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8 TRAINING THE SINGING VOICE
common among ¥ocaI teachers in this country. Anyone who wishes to, can
begin to teach voice. pFrances Alda 5] "There are thousands of dishonest teachers . . . [who] know nothing of the fundamental principles of voice production/* {Lombard! 356] "In no other profession does the crank and charlatan flourish more blatantly." [Allen 7, p. 21]
m Strong traditions prevail in the vocal teaching profession, preventing the infusion of new ideas. The prevailing confusion in this subject is partly caused by the fact that vocal musicians are slow to accept scientific tennhiGlogies and points of view; so that well established facts of physics, physiology and psychology are practically inaccessible to them. [Seashore 511, p. 9] *Tamous old traditions of the art of singing are . . . nothing more than guess-work made respectable by age." Most modern ideas on voice pwxIuctiGn have their origin in this doubtful source. [Zerffi 701] "Traditional lore rather than the basic principles of science" have guided the singing teacher for mere than a century. [Wharton 655, p. 90] "A change of methods is not as necessary as a change of attitude or viewpoint.1* Some teachers still resist change and refuse to admit the possibility of improvement in methods that were acquired thirty or forty years ago. {Bartholomew 39]
si. Hurried mid careless teaching practices exist, sometimes prompted by unethical and mercenary motives. [Frances Alda 5] "The stage and the commit platform are overloaded with singers who, in plain English, do not know how to sing/* [Henderson 244] High pressure teaching is used to bring about short cuts. [Henley 252] "Avoid teachers who make extravagant promises and beguile by flattery . . . who claim the discovery of new and wonderful methods . . . who promise results in a short or specified time . . . who claim to teach the method of some well known artitt with whom they never studied or only studied for a short period • . . who offer a few tricks as a 'cure-alT for all vocal ills . . . who teach voice by correspondence courses.** [Quoted from a bulletin issued by the American Academy of Teachers of Singing. 13]
Historical Aspects
Modem scientific research is increasingly affecting educational procedures. Such mhjects as mathematics, reading, geography and history, for example, are continually being sifted and analyzed for criteria by which teaching procedures in these subjects may be tested, standardized and im-piwed. It is now generally agreed that the teaching of all art is based upon science. Tie sculptor must have a knowledge of anatomy, the painter M hmw «*» »* Ugfrt, the architect must know mathematics and |
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