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TRAINING THE SINGING VOICE |
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flicker. [Mackenzie 364, p. 121; Earhart 152, p. 3; Kwartin 325, p. 29] Therefore it is observed that while sustaining a correctly produced tone the air is not moving rapidly out of the singer's mouth even though the sound is traveling forth. [Austin-Ball 31, p. 28]
Singing on the breath is really a restatement of the economy of breath principle. It implies that, regardless of the quantity of breath in the lungs, no more breath will be allowed to escape than can be utilized in phonation. In short, a proper restraint of breath release is a sufficient check upon breath wastage in phonation. "Control of the tone is secured by a continuous breathing into the tone/* says Wilson. But this continuous breathing out is governed by correct vocal action and must therefore be performed with maximum breath economy. [674, p. 29]
Stevens and Miles report, in an experimental study, that "singing on a full breath does not interfere with the evenness of the attack but rather seems to improve it." Here again, the full breath refers to the quantity of air retained by the singer not the quantity expelled during phonation. [583] In other words, regardless of the quantity of breath retained in the lungs at the moment of attack "an even pressure of breath will surely obtain an even tone." [Clark 102; Montani 402, II, Preface] All agree that excessive breathing is a symptom of faulty production [Evetts and Wor-thington 167, p. 74] and that "no breath must be allowed to escape, apart from its function of voice production." [Jacques 299, p. 34]
c) Breath renewal, frequency and speed. Breath renewal in singing serves the double purpose of sustaining sound and oxygenating the blood. Therefore, in spite of the economy of breath principle enunciated above, a singer is often called upon to increase his breath intake beyond the requirements of voice production. [Lewis 343, p. 4] The need for oxygen is sometimes accentuated by the fact that the inspiratory act is short and the expiratory act prolonged. Often it is necessary for the singer to renew his breath during expiration by taking "short inspiratory gulps at pauses in the flow of the voice." [Curry 124, p. 13] It is obvious, according to Jacques, that there is "an important difference between breathing when sitting at ease and during singing." The normal respiratory rhythm of 15 or 16 breaths per minute may be considerably reduced when singing, necessitating deeper respiratory movements than for normal breathing. [299, p. 12; also Evetts and Worthington 167, p. 70; Hemery 238, p. 15] "In fact, the less frequently the singer takes a new breath, the better he wiU sing," says Maurice-Jacquet. [376] Sir George Henschel holds an opposing viewpoint. He believes that it is proper for a singer to breathe as often as interpretation requires, as long as he can breathe quickly and imperceptibly. [265, p. 6; also Whittaker 662, p. 69] |
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