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DISTINCT ARTICULATION. 39 |
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50. Song and Speech.—There is considerable difference between the speaking and the singing voice, but inasmuch as purity of tone upon the chief vowel sounds can be more easily acquired by singing than by speaking, it is advisable in practice to work at the singing voice first and deal with the differences later on.
The chief differences between speech and song are in musical quality, stability and duration, pitch, and pace.
51. Musical Quality.—The frictions caused by the articulations are decidedly unmusical, yet they must be prominently sounded in speech, or the speaker will fail to be distinct; in song they can be so very much diminished as to become quite insignificant. The singer can even modify the vowel sounds to suit the pitch without seriously affecting the meaning of the song. The speaker must bring out the full sound of the vowel and must make a clear distinction between the principal and the subordinate vowels.
52. Fitch.—The pitch in speech is not sustained and definite as it is in song—all the time the voice is gliding through slightly different pitches; this change of pitch is usually confined to about five notes (rarely an octave is used). The singer uses two octaves.
53. Duration.—The pace in speech, or the length of time the voice dwells upon the vowel sound, depends upon the sentiment or meaning of the passage, or upon the meaning of the word itself, which may contain a principal or a subordinate vowel: in verse, on the accent and quality of the verse; verse being in this respect intermediate between speech and song. In song melody determines the length. |
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