Seed Thoughts for Singers Part 3

But about holding the breath. That is the most important thing about breathing. It says above that if the movement of the diaphragm is stopped, the breath will be held. Sure enough. Then why can't we all hold the breath? We can. Holding the breath in that way a little while every day and caring to keep it so whenever using the voice will so complete the strength of the diaphragm that it will stay still a very long time, much longer than it takes to sing any phrase in music which is written. The majority of pupils--yes, all of us, teachers and pupils, when they seek to let the diaphragm stay still try to a.s.sist it to do so. We try to hold the breath by the muscles of the chest, by those of abdomen, or by shutting off the throat. Now these do not a.s.sist the diaphragm to stay still, and on the other hand, they prevent the diaphragm from staying still. They make it move. Some one says, or thinks if he doesn't say it, that unless the diaphragm moves when we begin to sing that no tone can be made. That is one of the mistakes of the world. Some teachers have even said that we must press the air upward as we sing, so that the vocal bands may make it into tone. That is absurd. Keep back all pressure from the vocal bands. If the slightest air pressure is put upon them they are over-worked. Hold still the diaphragm and the air is held loosely suspended throughout the chest, the bronchial tubes, the windpipe and the mouth. Then in this air the vocal bands work. They will help themselves to just the right amount of breath, to make into tone without any a.s.sistance from you. You can't make nature work. You can permit her to work in her own way.

When we speak of the vocal bands we are talking of something which pertains to the second department of voice culture--the throat. There can be, and need be, very little said to the pupil about the throat in its action during singing. Teachers do say many things. One thinks the larynx--the protuberance known as the Adam's apple--ought to be pressed down, and kept so. Another thinks it ought to be forced upward. Still another says it should be allowed to be low at one time and high at another. There is just one way of settling the matter. How is the action when we act naturally? Nature built the throat for conversational voice.

If we are to use it for singing we can't do better than to follow the suggestions of nature as to the way the throat moves while speaking.

Then on those ways let the throat act while singing. Sound several notes with the same vowel in the conversational voice and see what the larynx does. Some one suggests that this ceases to be conversation and becomes singing. But it doesn't. Conversation runs easily through an octave of tones. Generally we use three or four tones. When we are very quiet or are sad the voice lowers a few notes. If we are very merry or are angry the voice ascends. We talk at the "top of the voice," literally. If we do so in speaking, surely we may lop off the many vowels and the consonants and speak, conversationally--on several tones. It will be found that the larynx moves freely. That being the case, he is a very foolish man who could make the larynx go down and stay there. Again, with the tip of the finger on the larynx say the different vowels. It will be seen that the larynx changes position at each change of vowel.

Let it so change when we sing. The great opponent of such action is the stiffening of the cords of the neck--the muscles on the sides of the neck. In connection with the work to be looked after in the third department, yet to come, the way of removing that stiffness will have mention. Within the larynx there are many delicate muscles which are performing their various functions. What they do, and how they do them has been the subject of study through several generations and the question is not solved. An eminent physician has for several years been photographing throats while producing tone. About four hundred different throats have been photographed. In an article published by him in January of this year, he says: "I have not yet permitted myself to formulate a theory of the action of the larynx during singing, for even now, after a large number of studies have been made, the camera is constantly revealing new surprises in the action of the vocal bands in every part of the scale." With that true, the only way open for us is to seek ease and comfort of action and never force any part of the throat to overwork.

The third department in voice culture relates to the pharynx, or back of the throat. It seems as if any thinking student would realize that in order to acquire a rich tone, resonant with pure sound, the pharynx must be allowed plenty of room, yet many shut it off making a very small chamber. Well, it is the teacher's work to find some way to open a roomy s.p.a.ce. One of the best ways is to draw a picture of a cross-section of the mouth from the lips to the back wall of the throat, showing a large arch at the top of the section. Convey to the pupil's mind the idea of room and he will be most liable to produce the room. Sometimes, although it is of doubtful propriety to make any local application for special purpose, the use of the word oh, as an exercise, will permit the pupil to enlarge the pharyngeal chamber sufficiently for any need. This will come up later in connection with another thought. A very important branch of voice culture, the quality of tone, has to do with the pharynx. Not much can be said of it now but just a little in connection with a perfect voice method. When singing, we should express something.

The emotion in mind must have its appropriate setting. That setting comes chiefly from the quality, and the quality arises from the shape of the pharyngeal cavity. As in all nature's plan we must not try to _make_ the pharynx do anything. We may _permit_ it, and if we do, nature will have her way and will do just right. The emotion of the mind expresses itself upon the face. A face plastic and delicate, changes expression a hundred times a minute, maybe. Just so, if we permit it, the emotion of mind expresses itself on the pharynx. We cannot see the expression of the throat as we can that of the face, but we can hear it. That the pharynx may be able to receive the expression of the mind it must be plastic and delicate. If so, just the right form will be a.s.sumed for the idea we would express, and the proper quality would be given the tone.

We--many of us--don't permit this. We try to shape the pharynx. Stop trying and let the muscles of the back of the throat come to a state of rest. Then willing them to remain so, sing. Sing anything. Don't change the feeling, and good quality will fill the tone wherever the voice moves--whether it be high or low, loud or soft. So by this restful way of singing the stiffness of the cords of the neck will be removed and the larynx will move easily and flexibly. In fact, all rapid singing grows out of the restful singing. The use of all embellishments, too, comes through this restful singing. It is to be kept in mind that so long as we employ artificial methods of holding the air column, and so long as we force tones through rigid vocal bands, just so long will we be prevented from obtaining restful action of the pharynx. Each part must act correctly and no part must interfere with another.

The articulatory department is all which remains to be described.

Singing employs words, and words are made up of letters. Letters are made up of consonant and vowel sounds. Consonant and vowel sounds, save one alone, are made by changing the tongue or lips, or moving the jaw.

There are but few changes which may be made--less than a dozen. Six of those pertain to the tongue, one to the jaw and three to combination of tongue and lips. What these are need not be detailed now. Sufficient to say that any action made during conversation may be made while singing and must be made in the same way as in conversation. Two ideas advanced by some teachers which are very wrong should be noted. One is that the singer should practice with a spoon in the mouth to hold the tongue in place. As if nature didn't know what the tongue ought to do! The other is that the mouth should be widely opened, "to let out the tone," as old singing school teachers used to say. The tone doesn't come out of the mouth any more than out of the cheeks, chest or head. Allow the tone to be made properly, then given quality and resonance by a well arched pharynx and it will come out, no matter where or how. Someone asks if there is any real objection to widely opened mouth. Certainly, there is.

Were it merely that the facial expression were destroyed, that would be enough, but that is not the worst of it. Opening widely the mouth destroys the shape of the pharynx and all richness is lost. Notice a bell. So long as it remains bell-shaped, it has resonant ring. Bend its shape so it resembles a pan and the ring is gone.

One thought more in connection with articulation. It used to be said that all attention should be given to vowels. Not so, in the light of to-day. Attend to the consonants and the vowels will take care of themselves. Correct speech in song, only, will make good singing. While watching the resonance of the tone as made in the pharynx note the delays made by thoroughly (not violently) sounding the consonants. Those delays, prolonged greatly, permit expansion of the pharynx, and perform the work mentioned before which was given the vocal sound, _oh_, to do.

To sum perfect voice method up into a sentence it is that by which we command with no apparent effort the column of air, keeping it away from the vocal bands, and, therefore, permitting the quality of tone in the pharynx to be pure; that by which the larynx acts freely, with no strain upon it; that by which thought may instinctively make its impression on the pharynx to give quality to the tone; and that by which we can make consonants and vowels in that pure tone, so that words conveying the thought of the mind may go out to our hearers.

CHAPTER V.

A PAPER OF SEEDS.

"_He who is a true master, let him undertake what he will, is sure to accomplish something_." =Schumann=.

"_To engender and diffuse faith, and to promote our spiritual well-being, are among the n.o.blest aims of music_."

=Bach=.

V.

A PAPER OF SEEDS.

a.n.a.lYZE SONGS.

Every song or other vocal composition should be a.n.a.lyzed as the first step in its study. The first theme noted, and the second also, if such there be; the connecting bars; the points which are descriptive or which contain contrasts; the phrases which may present difficulties of vocalization; the climax; and, as well, what relation the prelude and other parts of the accompaniment bear to the song. It is probable that before the pupil is capable of doing this by himself, the teacher must do it for him, not on one song merely, but on a dozen or twenty. A wise teacher will gather his pupils to hear him a.n.a.lyze music now and then.

It saves time at individual lessons, for the a.n.a.lysis will be understood by a group as easily as by an individual. It matters not so much that the pupils are not to sing those particular songs, for at the gathering, the way to do the thing will be learned. Then as other songs are taught at private lessons, the pupils will be prepared to receive quickly, the instruction.

FAULT FINDING.

Pupils may be sure that teachers do not find fault with them merely for the purpose of finding fault. If the teacher is worthy [of] that respect which leads pupils to study with him, he doesn't find fault except when it is necessary, and then he does it with dignity. If the teacher is constantly fault-finding, and does it in an irritable manner, you would better leave him at once. Now and then we learn of a teacher who gets his pupils so nervous that they burst out crying. It is not well to remain long with such a teacher. The pupil goes to him with fear which spoils the first of the lesson, and surely after the cry, the lesson is spoiled, for no good vocal tone can then be made. At a lesson all should be restful and dignified.

RECOVER FROM MISTAKES.

Next to him who makes no mistakes, is he who recovers from and disguises the errors. At best a performance full of errors of pitch, word, tone and quality is but a patched garment. Apply the mind to eradicating every error. Perhaps the most common thing for students to do is to try over again, while at practice, the music in which the error has been made, but doing it without thought. It is far better to think what the error is, what caused it, how it should be removed, and then begin the practice which will remove it. Oh, if the hours of wasteful practice could only be gathered up into useful hours, how much better off the whole would be! The least wasteful thing is to stop practice and _think_.

SONGS FOR BEGINNERS.

When selecting songs for study for beginners, only those which have smooth and well defined melodies should be selected. Modern composers seek by the strangest harmonies, following each other without coming to points of definite rest, to do things different from what has been in use so long that it is looked upon as common. The pupils in their early study cannot understand such music, and while bewildered by it, they misapply what they know to be correct use of the voice. The first selections should be simple, melodious, and of easy range. The songs of Mozart and Mendelssohn are much better for early use than are those which are being published now. As the pupil advances in the knowledge of songs add in any quant.i.ty the latest and most weird music, providing it has merit.

CRITICISM.

The phraseology of newspaper criticism often disturbs musicians, especially those who are very sensitive, and sometimes arouses their ire so that they make reply. In doing so they make a mistake. They place a weapon for further attack in the hands of the critic and add to the force of his remarks by showing that they have hit the mark. One does not prize a shot which goes wide of the point at which it was aimed but is quite proud if, by chance, he hits the bull's-eye. The sensitive man in his reply shows how fortunate the critic is in his shooting. It is not easy to bear the remarks of a harsh critic and it is much harder to draw from them any good lesson. (Whether one may draw a lesson from criticism is not open for remark at this writing.) Yet, when one gives serious thought to the criticism which seems so cruel he will learn that no one has been hurt by it except the critic himself. He has lowered his thought from a high plain and has made his nature, thereby, coa.r.s.e and uncomfortable. That cannot come to anyone, even for a few minutes without making him less manly. Out of the fullness of his heart at that moment the critic has written and sent out into the world that which lowers. What he sows, that shall he also reap, and in due time his unkindness will come home to him. If he can bear his own act the musician can endure it for the brief time that the "smart" is there.

None should ever forget that a man can injure himself but no one else on earth can injure him.

WAIT FOR RESULTS.

Some of us are slow to learn the lesson, waiting for results. We feel that at one bound we must and will achieve the great success which is our ideal. Youth is enthusiastic and believes in itself. Nothing daunts it, save the realization of limited success and that realization comes not quickly. There are circ.u.mstances which cannot be forced; there are laws which prevent our reaching too far or going too quickly. Under them we chafe but in time we come to know that those laws place boundaries of limitation about us. We then begin to inspect the laws just as one bound with cords might be supposed to study his binding after having tried in vain to tear himself free. Then is when he discovers that by knowing natural law he can shape his course so that he is not antagonized but aided by his environments and curbings. He then discovers that he can even use the laws which seemed to restrain as his power. But it takes long to learn that lesson. Stripes, which cut and burn, must have been received before one can know that he must not fret and be impatient for quick results. "Patience overcometh all things." "Seek and ye shall find." Remember that the early fruit decays quickest. The rosy apple, when all of its fellows are green, has the worm at the core. If you are worthy of results they will come to you, but not in your way or time perhaps. You can afford to wait.

ALL THINGS ARE GOOD.

Certain quotations and sayings, through familiarity, lose their point to us. We not only are not impressed by them but forget that they are truths. Do you recall "All things work together for good?" Does that mean anything? Does it mean what it says? Does it mean nothing? It means nothing or else exactly what it says, and you may be sure that the latter is the true meaning. What are "all things?" The few which seem bright, maybe; and those which to most of us seem evil, do not belong to "all things." But may we not be at fault in our idea? We are, _we are_.

Whatever appears to happen to us (although nothing ever happens in the common meaning of that word) belongs to "all things" and at some time we will be able to look back and say from the heart that all was well with us.

LITTLE THINGS EFFECT.

Every shade of tone has a meaning which is either artistic or inartistic and one who has developed his appreciation of artistic rendition can so use his tone that just the right effect will be produced with his tone.

A noted cartoonist recently showed by two little dots the ability which he possessed to change the character of his picture. He had drawn a sketch of a sweet young girl; rosy cheeks and cherry lips; big sleeves and a Gainsborough hat; the most demure and modest little girl ever imagined. Then to carry out a joke he changed the position of the eyes, just rubbing on two dots. The character of the whole picture now changed. The demure little girl became the sauciest Miss that could be imagined and one could almost imagine a shrug to the shoulders. Are singers less able to portray in art than is the cartoonist? If we know the resources at our command and how to use them we can give expression just as well as any other artist can. We do not always know how small a thing can change all expression. The bright face, the warmer tone, the more elastic delivery of voice, quicker attack, all have their value in expressing something.

Not enough attention is paid to personal appearance before an audience.

There are a few things which can be prepared before our appearance which can make the whole performance more artistic. The way of walking across the stage, taking position before the audience, manner of holding the music, of turning its leaves, way of looking up while singing, way of leaving the stage; all these have to do with artistic rendition. They should be taught to pupils by the teacher and should become part of the pupils' instruction. We give all attention to tone and that is only part of the instruction which the student needs. The other matters must not be left to chance. The little things point out the difference between the singer and the artist.

MUSICAL LIBRARY.

A musical library should be a possession of every singer. There are less than two hundred books on music printed in English, on subjects directly connected with music and singing. These contain all which has been printed which has any great value. Many are books for reference and a few contain direct practical instruction. Each teacher and all earnest students should see how many of these they now possess and plan to develop the library. All the books need not be purchased at once, nor is it wise to obtain books and put them away on the shelves just for mere ownership. Get one book at a time, one a month perhaps, and read it carefully enough to allow you to know what is in it. Then put it away for reference. It takes but a few minutes to refresh the mind on what is read. A dozen books a year added in this way will, in a dozen years, give a valuable library. What is more valuable to the owner is that he has lodged in his own mind for every day use more than a hundred good ideas. Books taken from the public library and returned to it do not have the lasting value that one's own books have. The sense of ownership is worth something.

CHANGE OPINIONS.

In these days of invention, discovery and progress, no one need be ashamed of changing his opinions. In vocal music the ideas most commonly held twenty years ago are being exchanged for something new. The man who has made a change is often sneered at as "having a method." He may have that, but he may only have advanced to new ground which is to be occupied by common opinion a dozen years from now. The man who changed early was in advance of his fellows and would attract attention. Who thought, outside of a very small circle, only forty years ago, that the music of Wagner would become the most popular of any age? It is to-day the music of the present and we are already looking for a "music of the future." The present time is, in the manner of dealing with the singing and speaking voice, a transition age. Ideas which are being taken up now were scouted as nonsense twenty years ago. They will be commonly accepted ten years from now. It is better to join the army of progress, and change early, even if it does raise a laugh.