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p TRAINING THE SINGING VOICE
to integrate these basic scientific approaches into an applied science which we may call the 'psychology of the vocal arts.'" [C. E. Seashore 505]
Voice training as habit formation. Webster defines habit as "an aptitude or inclination for some action acquired by frequent repetition and showing itself in increased facility of performance or in decreased power of resistance." The principle of habit formation is of fundamental importance in training the singing voice and practice procedures usually subserve the purposes of habit formation. Through repetitive practice, consciously controlled muscular techniques gradually become unconscious actions. [Stanley 577, p. 310; Shakespeare 517, p. xiv] However, as in walking and talking, singing habits must be acquired gradually and along the lines of natural growth and development. [Witherspoon 677, p." §3 Ultimately, the singer's performance must also be accomplished without conscious thought, hesitancy or concentration. [Dictionary of Education 706]
Habitual ease in singing gives evidence of technical mastery, according to Woodside. That is to say, when a perfect technique becomes habitual, it appears spontaneous and natural. [690, p. 14] "Learn to sing your song" until you're hardly conscious of the words or music," says Jeanette Mac-Donald. "Then it will become spontaneous, alive, and a part of your per-sonaBiy.,s [363] Vocal techniques must eventually become automatic i£ the singer is to free his mind from physical distractions and devote himself entirely to interpretative responsibilities. [Henderson 243, p. 125] Such techniques are not truly learned until they have become second nature in the performance. Habit formation is a slow- process and the impatient singer often mistakes understanding for assimilation. [Allen 7, p. it; Obolensky 432] As Greene puts it, "the physical use of his voice must be the unconscious response to the play of the singer's feelings. That is a matter of years, and few singers have the patience to see it through/* [209, p. 4] The primary object of all vocal training, then, is to "train the brain so that it becomes capable of directing and controlling the functioning of the vocal apparatus subconsciously." That is the function of habit formation. [Philip 446, p. 4]
SINGING AS A NATURAL FUNCTION
The natural voice is one that is capable or artistic expression in singing although it has never submitted to formal technical training. Furthermore, such a voice is produced with complete ease and freedom throughout its compass and is entirely free from mechanical or technical limitations or defects. perbert-Caesari 269, p. 4] (See also Chapter V.) The natural-voiced singer is a curious phenomenon in the vocal profession and |
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