Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 18.djvu/239

* SINGING. 195 SINGING. least satisfactory inetlioil, ami is not employed by any j;icat sin<;er. Tlie abiloniinal method, ad- vocated by Jlandl in ISo,') and introduced into the Paris Conservatory and anmnj; Italian teachers, consists in Uec])ing; the chest as quiet as possible and forcing the dia]ihragm down and the ante- rior wall of the abdomen out in inspiration. The leading sinf;ers of to-day, such as .lean de Kcszke. Sembrich, and Xordica, advocate the ise of all the external intercostal muscles and the drawing in of the anterior wall of the abdomen in inspiration. They hold that this method sets the diaphragm firmly, gives greater mastery of the lireathing apparatus, and enables the singer better to graduate the power of the air column. The compass of the human voice extends from the C below the bass clef to the F above the treble. Some exceptional voices have exceeded this range. No one voice has this compass, of course, for the average human voice has an extent of about twelve tones, while trained singers usually have two octaves. Some have had more than three. Five general divisions of singing voices are recognized: two women's, soprano and contralto, and three men's, tenor, barytone, and bass. These are here named in the order of their pitch from the highest to the lowest, ilusic for sopranos, contraltos, and tenors is written on the treble clef, and .that for the other voices on the bass clef. The tenor voice, however, produces tones an octave lower than those wTitten. The pitch of voices is the result of the length of the vocal cords. These cords are shorter in women than in men, and hence the former have higler voices. The longest vocal cords are those of a deep bass. Pitch, however, is not the only trait which determines the title of a voice, for the quality of the tone must be considered. Tenor and barytone voices of exactly the same range exist, but the character of the tones is ditTerent. The quality of the voice, then, is modified to some extent by the conformation of the resonance cavities of the mouth and nose and also by the delicate operation of the muscles of the larynx. The resonating chambers also play an im)>ortant part in giving power to the sounds made by the vocal cords, which would be feeble if not thus aided. Each voice is divided into several 'registers,' a term borrowed from the organ. It means a suc- cession of sounds having similar character, or produced by the same mechanism. Authorities ditl'er as to the number of registers which exist in the human voice, but the majority follow Manuel Garcia, the inventor of the laryngoscope and one of the most famous of singing teachers. He holds that there are three registers, which he calls chest, falsetto, and head. Some writers have named as many as five I'cgisters. and others find that the voices of men and women dift'er in their divisions of this kind. The mechanical action of the larynx and certain of the resonating ap- paratus changes as the singer ascends the scale, and the tendency is toward modifications in the quality of the tones, so that the different regis- ters are dissimilar in character. Between the registers, especially between the highest and the next lower, there are audible breaks, and usually "the tones on cither side of this are weak and uncertain. One of the most important labors of the teacher is the equalization of the registers, so that the breaks shall become unnoticeable and the quality of tone homogeneous throughout the scale. This is accomplished by cultivated meth- ods of tone formation, in which the air column is voluntarily directed toward certain resonators. These same methods of voluntary treatment of the registers are employed by singers to ])roduce some of their most beautiful effects. Male sing- ers, for example, often employ head tones for the production of soft, aerial ell'ects in the upper middle scale, even where the same notes could be produced in full voice. The training of the voice for singing is a slow and painstaking process. Most of the training is directed toward securing cmrect tone for- mation, or tone placing as it is usually called. Upon the correctness of the placing depend the strength, carrying power, smootlincss, and beauty of the tone. The acquirement of a perfect method of tone formation is the only road to the strengthening of comparatively weak vocal organs. No teacher can make a big voice out of a little one. Nevertheless it is un- deniable that the lungs can be developed by the practice of deep breathing exercises, and the dia- phragm and other expulsive muscles developed by systematic use. So, too, the vocal cords and the muscles and ligaments of the larynx can be made stronger by training, but the limit of de- velopment is not large. The principal efforts of wise teachers, therefore, are directed to giving their pupils a firm, round, pure tone, which will carry well without undue tax upon the soimd- produeing apparatus. The correct placing of tone includes several elements, of which the gen- eral management of the breath is the most im- portant. Second only to that is the proper em- ployment of the resonating chambers. Every tone ought to sound to the hearer as if it were sung a little behind the teeth of the singer. Of course it is not sung there, nor would good results be achieved through trying mentally to locate the sound there. But by keeping the tongue depressed, by allowing a part of the air- blast free passage through the nasal chambers, and by bringing the main body of it to bear upon the roof of the mouth at the proper point, tones may be made to sound as if formed well forward and may be actually projected into the audi- torium more sonorously than when improperly made. The requirements of good tone are that it shall be pure, that is, that all the breath must be turned into tone and none allowed to escape in a hissing sound : that it shall be clear, that is, shall never sound as if there were some obstacle in the singer's mouth : and that it shall be free, that is, not muffled or squeezed down in the throat. A correct 'attack' is the most important essential of good tone production. The breath must strike the vocal cords at precisely the in- stant when they form the tone, neither before nor after. Weak voices are made stronger and good voices better by the mastery of the art of tone formation. To this must be added the requisites of ex- pression. These are a perfect legato, command of the niessa di voce, perfect vocalization of the vowels and perfect articulation of the conso- nants. Lrijafo means 'bound.' and in singing it is the passage of the voice smoothly and connectedly from one note to the next in succession. With- out a command of the legato no flowing melody can be sung properly. Variety is sometimes added to a melody by the use of the portamento, which is a sliding or carrying of the voice