| Share page | Visit Us On FB |
|
86 |
TRAINING THE SINGING VOICE |
||
|
|
|||
|
son epitomizes the opinions of singing masters of the past in his statement that "the breath must be retained simply by the action of the diaphragm and rib muscles," not by closing the larynx. He further suggests that diaphragmatic action may be strengthened by the practice of consciously retaining a full breath for two or three seconds at a time before each exhalation. [243, p. 2$; Butler 87, and Bartholomew 39] All these authors seem to favor the relaxation of the upper chest in order to prevent throat or laryngeal tightness. But at the same time the effort of breathing must be concentrated in the abdominal and diaphragmatic regions. [Novello-Davies 430, p. 114; Dodds and Lickley 139, p. 26; Clip-pinger 104, p. 5]
Diaphragmatic control is sometimes employed as a counter-agent to divert the student's attention from the throat and laryngeal regions and thus to prevent laryngeal tension during phonation. It is also widely believed that, once the chest posture has been established and habitual-ized in physical culture, the local action of the breathing bellows or diaphragm should be studied and controlled. [Lloyd 351, p. 1; Scott 501, p. 117]
Opponents of diaphragmatic control declare that the conscious compression and hardening of the abdominal muscles in breathing will gradually spread tensions into the back muscles and up through the chest to the neck and throat muscles. [MacBumey 361] Furthermore, it is held that "the singer is normally not conscious of the position of the diaphragm/* [Bartholomew 39] and that the diaphragm and vocal cords are involuntary muscles and therefore free from sensibility. Hence it is impossible to contract or relax these muscles by thinking about sensations in them. [Drew 147, p. 174; Shaw 526] The diaphragm's activity t€is resultaIlt,, and should never be directly governed in singing. [Shaw 538] The tensing of the diaphragm is possible only during inhalation, exhalation being accompanied by the relaxing of this muscle. Therefore it is an error to suppose that compression of the diaphragm must control the exhalation of the breath stream since this is just opposite to physiological fact. [Bartholonlew op. cit.]
Like any other involuntary muscle, the diaphragm performs best unconsciously and "balks" stubbornly at being conscripted into voluntary service.*' [Henley 255] In exhalation the diaphragm is a passive rather than an active factor since it is in a process of relaxing back to its normal dome shape. Therefore "it has no driving power. Diaphragmatic breath control is a pure figment of undisciplined imagination," says Shaw. [522] The only experimental studies in this area were reported by Dr. John H. Muyskens at the Music Educators National Conference in 1938. "That |
|||