pus.h.i.+ng, but by flexible action, a sympathetic vibration can be felt through the entire body.

A very effective and successful study of high placing and low resonance may be got through a consideration of the natural placing and resonance of the vowel sounds. As I have written so fully on the vowel sounds in my former works, I shall simply touch upon that important question here.

E as in _reed_ is naturally the highest placed vowel in the English language. U or oo as in _you_ or _do_ is naturally the lowest in color. Sing E with the freedom of action as suggested, and think it high in the face. Make no effort to influence the form. The form of E is naturally very small. E will be found in this way to be free and bright, not hard and wiry. Sing oo in the same way. The form of oo is also very small. Oo should have a flute-like sound. It will be found that in E high resonance predominates. In oo low color. In studying the vowels the aim should be to equalize them by placing, reinforcing, and coloring them as nearly alike as possible. In this way they are equalized instead of differentiated.

Place E as suggested, and color it by the thought and influence of the low resonance of oo. Sing oo as suggested, and brighten it by the thought, influence, and high placing of E. In this way study all other vowels, influencing them by the high placing of E and the low resonance of oo. The high ring and brightness of the reed sounds of the voice, must be modified and influenced by the color and low resonance of the flute sounds. The flute sounds of the voice must be made more brilliant and free by the influence of the high placing and high resonance of the reed sounds. In this way we equalize all the vowels until, in a certain sense, they all have the same color and quality and sound, as though they belonged to one and the same voice. For a further study of high placing, use the second sound of O, or, as some writers cla.s.sify the vowels, the second sound of U,--the sound of uh as heard in up. This is the highest, narrowest, and most elongated arch form in the English language; consequently it is, for many voices, the most favorable sound for the study of high placing.

All vowel sounds, like all tones of the voice, are reinforced sounds. The tendency of most singers is to sing the reed sounds too white and the flute sounds too dark. By properly distributing brilliancy and color we influence and modify all the vowels without losing their character or individuality.

PART THIRD.

_AESTHETICS._

ARTICLE ONE.

THE FOURTH PRINCIPLE OF ARTISTIC SINGING.

The fourth principle of artistic singing is

_Emotional or Self-Expression._

_Theory_.--Vitalized emotional energy, the "Singer's Sensation," is the true motor power of the voice.

_Devices_.--A study of tone-color and tone-character; the idealized tone, applied and developed by the use of words and sentiment.

The student of the voice who has studied, understood, and, to a certain extent, mastered the first three great principles of voice production--the removal of all restraint, automatic breathing, high placing, and low resonance--has certainly accomplished much. He has aroused and developed the physical and mental vitality of the singer, the vitality and energy of body and mind. This is the limit of progress or development with many, at least so far as actual tone study is concerned.

There comes a time, however, in the experience of every student of the voice, a stage of the study, when, if he expects to be an artist, he must take a step in advance, a step higher; he must place himself upon a higher plane or level; he must arouse his true inner nature, the singer's sensation, that which we have called the third power. This is done by a study of emotional, or self-expression. It is done through arousing and vitalizing the emotional energy. Vitalized emotional energy, the singer's sensation, is undoubtedly the true motor power of the artist.

At just what stage of development the consideration of this higher form of study or expression should be placed before the mind of the pupil, is a question. Singers are so different, physically, mentally, and emotionally.

With some I have found it best not to consider this side of the question until they have developed a fair vocal technique. This should be the case with emotional, nervous, excitable temperaments. With hard, cold, stiff, mechanical pupils, this is often the only way in which it is possible to arouse them, in order to give them a start, without wasting weeks or months of precious time.

The development of this principle of vitalized, emotional energy, depends, as a rule, upon freedom of voice and the true conditions of tone as before described. Therefore, in order to study this great question, in order to fully develop this higher form of expression, the singer must have mastered the flexible, vitalized movements given in this work, must have acquired through these movements absolute freedom of tone. Experience teaches us, however, that there are those who, while they learn, in a certain way, to do the movements comparatively well, yet do not entirely let go,--they do not free the voice. With such the study of tone color, and especially the study of soft color, not soft tone necessarily, but soft, emotional tone color, is their only salvation. It releases and relaxes all the rigid local tendencies.

There is a stage of study, as we have said, in the experience of all students of the voice, when, in order to become artists, Nature demands of them more than mere sound. There comes a time when every tone of the voice must mean something, must express something, through the character of the tone, the idealized tone. In this way the personal magnetism of the singer is imparted, heard, and felt. This means the expression of thought and feeling through the color and character of the tone, the highest known form of expression. This principle is the greatest known agency for the development of all the powers of the singer, not only the emotional and mental powers, but the physical as well. The student of the voice who studies or who is trained in this way, develops, not only in character and beauty of tone, but in actual physical power and control. This study of tone color and tone character develops new power in every way. "The mechanical and mental alone are but half development, but this is full and complete development of the entire being." In proof of this, sing a light, bright, happy thought or tone, using the clear timbre, about the middle of the voice. It will require but little strength. Then sing a more emotional thought, sentence, or tone; express deeper feeling, and it will be found that more strength is required. Again, give utterance to tone or words which express sadness, sorrow, or intense pleading, using the somber timbre of the voice, and much more strength will be required. This will be especially noticeable in the action or energy of the diaphragm and abdominal muscles. It will be found that the low muscles of the body exert more strength on somber timbre than on clear tone. This, in order to induce the deep, low setting of the voice at the organ of sound, necessary for the production of somber or dark tone, and the expression of deep, emotional feeling. It is easy to see that this means greater physical as well as emotional development; physical development, not only of every muscle of the body, but of the organ of sound itself; a development which can be attained through the study of tone color and emotional expression only.

The power of vitalized emotional energy, I might say the power of the emotional power, cannot be overestimated. The power of an emotional climax, imparted through the soft color of the voice, is often greater than that of the dramatic climax; it will often influence and affect an audience in the most startling way. We find that thought and will control all physical action in singing. If the thought is right, the action will be right; if wrong, the action will surely be wrong. When right thought and action have developed absolute freedom, then the emotional energy, the singer's sensation, the true power of the voice, should dominate everything. The mind or will controls the body through thought, but the thought must be aroused through feeling or emotion; and the feeling or emotion is inspired by the sentiment to be expressed. This means, of course, the higher form of expression, means the power of tone color and tone character; but it depends first upon all true conditions of tone, mental and physical, and then upon the temperament, upon the heart, and soul of the singer.

Singing, as we have said, is more psychological than physiological. This whole system of flexible, vitalized movements, is first aroused by right thought, and finally applied and controlled through the mind or will, in response to feeling or emotional impulse. In this way we are able to arouse and use at will the persuasive, the impressive, the fervent voice; the voice that is something more than mere sound; the voice that has character and magnetism.

Compare two voices that are equal in every way in regard to power of tone, compa.s.s, and control. The one varies the color and character of the tone continually with the change of thought and sentiment, and is enabled thereby not only to avoid monotony, but to use the impressive, persuasive voice, the tone the sentiment demands. In this way he has magnetic power and influence over an audience. The other voice may be bright, free, and clear, yet may use the same quality or color of tone constantly on all styles of singing, and on all degrees of power, it matters not what the thought or sentiment may be; and this style of voice is by no means uncommon, even among many of our public singers. Now consider the difference in the commercial value of these two voices, which should bear at least some relation to their artistic value. No artist can be truly great or fully developed without the power of vitalized, emotional energy, and variety of tone color and character.

Sing a tone, about the middle of the voice, without other thought than that of simply pure, free tone. It will be found that in the most beautiful voice the tone will be common-place, meaningless; in many voices it will be simply sound. Now place yourself in every way upon a higher, a more lofty plane. Think of higher ideas and ideals. In other words, idealize the tone.

Remember, the ideal is the truth, and not exaggeration. Appeal to your emotional energy, the singer's sensation, and give expression to thought and feeling aroused in this way. Give expression to an actual life-throb, whether it be of love or hate, of joy or sadness, of ecstasy or despair.