Book: Voice Production in Singing and Speaking

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




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 fashion 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 passage, 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 multitude 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 associated with a
like perfect adaptation of the breath-stream to them through the
harmonious working of the many muscles (neuro-muscular mechanisms)
which constitute 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 constitutes 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 substitute 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 substituted 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 hoard. 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 passes out, the voice-producer
should rather feel, when phonating, as if it passed 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 passages 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 muffled, 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 assume 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
spaces 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 illustration 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 pass 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.

The author would also insist, in the most emphatic manner, on the
great importance of making all such exercises musical. Every tone
should be the best then possible to the voice-user, and power must on
no account be aimed at for some time. Thus are developed and go hand
in hand, as they always should, a sound technique with the artistic
conscience and perceptions.


SUMMARY AND REVIEW.

_The Principles of Physics, etc., Involved._

Sound (tone) is a mental result having its origin in certain changes
in the ear and the brain, owing to vibrations of the air. Tones have
_pitch_, depending on the number of vibrations in a second, _volume_
(power), depending on the size of the waves or vibrations, and
_quality_ (_timbre_), determined by the shape of the waves. Pitch is
determined by the vocal bands, volume by the same, in great part, and
quality by the shape of the resonance-chambers above the vocal bands.
The resonance-chambers influence volume also. A tone is augmented by
resonance.

The larynx bears certain resemblances to both stringed and wind
instruments, but it is really unique (_sui generis_). The vibrations
of the vocal bands are caused solely by the expiratory current of air,
which is more or less held back by the cords, owing to their
approximation, so that the greater the obstruction the stronger must
the blast of air be, other things being equal, and the result increase
in pitch. The problem Nature had to solve is very complex.

The laryngoscope was invented in 1854 by a teacher of singing, Manuel
Garcia, who soon after gave an account of it to the Royal Society of
England. The instrument consists essentially of two mirrors, the
external, or "head-mirror," which is concave and reflects into the
larynx, and the internal, or "mouth-mirror," which reflects the
picture outward to the eye. The latter mirror is plane, and set at an
angle. The picture may show, under the most favorable circumstances,
all the upper parts of the larynx, including the vocal bands, but
sometimes, also, the windpipe as far down as its division into the two
main bronchial tubes. The difficulties commonly met with in the use of
the instrument are a constrained action of the throat and mouth parts
of the subject, unnatural breathing, an unruly tongue, etc. The
epiglottis may, also, naturally so overhang the glottis that a good
view of the vocal cords is impossible. It is difficult to see more
than one-half to two-thirds of the length of the vocal bands. The
picture seen is that of the parts of the larynx reversed--_i.e._,
while right remains right, posterior becomes anterior. The
laryngoscope shows that (1) in singing an ascending scale the vocal
bands are for a certain time in action (vibration) throughout their
whole length; that (2) there may be observed a rather sudden change
when the vocal bands are relaxed and shortened, and that this process
of shortening goes on, the bands approaching more and more, both
behind and in front, till (3) in the highest tones of a soprano of
great range there is only a small portion of each vocal cord toward
the centre that is not approximated somewhat closely.

With certain qualifications, it may be said that the action of the
vocal bands is alike for all voices. In all cases a certain degree of
approximation of the vocal bands is absolutely necessary for
phonation, and the mechanism is generally similar in males and females
till the highest tones, above alluded to, are reached. This is in
harmony with the following facts: (1) The crico-thyroids are the
muscles most in use in ordinary speech and in singing the lower tones.
(2) Several muscles combine in relaxing and shortening the vocal
bands. (3) The peculiar mechanism of the highest tones in a soprano
voice of great compass is only to be explained by a combined action of
several muscles, and a very delicate and precise use of the internal
thyro-arytenoids attached along the whole length of the outer surface
of the vocal bands. The larynx of the male differs from that of the
female chiefly in its greater size, weight, etc. The vocal bands in
the male may measure from three-fifths to four-fifths of an inch when
relaxed, and from four-fifths to one inch when tense; in the female,
from two-fifths to three-fifths of an inch when relaxed, and from
three-fifths to four-fifths of an inch when tense. There are
structural differences corresponding to and determining the kind of
voice, as to range and power more especially. The bass singer has, as
a rule, the largest larynx and the longest and heaviest vocal bands.

At puberty the changes that take place in the body generally are
associated with corresponding alterations in the larynx. The larynx
grows, changes its proportions, etc., often somewhat rapidly, and the
result may be a corresponding alteration in voice, as regards range,
power, and quality. The voice, because of imperfect anatomical and
physiological adjustment, may "break," to a greater or less extent.
The same may take place, owing to similar imperfect adjustment, in
old age, and temporarily, owing to disease, weakness, nervousness,
fatigue, faulty production, etc. These facts indicate that under such
circumstances the voice should be used with great care, not at all, or
in a whisper, when the vocal bands are practically not in action.

[Illustration: FIG. 45. Represents what the author has frequently
seen, by the use of the laryngoscope, when a soprano is producing a
very high head-tone, say C, D, or E in alt. It will be observed that
the vocal bands approximate in front and behind ("stopped"), so that
the only parts of the bands capable of vibration are those short
portions which form the margins of the oval opening shown in the
illustration. Only a very limited number of singers are capable of the
delicate adjustments required.]

In a singer highly endowed by nature and perfected by long training
based on the soundest principles, the action of the muscles of the
larynx may reach a degree of perfection only to be compared with that
of the eye and ear.

Consideration of the _coup de glotte_, the attack, or adjustment of
mechanisms to produce tone that begins correctly; breathing, with open
mouth, with effectiveness and economy of energy; singing for children,
in choirs, etc., have been discussed.

Practical exercises should be related to the principles underlying
them. Musical and aesthetic principles are always to be associated with
a sound technique. The artistic and technical or physiological
conscience should be associated.




CHAPTER IX.

THE RESONANCE-CHAMBERS.


When it is borne in mind that the vocal bands have little or nothing
to do with the quality of tones, the importance of those parts of the
vocal apparatus which determine quality, and the error of speaking of
the larynx as if it alone were the sole vocal organ, become apparent.

It may be strictly said that the vocal bands serve the purpose of
making the resonance mechanism available. What one hears may be said
to be vibrations of this resonance apparatus, and not, strictly, those
of the vocal bands, though this expression would also be correct, but
would not indicate the final link in the series of vibrations.

The tone caused by the vibration of two such small bands as the vocal
cords must, in the nature of the case, be very feeble. It becomes
important for the reader to convince himself of the importance of
resonance in sounding bodies and musical instruments.

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