Training the Singing Voice - online book

An exploration of the theories, methods & techniques of Voice training.

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	i88	TRAINING THE SINGING VOICE
	whether any performance of the singing voice can be entirely independ­ent of the hearing function. This subject is open to further research. Sea­shore's finding on the artistic deviations in singers' performances (see Chapter X) are significant. [506] METHODOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS The psychological approach is preeminent in the pedagogy of ear train­ing. Teaching procedures may be grouped in two main categories which are called tonal input methods and tonal output methods? depending upon whether they are used primarily to enhance the listening experience exclusively, or to control vocal tone production in singing. a)  Methods governing tonal input. For purposes of ear training, the listening experience is completely dissociated from the act of voice pro­duction. A rational procedure consisting of the critical analysis of vocal models is advocated, utilizing the performances of artist singers, either on the concert stage or through the media of phonographic recordings and the radio. Profitable listening experiences may also be provided for in the vocal demonstrations of the student's teacher and in listening to the "singing" tones of an instrumental (e.g., violin) performance. Methods of analysis are not given by those who discuss these procedures. It is to be presumed, therefore, that in the absence of objective criteria for eval­uating each performance heard, the student will, through exposure, ab­sorb the tonal experience in its entirety, thus improving his tonal con­sciousness. b)  Methods gcmeming tonal output. Pedagogical procedures include the use of tonal imagery, self-listening, vocal models, imitation, and a consideration of the values of sound and sensation as guides to vocal ac­tion. These methods frequently overlap and conflict with one another, but each, in its own area of application, is interesting and valuable to the teacher of singing. Self-listening is described as a quasi-objective auditory experience in which the individual attempts to dissociate his preconcep­tions (imagery) of vocal tone from his objective awareness of what he is actually singing. It is doubtful whether satisfactory coordinations of the vocal organs are possible under such conditions of divided attention and self-analysis. The view that both sound and sensation are effective guides to vocal action would seem to be a tenable compromise in the absence of objective evaluations of either factor. Until convincing experimental data can be obtained as to the efficacy of any of these teaching procedures, one observation appears to be as good as another. In conclusion, the teacher of singing is reminded that vivid vocal im­agery induces adequate vocal response. The listening experience is just as