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TRAINING THE SINGING VOICE |
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are deceiving in that they show the throat and vocal apparatus only in a state of relaxation. [La Forest 326, p. 97.]
3. The subjective nature of singing makes accurate self-analysis difficult Aesthetic self-judgment, because of its psychological nature, varies with the individual. Applied to the singing performance, such judgments defy standardization and lead to considerable confusion in vocal training. [Newport 419; Wilcox 669, p. 1] "The mechanism involved is complex, variable and never under conscious control/1 [Bartholomew 37]
4. The subjective nature of listening. Vocal observations by a listener (teacher) are bound up in aesthetic, emotional and auditory reactions to sound. The average listener does not accurately hear what the singer actually performs. Hence, listening judgments of a singing performance are largely based on psychological, rather than physiological impressions of the tones heard. [Seashore 506, p. 7] "No two ears hear exactly the same." [Stanley 575]
5. Individuality of voices. No two voices are exactly alike, making standardization and comparisons difficult. [Votaw 625; Haywood 234]
6. Confusing similarities exist between the singing voice and the speaking voice* "Speech has singing aspects and song has speech characteristics." [De Bruyn 131 ] "Singing is really speaking set to music." [Skiles 563; Landt 332] "Singing may be considered a slow-moving picture of speaking." [Harper 228, p. 107] See also Chapter IX.
NEED FOR SCIENTIFIC ORGANIZATION OF THE SUBJECT
7. Authentic bibliographies are lacking. Many of the published works on voice contain vague or misleading material. [Kuester 324] The lack of bibliographical information about the voice is amazing. [Redfield 462, p. 264] "Many books on singing . . . pass on erroneous ideas as truth." The power of the printed page is thus exploited. [Witherspoon 677, p. 11] On the whole, books on vocal technique are unreliable since they abound in unscientific statements. [Stanley 578]
8. Focal literature is largely unscientific and fragmentary. Biased opinions prevail throughout the literature on voice. "The criticism that music [voice] lags behind the other subjects of the curriculum in adapting the scientific method, is a just one." [Kittle 318] In the teaching of singing, "the word 'science* has been misapplied to theories and beliefs." [Shaw 518, p. 7] "One could easily build a comedy of errors by citations from standard music books." [Seashore,, 507] There is at present no accurate, scientific, single work that reviews all our knowledge of the human voice. [Curry 124, Foreword]
9. Vocal authorities disagree on many fundamental issues. "Reputable |
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