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158 TRAINING THE SINGING VOICE |
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downward practice is the most certain method of "merging one register
into another/' an indispensable feature of all voice training. [446, p. 82] "If there is a break," says Ryan, "it should be mended by first beginning on the tones above the break and working down/* [480, p. 89] "Open the voice downward/* is Fory's advice, "work as low as the voice will go without forcing or squeezing." [186] The remaining opinions in this group are summed up in the following concepts:
1. "Never force the voice up. . . . Working downwards ... is the
great principle of tonal unity/* [Scott 501, p. 55]
2. Loud practice up the scale tends to constrict the upper register while downward vocalization in soft tones endows the lower registers with elasticity and lightness. [Finn 181, p. 22; also Evetts and Wor-thington 167, p. 102]
3. The first step in vocal training, for children or adults, "should be from a given easy pitch downward to the end of the present effective compass/* [Wodell 679; Mme. Margarete Olden 434]
4. "Descending scales are the finest possible exercises . . . throughout the vocal compass/* [Jacques 299, p. 57]
5. Downward scale practice is similar to floating downstream with the current instead of paddling upstream against it. [Armstrong 23]
Approaching high tomes. Sixteen authors and professional singers express the belief that the upper reaches of the singing voice are more difficult to develop than the middle range and that higher tones require special treatment. lily Pons, in an interview states, "I centered ail my attention on developing the upper range . . . and found that the middle voice developed along with it.*9 [450] Frances Alda reports that her teacher, the great Marchesi, laid great emphasis on the use of the head voice and insisted that every note above F must be sung in head voice. {6, p. 298] Clippinger finds that the correct training of the upper range endows the upper male voice with unusual brilliance and resonance so that it more easily matches the middle voice. [104, p. 35] Conversely, high tones can be seriously impaired if the middle register is forced. This is especially true of tenors and sopranos, according to Jones. [507, p. 6]
The question of intensity or breath pressure as related to pitch level in singing is also discussed, although opinions are divided on the subject. Mme. Galii-Curci insists that "the higher the tone, the less breath pressure is required. . . . Many singers ruin their voices by adding extra effect on the upper tones. . . . They should take a lesson from the violinist who knows that the pressure of the bow for the upper notes must be |
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