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CONCEPTS OF RANGE |
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attention is called to it. [Jacques 299, p. 29] "The register fallacy is a mental ailment, not a physical or tonal imperfection/' according to Savage. "Any form of [conscious] interference in spontaneous expression" manifests itself in "spasmodic physical action." The register is the result of such interferences and "by thinking tone placement which is impossible ... we inhibit the action of the vocal cords at certain pitches/* [49x5] Wilcox is also certain that the muscular mechanisms of registration are by no means subject to conscious control in singing [669, p. 9], and Marafioti sums up Caruso's point of view as follows: By leaving the intonations of the voice under psycholgical control we can attain any altitude within the vocal range without experiencing register breaks. [568, p. 153]
Using the track of the speaking voice. Eight authors point out a relationship between the speaking and the singing voice which is represented in the following four concepts:
1. The speaking range of the voice is already fairly well developed through constant use. It is necessary for the singer to extend this range above and below its every-day limits. [Warren 635; also Stanley 578]
2. Beginners should first learn to talk on any pitch so that the singing tones may be moulded around the speaking pitches. When this is practiced, the highest pitches of the singing voice can present no problem. [Marafioti 368, pp. 134 and 270]
3. Sliding inflections within a prescribed pitch interval of the singing voice may be practiced as effortlessly as upward and downward inflections are used in the speaking voice. With this comparison in mind, the student soon learns to govern his singing vocal movements by following the equivalent inflectional pattern of his speaking voice. A psychological tie is thus built between the two. [Evetts and Worthington 167, p. 106 fL]
4. Instead of using acrobatic stretching feats, simply speak the tones at the desired pitch, as in conversing. Such treatment of any phrase in a song will show up the natural range of the singer. [Whitfield 660]
Dispelling the "high" and "low" fallacy. The illusory height and depth of the voice which the singing student feels when ranging along his entire vocal compass, comes from an erroneous association of "upness" with a direction that is contrary to the pull of gravity. Pitch elevation or height is a misnomer since sound can have neither height nor depth. [Herbert-Cae-sari 269, p. xvii] In other words, "a high tone is produced exactly in the same place as a low tone/* [Diwer 138, p. 36] and, therefore, the word height in its ordinary sense is not applicable to voices. [White 658, p. 46] |
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