Resonance in Singing and Speaking Part 8

As a surgeon I well know the value of thorough anatomical knowledge, but from the singer's standpoint I cannot too strongly emphasize the unwisdom of directing the attention of sensitively organized pupils to their vocal mechanism by means of the laryngoscope. This instrument belongs to the physician, not to the singer.

The importance of the third factor, the _resonator_, has been considered in Chapter V, on Resonance, but the fourth element in voice production, _articulation_, is so coordinated to resonance that the significance and primacy of the latter are too often overlooked.

Placing or "focusing the voice" I have found to be chiefly a matter of control and use of the resonator, consisting of chest, pharynx, mouth, and the nasal and head cavities.

A tone lacking in resonance is ineffective,--devoid of carrying power,--is diffuse and unfocused; while a resonant tone, no matter how soft dynamically, has carrying power and is focused in its vibration.

Now "voice placing" depends primarily on correct _vowel placing_, which in turn depends on proper adjustment of the resonators, which again depends chiefly on the positions and motions of the organs of articulation. The interdependence of tone quality and p.r.o.nunciation is therefore obvious.

Constant emphasis must be laid upon the fact that focusing a tone is a matter of resonance, and that perhaps the most important element in this is _nasal_ resonance. In this country, particularly, teachers have, in their desire to overcome the too common nasal tw.a.n.g, mistakenly sought to shut out the nasal chamber from all partic.i.p.ation in speech and song.

There are those who, partly recognizing the importance of _head_ resonance, would secure it while ignoring _nasal_ resonance. It is impossible to secure head resonance in this fas.h.i.+on, for it is only through free nasal resonance that the coordinate resonance in the air sinuses above the nasal cavity and connected with it can be established.

The fear of nasal tw.a.n.g and failure to distinguish between it and true nasal resonance has been the stumbling block. They are very different,--one is to be shunned, the other to be cultivated. The first is an obvious blemish, the second is an important essential of good singing.

Nasal tones are caused by a raised or stiffened tongue, a sagging soft palate, a stiffened jaw, or by other rigidities that prevent free tone emission and which at the same time--note this--prevent true nasal resonance.

As tone, or vocalized breath, issues from the larynx, it is divided into two streams or currents by the pendent veil of the soft palate.

One stream flows directly into the mouth, where it produces oral resonance; the other stream pa.s.ses through the nasopharynx into the hollow chambers of the face and head, inducing nasal and head resonance.

It is commonly supposed that tone pa.s.sing in whole or in part through the nasal cavities must be nasal in quality; whereas a tone of objectionable nasal quality can be sung equally well with the nostrils either closed or open.

Browne and Behnke state the matter thus: "However tight the closure of the soft palate may be, it is never sufficient to prevent the air in the nasal cavities being thrown into co-vibrations with that in the mouth. These co-vibrations are, in fact, necessary for a certain amount of the brilliancy of the voice, and if they are prevented by a stoppage of the posterior openings of the nasal pa.s.sages, the voice will sound dull and m.u.f.fled. This is of course due, to an _absence of nasal resonance_, and must on no account be described as nasal _tw.a.n.g_. It is, indeed, the very opposite of it."

Nasal tone quality and nasal resonance must not be confounded. A nasal tone is constricted, while a tone with nasal resonance is free. Again, a tone may be unmarred by the nasal quality, yet if it lacks nasal resonance it lacks vibrancy, carrying power.

Nasal tones are produced, not because the vibrations pa.s.s through the nasal pa.s.sage, but because they are obstructed in their pa.s.sage through them. A nasal tone is always a cramped tone, due to impediment, tension, or muscular contraction, particularly in the nasopharynx.

The congestion and consequent thickening of the mucous membrane lining the cavities of the nose and head, resulting from a cold, make the tone m.u.f.fled and weak, owing to the inability of the parts to respond to the vibrations and add to the tone normal nasal resonance.

The elder Booth (Junius Brutus), about 1838, suffered from a broken nose which defaced his handsome visage and spoiled his splendid voice.

His disability was so great that afterward he seldom played. That the cause of this impairment of Booth's voice was due to the contraction and more or less complete obstruction of the nasal pa.s.sages is too evident to call for comment.

Many singers have sweet but characterless voices that lack the fulness, power, and ring they might have because they fail to avail themselves of the augmenting power of the resonance cavities. The singer must learn to habitually use all of the resonance cavities and use them simultaneously.

Lilli Lehmann, in _How to Sing_, says that, "although the nasal sound can be exaggerated,--which rarely happens,--it can be much neglected,--something that very often happens." The context makes clear that what in the English translation of the great singer's book is called "nasal sound" is exactly what we term _nasal resonance_.

After charging the monotonous quality or lack of color in the voice of a famous opera star to lack of nasal resonance, Madame Lehmann speaks of the consummate art of Marcella Sembrich who "in recent years appears to have devoted very special study to nasal resonance, whereby her voice, especially in the middle register, has gained greatly in warmth." She says further that nasal resonance "cannot be studied enough. It ought always to be employed." "How often," she says, "have I heard young singers say, 'I no longer have the power to respond to the demands made upon me,' whereas the trouble lies only in the insufficient use of the resonance of the head cavities."

From the foregoing, the conclusion follows that the head vibrations are not only an essential element, but that nasal resonance is a most important element in imparting to tone its brilliance and carrying power. Without thought of the mechanism of _how_ nasal resonance is produced, the singer has control over it by direct influence of the will. The tones, low as well as high, should seem to start in the nose and head, and the vibrations of the perfect tone can be plainly felt upon any part of the nose and head. Without the head vibrations no tone can be perfect, for nothing else will compensate for the lack of these. Vocal organs used as here described will suffer no fatigue from reasonable use; hoa.r.s.eness will be to them a thing unknown, and "minister's sore throat" an unheard of complaint. Not only is faulty voice production a source of great discomfort, but it is the cause of many diseases of the chest, throat, and head.

The gentle practice in easy range of the exercises given in the chapter following, will do much to restore a normal condition.

CHAPTER VIII

PLACING THE VOICE

What is called "placing the voice" or "tone production" or "focusing the voice" is, as already stated in the previous chapter, chiefly a matter of resonance--of control of the resonator. Now vocalization is largely vowelization, and vocal tones are a complex of sound and resonance. The character of a vowel is given it by the shape of the vowel chamber; and the shaping of the vowel chamber depends upon delicate adjustment of the movable parts,--jaw, lips, cheeks, tongue, veil of the palate, and pharynx. While this adjustment is made through more or less conscious muscular action, the parts must never be forced into position; local effort to this end will invariably defeat itself.

The important consideration in all voice movements is a flexible, _natural_ action of all the parts, and all the voice movements are so closely allied, so sympathetically related, that if one movement is constrained the others cannot be free. It is a happy fact that _the right way is the easiest way_, and a fundamental truth that =right effort is the result of right thought=. From these axiomatic principles we deduce the very first rule for the singer and speaker,--=THINK the right tone, mentally picture it; then concentrate upon the picture, not upon the mechanism=.

WHEN IS THE VOCAL ACTION CORRECT?

There are two sound criterions for judging the correctness of vocal action,--first, the _ease_ of the action, its naturalness, its flexibility. As Mills concisely states it: "He sings or speaks best who attains the end with the least expenditure of energy." Second, the _beauty_ of the result. Harsh, unlovely tones are a sure indication of misplaced effort, of tension somewhere, of wrong action. On the other hand the nearer the tones approach to perfection the closer does the organism come to correct action. _Beauty of tone_, then, is the truest indication of proper vocal action.

Judgment as to the relative beauty of a tone depends on the training of the ear. Pupils should habitually listen to their own voices, for between the hearing and feeling of the voice a knowledge of progress can be obtained. The function of the ear in governing voice production is thus stated by Prof. Mills: "The nervous impulses that pa.s.s from the ear to the brain are the most important guides in determining the necessary movements." Mr. Ffrangcon-Davies maintains that, "The training of the ear is one-half of the training of the voice." The student should improve every opportunity to hear the best singers and speakers, for both consciously and unconsciously we learn much by imitation. Good examples are often our best teachers.

Keeping well in mind the principles stated above, we are now ready to begin their application in placing the voice--that is, in setting it free--not by learning some strange and difficult action, but by cultivating normal action.

EXERCISES FOR PRACTICE

The following exercises are designed for the primary development of a correct tone and for the test of the perfection of every tone at every stage of development. They are based upon the a.s.sumption that all tones of the voice should be focused and delivered precisely alike.

Their use should const.i.tute a part of the daily practice of the singer or speaker.

I give but few exercises for each point to be gained. Intelligent teachers and pupils will add an infinite variety to suit each case, but the exercises given appear to me to be the best for initial practice. It is important that each exercise in its order shall be thoroughly mastered before taking up the next. Only in this way can rapid progress be made, for it is not the multiplicity of exercises, but the thoughtful application of principles in the few, that leads to results.

The sound of _hng_ will always place the voice in proper focus by developing the resonance of the nose and head. The thin bones of the nose will first respond to the sound and after practice the vibrations can be felt on any part of the head and even more distinctly on the low than on the high tones. To attain this, repeat the sound _hung_ times without number, prolonging the _ng_ sound at least four counts.

To insure the proper course of the vowel sounds through the nasal pa.s.sages, follow _hung_ with the vowel _ee_, as this vowel is more easily focused than any other; then with _oo_, _oh_, _aw_ and _ah_.

_Ah_ is by far the most difficult sound to focus and should never be used for initial practice. Much valuable time has been lost by the custom of using this sound at first. It should come last.

The _h_ is chosen to introduce the vowel sound because in the preparation to produce the sound of the letter _h_ the epiglottis is wide open and the vocal cords entirely relaxed, and because less change of the tongue is required when the vowel sound follows.

Preliminary Exercise

_Practise this softly on any pitch easy for the voice._

[Music ill.u.s.tration: Hung-ee. Hung-oo. Hung-oh. Hung-aw. Hung-ah.

Hung-ee _etc._]

Begin the tone quietly on an easy pitch and continue it softly to the end. Later, after these exercises are mastered on one pitch, use every note within the easy compa.s.s of the voice. Leave stridency of tone to the locust. It is no part of a perfect tone. It never appeared in the voices of the most famous singers. Those who allowed themselves to use it pa.s.sed off the stage early in life. Much better results will be obtained by practising without any accompaniment. The sound of the piano or other instrument distracts the pupil, prevents both pupil and teacher from hearing the voice, and hinders progress.

IMPORTANT DIRECTIONS

The manner in which Exercise I and those that follow is practised is of the utmost importance. Therefore carefully note and apply the following:

1. Fully p.r.o.nounce the word _hung_ (_u_ as in _stung_) at once, and prolong the tone, not on the vowel sound but on the _ng_ sound. This establishes the proper head and nasal resonance at the very beginning of the exercise.

2. In pa.s.sing from _ng_ to _ee_ be very careful not to change the initial focus or lose the sensation of nasal and head resonance. Do not therefore move the lips or the chin. The only change at this point is the slight movement of the tongue required to p.r.o.nounce _ee_, which must be a pure vowel without a trace of the preceding _g_.

3. In pa.s.sing from _ee_ to _oo_, from _oo_ to _oh_, and so on, do so with the least possible movement of lips and chin. _The initial sensation of nasal and head resonance must not be lost._