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CONCEPTS OF VOCAL PEDAGOGY |
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tion. [541] Stanley discusses four interdependent "technical elements of vocal progress." They are: increase of range and volume and improvement in quality (resonance) and vibrato. [573] Edward Johnson, of the Metropolitan Opera Company, would have each singer master three indispensable techniques: breath, vowel and pitch. These he calls "the singer's trinity.'' When properly developed, they synchronize to make tone. [306] Other statements regarding the technical objectives of a singer's training are summarized as follows:
1. The purposes of technical vocal instruction are breath economy, tonal purity, an even quality throughout the range, clear diction and freedom from strain. [Whittaker 662, p. 72; Howe 284, p. 31]
2. Breath control, free throat, resonance and diction are the four basic technical problems. [Hok 278, p. 7; Waters 645]
3. Learn to manage the breath, free the vocal mechanism, deliver the right sound. [Scott 501, p. 38 ff.]
4. The three R's of singing are Resonance, Relaxation and Respiration. [Jacobus 298]
5. The foundation of vocal training is tone production, pronunciation, breath control and resonance. [Shakespeare 517, p. 93; Douty 142]
6. In summing up the technical requirements of singing one may list the following: "skill in attack," sostenuto, legato, dynamics, flexibility, agility, and a mastery of bravura (virtuosity and daring) and diction. [Haywood 235]
Removing muscular interferences. Muscular interferences in singing are chronic conditions of strain, stiffness or rigidity in the vocal tract that are in opposition or in conflict with normal muscle action; therefore inducing physical resistance and excessive effort during the vocal act. (W) Twenty-three authors consider this subject of paramount importance in planning the technical training of the singing voice. According to Alfred Spouse, "most vocal troubles originate in interference, that is, in tightness or rigidity of the vocal mechanism. In 6ther words, lack of freedom of tone emission is the underlying evil, although its manifestations may take on different forms in different people." [572] Shaw defines interference as "any muscular contraction which prevents the unhampered vibration of the vocal cords and free motion of the cartilages and muscles of the larynx, or the free use of the resonance space." [528] Wilcox believes that technical voice training is as much a matter of removing interferences as of developing proper coordinations of the vocal musculature. [669, p. 19] De Bruyn lists numerous vocal deficiencies, many of which are caused by types of muscular weakness and interferences in the vocal tract. Among |
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