Book: Voice Production in Singing and Speaking

W >> Wesley Mills >> Voice Production in Singing and Speaking




He, being a human being like his fellows, must, of course, observe the
same laws for the preservation of his general health as they, but just
because he comes before the public, his case is peculiar, and he must,
in addition, take special precautions to avoid every form of temporary
or permanent disability.

There is, of course, much in the life of a public speaker or singer
that conduces to health of body and mind, such as the vigorous use of
the breathing apparatus, the favorable effect of praise expressed in
one way and another, etc., but even with the most successful, all this
may be more than counter-balanced by other unfavorable factors. When
one considers the necessary travelling, often including night
journeys, the late hours, the concentrated efforts essential to
success, the uncertainty of the public taste, the rivalries,
jealousies, exhaustion, etc., often associated with a public career,
it must be clear that no one should embark upon it without counting
well the cost. For one with mediocre ability, imperfect training,
voice of very limited range, power, and quality, feeble will, an
imperfectly developed body, and indifferent health, to enter on a
public career is practically to court failure and to ensure
disappointment and unhappiness.

It is to be remembered that never was the world so exacting of the
artist, and never were there so many aspirants to popular favor, so
that the competition in the ranks of the actors and singers, at
least, is very keen. At the same time, there is room for a certain
class of persons--viz., those with good health, excellent physique,
first-rate ability, self-control, sound moral principles,
perseverance, industry, musical feeling, and artistic insight, with
vocal organs trained like the muscles of the athlete, and, in the case
of singers, sound musical knowledge and an exacting and reliable ear.

Considering that the actor, often the public speaker, and the singer
are constantly being put under excessive strain, it follows that (1)
such persons should begin with an unusually good physical
organization--others can scarcely hope to get into the first class,
even with the best abilities; and (2) because there is a tendency to
exhaustion of the body and mind through emotional and other
expenditure, the public voice-user must take precautions, on the one
hand, to prevent this, and, on the other, to make good his outlay by
special means. He needs more sleep and rest generally than others, and
he should counteract the influence of unhealthy conditions on the
stage or platform by some quiet hours in the open air, all the better
if with some congenial friend, sympathetic with his aims, yet
belonging, preferably perhaps, to another profession, and who will
speak of topics other than those that are ever recurring in the life
of an artist. The uninterrupted pursuit of one thing, without the mind
and spirit being fed from other springs, can be good for no human
being. The specialist who is only a specialist will never reach the
very highest point. The artist must seek sources of inspiration and
mental nutriment outside of his own line of thought, or he will suffer
professionally and in his own spirit.

The reader will by this time understand why the author considers that
for one who would be an artist to enter on his public career without
the fullest mental equipment and vocal training is an exceedingly
unwise course. Technique should be acquired before an aspirant to
success steps on a public stage or platform, and this is exactly what
is so seldom done in these days, and why we have so few singers,
actors, and public speakers of the highest rank. Many, very many, know
what they wish to express, and, in a sense, how to express it, but
they have neither the formed voice nor the control of that voice by
which their ideas are to be embodied. Let no one delude himself into
the belief that technique will be learned in public; such is rarely,
if ever, the case. Expression, style, etc., may come to the vocalist
or speaker all the more readily if he occasionally goes before the
public; but that such may be so, he must first have voice and
technique. It is because of the neglect of this training for the
acquirement of technique that so many naturally good voices are of
little practical use for the public, and this explains why the ranks
of the professions are crowded with inferior artists, if, indeed,
artists they may be called.

The _isolation_ of the dramatic and musical artist from his fellows
generally is a great evil. Much that society complains of in the
lives of artists would never exist but for this isolation, in spite of
the fact that the artistic temperament is so moody and so impulsive,
so little regardful of ordinary conventionalities. That it is so is
partly the fault of society. It is quite true that because of
journeying, rehearsals, etc., the travelling artist has little time to
meet the members of the community in private life; but this state of
things could be mitigated were society and the artists themselves
convinced that for any class of people to live in little hives, wholly
separated from their fellows, must be unfortunate for them and
society. Artists as men and women are practically unknown to the
world, though their false selves as represented by sensational
paragraphs in newspapers are only too familiar to us. It may truly be
said of the artist: "Be thou as chaste as ice, as pure as snow, thou
shalt not escape calumny." It is within the power of society to alter
this, and it should do so.

Why is it that actors and singers do not prepare themselves by as
prolonged and thorough a vocal training as in a past time?

Considering that there never was a period when there was the same
scope for art, never a time when the public was so eager to hear and
so able to pay for art, as now, never a period of such widespread
intelligence on all subjects, music included, the question is a very
pertinent one. We believe there are many factors underlying the
technical decadence we must regret. The orchestra has greatly
developed, choral singing is common in all countries, and the spirit
of the times has changed. So analytical, so refined is our age, that
singing sometimes becomes a sort of musical declamation, but,
unfortunately, without that power to declaim possessed by the actors
and often the opera-singers of a former period. A singer often
attempts now to make up by an expressive reading of a song, for
technical defects. We must all commend every evidence of
intellectuality in music, but this does not imply that we should
accept good intentions for execution--performance. Let us have every
possible development of orchestral music; let every village have, if
possible, its choral society, but let none enter it who have not been
trained vocally.

Out of the author's own experience he could a tale unfold of the evil
done to the vocal organs by those who have sung in choirs without
adequate vocal training. Choristers are tempted to reach high tones by
a process of their own, without any regard to registers, and with
corresponding effects on their throats, some of which imply also
lasting injury to the voice itself.

In choral singing there is the tendency to lean on certain singers who
are natural leaders, with the result that there is little independent
listening and individual culture, even if the singer could hear his
own voice well, which is not usually the case. The same objections and
others apply to class singing in schools, which does little for
music, and tends to make slovenly singers. If some of the time given
to school singing were taken up in illustrating why certain musical
selections are good, and others mere rubbish--in other words, in
forming the taste of the nation in the children--a valuable work would
be done; but school class singing, as commonly carried out, tends
rather to injure than develop voices and good musical taste.

We cannot honestly pass by the subject of Wagner's music and some of
its tendencies. Wagner was an intellectual giant among men, and his
works are amazingly grand, yet they unfortunately are, in a certain
sense, responsible for much bad singing and not a little injury to
fine voices.

First of all, Wagner's operas are, in their present form, too long. To
sing these compositions night after night is beyond human powers, even
in the case of those of the most perfect musical and technical
training. If they were divided into two, and one half sung on one
evening and the other on the next, it would be a gain for the public
and the artists. It is impossible for even the musically cultivated to
absorb and assimilate the whole of such an opera as "Siegfried" or
"Tristan and Isolde" in one evening, and it is too much to expect any
artist to sing them through without a rest.

Again, they call for such strong accents, such deep and strenuous
breathing, that the artist impersonating a hero or a god or goddess
is put to a degree of exertion that is too great for human powers when
continued for more than a very moderate period; besides, there is a
temptation to a wrong use of the larynx--a forcible _coup de glotte_,
or attack--that is exceedingly dangerous, and has injured many voices
and ruined others. The man or woman who would sing Wagner's greater
music dramas should, in addition to a strong physique, be master of a
wonderfully perfect technique. These operas should never be attempted
by very young singers of either sex, and especially not by very young
women. They are for the powerful, the mature, the perfectly trained,
the experienced.

Turning to some special faults, we would warn against the "scoop," the
excessive use of the _portamento_, or glide, so common a fault at the
present time, and the _vibrato_ and _tremolo_.

The two former are musical faults, so we pass them by without further
consideration. Otherwise is it with the last two faults; they both
result from a wrong use of the vocal organs. They are both due to some
unsteadiness and lack of control, and, unfortunately, when once
acquired, are very difficult to remedy. The unsteadiness may be almost
anywhere in the vocal organs, but is usually referable to the
respiratory apparatus or to the larynx.

A _vibrato_ is the milder form of the evil, and is encouraged, we
regret to say, by some teachers, while the _tremolo_ is due to an
extreme unsteadiness, and, so far as we are aware, is universally
condemned. It is about the worst fault any singer can have. It is
evident in some cases only when the vocalist sings _piano_, but mostly
in vigorous singing, and often arises from straining, disregard of
registers, etc. It may be due to the singer trying to control too
large a supply of air, or from bringing a blast to bear on the vocal
bands too strong for them. In every case there is lack of adjustment
between the vocal bands and the respiratory organs. The remedy must be
adapted to the case, but usually the singer must for a time give up
the use of the voice in _forte_ singing altogether, and gradually
again learn to control his vocal mechanism.

Associated sometimes with this fault is another, which, indeed, often
gives rise to the former--viz., "pumping," or attempting to vocalize
after the breath power is exhausted. One should always have enough air
in reserve to sing at least two tones more than what is required.

It will be observed that good singing and speaking are always
physiological--_i.e._, they depend on the observance of well-known
physiological principles; we wish we could add, principles clearly
recognized by singers and teachers generally. It is to those who do
that we would recommend the student of the vocal art to go at the
outset of his career, otherwise much time may be lost and possibly
much injury done. We distinguish, of course, between the teacher who
recognizes physiological principles only practically and the one who
does so consciously. The former may be an excellent and safe teacher,
though, we think, not so good, other things being equal, as one of the
latter type,--as yet somewhat rare.

At an earlier period we referred to the important matter of
classifying the voice. It often happens that one who is a tenor is
trained as a barytone, or a contralto as a soprano, and the reverse,
only to discover later that a mistake has been made. If it could
become the custom to have vocal consultations among teachers, as
medical ones among doctors, the author is convinced it would be well.
Often a patient is sent a long distance to consult a medical man, and
to return to his own physician for treatment based on the diagnosis
made. In these instances the doctor consulted is expected to write his
views privately to the patient's doctor, and to recommend treatment.
Why should the same not occur in the vocal teacher's profession? It is
considered scandalous in the medical profession to "steal" another
physician's patient, and why should not a similar etiquette prevail in
the profession now under consideration? The teacher in doubt about a
voice might thus obtain the views of another member of his profession,
of longer experience, on such a vital point as the classification of a
voice, and with satisfaction alike to himself and to his pupil. If the
teacher or pupil were not satisfied with the diagnosis, another
eminent vocal teacher might be consulted, which would only be
following custom in the medical profession.

We would again remind the reader that voices are to be _classified by
quality_, and not by range, at least not to any appreciable extent.

Of all persons, the singer should know himself. He must learn his
limitations, and the sooner the better. At the outset of his career he
may be able to take certain liberties with himself with apparent
impunity, but sooner or later he will pay the penalty; so that we
recommend him to live with all the care of an athlete in training.
However it may be with other men, spirits in every form, tobacco,
etc., are not for him. Both tend to irritate and relax if not to
inflame the throat, not to mention their bad effects on the general
health, both psychical and physical. This advice is all the more
necessary when one considers the exacting nature of the professional
life of the artist. Strenuous exertion tends to fatigue and
exhaustion, with a natural desire to relieve them by some special
means, such as alcohol. To do so is often but to make a beginning of
the end. How many bright lights in the dramatic and musical
professions have been prematurely quenched through indulgence in the
delusive draught! If tonics, sedatives, etc., are to be taken, which
should not be a habitual practice, they should be used only under the
direction of a medical man, and not self-prescribed.

As the speaker and singer must often practise their art in an
atmosphere that is far from pure, they will do well to carry out in a
routine way some sort of mouth toilet on their return home and the
next morning. Various simple mouth and throat washes may be used, such
as (1) water with a little common salt dissolved in it; (2) water
containing a few drops of carbolic acid--just enough to be distinctly
tasted; (3) water containing listerine; (4) either of the last two
with the addition of a pinch of bicarbonate of sodium to a teacupful
of the fluid, when there is a tendency to catarrh.

The use of lozenges in a routine way is not to be commended, and those
containing morphia, cocaine, etc., should be employed only under the
supervision of a medical practitioner. Sometimes, especially in the
case of nervousness, a licorice pellet or a particle of gum arabic
serves a good purpose in aiding in keeping the mouth moist.

For one with a healthy throat the sipping of water is unnecessary, and
the habit is one on no account to be learned, for the most admirable
effect may be spoiled through the speaker stopping to sip water; there
is the fatal and rapid descent from the lofty to the little.

It is much more important to avoid eating certain things which
interfere with the voice than to take anything to improve it before
singing or speaking. Each individual should learn just what he can or
cannot with safety eat. Certain kinds of fruit, cheese, fat meat,
pastry, nuts, occasionally even butter, not to mention puddings, etc.,
must be put on the list of what singers and speakers had better not
partake of before a public appearance. But the quantity is quite as
important as the quality of the food taken. About one half the usual
quantity, at most, and of very simple but nourishing food, is enough
for any one who would do himself justice before the public. If blood
and energy be drawn off to the stomach by a large meal, it cannot be
available for the uses of the artist. Moreover, a full stomach
pressing up under the diaphragm greatly hampers the movements of this,
the most important of all the muscles of breathing. Of course, the
public singer or speaker should eat after his work is done, of what
and how much he can best learn by experience.

As the author has felt called upon to condemn the use of alcohol in
every form, he should, perhaps, point out that to take a cup of such a
mild stimulant as tea or coffee during an interval, in the case of
those who feel weary, is generally an unobjectionable, indeed, often a
useful, procedure; but the less the artist coddles himself, especially
while still young, the better.

We would again call attention to one anatomical fact of great
importance for the explanation of certain facts of experience--viz.:
that the whole respiratory tract, the larynx included, is lined with a
_mucous membrane_, which is continuous with that covering the inner
surface of the digestive organs. That is to say, the nose, the mouth,
the back of the throat, the larynx, the windpipe, the bronchial tubes,
the gullet, the stomach and intestines are all brought into structural
connection by this common lining membrane. Moreover, these parts have
to some extent the same nerve supply, and are, in fact, so related
that derangement in one region must affect sooner or later, and to a
variable degree according to the resisting power of each individual,
other related parts. Thus it is that a disordered stomach affects the
voice, that a cold may affect digestion, that a catarrh of the nose
will eventually reach the vocal bands, etc.

Another principle of wide-reaching importance is that all sorts of
_compression_ must, of necessity, be attended by functional disorders,
which, if long continued, will result in organic or structural changes
implying deterioration of a kind that must be more or less permanent.
Whatever the cause of compression of the chest or neck, the result is
the same: a retention of blood in parts for too long a period--a
condition of things which must inevitably be injurious.

The tissues are made up of cells, which are the individuals of the
bodily community. Around these cells are found the smallest of the
blood-vessels, the capillaries, between which and the tissues a sort
of physiological barter is continually going on, the capillaries
handing over oxygen and food supplies from the blood, and receiving
waste materials in return, as the blood creeps along at a very slow
rate. If, however, in consequence of pressure on a part, the blood be
kept back in these minute vessels too long, there is naturally a
double evil: first, the food and oxygen supplies fail--they have been
used up already--and, secondly, the waste products accumulate in the
tissue cells, so that there is a combination of starvation and
poisoning--a sort of physiological slum life, with corresponding
degradation; so that it is not at all difficult to understand why
tight collars, neckbands, corsets, etc., must be unmixed evils, apart
altogether from the fact that they so greatly hamper the very
movements the voice-user most requires for the successful execution of
his task.

All sorts of straining or forcing also involve this same evil, known
to medical men as _congestion_. The sore throats so common with those
who force, owing to methods essentially wrong, or simply to the too
vigorous use of methods correct in themselves, are to be traced to the
above--_i.e._, to this congestion, which is bad, and bad only.

If one who had a naturally sound throat at the outset finds that after
vocal exercise he experiences either a soreness or an undue weariness
of parts, he should conclude, if he is living under healthy
conditions, that the methods he is employing are incorrect, and seek
the natural remedy. Proper vocal exercise should, in those with
healthy vocal organs, always improve them and the condition of the
whole man. The author has met those who have been ruined vocally for
life by the use of certain methods recommended by would-be
professional guides. Why should not all who assume the responsibility
of guiding speakers and especially singers be required by the state to
show that they have not only a knowledge of music and vocal technique,
but also at least a moderate amount of practical knowledge of the
anatomy and physiology of the vocal organs, with some elementary
information on general physiology? If the injury done by incompetent
teachers were realized, we feel certain that the above proposition
would not be questioned.

A common cause of congestion of the digestive organs, with which, of
course, other parts sympathize physiologically, is _constipation_,
very often the result of insufficient exercise, and injurious in many
ways. Speakers and singers very generally ride to and from their
engagements, so that there is special reason why they should see to it
that some time is set aside for general exercise, as walking in the
open air, which would of itself work against that tendency to grow fat
which is the physical curse that seems to fall on artists above most
others.

It seems scarcely necessary to point out how important it is for those
who propose to take up the life of the stage or the platform to look
to hardening themselves against catching cold, by friction of the
skin, cold bathing, etc. The use of a sponge-bath of cold salt and
water to the upper parts of the body, especially the neck and chest,
will prove valuable in many cases, but the enervating effects of hot
water should be avoided by all.

The remarks made in regard to Wagner's music on page 257
have been among the very few to which exception has been
taken by my reviewers.

To those who disagree with me on the merits of the case I
have nothing to say, but some have assumed that the writer
was speaking out of pure theory, in real ignorance of
Wagner's works. I wish to set that class of critics right.

I have spent a great many seasons in Germany, and have heard
Wagner's works under a great variety of circumstances, and
have heard them also in several other countries. I have also
had the opportunity of getting behind the scenes in a way
that falls to the lot of few, so I think I am entitled to
speak with rather more than the usual authority.

My convictions as expressed in the foregoing chapter have in
the interval rather strengthened than weakened. I am firmly
convinced that it would be in the interests of art, the
singer, and the auditor alike, either to shorten these
operas, or to produce them in some way which will relieve
the continuous strain. It must not be forgotten, either,
that the poor overworked and greatly underpaid orchestral
player often suffers severely in his nervous system from
long continued Wagner playing.




CHAPTER XIX.

FURTHER TREATMENT OF PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HYGIENE.


_Stammering_ and _stuttering_ are allied but not identical defects.
They require special treatment, the earlier the better. Much can be
done by the exercise of a little patience and kind consideration, to
make the subject of these infirmities feel at ease, and so manifest
the defects as little as possible. It is, of course, as a general
rule, very unwise to take any notice whatever of such imperfections,
as they are thereby made worse. As a rule, they are best treated
practically by those who have made this branch a specialty.

Those who have been badly taught, or who have overworked the vocal
organs and, in consequence, may have broken down, are among the most
discouraging if they be not the very worst cases that come under the
treatment of the physician or vocal teacher. If the throat be out of
order, a specialist should be consulted. He will likely enjoin
complete rest of the vocal organs, and his advice should be implicitly
followed. But usually the time comes when some sort of vocal exercises
may be resumed. When this is the case, the choice of a teacher becomes
of the utmost importance, more so than in ordinary cases, for further
injudicious treatment may lead to the utter ruin of the voice.
Assuming that medical treatment is no longer or not at all required,
we recommend: (1) That all practices be only _piano_, or, at most,
_moderato_, for some time; (2) that they be of very brief duration at
any one period, so as to avoid fatigue; (3) that they be well within
the range of the singer. The same principles apply to speakers who
have broken down, whether owing to bad methods or to over-use of the
voice. It is most important that strength and facility be gradually
gained, and that weariness, not to say fatigue, be strictly avoided.
If the general health be good, time, patience, and the utmost care in
the application of the above principles, under the direction of an
enlightened teacher, will in a large proportion of cases restore the
voice for efficient use in at least moderate efforts. Of course, much
depends on the age, general health, intelligence, etc., of the
subject.

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