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GONCEPTS OF EAR TRAINING |
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sation of tonal vibration. The memory of these sensations constitutes your "method" of singing. [682; Jones 307, p. 10] "Focussing the voice" is directed by sensation only, according to Philip. [446, p. 119] "Never depend on the deceiving evidence of the outer ear," warns Jetson-Ryder. [504] Herbert-Caesari claims that the old masters worked entirely from "the sensation of cause and effect." [269, p. 5] Finally, Jessica Dragonette recommends that the student learn to master the invisible mechanics of singing entirely "in terms of his sensations." [146] These are typical concepts that present the case for sensation. The argument is explicitly summed up in Brown's maxim: "Do not listen to yourself sing! Feel yourself sing!" [78, p. 16; and 73]
b) Sensation is not a reliable guide. This group believes that sensations are unreliable and illusory symptoms of physical technique that tend to distract the attention of the singer from the tones he is singing. The following arguments bespeak the viewpoint of the entire group.
1. Trying to explain the mechanism of singing by working backwards from sensations leads to empirical acoustical fallacies such as "singing in the mask," "supporting the voice on the diaphragm"; "focusing tone with the uvula"; and "holding the tone on the teeth." [Drew 147, p. 150]
2. The prue expression of beauty comes only "to those who are able to erase from the consciousness every physical sensation." [Savage 490, P- llS]
g. Singing-by-sensation is placing the cart before the horse, the effect before the cause. [Austin-Ball gi, p. 17; Witherspoon 677, p. 32]
4. Because body structures vary with the individual, the sensations accompanying voice will vary. Therefore physical sensation is an unreliable teaching tool. [Gonklin 121, p. 10]
5. Correct singing is an unconscious act. Only faults and tensions impart sensations. When the performance is perfect, the singer does not know how he did it. [Lloyd 551, p. 12]
6. "Kinaesthetic sensations . . . are rarely brought into . . . conscious attention." It has been found that even under complete local anaesthesia of the throat the singer's performance did not noticeably deteriorate. [Mursell 411, p. 227]
7. Singing is devoid of physical sensation and can only be controlled indirectly by listening. [Lilli Lehmann 537, pp. 54 and 90]
8. The singer's main concern is how his voice sounds, not how it is |
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