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CONCEPTS OF VOCAL PEDAGOGY |
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freedom is not inimical to self-control. Before you can free your voice you must first learn to control it. [493]
EXPRESSIONAL FACTORS IN SINGING
Singing as self expression. Self-expression in singing is the process of manifesting one's own thoughts and feelings in and through the medium of song. Expression takes the form of the use of language (words), sounds (voice) or other means of communication, in an endeavor to convey the singer's concepts or feelings with force, vividness, clarity or other desirable qualities. (W) [Dictionary of Education 706] (See also Chapter X.) In the 36 statements gathered in this area the emphasis is laid largely upon the importance of maintaining a flow of meaningful ideas when singing, rather than the mere technical execution of musical or vocal sounds and phrases. "Any separation of technic from expression is a disastrous and distorting abstraction," says Mursell. [410] In other words, vocal training is not primarily a matter of developing specific muscular skills, but rather a training in self-expression, which encompasses such factors as "hearing and imaging sound, certain types of emotional response and control, . . . certain imaginative and intellectual insights." [Ibid. 411]
Aikin insists that it is "the sense of words and not the sound that stimulates the musical sense/' [4] "Train those young singers to sing musically [expressively] not muscularly," warns Stock. [589] Allen is of the opinion that the vocal act is a natural endowment rooted in an urge to sing which may not be denied when the vocal instrument is in good form. [7, p. 136] Self-expression through voice is "a basic human instinct." [Clark 102; Clippinger 104, p. 5] Davies explains the process of singing as follows: Vocal tone springs from language and language springs from thought and the desire to express. Hence vocal study begins with the singing of thoughts. [127, p. 128] Other concepts on this subject are summarized In the following typical statements:
1. There is no reason for singing if we do not wish to communicate something to the listener. Therefore, "do not sing words, sing a thought." [Scott 501, p. 129 E]
2. "Singing is a colorful and beautiful expression" of intimate feelings and emotions. [Hall 225; Mclntyre 384.]
3. In reference to singing, all the components and ingredients of its technique are but vehicles of emotional expression. [Bairstow, Dent and others 32] |
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