8. An Objective Approach - Questions and Answers

AN OBJECTIVE APPROACH TO THE TEACHING OF SINGING

Q     As a teacher of singing, what are you trying to accomplish?

A     First, I am trying to help singers develop their vocal talent.

Q    How do you go about it? It seems to me that singing is so complex, that is, such a complex combination of physical and psychological factors, that you wouldn't know how or where to begin. The generally accepted idea is that no two individuals can be taught the same way.

A    What you have said seems to be the generally accepted idea. However, from a singing standpoint we are all the same in part and tend to function in the same way. This applies to child, adolescent, and adult, male or female. In other words, there are individual similarities that make possible a definite basic approach to vocal technique. From a psy­chological standpoint we are confronted with individual differences which complicate the teaching problem; yet there are individual similarities as well.

Q     What do you mean by physical processes?

A    The physical processes involved in singing and in speech may be de­scribed as follows: respiration, including inhalation and exhalation; phonation, the production of sound at the level of the larynx, called voice; articulation, the breaking up of the phonated orunphonated breath stream at the level of the larynx, called voice, or at the level of the mouth, called speech; and resonation, the modification or amplification of the vocal sounds by means of the resonators - the pharynx, the mouth, and the nasal passages.

Q     Do these processes present any unusual problems?

A   Very definite problems. The fact is that the size, musculature and de­velopment of the mechanisms that bring about the processes vary with different individuals. The problem is to co-ordinate the processes to obtain the best results. Improper balance between the processes due to inferior mechanisms, or weakness of the mechanisms creates pro­blems that are peculiar to each process.

Q    What do you mean by "best results?"

A   This question involves a consideration of the goals and objectives. The ultimate goal should be the ability to sing the literature for ones' par­ticular type of voice. The technical goal maybe stated as follows: a pharyngeal control of the vowel sounds, balanced by lip action when necessary, with a clear and accurate articulation of the consonants, supported by a variable pressure flow of the breath, with a ringing re­sonant quality.

Q Let us suppose that I came to you for voice training: how would you begin?

A First I would listen to you sing a song, any song that you might be able to sing. In the course of a few minutes I would be able to make a pre­liminary appraisal of the following:   type of voice, quality, type of dietlon, sense of pitch, dynamic control, agility, breath support and breath control, range and artistic sense.

Q     Then would you tell me what you thought of my singing?

A    I might ask you first what you thought of your own singing, what you expected voice lessons to do for you, and what your ultimate*goal was. Then I would tell you what I thought I could do for your voice.

Q   Let us suppose that I had had previous training, with which training you might not agree, would you say that I would have to begin over again?

A   I don’t believe that I would ever say that any singer would have to begin over again. Any past experience in singing or training should be help­ful in making an advance in technique or vocal style, or in learning what to do or what not to do. I would be teaching you how to sing so that you might be able to guide yourself.

Q   How much should I know in order to know how to sing and how to guide myself?

A   Basically you should know four things: your normal quality; how to sing vowels pharyngeally; registration; and where to breathe and how to sup­port your tone.

Quality

Q  You have listed normal quality first. Do you consider quality the most important.

A  Yes. I consider normal quality as the single most important factor in singing. It is the end product of the processes of respiration, phonation, articulation, and resonation. It is the cornerstone or foundation of a good singing technique, which includes a resonance quality that people like to hear; a singing diction that people can understand; pharyngeal flexibility as the basis for dynamic control, agility and range extension, and artistic coloring of the voice, how to support your voice, and good vocal hygiene.

Q     What do you mean by "normal quality?"

A   By normal is meant the quality that one must sing to reach the goals or objectives. A psychological description may be stated as follows: a ringing resonant tone with a cover of beauty and a point or metal that projects. A physical description may be stated as follows: a singing tone that has a vibrato of 6 to 7 cycles per second; a low formant center­ing around 600 to 700 cycles per second for mellowness and beauty of tone; a high formant centering around 2800 cycles, a little higher for female voices, for metal or ring; and intensity.

Q     How can one tell when he is singing in the normal quality?

A   The singer is dependent on the "vocal ear" of his teacher. The singer is not in a position to judge his tone since he does not hear himself as others hear him. He hears himself not only through the air from the outside, but also through bone conduction to the inner ear. This has the effect of making the voice sound deeper. Tenors think they are baritones, baritones think they are basses, sopranos think they are mezzos.

Q   Does this normal quality apply to everybody? It was my impression that everybody's quality was different?

A         It is my belief that everyone must sing basically the normal quality if he wishes to reach the goals or objectives as set up by the literature. Identity of voices differs as individuals differ but the singer's identity must be established in normal quality. It would be impossible for the great artists to reach the artist status unless they were singing in their normal quality.

Q         Is it possible to list or describe different qualities?

A         At least five resonance qualities can be listed: metallic, nasal, denasal, muffled, and normal. There are at least four vibratory qualities: breathy, harsh, hoarse, and normal. In addition, approximately sixty adjectives describing quality can be listed.40

Q         Can another more descriptive name be given to normal quality?

A         Normal quality has been described as "nasal" resonance by many teach­ers.   Actually it is not nasal except in the nasal sounds, m, n and ng.

Q         What do you mean, it is not a nasal quality?

A         It sounds as if it were nasal, and the singer has the feeling that his nose is open. However, x-ray pictures of the head showing the positions of the tongue and hard and soft palate indicate that in the production of good tone, the nasal port is closed, except on the nasals.41

Q         What test can be given to prove this point?

A         The so-called nose test: hold the nostrils of the nose closed and repeat a phrase with no nasals, such as "Tell her the day." If there is no breath passing through the nose then there is an absence of nasality. Now repeat a phrase with nasals in the words: "My time is your time," still holding the nostril closed. The nasals require a puff of breath through the nose, which may be continuous, thereby giving an objection­able quality to the whole phrase.

Q         Other than being objectionable in quality, what else can be said against nasality?

A         Nasality limits the flexibility of the voice, and in so doing limits the control of agility, loud and soft singing, and range.

Q         You have mentioned the use of the term "normal" and also "nasal" re­sonance as describing the quality that should be sung to get the best results. Can you suggest some other term that might be more descrip­tive and more easily understood?

A         I use the term "bell resonance." The voice with this quality rings like a "bell".

Q         What should a teacher know about the causes of good quality?

A         The teacher should know that the basis for normal quality is in the larynx. The vibrations of the vocal cords give off more than just puffs of sound. They give off a whole series of overtones, which are amplified or modi­fied by the resonators. In other words, the resonators - the pharynx, the mouth, and the nasal passages must be tuned to the vibrations of the vocal cords until the normal or "bell" quality is established.

Normal Quality

Q         How does one go about establishing normal or bell quality?

A         The basis for this is having a conception of what the normal or "bell" quality sounds like. Listening to the voices of artists or others who are accepted as good singers is one approach. Then the student must have a teacher who knows what to listen for. By a process of trial and error the teacher must lead the student into what is called an even scale of normal quality, in terms of the singer's vocal identity.

Q         What do you mean by that?

A         The singer should sound like himself instead of like an imitation of some one else.   This may be called "placing the voice."

Q         I thought placing the voice meant putting it some place, such as in the head, or forward to the teeth.

A         It is impossible to place the voice in that way, since sensations of place­ment will vary with different vowel sounds, different pitches, different degrees of loudness, or different ranges of the voice.

Q         How do you go about tuning the resonators to the vibrations of the vocal cords?

A         The first approach, as mentioned, is to establish a conception of what is good quality. It is also possible to shape the resonators through lip positions, or different size openings of the mouth, or different positions of the soft palate.

Q     Do you mean that the position of the lips can affect vocal quality?

A         Very definitely. For example, a smiling position of the lips has an effect not only on quality but also on the action of the vocal cords. The result is a more metallic tone. A relaxed or closed puckered position of the lips tends to muffle the tone. The vocal cords are more relaxed. The open puckered or bell-like position of the lips tends to make the tone sound more mellow, and at the same time to have the quality of pro­jection. The vocal cords tune themselves more easily to the production of normal quality or bell resonance with this position.

Q         What have the other physical processes - respiration and articulation -to do with the proper tuning of the resonators with the action of the vocal cords or phonation?

A         They are a part of the co-ordinated action resulting in a particular tone quality. Breathing for singing calls for a different type of breathing than just breathing naturally. Both singing and speech call for a more forceful type of breath flow. Articulation, the basis of a singing speech must be produced in the normal quality.

The Singing Diction

Q         You mention a "singing diction." How does it differ from a "speaking diction?"

A         Singing may be defined as a form of slow motion or sustained speech. In singing the completion of the words is delayed, due to definite patterns of melody, time, and rhythm, which patterns are not present in speech to such a great extent. The singer thinks words when he sings, but actually he is singing tone syllables.

Q     What do you mean by tone syllables?

A         They can best be explained by a rule for a singing diction in English. End each syllable in an open vowel sound and carry final consonants or

A         First, it is dependent on singing the normal or bell quality. Next, the bell or open square position of the lips establishes the pharyngeal vowel sets, and creates the illusion that the tone is forward. The development of flexibility, then, is a matter of vocalization, either through exercises or through the singing of songs that are essentially vocalizes.

Q     What vowel sounds should be vocalized?

A         The vowel sounds ee, ay, ah, oh and oo. They must be enunciated so that they sound "open." The vowel sound ah usually has this "open" quality, because ah is basically an open vowel. This is in contrast to the lip vowels oh and oo, which tend to have a "closed" or muffled qua­lity, and the closed vowels ee and ay, which tend to have a "closed" or nasal quality. The five vowel sounds should be established in an even scale of normal or bell quality, so that the singer sounds like the same person. For example, sing mee, may, man, moh, moo, or lee, lay, lah, loh, loo on one pitch. The quality should be basically the same throughout.

Q     Why limit this practice to just five vowel sounds?

A         The reason is that it is much easier to establish five basic sounds first in one quality, than it is to establish the sixteen vowel sounds said to exist in the English language. The first five lead the way for the re­maining eleven.

Q         What is so important about singing "open" vowel sounds in the normal or bell quality?

A         It is the secret of great singing. The reason is that the vocal mechan­ism responds best to an open vowel production. The Italian language is said to be the best language for singing, partly because it is a vowel language, but basically because the vowels are sung very open. The same open vowel production in normal or bell quality must be applied to other languages if the goals and objectives are to be reached.

PHONATION

Range

Q     Not to change the subject, but where does the voice originate?

A         Voice is said to originate in the voice box, or Adam's apple. Voice or vocal sound is the result of the vibrations of the vocal cords, which are actually more like lips than cords, which are stretched from front to back in and at the top of the wind-pipe just in back of the Adam's apple.

Q    What causes the vocal cords or lips to vibrate?

A         Actually the vocal cords do not vibrate of themselves, but are forced into vibration by a pressure flow of the breath. In the production of singing or speech, mental impulses from the brain cause the vocal cords to close or approximate partially, thereby offering up resistance to the flow of the breath. The result is sound which we call voice. At the level of the mouth voice becomes speech through the action of the arti-culators - the tongue, the teeth, the lips, and the pharynx; and the re­sonators - the mouth, the nasal passages, and the pharynx.

Q         Can the action of the vocal cords be compared to the action of any in­strument?

A         It has been compared to the action of reed instruments or violins. In reality the action of the vocal cords is very similar to the action of the lips of a bugler, or the vibrations of the lips in a Bronx cheer.

Q         Are the vibrations of the vocal cords nothing more than simple vibra­tions, regardless of pitch, loudness, quality, and duration?

A         The general impression is that they change very little in their general characteristics. The fact of the matter is that they vary in size, shape, and speed of vibration?2 For example, since they are more like lips or wedges they can vibrate deeper and wider, or shallower and narrower. The resulting vibrations have been considered to be the results of a "heavy and a light" mechanism, or a "thick and a thin" mechanism. The vibrations are reflected indifferent qualities which have been term­ed the "chest" tone and the "head" tone. Finally, the terms "chest resonance" and "head resonance" have crept into the terminology. Neither the chest or the head is a resonator as such, but both are sym­pathetic resonators through bone conduction of sound vibrations. The vocal cords vary according to pitch. If the singing pitch is 256 vib­rations per second, the vocal cords vibrate 256 vibrations per second. They vary according to loudness: the louder the tone, the greater the displacement of the vocal cords. They vary according to the quality of the vowel sung:   their edges may be rounded or sharp.

REGISTRATION

Q     What good would it do a singer to know all that? Or a teacher either?

A         The first thing that is significant about this information is this: the vocal mechanism is so complicated that any direct physical control of the vocal cords is impossible. The second thing that is significant is that the only possible control must be an indirect or a mental control. It is also sig­nificant that the sets or the shapes of the vowel sounds in the pharynx are reflected in the shape of the larynx - the voice box in which the vocal cords are located - and in the shape of the vocal cords themselves. Flexibility of the pharynx will also be reflected in laryngeal flexibility. In other words, phonation, the action of the vocal cords, can be consid­ered as a part of enunciation, the production of the vowel sounds.

Q     You have listed range as a part of phonation.   Why?

A         For the reason that a wide range is dependent on the adjustments the vocal cords should make for different parts of the singing range. This may be divided into at least three parts: a low voice of an octave above the average normal pitch of the speaking voice, a middle voice of a fourth or fifth above the first octave, and a high voice of a third or fourth above the octave and a fifth. These are all approximations. This makes a total range of two octaves.

Q     What are these three groups of notes called?

A         These are called registers, which can be defined as groups of tones produced by a particular adjustment of the vocal cords, and reflected in a particular quality .w

Q         What connection do registers have with such things as the heavy and light mechanisms, the thick and thin mechanisms, and the chest and head voices?

A         Actually these terms indicate whether there are wide and deep, or nar­row and shallow vibrations of the vocal cords.

Q     What is meant by the chest and head terminology?

A         It also describes vibrations: the chest tone or chest voice describes the result of a wide and deep vibration of the vocal cords; the head tone or head voice describes the result of shallow and narrow vibrations. In other words, these terms describe the results of the vibrations of the vocal cords. The chest voice or tone is a heavier, the head voice or tone a lighter quality of tone.

Q     What do the terms chest and head have to do then with voice production?

A         Actually nothing. The fact that the singer may feel vibrations in his chest does not mean that this is chest resonance; or the fact that he may feel stronger vibrations in his head does not mean that this is head re­sonance . When the heavy or thick mechanism is used in the lower part of the voice, strong vibrations can be felt in the chest. These vibra­tions are the result of bone conduction of sound, and are mistaken for chest resonance. This has been termed sympathetic resonance. When the narrow or thin mechanism is used in the middle and upper part of the voice, there would seem to be stronger vibrations in the bony struc­ture of the skull. These are mistaken for head resonance, but this is another form of sympathetic resonance.

Q     Why use the terms "head" and "chest"?

A         Because of the limited number of descriptive terms available for use without becoming too involved.

Q         According to the terminology then, - chest and head, thick and thin, and heavy and light - there would seem to be only two registers?

A         For all practical purposes there are at least three: low, middle, and high voice mechanisms. Actually there are more than three, when the coloratura register and the low bass register are included.

Q     What do you mean by the high-voice mechanism?43

A         It can be described as the register above the head or middle voice regis­ter which uses the entire length of the vocal cords. The high voice mechanism uses only the front or anterior part of the vocal cords for vibration, while the back or posterior part of the vocal cords is damp­ened or held.

Q     What do you mean by dampened?44

A     Not allowed to vibrate.

Q         How can you prevent the back or posterior part of the vocal cords from vibrating?

A         An indirect method must be used. This is necessary because the vocal cords have a limited number of nerve centers, and are not subject to direct control. To make a long story short, the singer must approach his high voice as if he were going to sing it open, and then change the resonance placement without losing the basic vowel tension.

Q     How does one change the resonance placement?

A         One approach is through vowel modification, modifying ee and ay toward ih ; and ah, oh, and oo, toward uh.

Q     What effect does vowel modification have?

A         It tends to change the resonance placement of the vowel sounds. This change brings in a coupling of the mouth cavity with the pharyngeal cavity, which makes possible a change to the high voice mechanism. This allows for the vibration of the front part of the vocal cords and the dampening of the back part.

Q     What is this called?

A     One term for this process is covering; another, closing the voice.

Q      Does the register theory follow any definite pattern?

A         Generally speaking, yes. The average individual potentially has a low, middle, and a high voice. When vocalizing on a broad ah vowel sound in at least a mezzo-forte tone, and beginning on the average, normal pitch of the speaking voice, an individual can vocalize approximately two octaves. About an octave above the speaking pitch there will be a slight change in resonance placement, which has been called the first lift; again, about a fourth or a fifth higher, there will be another change in resonance placement, which has been called the second lift. The term "lift" is based on the sensation of the tone being higher in the head and should not be confused with resonance.

Q     Does this pattern make any sense scientifically?

A     It is my belief that the range of the singing voice follows the overtone or harmonic theory of an octave, a fourth or a fifth, and a third or a fourth -a total of two octaves.   I believe that the average, normal person has potentially a range of at least two octaves above the average,   normal pitch of the speaking voice.

Q     If that is the case, why don't more individuals have two octaves range?

A         The first reason is that singing throughout this range, particularly in the high voice, calls for technique, a way of doing it. Since we are not born with technique, we must be taught one. Then there are compara­tively few teachers who know how to teach singing in the high voice mech­anism. Even those who can teach it are confronted with unbelievers, who, because the tone sounds different, because the vowels are modified and sound different, and because the tone feels different, think this tech­nique is wrong.

Q     Do artists follow this technique of singing in the high voice?

A         To the best of my knowledge, most of them do. I can't say that they are aware of how they do it, but I know it is impossible to sing the lit­erature for a particular type of voice without it for any length of time.

Q         It would seem to me that the register changes would be obvious to the average listener, and any student of singing could imitate them.

A         The well-trained singer doesn't show his register changes. The aver­age student will say that there were no changes. In imitating what he thinks he hears, the student will try to sing open, that is without change, throughout his range.

Q         Can you say that these changes in register come at exact places on the scale?

A         The first lift tends to be quite definite. This is basically the middle of the singer's singing range. The second lift is a variable, depending on the vowel sung, and upon the loudness with which it is sung. The vowel-sounds tend to modify or close in this order: ee, oo, ay, oh and ah. They tend to modify or close earlier in the scale when sung softly.

Q     How do the chest and head qualities, and the thick and thin, or the heavy and light mechanisms, fit into the pattern of the low, middle, and high registers?

A         There seems to be considerable confusion about it. This is due to the fact that the registers can be made to overlap, that is, the low register quality can be carried into the middle register; or the middle register quality into the low or the high register; or the high register quality into the middle register.   The term for this is "mixed registration."

Q     Is this good or bad?

A         Overlapping may be said to be good if it is not carried too far. The idea of overlapping is to blend the qualities of the different registers into an even scale, so that the singer sounds like the same person through out his vocal range, without the register changes showing. It may be said to be bad if there are noticeable changes in quality, and obvious changes in registers, and if the singer's range is limited, either in the high or low registers.

Q     How do you go about establishing an even scale?

A         Through the use of vocalization,- singing scales, arpeggios and porta­mento sin normal quality, using only one vowel sound for each exercise, open ay, oh, or ah, in a mezzo-forte voice. The same position of the lips and the mouth should be maintained without strain or rigidity, so that changes in voice quality due to changes in registers are hardly noticeable.

BREATHING

Q         How do you go about teaching breathing for singing? Or do you just let the student breathe naturally?

A         I would be inclined not to teach breathing in the first few lessons. In answer to your second question, I believe that breathing for singing is different from just breathing naturally. I believe that deep breathing is essential to good singing, and natural breathing is usually not deep. I believe that a variable pressure flow of the breath is essential to dynamic control and a wide range, and that this variable pressure flow of the breath must be developed.

Q         What other differences are there between breathing for singing and nat­ural breathing?

A         The timing is different. Natural breathing calls for about 16 to 18 in­halations and exhalations per minute, equally spaced. This is breath necessary to keep us alive, and is called vegetative breathing. Breath­ing for singing or speech calls for a quick inhalation and a slow, control­led exhalation.   This is a matter of training.

Q     Why don't you begin with lessons in breathing first?

A         Principally because I believe that the normal quality that a student should sing is more important. It may be that his normal quality is dependent on his breathing technique. In that case, when he sees the need for im­provement in his breathing, he will learn more quickly and easily how to breathe for singing.

Q     How do you teach a student to breathe more deeply?

A First I show him where to breathe deeply - below the breastbone and above the waistline. This can be demonstrated by the student panting as after running - first, panting fast, and then slowing the panting down gradually until he becomes aware that his mid-section comes out when he takes a breath, and goes in when he blows his breath out. This is high-abdominal breathing. To this must be added intercostal or rib breathing. By placing the palms of his hands on the sides of his body, and pressing in and blowing out most of the air in his lungs, and then taking a breath and allowing the ribs and the high abdomen to expand, he will accomplish what is called deep breathing.

Q     Why below the breastbone and above the waistline?

A         Because this is the part of the body that allows for the greatest expan­sion of the lungs. The chest cage or thorax, the cavity that holds the lungs, has the shape of a truncated cone, with the base at the bottom. The diaphragm, the most important muscle of inhalation, separates the chest cavity or thorax from the abdominal cavity, serving as the floor of the chest cavity and the ceiling of the abdominal cavity. On inhalation the diaphragm tenses and moves downward, forcing the abdominal con­tents downward and outward, thereby increasing the length of the thoracic cavity. The lungs immediately expand to fill the added space, thereby drawing in more air. When the diaphragm has reached its greatest ex­cursion, approximately an inch, the ribs are raised upward and outward, thereby increasing the capacity of the chest cavity laterally and from front to back.

Q         How much of the possible breath capacity is due to the action of the diaphragm, and how much to the action of the ribs?

A         According to physiology, 60% of the potential breath capacity can be attributed to the action of the diaphragm,

Q         After the student is taught to breathe deeply, is that all that is necessary to sing or speak?

A         The next step is to teach him what to do with the breath. Whereas breath­ing to keep us alive may be called passive breathing, that is, breathing without any particular conscious effort, breathing for singing or speak­ing calls for a forceful exhalation, or active type of breathing.

Q     How do you establish forceful or active exhalation?

A         The quickest way is to have a student place the palms of his hands on his mid-section below the breastbone and above the waistline, and then clear his throat. This causes a tightening of the muscles of the abdomen, which forces the abdominal contents upward into their normal position, thereby reducing the size of the chest cavity. The result is forced breathing — a pressure flow of the breath which we call breath support. The problem is to transfer this contraction of the abdominal muscles to calling "Hey," and then to sustaining tone on one pitch.

Q         If the diaphragm is the most important muscle of inhalation, what are the most important muscles of exhalation?

A         The abdominal muscles, -the abdominus erectus, the transversalis, and the diagonal muscles. In both inhalation and exhalation there are intercostal or rib muscles which assist.

Q     Isn't the diaphragm also a muscle of exhalation?

A     It isn't listed in any book of physiology as such.

However, it might be considered a passive factor in that as it relaxes and is pushed upward, the lungs are pushed up before it. It is not the active force.

Q         It is this forced exhalation of the breath, then, that vibrates the vocal cords and establishes song or speech?

A         That is not the whole story. Forced breathing, or a variable pressure flow of the breath, causes the vocal cords to vibrate according to the dictates of the mind. This involves timbre or quality, pitch, duration, and intensity or loudness. At the level of the vocal cords this is called voice. It does not become song or speech until it passes through the mouth. In this process the resonators amplify or modify the sounds produced at the vocal cord level, and the articulators and the enunciators turn these sounds into consonants and vowels. The result is song or speech.

Q     Would you say that this sums up the problem of how to breathe for singing?

A     Except for the problem of breath control.

Q     How does a singer control his breath?

A         Part of the control lies below the breastbone and above the waistline, where the singer can consciously or unconsciously establish a variable pressure flow of the breath. The release of this variable pressure flow is effected through the valve-like action of the vocal cords, which are controlled mentally by means of the vowel sounds. What the singer thinks is reflected through his singing speech in terms of quality, pitch, duration and loudness. How effective his breath control is, in fact how effective his singing is, depends on how well his singing mechanism has been trained to respond to what he thinks.

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